One Phone, No Tradeoffs: Remaking Mobile for the Modern Workplace.

Transcription

1 One Phone, No Tradeoffs: Remaking Mobile for the Modern Workplace. The costly and fragmented services that companies have to manage are making communication harder instead of easier. INTRODUCTION Everyone in the business world has a tale of frustra on involving phones and communica on: The CFO who knows the company is paying for office desk phones no one uses. The IT team forced to deal with mul ple vendors to provide basic services. The sales representa ves who have to manually transfer data from customer calls to Salesforce. And all of the employees who need to carry two phones to manage work and personal life. Phones aren't working the way they should for either companies or their employees. Their capabili es are a mismatch with how today's employees work both inside and outside the office. Meanwhile, the costly and fragmented services that companies have to manage are making communica on harder instead of easier. Businesses need an alterna ve that allows them to integrate communica on services, be er manage phone costs and policies, secure data, and increase employee produc vity. At the same me, employees need to be able to easily use the mobile device of their choice, keep their personal informa on private, and access company data wherever they go. 1

2 Companies can achieve these goals if they move beyond the messy mix of phones, wires, networks, contracts, calling plans, and management tools they patch together in an a empt to communicate efficiently. They can remake their communica on services with all-in-one, so ware-based solu ons that are now available to help businesses streamline costs and simplify management while allowing employees to stay mobile and produc ve in the modern workplace. BEFORE THE MAKEOVER: COSTLY AND COMPLICATED A closer look at the delivery of communica on services in the workplace makes it clear why companies are dissa sfied with their current op ons. Dated infrastructure, inefficient workarounds, incomplete solu ons, excessive costs, lack of business analy cs, and policies and prac ces that sa sfy no one provide ample reason to give company phone systems a makeover. With more than 60 percent of office desks going unused, companies are wasting money on unwanted communications equipment and services. The desk phone is a misfit in the modern workplace. Today's workplace is built for collabora on and efficiency: open floor plans and flexible spaces accommodate evolving teams of employees who work at mul ple sites, in the field, and remotely. In contrast, desk phones are sta onary, a relic ed to another piece of legacy infrastructure, the stand-alone PBX system. Even when they're at their desks, most employees use mobile phones. Many forward office calls to mobile phones, losing the ability to present a clear corporate iden ty when they return calls and leaving clients and prospects uncertain which number to use to reach the employee. With mobile a clear preference and more than 60 percent of office desks going unused, companies are was ng money on unwanted communica ons equipment and services. 2

3 No one wants to carry two phones. Nearly all Americans carry a mobile phone and want it with them constantly. But they're less eager to carry mul ple phones. Many reluctantly do it, however, because they want separate personal and work phone numbers. When they carry two devices, employees perform an awkward juggling act, switching back and forth between phones throughout the day. Some forward calls from one phone to another. Finding a place for the two phones they need close by is equally cumbersome, adding to employees' frustra ons. No one wants to carry two phones. A BYOD policy creates as many problems as it solves. Many companies have tried adop ng a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy to reduce costs and increase produc vity. The thinking is that when employees buy their own device, they choose the one they prefer and are more produc ve. Meanwhile, the company saves money on mobile phone purchases, and the CFO doesn't have to manage the life cycle of rapidly deprecia ng assets. But the device isn't the biggest factor in overall mobile communica on costs. Companies with a BYOD policy reimburse individual employees for network usage, losing the ability to leverage their purchasing power and increasing their costs for mobile services. Reimbursement processes themselves are costly and complex. IT departments struggling to manage a broader range of devices, opera ng systems, and security concerns o en need to bring in addi onal tools and services such as mobile data management (MDM) providers, adding significantly to opera ng costs. CORPORATE-LIABLE $ BYOD Vs. $ +20% Costs per month Aberdeen Group,

4 Companies con nue to struggle with the security vs. privacy debate. Companies need to keep their data secure, while employees want personal communica ons to remain private. But employees who use business devices for personal purposes discover their company has access to informa on they considered private. And when employees conduct business on personal phones, company data ends up on unprotected personal phones or cloud storage sites. Employees who lose phones lose company informa on along with them. The tension between security and privacy adds work and worries for IT staffas well as a desire for greater control by companies and employees alike. Overall, managing business communica on services is too complicated. Companies have a simple goal: to communicate and collaborate efficiently. Instead, they're forced to manage mul ple vendor rela onships and spend a lot of me provisioning phones, reimbursing employee expenses, and managing security. Companies have a simple goal: to communicate and collaborate efficiently. Vendors have narrow capabili es, which requires companies to contract with PBX, MDM, and telecommunica ons expense management (TEM) vendors as well as maintain a rela onship with mobile network operators (MNOs). This makes it harder for companies to integrate services and control costs. Companies working with tradi onal mobile carriers also face the mul ple data and calling plans that make it difficult to know their monthly costs un l the bill arrives and then it's o en hard to decipher. Determining total costs for mobile, desk phones, and other business communica on services is equally difficult when mul ple vendors are involved. 4

5 THE MOBILE MAKEOVER: SIMPLE AND SATISFYING The bo om line is that companies need a be er way to manage business communica on services to reduce costs and improve efficiency. At the same me, they know that keeping employees happy and produc ve has a direct impact on the bo om line. A mobile makeover gives companies the opportunity to achieve each of these goals and avoid the tradeoffs involved with exis ng business communica on services. Ditch the desk phone. There's been specula on about the demise of the office desk phone ever since mobile phones became a part of daily life. Companies have stubbornly held onto these phones because they had no other way to maintain a corporate iden ty and the func onality of a stand-alone PBX system on mobile devices. But the demands of the modern workplace and an increasingly mobile workforce make it me to cut the wires tying companies to their desk phones. By declaring the desk phone dead, companies can stop paying for equipment that people rarely use. They can save on purchases, maintenance, deprecia on, contracts, and calling plans. New developments in fully mobile systems reduce the reasons to hold onto the tradi onal desk phone. Technology exists to integrate virtual PBX in a mobile device, elimina ng concerns about how to retain corporate iden ty as well as the cost of a separate PBX system. This technology uses a na ve mobile number to replicate the office phone experience on a mobile device. It also improves on previous virtual PBX systems, which work only with an app on a smart phone linked to a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) number. +50% Prefer personal phone, even when si ng next to a desk phone. Dimensional Research, Switch to one smartphone with business and personal numbers. Once companies remove desk phones, they make business communica on services easier for themselves and their employees. The switch lets employees use a single smartphone for work. They can have one work number just as they have only one address for work rather than separate cell and office numbers. Customers 5

6 can reach them more easily because the guesswork involved in choosing the best number to call is gone. When companies enable employees to have just one smartphone for both work and personal use, they also eliminate dissa sfac on with carrying mul ple devices. This requires placing two phone numbers on a single device and can be achieved to differing degrees through a mobile app or a so ware-based pla orm integrated into the mobile network. Regardless of the solu on they choose, companies need to remember that people have strong preferences about mobile devices. Giving employees the ability to choose the phone they want increases the likelihood it will be used for both work and personal purposes as intended. Gain control and flexibility. Both companies and their employees benefit when management of business communica on services and devices offers more control and flexibility. Businesses gain control over costs, policies, security, and vendor rela onships as well as the flexibility to provide services in a way that drives produc vity for different groups of employees. Employees gain control over their personal phone number and private informa on, along with the flexibility to choose their preferred device and use one smartphone for their work and personal lives. A so ware-based pla orm designed specifically for use with mobile phones makes it possible for a single vendor to provide all of the services and devices a company needs for all loca ons. It can also help companies control mobile communica on costs by making them more predictable. 6

7 Opt for 'BYON', not BYOD. Instead of turning to a BYOD policy to manage mobile phone costs and increase produc vity, companies can opt for BYON, or Bring Your Own Number. With this new approach, businesses provide a monthly device allowance to employees, who have the flexibility to choose their preferred model from a company catalog and get the added benefit of using their exis ng personal number as the second number on a company-supplied phone. With BYON, companies no longer need to support and secure a wide array of mobile devices, opera ng systems, and networks, plus they recapture their purchasing power. The ability to set up a simple 12- month mobile phone rental agreement eliminates the concerns some CFOs have about owning and managing these devices. A business communica ons services built on a BYON policy also lowers the security risks inherent in placing business informa on on a personal phone. Companies can be er protect their informa on while maintaining employee privacy because BYON involves keeping the personal number and personal informa on completely separate from the business line. Choose a system that's easy to use. The best business mobile solu ons are not only easy to manage, but also easy for companies and employees to use. For companies, that calls for reducing administra ve burdens associated with provisioning, billing, and reimbursements. For employees, it means the ability to easily manage business and personal communica ons on one device; a na ve dialing experience; and clear, consistent call quality. 7

8 An effec ve so ware-based pla orm makes online administra on and phone selec on possible with just a few clicks and lets employees make calls via their business and personal numbers without opening apps or toggling to switch between the two. This ease is important: Though apps are available to allow calls from two numbers on one phone, users report dissa sfac on with the need to download apps or toggle between business and personal numbers to make calls. At many companies, employees stop using these apps a er a month or two, rever ng to dialing directly from a single number. Get more value from business call data. Choosing a system that automa cally integrates business call data with enterprise produc vity tools lets companies gain powerful insights from sales communica ons. For example, if data and texts between sales representa ves and their clients or prospects are automa cally captured and loaded into a CRM system, sales representa ves save me on data entry, and sales managers gain accurate and comprehensive ac vity and produc vity reports. A variety of communica on tools are available to integrate sales call data, but they work only with desk phones. However, both inside and field sales representa ves also use mobile phones. In addi on, these communica on tools o en work for outbound communica on only and provide a company caller ID rather than one for the individual salesperson. In contrast, newer systems can record and transcribe client voice calls and messages, making it possible for them to be searched and analyzed. Sales and customer service leaders can learn which representa ves are most produc ve and understand which messages are most effec ve or ineffec ve. With this business intelligence, they can develop data-driven strategies to increase sales produc vity. 8

9 CONCLUSION The mobility and demands of the modern workplace calls for companies to rethink how they configure and manage business communica on services. A mobile makeover that remixes products and prac ces to keep what works and eliminate what doesn't can help companies streamline management and reduce costs while offering employees the tools they want and need to both separate work and private life and increase produc vity. The result is greater sa sfac on with business communica ons services by companies and employees alike. MAST MOBILE: ONE PHONE, NO TRADEOFFS Mast Mobile provides a unified communica ons pla orm that allows companies to manage mobile services and costs with an intui ve online portal and employees to have a single mobile phone for work and personal use. Designed for the modern workplace, Mast Mobile's radically simpler solu on to providing business communica on services promotes workforce engagement and produc vity. The mobile communication platform for the modern workplace. 9

10 Ten Reasons to Choose Mast Mobile 1. No need for desk phones. Mast Mobile's so ware-based communica ons system is designed for the modern workplace, enabling companies to go fully mobile and eliminate desk phones, infrastructure, and costs. 2. One phone, two numbers. Mast Mobile makes it possible to for employees to manage both their business and personal iden es on one device with two numbers. So ware automa cally dis nguishes between business and personal calls, so employees can carry only one phone while keeping business and personal life separate, secure, and private. 3. Integra on with produc vity tools. Mast Mobile automa cally integrates call data with enterprise produc vity tools, beginning with Salesforce. The ability to enter call informa on in real me, transcribe calls, and create records leverages business intelligence and helps sales teams become more efficient and effec ve. 4. Give companies more control and flexibility. Mast Mobile puts companies in control of business informa on, service policies, and communica on costs. Data security is built into the Mast Mobile pla orm. A fixed annual fee and the flexibility to set the appropriate level of voice and data services for each employee add predictability to company communica on costs. 5. Easy to operate and manage. An online portal lets company administrators assign a phone number and service to new or transferred employees with just a few clicks. Automated split billing ensures correct payment for business and personal phone line use. 6. One vendor rela onship. Mast Mobile can manage all of a company's mobile communica on needs, ac ng as a one-stop carrier, so ware pla orm, and device manager. PBX and data security func onality is built into the Mast Mobile pla orm. 7. Give employees more control and flexibility. With Mast Mobile, companies can offer employees the choices they value. Employees select the phone they prefer to use and control private informa on on their personal number. They have the flexibility to turn off one phone line while keeping the other ac ve and to record different voice mail gree ngs for each line. If employees leave the company, they can keep their personal number and phone. 8. Easy to use. Mast Mobile offers users a na ve calling experience, with the clarity and consistency of cellular service and no apps to download or extra steps required to make work and personal calls from one phone. 9. Lower costs. Mast Mobile's end-to-end solu on helps companies reduce total communica ons costs by as much as 40 percent. With free unlimited calls and texts on their personal numbers, employees pay less for mobile services each month than they do currently. 10. Greater sa sfac on. Mast Mobile provides the elements of business communica ons systems that work for companies and employees and eliminates those that don't. See how Mast Mobile can remake business communica on services. For a free demonstra on, contact Mast Mobile today. 10

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