Delivering Business- Critical Communication and ...
Transcript of Delivering Business- Critical Communication and ...
July 2019
Delivering Business-Critical Communication and Collaboration in Today’s Modern WorkplaceAs user requirements evolve, IT departments need to navigate several barriers to successfully deliver value to their organizations
OVUM: RESEARCH AND THOUGHT LEADERSHIP02
Contents
MILA D’ANTONIOPrinciple Analyst,
Customer Engagement
TIM BANTINGPrincipal Analyst,
Workspace Services (Collaboration)
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 03In brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 03
Ovum view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 03
Key messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 03
Two-thirds of global CIOs view UCC as business critical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 04
Nomadic, tech-savvy workforces are reshaping the workplace . . . . . . . . . . 08
Organizational barriers and unmet technology needs will halt advancement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 09
A well-articulated digital strategy is fundamental to user adoption . . . . . 12
UCC spending is set to increase across sectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Enterprises expect rapid ROI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
A lack of platform consolidation represents significant opportunities . . . . 17
Artificial intelligence is a key future requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Ten imperatives for effective UCC adoption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
DELIVERING BUSINESS-CRITICAL COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION IN TODAY’S MODERN WORKPLACE 03
SummaryIN BRIEF
Two-thirds of global chief information officers (CIOs) view unified communications and collaboration (UCC) as critical to the success of their business. In May 2019 Ovum, in partnership with GoTo by LogMeIn, interviewed 2,357 managers from medium and large companies in the US, the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Australia, and Brazil across multiple sectors to understand the business needs behind critical initiatives and the challenges they face with UCC solutions.
UCC is also at a tipping point of change. Workforces demand greater flexibility in their unique working styles as customer centricity becomes a strategic focus. Organizations are challenging the value of traditional tools that deliver basic conferencing for remote workers and are moving to more valuable and integrated software suites with enhanced collaborative capabilities. This shift combines multiple forms of communication from traditional PSTN calling and instant messaging to cloud-based voice, online meetings, and business chat.
OVUM VIEW
CIOs are right to consider UCC business critical, but they must also recognize the opportunity to take a close look at what they are paying for and providing to the enterprise. UCC in the workplace needs to transform to reflect changing business needs. Organizations today can still provide traditional features (such as voice, video, and conferencing) but can provide these in combination with innovative functionality such as artificial intelligence (AI) and software or hardware integrations. Providing an integrated cohesive solution will enable frictionless user experiences and empower teams to be more productive.
Cloud-based UCC suites typically provide an easier path to digital transformation compared to their premised-based alternatives; however, that road has not been without its challenges. Ovum’s research reveals that
while enterprises recognize the need to evolve their organizations to meet the needs of digital natives, increase operational efficiencies, and reduce costs, several barriers inhibit progress. Agile businesses that can adapt to change quickly and effectively will emerge as the digital leaders in this rapidly changing environment.
KEY MESSAGES
Two-thirds of global CIOs view UCC as mission critical.
Nomadic, tech-savvy workforces are reshaping the workplace.
Organizational barriers and unmet technology needs will halt advancement.
A well-articulated digital strategy is fundamental to user adoption.
UCC spending is set to increase across sectors.
Enterprises expect a rapid return on investment (ROI).
A lack of platform consolidation represents significant opportunities.
Artificial Intelligence is a key future requirement.
OVUM: RESEARCH AND THOUGHT LEADERSHIP04
Two-thirds of global CIOs view UCC as business criticalIn today’s economy, enterprises are performing a high-wire balancing act. They are tasked with increasing operational efficiencies and reducing overall costs while improving connectivity and digital enablement to enhance the user experience. Any organization looking to balance this constantly changing business environment needs an IT department capable of facing the challenges of continuous development, deployment, and integration.
The convergence of unified communications and employee collaboration is changing the UCC conversation from enabling a single feature (e.g., basic meetings with remote workers) to providing more valuable capabilities that enable workforces to communicate and collaborate from a single platform.
Indeed, this survey shows two-thirds of global CIOs consider communications and collaboration tools critical to the overall success of their business (see Figure 1).
Ovum’s research reveals that the top three strategic priorities IT is tasked with are driving operational efficiencies, improving employee productivity and collaboration, and increasing customer satisfaction, all while reducing costs (see Figure 2). Fourteen percent ranked “improving operational efficiency” as their top expected outcome of communications and collaboration; 11% said “improving employee productivity” is their top expected outcome; 12% said “increase customer satisfaction;” and 11% cited “reducing costs.” Indeed, effective and efficient collaboration between employees, partners, suppliers, and customers as well as ubiquitous access to team members and information are key business benefits of a consolidated UCC solution.
FIGURE 1: GLOBAL CIOS BELIEVE UCC IS CRITICAL TO THE SUCCESS OF THEIR BUSINESS
SOURCE: OVUM
How critical are communications and collaboration tools to the overall success of your business?
0% 10% 20% 30%Percentage of respondents
40% 50% 60% 70%
Critical 66%
Important but not critical 28%
Useful but not important 5%
Not relevant � 0%
N=128
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Of all the necessary functional requirements within communications and collaboration, having the ability to integrate with software and hardware is rapidly becoming a key capability for effective enterprise collaboration and competitive differentiation. Of the respondents in this survey, 71% said they have capabilities in place to integrate with current software, but 23% still need integration capabilities (see Figure 3).
In an age where communication between enterprise systems is becoming more complex, data sources are increasing, and employees demand digital dexterity, enterprise systems must respond and exchange information constantly throughout the day and night for persistent, holistic, and rapid insights.
To meet the expectations of the modern workforce, CIOs must respond swiftly in choosing tools that can integrate data from a variety of sources – from third-party to operational data – synthesize and contextualize the data, and then enable seamless collaboration along the workflow.
FIGURE 2: ENTERPRISES LOOK TO UCC TO BALANCE DRIVING OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES AND REDUCING COSTS WHILE IMPROVING THE USER EXPERIENCE AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
SOURCE: OVUM
What are the most important business outcomes you’re trying to accomplish through communication and collaboration tools?
0% 10% 20% 30%Percentage of respondents
40%
Improving operational efficiency
Improving employee productivity and collaboration
14% 14% 11%
11%
11%
10% 8% 8%
11%10%
11% 12%
12% 9% 12%Increasing customer or client satisfaction
Reducing costs
Workspace flexibility
N=1,537 Rank 1 Rank 2 Rank 3
OVUM: RESEARCH AND THOUGHT LEADERSHIP06
FIGURE 3: THE MOST COMMONLY USED AND FUTURE FUNCTIONALITY REQUIREMENTS OF A UCC SOLUTION
SOURCE: OVUM
Show all the capabilities your organization currently needs or uses
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%Percentage of respondents
100%
File storage
Conferencing and meeting capabilities
84%
77% 17%
17%
6%
6%
11%
11%
12%
12%
10%
22%
22%
67%
67%
65%
15%
19%
21%
30%
23%71%
3%13%
Integrations with current software or hardware tools
Business chat / persistent chat capabilities
Enterprise telephony (PSTN)
Conferencing & meeting capabilities with telephony
Screen sharing
Single point of administration / management
Predominantly cloud-based solutions
Predominantly premesis-based solutions
Specific certification standards (e.g.: HIPAA)
Predominantly an externally managed service
21%
21%
68%
68%
25%
60% 28%
59%
52%
44% 26%
27%
N=2,357 Using Need No requirement
To meet the expectations of the modern workforce, CIOs must respond swiftly in
choosing tools that can integrate data from a variety of sources
OVUM: RESEARCH AND THOUGHT LEADERSHIP08
Nomadic, tech-savvy workforces are reshaping the workplaceToday’s businesses now recognize that the way people work may vary. Modern UCC solutions empower people to work in the ways they want and from the locations that suit them best. Such solutions enable effective collaboration, make it easier for teams to work together on projects, and reduce human latency (i.e., the time it takes to make decisions).
As modern workplaces evolve, businesses are looking for solutions that meet the expectations of those familiar with digital technology (“digital natives”) to provide them with new and flexible ways of working. In Ovum’s survey, 49% of respondents indicated they are seeking collaborative solutions with the goal of accommodating
digital natives (see Figure 4). In addition, 44% are providing remote access and 42% are encouraging flexible work options to help in the hiring and retention of digital talent.
These types of wide-scale changes spurred by the demands of the modern workforce require enterprises to lay a solid digital strategy and technology foundation. To enable seamless connectivity, transparency, and agility, enterprises must integrate their software suites or platforms. Only then will organizations gain the real-time extraction and visualization of insights that will give them the nimbleness to respond proactively along the employee value chain.
FIGURE 4: ORGANIZATIONS ARE REACTING TO ACCOMMODATE THE NEEDS OF TODAY’S DIGITAL NATIVES
SOURCE: OVUM
What steps are you taking in anticipation of the growing digital-native workforce?
N=2,192
49%Growing collaborative
software
44%Providing remote work
access
43%Aiming to hire and retain digital talent
42%Encouraging remote and flex work options
41%Seeking to adopt a best-in-class user
experience
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Organizational barriers and unmet technology needs will halt advancementDespite the growing need for UCC, employees’ expectations, and expected positive business outcomes, enterprises still face several barriers that may hamper efforts and stall progress.
Respondents to Ovum’s survey stated that lack of budget, technology immaturity, multivendor deals, the need for cloud-based solutions, and a unilateral buying approach to technology contribute to slow adoption and subsequent innovation.
Finding funds to invest in UCC is one of the biggest challenges for IT leaders. In this survey, 15% of respondents said “lack of budget” is their top barrier
to advancement (see Figure 5). As previously stated, IT regularly evaluates which investments will provide the best returns in the short as well as medium term, with 55% saying they determine the need and make the final recommendation (see Figure 6). An advisory and democratized approach that involves conversations centered on long-term corporate strategy, business requirements, and user needs is the ideal option. However, only a combined 42% currently use those approaches when procuring communications and collaboration technologies. Democratized approaches allow technology investments to be utilized as a strategic asset to the business and not a mere capital or operational expense.
Fig 5
FIGURE 5: LACK OF BUDGET IS THE MOST COMMON BUSINESS BARRIER THAT PREVENTS SUCCESSFUL UCC OUTCOMES
SOURCE: OVUM
What are your organization’s biggest barriers to achieving successful outcomes with your current communicaitons and collaborations tools?
0% 10% 20% 30%Percentage of respondents
40%
Lack of budget
Waiting for technology to mature
15%
13% 11%
11%
11%
11%
12%
9%
10%
12%
10%
10%
11%
Lack of in-house skills
Seperate platforms for voice and voicemail, email, instant messaging
Employee resistance to adoption
11%
11%
N=2,357 Rank 1 Rank 2 Rank 3
OVUM: RESEARCH AND THOUGHT LEADERSHIP10
A democratized approach gains increasing importance given the multivendor complexity inherent in many enterprises today. According to the survey results, 61% of respondents reported having one to three vendors managing their communications and collaboration (see Figure 7), whereas 31% have four to six vendors, and 5% manage seven to 10 vendors. Multivendor solutions introduce complexity of operations. Simplifying requires integrating orchestration, automation, and response.
Not surprisingly, the high cost of managing the complexity of multivendor relationships topped the list of negative outcomes; 16% ranked it first (see Figure 8). Of the respondents, 13% put “low integration between technology systems” first, making it the second-highest scorer, and 11% cited “the complexity in handling multiple vendors and contracts” as their primary negative outcome.
FIGURE 6: THE DEMOCRATIZATION OF IT AND AN ADVISORY APPROACH ARE GAINING PACE IN UCC PROCUREMENT
SOURCE: OVUM
What is IT’s approach when procuring communications and collaboration technologies?
0% 10% 20% 30%Percentage of respondents
40% 50% 60%
Our IT department determines the need and makes the final recommendation (unilateral approach)
We evaluate the solution and provide research on investment decisions to departments and business units (advisory approach)
Our IT department discusses and suggests various options as part of a team (democratized appraoch)
55%
24%
18%
We allow department to research and decide on their own solutions to suit their needs (decentralized approach) � 3%
N=2,357
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FIGURE 7: MULTIVENDOR DEPLOYMENTS CREATE OPERATIONAL COMPLEXITY
SOURCE: OVUM
How many different vendors / solutions do you have currently deployed that handle your communications and collaboration?
N=820
FIGURE 8: THE HIGH COST OF TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS IS THE TOP NEGATIVE OUTCOME OF HAVING MULTIPLE VENDORS AND TOOLS
SOURCE: OVUM
Please indicate the top three negative outcomes from having multiple vendors and tools
0% 10% 20% 30%Percentage of respondents
40%
High cost of technology systems
Low integration between technology systems
16%
13% 11% 11%
11%
13% 12%
12%
9% 7% 7%
11%
10%11%
Managing multiple vendors and contracts
Use of multiple systems across operational processes
Disparate architecture
10%
N=820 Rank 1 Rank 2 Rank 3
61%
1-3
31%
4-6
5%
7-10
3%
>10
OVUM: RESEARCH AND THOUGHT LEADERSHIP12
A well-articulated digital strategy is fundamental to user adoptionIn this fast-paced digital revolution, enterprises face numerous obstacles to meeting the rising expectations of digitally enabled employees while maintaining costs and increasing operational efficiencies. Advancement depends on further investments, reimagined business models, mobile prioritization, a deeper understanding of and reliance on data as an enterprise currency, and tighter collaboration across organizations.
Digital adoption should be viewed instead as an incremental journey, one which looks very different from business to business. Therefore, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. That is why it is imperative to map out clear
objectives – not just the beginning and end goal but also structuring the people and teams responsible for carrying out the plans to achieve them.
Establishing a digital strategy and articulating it clearly is at the heart of any truly digital-oriented organization. A total of 36% of respondents in this survey cited it as their first or second reason behind successful user adoption (see Figure 9). It also remains a priority from the IT manager to the CIO, with 16% of IT managers citing it as their top lesson learned and 21% of CIOs reporting the same. Additionally, 19% cited it as the top lesson learned from their communications and collaboration implementation (see Figure 10).
FIGURE 9: HAVING A CLEARLY ARTICULATED DIGITAL STRATEGY IS THE PRIMARY REASON FOR SUCCESSFUL USER ADOPTION OF COMMUNICATIONS AND COLLABORATION TOOLS
SOURCE: OVUM
What has been the primary reason behind the successful user adoption of communications and collaboration tools?
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%Percentage of respondents
60%
A clearly articulated digital transformation strategy
The consolidation of technologies / platform
18% 18%
17% 17%
17%
19%
13%
13%
13%
13%
10% 10%
16%
15%
15%
15%
A move towards supporting flexible ways of working
Ongoing training
Familiarity with “consumer-like” technologies
C-suite buy-in and leadership
A preference for consolidated UCC solution
14%
14%
11%
11% 11%
N=2,357 Rank 1 Rank 2 Rank 3
DELIVERING BUSINESS-CRITICAL COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION IN TODAY’S MODERN WORKPLACE 13
Having a clear digital strategy guarantees that the customers and employees remain at the center of all significant decisions. Nevertheless, the most difficult task in the planning process is to evaluate the methods
required to develop the optimal digital transformation plan. Any strategy or plan should be able to provide a clear direction to all pertinent members of an organization.
FIGURE 10: FROM IT MANAGER TO CIO, HAVING A DIGITAL STRATEGY EMERGES AS A TOP LESSON LEARNED; HOWEVER, IT MANAGERS REQUIRE MORE BUY-IN FROM EXECUTIVES AND END USERS
SOURCE: OVUM
What are the top three lessons learned from your consolidation initiative?
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%Percentage of respondents
50%
Develop a digital strategy
Ensure the needs of the business align with technology purchases
19%
10%
10%
10%
12%
12%
12%
12%
7% 7%
9%
9% 9%
9%
9%
11%
11%
11%
11%
11%
13%
13% 13%
13%
13%
13%
Offer ongoing training
Consider how technology will scale
Support ongoing communications
Create cross-functional planning teams
Survey user requirements and needs
Get buy-in from executive team
Get buy-in from key users
10%
N=2,245 Rank 1 Rank 2 Rank 3
OVUM: RESEARCH AND THOUGHT LEADERSHIP14
UCC spending is set to increase across sectorsAs enterprises advance their digital efforts in the pursuit of holistic transparency and greater productivity, collaborative engagement, increased automation, and virtual training prevail. As part of this modern workplace evolution, businesses are changing their investment priorities accordingly with many respondents indicating they plan to increase UCC spending next year and grow their collaboration and communications deployments.
In fact, 26% said they plan to increase UCC spending by 5%, 25% said they intend to increase it by 6–10%, 15% said they plan to increase it by 11–20%, and 7% said they plan to increase it by an astounding 21–50% (see Figure 11). As more enterprises will be tasked with finding new ways to enhance effectiveness and improve customer engagement, adoption of unifying communications capabilities will begin to make sense for all industries.
FIGURE 11: INVESTMENTS FOR UCC DEPLOYMENTS ARE SET TO INCREASE IN 2020
SOURCE: OVUM
Are you planning to increase or decrease UCC spend next year?
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%Percentage of respondents
30%
Decrease >5% 2%
Decrease <5% 2%
Stay broadly flat
26%
25%
15%
7%
3%
20%
Increase <6%
Increase 6-10%
Increase 11-20%
Increase 21-50%
Increase >50%
N=2,357
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Furthermore, mid- to longer-term investments will be made in team collaboration, virtual training platforms, and intelligent digital assistants (see Figure 12), with 52% saying they plan to invest in a team collaboration platform over the next 18–24 months, 45% wanting to invest in a virtual training platform, another 45%
wanting to deploy AI-powered digital assistants, and 44% requiring video conferencing. (Note: many software suites and team collaboration platforms already include the integrated capabilities listed within this question: online training, conferencing, and support for AI-powered assistants.)
FIGURE 12: MOST ORGANIZATIONS ARE PLANNING TO INVEST IN TEAM COLLABORATION PLATFORMS IN THE LONG TERM
SOURCE: OVUM
What features / capabilities do you plan to invest in over the next 18-24 months?
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%Percentage of respondents
60%
Team collaboration platform
Virtual training platform
52%
45%
45%
33%
31%
31%
AI-powered intelligent digital assistants
Video conferencing
Enterprise social networking services
Speech recognition
Enterprise telephony
Transcription and translation services
44%
34%
N=2,357
OVUM: RESEARCH AND THOUGHT LEADERSHIP16
Enterprises expect rapid ROI
Improving operational efficiency continues to serve as a strategic focus for many companies, but executives want to be clear on what they are getting for their budget. Reducing operational expenditure remains critical as enterprises are tasked to lower costs. However, demands to increase employee and customer satisfaction continue to rise. This places inordinate pressures on IT, because executives look to it to create this symbiotic relationship and increase returns on investments. Consequently, IT faces greater pressure to prove ROI, and new initiatives will increasingly need a business case for approval. This will require IT to align more closely to key functional
areas across the organization to ensure budgetary approval and ensure the needs of the business units align with IT’s investment plans.
This research reveals that IT is likely to be under tight scrutiny. Of those surveyed, 21% said they expect a return in four to six months (see Figure 13), and 36% indicated they want to see ROI in seven months to a year. IT departments, therefore, need to ensure that they take into consideration such things as the ability to integrate with existing systems and technology before making a UCC decision.
FIGURE 13: ENTERPRISES EXPECT SHORTENED TIME FRAMES TO ACHIEVE ROI
SOURCE: OVUM
When do you expect to realize a positive return on investment (ROI)?
N=2,357
4% 21% 36% 25%
0-3 months 4-6 months 7-12 months Over a year
9%We don’t specifically measure ROI
6%Unkown?
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A lack of platform consolidation represents significant opportunitiesUnified communications is a critical component of digital transformation as enterprises rethink how they run their businesses. A platform for communications is instrumental in determining how employees, processes, and technologies will enable their organization’s future. In fact, 65% said their communications and collaboration technologies are already integrated into a single suite (see Figure 14). However, 35% have yet to consolidate.
As this research reveals, enterprises that have experienced success with their communications deployments have done so because they have clear digital strategies, unified communications platforms, and a flexible workforce.
When high-growth companies have several siloed applications, there are many business challenges that arise. Wasted employee productivity, lack of visibility, process inefficiencies, and employee and customer churn, to name a few. When IT no longer has to procure, install, and maintain multiple systems as well as the various integrations between them, a significant reduction in operational costs can be realized, while IT time can be spent improving business operations. Essentially, integrated suites can help transform businesses and take them to the next level of profitable growth.
FIGURE 14: SILOED TECHNOLOGIES REPRESENT 35% OF ENTERPRISES AND SIGNIFY OPPORTUNITIES
SOURCE: OVUM
Are your communications and collaboration technologies consolidated in a single suite?
N=2,357
Yes (65%)
No (35%)
OVUM: RESEARCH AND THOUGHT LEADERSHIP18
Artificial intelligence is a key future requirement
FIGURE 15: THE ADOPTION OF DIGITAL PERSONAL ASSISTANTS REPRESENTS THE KEY PLANNED AREA OF AI INVESTMENT
SOURCE: OVUM
If you are currently evaluating or using AI, which of the following specific AI capabilities will you consider incorporating in your communications and collaboration strategy?
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%Percentage of respondents
60%
Adopting personal digital assistants to help employees communicate and collaborate
Improving analytics capabilities for informed decision-making
59%
59%
54%Intelligent, automated transcription services
N=1,894
FIGURE 16: ENTERPRISES ARE LARGELY EVALUATING AI TECHNOLOGY, SIGNIFYING MARKET GROWTH
SOURCE: OVUM
Where is your organization in terms of artificial intelligence adoption today?
N=2,357
We are evaluating AI technology today and we have identified specific use cases (49%)
Our organization is using AI today (32%)
We have no current plans to evaluate AI (18%)
I don’t know (1%)
AI is changing the way companies structure their workflows, decision-making processes, and strategy planning. When coupled with analytics, AI is helping to forge intelligent enterprises enabled with real-time decisioning that allows employees to respond proactively to internal and external events.
As more enterprises realize the benefit of embedding AI into their communications and team collaboration activities, they will start to investigate vendors that offer unified platforms that build AI into the core and across functions.
The results of this survey signal a wave of pilots and full deployments of these platforms over the next year. The need to adopt such capabilities will become increasingly urgent, because enterprises will view AI as a critical element to help them remain competitive and relevant with customers. In this survey, 59% ranked investments in “personal digital assistants” and utilizing AI to improve decision-making as the top areas of AI investment, with 54% stating “intelligent, automated transcription services” as the third area where AI is likely to be incorporated in a communications and collaboration strategy (see Figure 15).
DELIVERING BUSINESS-CRITICAL COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION IN TODAY’S MODERN WORKPLACE 19
FIGURE 17: SMART CONTENT PRIORITIZATION AND AUTOMATIC RECOMMENDATIONS ARE THE TOP TWO WAYS ENTERPRISES EXPECT AI TO ASSIST THEM
SOURCE: OVUM
If you are currently evaluating or using AI, how do you expect AI can assist you?
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%Percentage of respondents
70%
Smarter content categorization and priorization (inbox, calendar, task list, etc.)
Automatic recommendations (next actions, suggeted content, etc.)
24% 21%
21%
21%
22%
22% 22%
19%
19%
19%
19%
19%
Automated team resourcing (recommended people, resources, content, etc.)
Contextual resource allocation (e.g.: physical / virtual meeting rooms)
Contextual awareness (upcoming meetings, pending tasks, etc.)
16%
16% 18%
N=1,894 Rank 1 Rank 2 Rank 3
Despite intentions, many enterprises remain in the evaluation stage today, with a promising 49% that said they are evaluating AI and identifying use cases (see Figure 16). Although 32% said they are already using AI, 18% said they plan to use it. Of those enterprises that are currently using or evaluating AI, smarter content prioritization, automatic recommendations and automated team resourcing were cited as the foremost ways they expect AI to assist their organizations (see Figure 17). Consequently, such AI-assisted capabilities are likely to benefit is areas
such as employee and team productivity, reduced human latency (i.e. the time it takes to make a decision), and improvements to project management.
Enterprises that invest in AI will advance their digital journeys. Those that wait run the risk of losing their competitive edge to more progressive companies. It is not too late for leaders that are further behind in their AI journeys to start now in order to increase their chances of remaining competitive.
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Conclusion
TEN IMPERATIVES FOR EFFECTIVE UCC ADOPTION
This research reveals that enterprise engagement of the future will broaden its reach beyond the boundaries of today’s workplace. Remote workers will collaborate with ease with colleagues in different locations through collaborative video and telepresence. Front- and back-office employees will be able to visualize integrated operational and customer data along the same workstreams. Intelligent virtual assistants will adopt mundane tasks such as scheduling and note-taking while serving up meeting insights that boost productivity.
Considering that future scenario is rapidly coming into view, enterprise expectations for unified communications and collaboration systems will grow and UCC deployments will increase. As more enterprises are tasked with finding new ways to enhance effectiveness and decrease operational costs, consolidating UCC capabilities will make sense for all industries.
01 DEVELOP A CLEARLY ARTICULATED DIGITAL STRATEGY
Clearly articulating your digital transformation strategy is critical to a successful and employee-centric approach. Any strategy or plan should be able to provide a clear direction to all members of an organization and should include not only how employees will be using the new communications and collaboration technologies but also how teams will be organized around them. It should identify key roles and contributors as well as champions within various pockets of the organization.
02 ENSURE THE NEEDS OF THE BUSINESS ALIGN WITH TECHNOLOGY PURCHASES
Strategic IT must be hyperfocused on the overall goals of the business. Initiatives that do not achieve at least a reasonable level of alignment should be deprioritized or moved on from altogether. Alignment involves establishing mutually supportive relationships between the goals, technologies, and processes of a project. Projects that exhibit good alignment should constantly be fine tuned to ensure that all their stages are mutually reinforcing.
IT professionals must judge the appropriate balance based on the complexity of the project, the culture of the organization, and the relationship with the vendor.
03 CONSIDER HOW TECHNOLOGY WILL SCALE (MOVE UCC TO THE CLOUD)
An on-premises approach to communications and collaboration requires an internal infrastructure that is typically hosted in an organization’s data center, and while it may benefit those companies that have stringent data protection and compliance restrictions, it inevitably takes longer than UCC-as-a-service does to receive upgrades, make changes, and increase capacity. Key benefits of UCC-as-a-service include the flexibility to add or remove users as needed, minimal upfront capital investment, and simplified administration.
04 SUPPORT PERSISTENT COMMUNICATIONS
In a rapidly changing world, information sharing is critical. Retrieving knowledge and discussing it with colleagues around the world, regardless of department
DELIVERING BUSINESS-CRITICAL COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION IN TODAY’S MODERN WORKPLACE 21
or time zone, is becoming a critical need. Geographically dispersed teams, the increasing need to support a mobile workforce, and various dotted-line reporting structures can cause bottlenecks in workflow and impede the resolution of issues.
UCC can assist in easy knowledge sharing by providing workforces with multiple modes of persistent and flexible communications such as chat, virtual meetings, and video. Conversations are seamless, searchable, and persistent when team members work along the same platform. End-to-end platform engagement is particularly useful for customer support and incident management or for project work that spans multiple regions and teams.
05 CONSIDER REDUCING VENDOR COMPLEXITY
Much of today’s UCC environment is increasingly complex. Invariably, organizations end up procuring similar or duplicative capabilities from many suppliers. The resultant complexity adds cost in terms of business agility, expense, and risk. Rationalizing, consolidating, and streamlining your UCC vendors into a single suite or reducing the number of suppliers can help to mitigate these issues. It also helps to reduce the workload of the often-beleaguered IT department that inevitably ends up “firefighting” rather than looking at ways in which IT resources and expertise can become more strategic to the business.
06 CREATE CROSS-FUNCTIONAL DIGITAL MEDIATION TEAMS
Enterprises that seek growth and competitive differentiation are moving away from top-down hierarchical structures and are redesigning their organizations to be more team centric and collaborative, optimizing them for adaptability and learning in preparation for technological shifts.
Synthesis of such digital workplace transformation requires multidisciplinary teams with diverse digital skill sets and deep industry expertise and industry-specific design, training, monitoring, security, and implementation to meet the IT requirements of global organizations. Winning enterprises should adopt teams that incorporate product managers and sales, marketing, communications, and other delivery teams that understand AI. The team should consist of a passionate and forward-thinking group of professionals that will help colleagues understand the future of an intelligent workplace enabled by collaborative, transparent, and proactive engagement capabilities.
07 CONSIDER WHERE TO INVEST IN AI; IDENTIFY USE CASES
As this survey reveals, many enterprises have already enlisted AI to enable greater automation internally and are experiencing productivity gains without job loss because it is helping to free employees from menial tasks to concentrate on high-value items.
Given the juxtaposition of the expectations of AI to transform business and employee productivity and at the same time manage budgetary concerns, enterprises must carefully identify use cases for AI investments to more expeditiously gain buy-in. This means evaluating IT infrastructure, the business processes that can be impacted by AI, and – most importantly – where AI will be able to help enterprises impact the business the most. Therefore, find opportunities where AI can optimize projects quickly. Starting with quick wins to demonstrate the value of AI will help in the long run to secure budgets for larger AI deployments.
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08 RECOGNIZE THE NEEDS OF ALL EMPLOYEES
UCC solutions need to be easy to adopt for both end users and IT staff. If the technology is difficult, inconvenient to use, or fails to meet the needs of the business, staff will be reluctant to adopt it or, worse, will use their own solutions, which may compromise security, governance, and compliance. Consequently, providing a solution that allows employees to collaborate and communicate in the way that best suits their unique needs is paramount. IT departments should work with business leaders to identify and address the individual requirements of their employees to optimize their UCC investments and maximize employee productivity.
By defining the similar needs of certain types of workers, creating a specific profile for those employees, and applying the appropriate UCC services based on user profile, the organization can ensure a comprehensive and cost-effective solution. For example, “nomadic workers” may describe a user profile that includes sales teams and service engineers. They all have a need for mobile connectivity, access to files and online content (service manuals and customer relationship management information), and collaboration with both internal colleagues and external customers regardless of where they are. Consequently, nomadic workers are likely to require UCC services that they can use on a laptop, tablet, or smartphone as well as voice, file sharing, conferencing, and business chat features.
09 UNITE EMPLOYEES AROUND THE CUSTOMER
Uniting employees around the customer, with the front office, back office, and external networks all working seamlessly toward common goals, requires a framework for process orchestration and systems integration. It should enable employees to connect, communicate,
socialize, research, share, and cooperate. Operating along a centralized workstream will enable employees to receive persistent messaging, notifications, activity streams, and content-sharing functionalities regarding customer journeys and how and when to deliver next-best intent.
Tight integration allows employees to collaborate and to interact with individual customers with context and in real time as they move across the channels and the enterprise. Applying a connective tissue – or platform – will stop silos of engagement and end fragmented journey management. All teams and activities along a company’s value chain will be connected, allowing them to view and visualize the operational or customer journey from a single screen.
10 PROVIDE ONGOING TRAINING OPTIONS
Merely investing in UCC solutions is not always enough to drive digital transformation or business strategies. Although UCC solutions now focus on the end-user experience and ease of use, it should not be assumed that new tools are intuitive and do not require user training. However, effective user training does not necessarily require significant cost. End-user training is often available via online self-learning courses or scheduled virtual-instructor-led training with integrated tools to support online testing, whiteboard sharing, and recording.
To maximize their UCC investments, businesses should commit to structured training for their employees to ensure a return on the investment and to maximize the communication and collaboration capital of the company. This can, of course, utilize the very UCC platform the organization is looking to procure to deliver cost-effective online training.
AUTHORS
Mila D’Antonio Principal Analyst, Customer Engagement [email protected]
Tim Banting Principal Analyst, Workspace Services [email protected]
OVUM CONSULTING
Ovum is a market-leading data, research, and consulting business focused on helping digital service providers, technology companies, and enterprise decision-makers thrive in the connected digital economy.
Through our 150 analysts worldwide, we offer expert analysis and strategic insight across the IT, telecoms, and media industries.
We create business advantage for our customers by providing actionable insight to support business planning, product development, and go-to-market initiatives.
Our unique combination of authoritative data, market analysis, and vertical industry expertise is designed
to empower decision-making, helping our clients to profit from new technologies and capitalize on evolving business models.
Ovum is part of Informa Tech, a B2B information services business serving the technology, media, and telecoms sector. The Informa group is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
We hope that this analysis will help you make informed and imaginative business decisions. If you have further requirements, Ovum’s consulting team may be able to help your company identify future trends and opportunities, please contact us on [email protected].
GOTO BY LOGMEIN
GoTo by LogMeIn offers one of the industry’s most comprehensive portfolio of UCC solutions, including award-winning products like GoToMeeting and GoToWebinar. For more information visit www.GoTo.com
Appendix
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