If you’re not sure whether it’s time to modernize your communications solutions—either as part of broader digital transformation efforts or separately—be assured that it is indeed time.
Many disruptor companies have already migrated from the legacy technologies that were slowing them down and have sprinted onward leveraging the transformational power of the cloud. Enterprises in all industries and regions are adopting private cloud with aspirations to reduce costs, improve operational efficiencies, and gain rapid access to advanced functionality that empower the agility and innovation needed today and going forward. However, not just any cloud solution or provider will do.
The right cloud environment, platform and provider are essential to make these aspirations a reality. There are a number of considerations to ensure that your cloud communications deployment has a solid foundation for success from day one and remains reliable going forward.
Here are some of the most important aspects to consider as you narrow your options:
Partner with an expert. You should question prospective vendor credentials and the ability they have to support the complex capabilities and customization that large end-user organizations require. You should also consider their merits to serve as your trusted advisor. Seek a partner with deep expertise, a technology developer and services partner, and an understanding of your current environment and your goals.
Ensure you’re supported. A well-rounded lifecycle services portfolio is crucial to ensure the ease and speed of installation. Integration services can optimize fit and maximum business value. User adoption and training programs drive utilization, productivity and ROI. Management services relieve your in-house support staff to focus on more strategic tasks. Overall, an experienced provider is more capable of aligning with and meeting your expectations for mission-critical technology.
Readily customize your deployment. Satisfy specific needs for any location, industry or job function, and create differentiators against your competition. Most enterprises have personalized their communications solutions to match their needs or will discover that customization is vital to their digital transformation efforts. Leverage available capabilities, including data residence control; compliance and security certifications; out of box and custom integrations with other communications tools and business platforms to address your organization’s unique requirements today and in the future.
Future-proof your investments. Always remain current with consistent updates pushed from the cloud. Benefit from elastic scalability to address the cycles of growth, downsizing, and seasonality that occur within normal business operations. Ensure APIs are available for future integrations as you implement new technology. Demand support for hybrid configurations that enable migration to the cloud at your pace.
Key Takeaway
In the end, it comes down to identifying the best solution for your organization, considering not just financials but the full solution, architecture, and service package that is delivered. Cloud is the best path forward for mission-critical workloads, but not just any cloud. The pitfalls of moving to the cloud while not adequately prepared are many. The right private cloud environment and partner support are essential to balance the potential complexities of operations, security and compliance against ease of use, workflow integration and flexibility to address future change.
Challenge the status quo of plain, vanilla one-size-fits-all solutions. It’s your investment, your cloud. Do not compromise. Carefully evaluate your options and plan ahead to make the best choice for your business transformation and to reap the maximum benefits. If you’re ready for the migration, or even if you’re not there yet, start the conversation with a trusted vendor today
Want to go deeper? Click here to download the Frost & Sullivan whitepaper on the business value a private cloud deployment and implementation can bring to your enterprise.
