Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) – The Power, Flexibility and Resiliency of Cloud Communications

September 17th, 2019 by Trent Smith

Communication. It’s the lifeblood of virtually every organization. We all have different communication patterns. Voice calls, email, text, chat, web conferencing, team collaboration and even fax make up most forms of communication that we all use in varying degrees and consistency.

As the channels of communication continue to expand, so does the number of applications required to support these various forms of communication. The myriad of applications supporting an influx of communications patterns present both an end-user and an I.T. support conundrum.

From an end-user perspective, they must learn each and every application in order to effectively communicate with team members and clients, who may have completely different communication patterns from their own. Some people prefer picking up a phone. Others prefer IM. Yes, age groups may play a part. But, we all must communicate effectively to achieve whatever we may define as “success,” whether that be productivity, revenue growth, increased efficiency, or all three.

So, we must all spend a considerable amount of time and effort to learn each channel of communication. Different applications with different requirements. Some working on PC’s, others only working on mobile devices. It all can be very overwhelming to the end-user.

From an I.T. support perspective, it doesn’t get much better. They must equip their I.T. infrastructure to support all these applications. And when there is a problem? I.T. must work with multiple vendors to trouble-shoot these disparate forms of communication. Once again, time, effort and money wasted.

THE PROMISE OF UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS

There is now a better way. An enterprise-class unified communications platform consolidates all the forms of communication we’ve discussed into one application. One application for an end-user to learn. One application for an I.T. team to support.

With Unified Communications as a Service, or UCaaS, your organization will also benefit from the survivability and disaster recovery elements that the cloud has to offer.

Whether using a PC, Mac, iPhone or Droid device, industry-leading UCaaS providers such as Mitel and 8×8 have you covered with an “all-one-client” that’s easy to use and simple to support.

And, with 8×8’s guaranteed global service level agreement (SLA), you can confidently utilize your unified communications tool wherever your business takes you.

BUT WHAT ABOUT SECURITY AND COMPLIANCE IN THE CLOUD?

Network security is the number one concern for I.T. professionals in several recent industry surveys. Van Ausdall & Farrar has painstakingly chosen our partners in the cloud space to deliver the most secure experience the industry has to offer. Our UCaaS solutions address compliance and privacy requirements such as:

  • HIPAA

  • FISMA

  • Privacy Shield

EASIER SAID THAN DONE? PERHAPS NOT.

Many of our clients don’t have the I.T. resources or background necessary to navigate a UCaaS deployment. Therefore, most of our customers have chosen to utilize Van Ausdall & Farrar’s UC and IT infrastructure teams, at least to some degree, to assure a successful installation.

Van Ausdall & Farrar offers a vast menu of service offerings that we’ll customize to meet the needs of your organization as you migrate to a cloud communications offering, such as:

  • Complete VoIP Network Readiness Assessment with detailed report and action plan

  • Network infrastructure assessment, consultation, design and implementation, along with ongoing support

  • Network security assessment, consultation, design, implementation, and ongoing support

  • UCaaS Expert Project Management

  • On-Site deployment services, including phone installation and test, along with UC client installation and test

  • On-Site, expert instructor-led end-user and administration training

  • On-Site, UC engineer support on the day of “Go Live.”

  • Managed administration services for the life of your cloud solution

You may choose as many or as few of these services as your organization requires. We’re large enough to support you but remain flexible and agile enough to exceed the expectations of virtually any organization of every size.

By implementing a UCaaS platform with Van Ausdall & Farrar, you cover all of your bases. Rest assured, you will obtain the power, flexibility and resiliency that an enterprise-class UCaaS solution has to offer.

  1. STABILITY OF UCaaS

    Our UCaaS platforms reside in cloud data centers across the globe, with best in class disaster recovery and backup architectures. Maintaining a near-perfect system uptime is the primary goal of cloud services, to ensure your productivity and profitability around the clock. We are the preferred partner in the state of Indiana with the Gartner Magic Quadrant Leaders in unified communications, Mitel and 8×8. We’ve learned you never have to apologize when you align yourself with the best the industry has to offer.

  2. FLEXIBILITY OF UCaaS

    A unified communications platform effectively serves any device in any location. BYO smartphone? No problem. Video conferencing in multiple locations while chatting and receiving voicemail at the same time? No sweat. Real-time presence and availability status? You got it. Remote collaboration in a modern workflow setting? Naturally. Single site, multi-site, or virtual deployment? Of course.

  3. SCALABILITY OF UCaaS

    Ramping up a unified communications system to meet immediate production needs can be cumbersome and costly with a premise-based platform. This is very simple with the cloud consumption model. Or, expanding your operations to multiple remote locations is greatly simplified with your cloud UC solution. You can quickly and seamlessly bring additional resources online. UCaaS is basically the ultimate “plug & play” platform that scales to your needs as your company evolves.

  4. AFFORDABILITY OF UCaaS

    Equally important in today’s business environment, you don’t need a major upfront capital investment to implement and maintain UCaaS. You also won’t need to eventually pay again for replacement hardware that’s reached end of life. Expensive software updates and migrations are also a thing of the past. Plus, you don’t need to add more IT staff to your payroll. In fact, they’ll have more time to focus on other I.T. initiatives. What more could you want from a long-term, turnkey communications solution?

  5. SIMPLICITY OF UCaaS

    In a nutshell, UCaaS seamlessly integrates all types of business communications into a secure and maintenance-free platform, which appropriately and affordably adjusts to the needs of everyone connected to your company. With VA&F’s professional services offerings to augment your cloud deployment, you are assured of a successful migration to the cloud. It’s that simple.

THE FUTURE IS NOW

For several years we’ve been writing about the benefits of next-generation unified communications and IP telephony. At this point, there’s no NextGen about it, because so many industry-leading companies already take advantage of integrated cloud-based business communications. In 2019, 85% of our new unified communications deployments have been implemented in the cloud. We have the knowledge and expertise required to assure world-class customer experience.

If you’re just now considering UCaaS, we suggest you stop thinking about it and start implementing it. Your competitive position in the marketplace may already be severely compromised. Contact us today for a conversation about seamlessly solving your business communication needs for the many tomorrows to come.

Posted in: Insights from VAF Blog, Communications