On-boarding the Cloud in Your Workforce

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1 On-boarding the in Your Workforce oip As in any field, not all providers are equal and some are cashing in on a booming market with little relevant experience. Here s our guide to help you navigate the best supplier for your business.

2 in Your Workforce in Your Workforce is a scalable, flexible set of pooled resources that are accessed via the Net. It is available on-demand and consumed on a utility basis. has effectively transformed business over the past 10 years, not just in terms of the technology we utilise, but on a fundamental level it has changed the way we do business. Achieve the Five Holy Grails of Business with the technology represents a radical shift in the traditional IT model, but like most game-changing developments, it s a simple idea that makes so much sense the business community will soon wonder how it managed without it. Adopting the : Revolutionise the Way You Do Business is not about blue-sky thinking. As the technology matures, adoption is no longer about differentiation or innovation; it s a matter of survival. 2

3 Telephony Solutions Available to Your Business in Your Workforce The isn t a one-size-fits-all solution. Whether you value scalability, security or flexibility for your business, choosing the right package is important for swift integration and business-critical results. Hosted Voice over Internet Protocol () is one of the most significant technological changes to affect the business communications market in the last 20 years. A means of carrying voice and data across digital IP (internet) networks, is not all that different to the way in which traditional telephony works. However, it does offer a number of benefits in terms of cost, ease of use and scalability. Hosted provides a scalable, feature rich system for voice, chat, video and presence, all hosted in the. Agents are able to leverage soft phones, mobiles or traditional handsets to access a range of features. This includes: Inbound and Outbound Routing Call Queuing CTI IVR Auto Attendant Web Chat SMS Web Chat Call Recording Screen Recording Speech Analytics CRM Integration Workforce Optimisation (WFO) Management Reporting and Analytics Administrative Tools Managing the balance between cost and service is a business-critical consideration and the most noticeable advantage of cloud-based telephony is its cost-effectiveness. Most obviously, you only pay for the extensions being used, eliminate local and long distance contracts, and can reduce the number of staff needed onsite. 3

4 Telephony Solutions Available to Your Business in Your Workforce The virtualisation of the workforce is an undeniable trend across the UK. In some industry sectors, such as public IT, the government is supporting the virtualisation of traditional transactional services. For such services, organisations must have the technical flexibility to build, operate, improve and measure these systems on an ongoing basis. Hosted offers the technological infrastructure and resources to ensure your business can be digitally responsive. You will have access to the tools which support development, maintenance and application integration. -based resources support an agile business workforce, giving your business speed to react to changing demand. Features from a vendor, such as IP Solutions, include: Hosted Exchange Hosted Servers Hosted Backup and Disaster Recovery Hosted Antivirus and Security Web Filtering and Spam Management Internet Archiving and Business Continuity 4

5 Taking Customer Care to the Next Level in Your Workforce Your Customers By moving to an integrated, cloud-based solution you will be able to lower your costs as well as improve your customer service offering. Easy-access to support information means resolutions in your Customer Centre will increase, knowledge can be shared across departments and you have access to measure how things are performing as it happens. As the Customer Beyond providing the resources for your service, your selected vendor also offers personalised support. Service offerings from vendors, such as IP Solutions, include: Dedicated Account Management Regular Strategy Reviews Proactive Monitoring and Maintenance Asset Tagging A Streamlined Client Access Portal 5

6 Factors to Consider When Choosing a Vendor in Your Workforce Experience and Credentials With multiple vendors offering similar-sounding services, it can be difficult for organisations to select the most reputable provider. Find a vendor with substantial experience of providing hosted services. Don t just take their word for it though; look for third party endorsement in the form of case studies, testimonials and industry awards. IP Solutions is one of very few businesses that made their name in hosted technology before it became mainstream. Having grown and developed as the technology has evolved, we re now able to offer a wide range of awardwinning communications solutions to high profile UK businesses. We have more experience and have successfully completed more implementations than any other independent provider, making us UK leaders. Security Arrangements Any concerns you may have about storing and accessing your data via the internet should be thoroughly addressed by your provider. In fact, reputable vendors will have strict privacy policies and sophisticated security measures in place, and will therefore be able to offer higher standards of security than you could reasonably maintain in-house. Technology research firm Gartner recently identified seven security issues prospective customers should investigate when considering a cloud vendor s services. These are as follows: 1. Privileged user access: Enquire about who has access to data and about the hiring and management of such administrators. 2. Regulatory compliance: Make sure a vendor is willing to undergo external audits and/or security certifications. 3. Data location: Ask if a provider allows for any control over the location of data. 4. Data segregation: Make sure that encryption is available at all stages and that any encryption schemes used were designed and tested by experienced professionals. 5. Recovery: Find out what will happen to data in the event of a disaster. Does your vendor offer complete restorations, and if so, how long will this take? 6. Investigative support: Enquire whether a vendor has the ability to investigate any inappropriate or illegal activity. 7. Long-term viability: Ask what will happen to data if the company goes out of business. How and in what format will data be returned? 6

7 Factors to Consider When Choosing a Vendor in Your Workforce Ease of Integration The services you subscribe to should integrate easily with your existing networks and infrastructure, so that your new services become a seamless extension of those already provided by your in-house IT department. This is fairly straightforward because cloud solutions are by their very nature available to anyone, at any time, from any location. In fact it s easier to make cloud-based services available to all offices, devices and remote workers than non-cloud, onsite solutions. services also work over Internet Protocol (IP), which is regarded as one of the easiest protocols to integrate with. An IP device such as hosted (internet telephony) is very simple to integrate with another IP device such as a computer or server. On the other hand, legacy technology like analogue telephony is difficult to integrate into business IT systems. Ensuring that all your communications solutions are IP-based will greatly simplify integration. 7

8 Looking to the Future in Your Workforce With more scope for integration, virtually instantaneous implementations and greatly reduced costs, cloud IT and telecoms solutions make the perfect choice for growing organisations. The development of cloud services has opened up a range of new opportunities, and now businesses of all sizes can benefit from the latest value-adding technology. Choosing the right provider to deliver your cloud services is key. Given the relative newness of the industry, many vendors lack the experience and credentials you would expect of such an important supplier. With a background in hosted technology, IP Solutions is one of very few who can boast several years worth of successful implementations. 8

9 About IP Solutions IP Solutions, one of the UK s leading independent communication services providers, has over 10 years of experience providing communication solutions for businesses of all types. Using their extensive market knowledge and analytical tools, they provide costeffective solutions for businesses that are looking to maximise the benefits of Unified Communications. For more information and advice about the latest cloud solutions visit 9