Insights success The 10 Fastest Growing Unified Communications Solution Provider Companies

The way of business solutions

June 2016www.insightssuccess.com

Is Unied Communications Worth the Effort?

Dave Casey

Peak Up Time

The Power of Converged Solutions

Thomas Beck

Teo Technologies

Fastest GrowingUnied Communications

Solution ProviderCompanies

10The



10TheAssured Motion for

any Vehicle

David Bruemmer

5D Robotics

Didier Jaubert

CEO

Arkadin:Arkadin:

Editorʼs�DeskEditorʼs�DeskCollaboration�of�UC�with�Cloud�Collaboration�of�UC�with�Cloud�

Unified Communications

Impacting Business

Communications


Impacting Business

Communications

Chalk TalkChalk Talk

Need of an HourNeed of an HourSuccessful

Implementation

of Unified

Communications

Successful

Implementation

of Unified

Communications

FuturistaFuturistaUnified Communications

along with

BYOD Priority on

The Technology Roadmap


along with

BYOD Priority on


Industry EvolutionIndustry EvolutionUnified Communications

to Revolutionize the

Public Sector



Public Sector

LEADING PROVIDER OF UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS

SERVICES FOR THE DIGITAL WORKPLACE

LEADING PROVIDER OF UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS

SERVICES FOR THE DIGITAL WORKPLACE

he focal point of all enterprises today is integrating their real-time Tcommunication tools like, text messaging, video conferencing, voice messaging, and other mobility features in their products to leverage

the improvement in communication technology. The business communication has become faster and on the other hand, the business productivity is getting increased just because of Unified Communication.

Enterprises are practicing the usage of on-premises infrastructure for integrating business communication. Cloud-based Unified Communication and collaboration is getting popularity among the enterprises, because of its benefits like cost reduction, improved scalability, and enhanced efficiency.

According to the experts, steady growth of hosted products will be a benefit factor of Unified Communications market trends, which is expected to surpass USD 49 billion by 2023. It is eliminating the infrastructure cost and offers a centralized management system wherein services are provided by means of the cloud.

The flexibility and cost-effectiveness of Cloud Computing have been increasingly adopted by service providers. Enterprises with cloud-based UC applications are allowed to eliminate capital spending and adopt an operational cost model for which enterprises will have to pay on the basis of the required capacity.

Furthermore, the increase in cloud technology has come out making the enterprises being able to offer solutions at par with the on-site solutions. The urge for real-time communication has resulted in vendors emphasizing on providing Web RTC solutions, which are expected to give faster video streaming and group chats in client devices.

Additionally, the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) indicates the connection of personal devices including tablets, notebooks, PCs and smartphones to an organization’s vertical’s network. It is helping the employees to gain admission to the network through their own devices, providing a number of operational as well as financial benefits.

There are several chief drivers of Unified Communications, especially for developed economies, like improvements in communications bandwidth, rise of third-platform services, and increased need for collaboration. The noteworthy technological developments in the field of Unified Communications like VoIP, VoLTE and session initiation protocol have increased the customer experience by providing improvement in quality of service.

Editorial

Archana Ghule

Unied

Communications

Will Continue

To Rule

The Marketplace

[email protected]

Editor-in-Chief Pooja M. Bansal

Art & Design Director Rashmi Borkar

Picture Editor

Amol Kamble

Archana GhuleManaging Editor

Co-designer Alex Noel

Visualiser David King

Business Development Manager Mike Thomas,

Database Management Steve

Technology Consultant Vishal More

Circulation Manager Robert

Research Analyst Jennifer

Business Development Executive

John,

David, Peter,

Robort,

Ariana LawrenceSenior Editor

Co-Editors

Sonal Burghate

Sugandha Sharma

David Smith

Charlie Gupta

Mary D’Souza

Stephanie Andrews

,6

Insights Success Media and Technology LLC

555 Metro Place North, Suite 100,

Dublin, OH 43017,United States

Phone - (614)-602-1754, (302)-319-9947

Email: [email protected]

For Subscription: Visit www.insightssuccess.com

Corporate Ofces:

June, 2016

Art Editor

Mayur Khapekar

Insights Success Media and Technology Pvt. Ltd.

Ofce No. 513, 5th Floor, Rainbow Plaza, Shivar Chowk,

Pimple Saudagar, Pune , Maharashtra 411017

Phone - India: 020-69400110, 111, 112


For Subscription: Visit www.insightssuccess.in

Marketing Manager Chris

Nick Adams

Didier Jaubert CEO

Cover story

Cover story

Dave Casey

Regional Vice President

Peak Up Time

Is Unied CommunicationsWorth the Effort?Is Unied CommunicationsWorth the Effort?

Thomas Beck

Director of Marketing & Business

Development, Teo Technologies



C O N T E N

Unied Communications


Public Sector

Industry Evolution



Public Sector

Industry Evolution46

30

SuccessfulImplementationof UniedCommunications

Chalk TalkSuccessfulImplementationof UniedCommunications

Chalk Talk38

08

10

Collaborationof UC with Cloud

Editor’s DeskCollaborationof UC with Cloud

Editor’s Desk17


Impacting Business

Communications

Need of an HourUnied Communications

Impacting Business

Communications

Need of an Hour24

FuturistaFuturista42 Unied Communications

along with BYOD Priority On The TechnologyRoadmap

Unied Communications along with BYOD Priority On The TechnologyRoadmap

Premiere Global Services, Inc.

Theodore P. SchrafftCEO

SOFTEL Communications, Inc.

John Cognata

Co-founder & Business

Development Executive

Wildix Unied

Communications Solution

Stefano Osler

CEO8x8 Inc.

Vik Verma

CEO

AireSpring, Inc.

Avi Lonstein

Co-founder & CEO

Blueface

Alan Foy

CEOPhilipp Beck

Founder & CEO

Luware AG

Yorktel

Ron GabouryCEO

T P A G E

20

22

26

28

44

32

36

40

For years experts and analysts have predicted, pushed, and prodded businesses to a future of unified communications. Their claim was that in a

world where all of our technologies and tools to communicate were truly integrated, there would be a transformative improvement in efficiency and work life balance. However, our world today feels less unified than ever before. It seems as if every day (or even every hour) brings a new stand-alone business application designed to supercharge productivity. The problem is that very few of these apps truly work together, and very few business users

derive the same benefit from each. Thus, we have actually created a new world of “dis-unification.”

Where there is pain, there is promise. Within our current situation there does lie the potential that inter application APIs can be leveraged so that different apps can work together, each user can choose the app of their choice, and in the end everything will be unified again. This IS a technical possibility. However, in reality the competing business interests of different application developers stands in the way of seamless and reliable integrations. Often times even apps that could be integrated


08 | June 2016 |

CXO Standpoint

have their interface capabilities turned off or removed for business reasons. Further adding to this complexity, many company acquisitions can lead to capabilities being disabled in the best business interests of the new owners.

Where to Turn? There are many paths businesses can take in light of these realities. Some choose to grin and bear the current situation. Some choose to build solutions of their own. Some attempt to select a handful of key suppliers to partner with, and build a tightly coupled ecosystem they hope will stand the test of time. And still others keep looking for the perfect solution that might not exist yet, that could be just around the corner, not realizing that by choosing inaction they run the very real risk of falling behind.

The Application Monopoly Game via M&AThrough aggressive merger and acquisition (M&A) activities, many organizations are looking to rope together impressive collections of complementary applications. These apps are intended to attract businesses looking to garner a wide assortment of functionality from a single vender, or at least from a smaller collection of vendors. A troubling component of this approach though, is that many of the vendors with the largest application collections also have the least business interest in allowing competing applications to integrate well.

What about Telco?Most business application developers are lacking the capabilities (and the understanding) to integrate complex PSTN services into more advanced applications. Even traditional phone

service companies struggle here, and appear to have little or no path to the future for deploying more advanced capabilities via their dated and bloated infrastructures. They rely on two primary vendors, Metaswitch and Broadsoft, who both have critical billing system integration capabilities with the legacy carriers, but lack more advanced applications. So, where are businesses to turn for truly integrated unified communications solutions?

Never Give UpWhile the needs are complex, and the more well-known vendors to choose from are lacking in key ways, all hope is not lost. There is a new breed of solution provider, one that possesses the pedigree of PSTN service integration, and also the next gen

application integration capabilities that traditional providers lack. These new solution providers are able to deliver truly integrated unified communications, call center, contact center, and analytics solutions in a single platform, providing not only a huge array of capabilities, readily customizable for each customer, but also built to integrate with other vendors’ solutions.These solution providers have engineered and designed for the demands of the modern business, and they are the ones to watch. While they may not be household names today, they are the forward-thinking partners that innovative organizations turn to when taking their next strategic leap in their business success.

Thomas Beck

Director of Marketing

& Business Development

Teo Technologies

CXO Standpoint

09| June 2016 |

CoverStory

Didier�JaubertCEO

The need for digital workplace transformation is widely accepted. Trends driven by the cloud, social communities and increasing mobility are resulting in dramatic changes in how people work, and will only intensify as

millennials rise to the top of corporate workplaces.

With digital communications technologies, businesses of any size are better positioned to share ideas, interact with customers and unleash the full potential of their people through more efficient and effective collaboration.

Digital has always been high on the agenda at Arkadin, but it’s taking on even greater importance as the driving force behind the company’s growth strategy. An NTT Communications company, Arkadin is one of the largest and fastest growing Unified Communications and Collaboration (UC&C) service providers in the world. It has operations in 33 countries with 56 offices spread throughout the Americas, EMEA & CEMEA, Asia Pacific and China, serving over 50,000 customers that span the largest global enterprises to standalone businesses.

CoverStory

Arkadin:Leading�Provider�ofUnifiedCommunicationsServices�for�theDigital�Workplace

“ Global yet Local Service Strategy”Arkadin’s approach to client relations is based on ensuring its clients succeed with positive collaboration experiences that deliver high ROI. Service is in Arkadin’s DNA and everything they do starts with the charter of delivering outstanding customer care.

Arkadin’s global yet local service strategy sets them apart in the industry, providing the best of both worlds: unmatched global coverage delivered by local teams who speak their clients’ languages and understand their cultures. Regional sales and support employees take time to understand customers’ unique needs and challenges - whether they are a large global conglomerate or an SMB - so that they can together implement the right communications tools for each individual situation.

Arkadin’s service strategy is truly end-to-end and multilayered, encompassing live assistance 24/7 in 19 languages, plus onsite and virtual user training programs. Arkadin offers sophisticated reporting tools and professional services complete with project managers, technical presales and service relationship managers for

more complex collaboration and UC deployments.

Didier Jaubert, Champion of Digital Workplace Transformation Arkadin CEO Didier Jaubert is championing a bold long-term strategy for becoming a digital workplace leader. Capturing a sizable share of the global UC market is integral to that plan. Since joining Arkadin in 2013 as Chief Partnership Officer responsible for the company’s extensive worldwide ecosystem, Mr. Jaubert has been instrumental in driving innovative go-to-market programs that have enabled sustained, profitable growth. Over the past five years, Arkadin has achieved a healthy 21% compound annual growth rate, making it the fastest growing Cloud collaboration provider in the industry.

Earlier this year, Mr. Jaubert was promoted to Chief Executive Officer, with full operational management responsibility for Arkadin, the business entity that controls Arkadin’s worldwide subsidiaries.

Mr. Jaubert brought 30 years of commercial and general management experience with IT and Telco multinationals to

CoverStory

Arkadin, including roles at Orange Business Services, where he was recognised for expertise in outsourcing and system integration, and at IBM where he held various management positions in Sales and Global Services in France and the U.S. He has an engineering degree from the École Centrale Paris and an Economics degree from Paris University.

“Successful Collaboration Experiences to Energise Teamwork”Arkadin’s collection of market leading digital meeting space and Unified Communications solutions enables

enjoyable collaboration experiences that are essential to success in a digitally connected global workplace. These services are delivered in the Cloud and backed by a cutting edge infrastructure for premium service quality.

Arkadin’s suite of UC solutions is from Microsoft Skype for Business and Cisco Jabber combined with WebEx. Delivered in the Cloud for fast international deployment with a high ROI, the services are integrated with Arkadin’s stable, crystal clear audio conferencing combined with a comprehensive suite of wraparound services (live assistance, training, reporting, etc.).

The center of their UC strategy is Arkadin Total Connect, a Microsoft Skype for Business hosted service. Integrated into Arkadin ‘as a Service’,

Arkadin Total Connect offers voice, contact center and conferencing to Office 365, all under a ‘single pane of glass,’ which frees up IT teams to focus on other strategic projects. The voice enabled Office 365 deployments seamlessly integrate with Exchange Online (within Office 365) for unified messaging that drives efficiencies whilst reducing costs associated with

rdtraditional PBX and 3 party conferencing services.

Businesses benefit from the convenience of a single all-in-one solution, which offers substantial cost

savings from on premise UC deployments, coupled with Arkadin’s premium quality integrations, networking expertise and customer support.

Didier Jaubert explains: “We are one of only a few service providers operating on a global scale capable of completing Microsoft’s offer as a fully integrated platform for meetings and voice. It’s a winning ‘best of both worlds’ strategy that puts us in complete alignment with Microsoft from a feature, server and geographic perspective.”

“Last Autumn Arkadin was recognised with NTT Communications in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications as a Service, Worldwide. We feel this recognition is a testament to the strength of our combined global UCaaS offering,” added Mr. Jaubert.

‘Three Strategic Pillars’ for Growth StrategyArkadin has an ambitious growth agenda based on capturing a sizable share of the fast growing UC&C market. The strategy is centered on three strategic pillars: Best UC&C Solutions in the Cloud, Expansion and Profitable Long-Term Growth and Premium Customer Experience.

According to Mr. Jaubert, Arkadin will maintain the two-pronged product strategy that has fueled its strong growth: “There is no future without

great products. We will enhance our own branded Arkadin Anytime audio conferencing and Arkadin Anywhere web conferencing. All solutions will be supported with the most digitally advanced cloud collaboration platform. We will also continue our partnerships with leading technology companies, including MICROSOFT, ON24, ADOBE, VIDYO, CISCO, BLUE JEANS NETWORK and IBM for best-in-class Cloud solutions that are feature rich, intuitive and integrated with our premium audio conferencing for an exceptional user experience. Each of our partners has a different set of capabilities which enables us to be a true one-stop shop for UC&C services.”

In addition to the best technology partners, Arkadin will align with the most strategic organisations and services for developing high growth go-to-market strategies. At the top of

CoverStory

[We have 15 years’ experience in delivering Cloud-based UC&C

solutions that t our clients’ needs for exible, cost-effective and

intuitive digital meeting spaces. Nothing distracts us from our mission,

which is to provide positive collaboration experiences backed up by

unparalleled customer care, every time[“ “

the list are NTT Communications and fellow NTT Group subsidiary Dimension Data, as well as strategic telecoms, agents, resellers and system integrators, all combining to create a powerful go-to-market ecosystem.

Mr. Jaubert adds, “We’ll also pursue acquisitions of organisations with stellar track records, advanced technologies and trusted reputations for expanding our global footprint and market share. Last year we expanded into Colombia with the market leader in the region through our purchase of T-Uno. We also acquired AT Conference to strengthen our collaboration product portfolio in North America. Our 2014 acquisition of implement.com, a key

Microsoft partner with a stellar track record in enabling service providers to leverage hosted voice and Microsoft technologies, has allowed us to extend our UC as a Service offerings so that businesses can harness the full power of UC for greater workplace productivity.”

The most important pillar and the real driver behind Arkadin’s growth strategy, according to Mr. Jaubert, is being able to offer customers easy to use and intuitive services coupled with unparalleled customer care. Mr. Jaubert explains that this is being achieved through a strong service culture which runs through the whole Arkadin organisation: “Our cultural and business values are

inextricably linked and applied across all aspects of our business. To ensure premium client experiences, we have customer success teams in all global regions. A newly created Customer Lifecycle Program has enabled us to harness the latest digital technologies to dramatically increase new user adoption levels. It’s all about delivering a complete 365 degree experience in order to build a true partnership and long-term loyalty.”

Eyes Towards The Future…While talking about future prospects, Mr. Jaubert says Arkadin’s opportunities for greater growth and leadership in UC are unlimited and just beginning to be realised: “We are

in a high growth market with the right mix of market leading UC&C technologies, the right channels to expand our global footprint, at the right time. Together with NTT Communications, we offer our clients the most sophisticated infrastructure, networking and telecommunications capabilities so essential for succeeding in today’s digitally transformed landscape. Finally, we have a first rate executive bench supported by a global team of collaborators who are highly entrepreneurial and passionate about Arkadin’s success. It’s a winning formula!”

CoverStory

UnifiedCommunications

UnifiedCommunications

ccording to a research, the global Unified Communications market size is assumed to reach USD 75.81 billion by A2020. Unified Communications industry includes variety of communication models such as messaging, transaction, and information system along with collaboration and interactive systems. The global unified communication

market will be driven by the availability of wireless connectivity and high-speed internet.

The various services of Unified Communications can be like, on-premise, on-cloud, or hosted systems. The On-premise systems are weak to grab attention of the enterprises than cloud-based/hosted unified communication systems as they need well-trained employees and sufficient maintenance. On the other hand they prefer Cloud-based systems, which are faster, needs low maintenance, and give uninterrupted scaling abilities at lower costs. The fast growth of cloud computing is expected to uplift the market for cloud or hosted systems.

The ability of Unified communication systems to help in the improvement of efficiency and productivity, enterprises are on the verge to accept it. Unified Communications enable enterprises to have connected employees and excellent operational agility and finally delivering better customer-experience.

The usefulness and high need of the Unified Communications has made us shortlist the 10 Fastest Growing Unified Communications Solution Provider Companies. These are the companies who are providing the best Unified Communication services while at the same time setting the industry standards.

Our cover story for this magazine, Arkadin is one of the largest and fastest growing Unified Communications and Collaboration (UC&C) service providers in the world. Digital has always been high on the agenda at Arkadin, but it's taking on even greater importance as the driving force behind the company’s growth strategy. An NTT Communications company, it has operations in 33 countries with 56 offices spread throughout the Americas, EMEA & CEMEA, Asia Pacific and China, serving over 50,000 customers that span the largest global enterprises to standalone businesses. So, here in this issue we are presenting you some of the quality Unified Communications solution provider to best suite your needs.

Unified Communication as a Service (UCaaS)

Expected to Drive Growth



10The



10The

The dependency on the chat, video, file sharing, collaboration and conferencing

have compelled companies to become more dependent on the Unified Communications (UC). Companies are taking all the advantage of new capabilities and applications in the cloud while leveraging their existing on-site platforms.

Nowadays, more and more companies prefer a hybrid UC consumption model, a mix of on-premises and cloud solutions, which enables company’s flexibility, on the other hand a migration path to the cloud-based services. To keep up with the constant speeding competition, companies need to keep pace with the rapidly-advancing communications technology.

UC on Cloud Boosting Productivity

When it comes to assemble the productivity systems and applications of a company, Cloud-based UC models are the right choices. Let it be the conference line, data backup, call routing stations, or email provider UC on cloud help put all four and many more at one place, making it easy to achieve at the higher level of a company. Business owners do not have to worry about any missed detail as everything will be safe on the cloud.

No More Updatations

Company’s UC channels exist in the virtual realm through apps, computer

software, and the cloud, so there will be no need to dwell upon IT matters or technological updates anymore. All the problems including bugs, malfunctions, etc. will be taken care of by the company hosting your UC. There is a benefit of purchasing or downloading an app upgrade or a newer version of your existing computer software, instead spending time and money purchasing the latest hardware update.

Ease of Communication

The communication with business partners, employees, stakeholders, and customers from across the country and around the world can be communicated freely by Cloud-based UC. Services that provide businesses with individualized phone extensions and email sorting, help companies connect customers with the right business representative instantly and easily,

making the business appear better organized and more professional. While it comes to getting a better customer or client base worldwide, cloud-based UC is the most beneficial.

Option of Tracking and Graphing Data

The UC provider you have chosen is often capable of tracking and graphing your incoming data, just because of the availability of all channels and productivity applications at one place. With the help of unified analytics, your UC provider can show you what geographical sources are responsible for most emails or phone calls, what demographics are quickest to schedule services with your company, and more.

With the use of UC, any business let it be small or large, can make it look bigger, more organized, and highly professional.

Collaboration

of UC with Cloud

Editors Desk

17 | June 2016 |

MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION FORM

Name :

Address :

Country :City : State : Zip :

Global Subscription

1 Year $250.00(12 Issues) 6 Months (06 Issues) $130.00

3 Months (03 Issues) $70.00 1 Month (01 Issue) $25.00

Date :

Check should be drawn in favour of : INSIGHTS SUCCESS MEDIA TECH LLCCorporate Office

Insights Success Media Tech LLC

555 Metro Place North, Suite 100,

Dublin, OH 43017, United States

Phone - (614)-602-1754, (302)-319-9947


For Subscription: Visit www.insightssuccess.com

Management BriefCompany Name

8x8 is the trusted provider of secure and reliable Enterprise Communications as a Service (ECaaS) offerings to more than 45,000 businesses operating in over 100 countries across six

continents.

AireSpring, Inc.

www.airespring.com

Arkadin

www.arkadin.com

Avi Lonstein

Co-founder & CEO

Didier Jaubert

CEO

AireSpring provides fully managed and connected end-to-end, next-generation UC solutions for multi-location enterprise

customers.

Arkadin is one of the largest and fastest growing providers of Unified Communications and Collaboration Services in the

world.

Blueface is an Irish provider of Voice over IP telephony services delivering cutting edge, innovative solutions which

enable their customers’ businesses.

Blueface www.blueface.com

Alan Foy CEO

Luware AGwww.luware.com

Philipp BeckFounder & CEO

Luware is a leading provider of customized service platforms based on Microsoft Unified Communications (UC)

technologies.

Stefano Osler

CEO

Wildix offers a complete solution of Unified Communications, including Hardware and Software. It produces its own certified

hardware: PBXs, VoIP phones, DECT systems, media gateways, switches, headsets.

Yorktel is a leading global provider of UC&C, cloud, and video managed services for large enterprise and federal

government customers.

Premiere Global Services, Inc.www.pgi.com

Theodore P. SchrafftCEO

SOFTEL Communications, Inc.www.softel.com

John CognataCo-founder & Business Development Executive

SOFTEL Communications is a proven choice for enterprises &

organizations, looking to harness business opportunity through

unified communications and collaboration technology.

Wildix Unified Communications Solution

www.wildix.com

Yorktelwww.yorktel.com

Ron GabouryCEO

8x8, Inc.www.8x8.com

Vik VermaCEO



10The



10The

VOSS is a software company that offers a BCOM (business communications operations management) solution to automate

and simplify the challenge of managing today’s increasingly sophisticated communications environments.

Mike FrayneCEO

VISIONOSS LIMITEDwww.voss-solutions.com

P i is the world’s largest dedicated provider of collaboration software and services.

G

Trusted Provider of Secure and

Reliable Enterprise

Communications

8x8 is the trusted provider of secure

and reliable Enterprise

Communications as a Service (ECaaS)

offerings to more than 45,000

businesses operating in over 100

countries across six continents. 8x8’s

out-of-the-box cloud solutions replace

operate as one unified entity while

delivering the highest quality of

service in the industry.

8x8’s distributed platform uses

innovative, patented geo-routing

algorithms to route communications

quickly and efficiently to the closest

available data center no matter where

the user is currently located, resulting

in crystal clear connections.

A truly global, hyper-scalable

cloud unified

communications and contact

center platform, 8x8 is powering the

communications infrastructure

worldwide for businesses of all sizes.

Whether it is an SMB operating out of

one location or a large multinational

enterprise, 8x8’s multi-tenant services

platform, housed in nine international

data centers, enables businesses to

20 | June 2016 |



10The



10The

8x8: Great Communications

No Compromises

Named as 1 of 40 “technology pioneers” by the World Economic Forum in 2003, Vik Verma, CEO of 8x8, in his 26 year career, has taken complex technology and created products and services that deliver value to customers worldwide. He began his 26-year executive career with startup Savi Technology, where he was one of its first employees.

Vik VermaCEO

| June 2016 | 21



10The



10The

Key to growth will be to continue to

educate business leaders on the many

benefits of cloud communications such

as enhanced features/functionality,

increased flexibility and speed of

deployment. 8x8 is supporting this

transition with its integrated cloud

communications platform that delivers

one continuous experience across all

devices and business workflows no

matter the size of your business.”

8x8’s momentum is a testament to the

current market dynamics. The

company is seeing accelerated

adoption of cloud communications by

mid-market and enterprise customers,

who now represent over 50% of 8x8's

total service revenue. The market

opportunity ahead is tremendous –

with less than 5% of mid-sized and

enterprise companies worldwide

having migrated to the cloud,

according to Gartner.

8x8 is paving the way for businesses

making the transition to cloud

communications. They have built a

high growth, profitable business by

developing and delivering the

industry’s most comprehensive suite of

secure, reliable and integrated global

cloud communications solutions. 8x8

is continuing to innovate and enhance

the business value of their solutions

with deeper analytics and line of

business applications and integrate

additional collaboration tools within

their platform to provide customers

with the most comprehensive and

seamless global communications

experience available.

At 8x8, Vik is leading the team that

has pioneered business

communications’ move to the cloud

with the company’s ground-breaking

cloud unified communications and

contact center technologies and

services.

Future Vista of 8x8

While reflecting on the future vista of

8x8 Vik says, “We are at a tipping

point in the industry with many mid-

size and large companies now seeking

out cloud communications solutions.

traditional on-premises PBX and

contact center hardware and software-

based systems with a flexible and

scalable Software as a Service (SaaS)

alternative, encompassing cloud

business telephony, collaboration,

contact center, and conferencing

services.

8x8’s innovative ECaaS solution

brings all unified communications and

contact center services together into

one integrated cloud platform,

delivering continuous communications

experiences from desktop to mobile.

This enables companies of all sizes to

solve critical business needs and

modernize their infrastructure with

world-class business communications,

contact center solutions, conferencing,

collaboration and advanced analytics.

Vik Verma- The Technocrat of 8x8

Vik joined the company as a design

engineer straight out of Stanford and

then quickly rose through the ranks,

first as VP of Engineering and then

COO. As COO, he played a leading

role in negotiating the sale of Savi to

Texas Instruments. Subsequently

promoted to CEO, Vik in partnership

with leading VCs from Silicon Valley

and Asia led the management buyout

of the company.

Later, Vik re-engineered the business,

quadrupled its size, executed a joint

venture with Hutchison Whampoa and

sold it to Lockheed Martin. At

Lockheed Martin, as President of

Strategic Venture Development, he

focused on turning the company’s

military technologies and programs

into global commercial ventures

ranging from seabed mining to

nanomaterials.

““

The key

differentiator for

8x8, is that we

are the only

vendor in the

market today that

delivers a truly

enterprise-grade,

integrated and

global cloud

communications

platform across

unied

communications

and contact

center

switches and routers are properly configured to give their customers voice traffic priority over the network. End-To-End, Next-Generation UC SolutionsAireSpring offers fully managed and connected end-to-end, next-generation UC solutions for multi-location enterprise customers, including AireContact Cloud Contact Center SaaS application, AirePBX Business

connectivity fully integrated with an award-winning cloud communications suite to equip clients business with fast, secure, and reliable services.

Seamless integration is much more difficult with disparate technologies. AireSpring addresses this problem by delivering services over their own managed network with end-to-end QoS. Their special relationship with other carriers enables them to ensure

AireSpring’s Managed Connectivity is a revolutionary way to simplify

the complexities of integrating cloud communications solutions into IP networks. Companies need converged voice, video, and data solutions that they can count on but often don’t have the time or resources to manage, monitor, or troubleshoot a complex multi-vendor solution. AireSpring has the answer with end-to-end managed

22 | June 2016 |



10The



10The

AireSpring: Simplifying the Complexities

of Integrating Cloud

Communications Solutions

Avi LonsteinCo-founder & CEO

Avi Lonstein, Co-founder and CEO

of AireSpring has been a telecom

entrepreneur for over 25 years. In 1989,

Mr. Lonstein co-founded ADDTEL

Communications.

| June 2016 | 23



10The



10The

team foresaw the massive changes in telecom technology, and rapidly built AireSpring’s own next-generation IP network to become a full-fledged VoIP carrier, offering a range of SIP Trunking and telephony services. Mr. Lonstein later spearheaded development of the company’s own nationwide MPLS network and created an innovative Mesh MPLS product that has won several awards. As Chief Executive Officer for AireSpring, Mr. Lonstein is responsible for the company’s operations, strategy, and transformation into a nationwide provider of managed services for IP communications, intelligent networking and cloud computing applications and services. He continues to lead AireSpring as the company expands its portfolio of award-winning services and applications to keep it on the cutting edge.

Mr. Lonstein says, “AireSpring’s success is based on our philosophy, whereupon we try to offer products that customers need, and add value through personalized service and high-quality engineering implementations. We see our pool of experts, and the manpower that they represent, as being our biggest key differentiator and our most valuable asset. Satisfying our customers is the end to our means; there is no higher priority.”

Reflecting on the future of AireSpring Mr. Lonstein says, “We are focused on providing our customers with the latest technology, and as such we are continually reviewing and evolving our product set. We have many upcoming projects, plans, and products that are in the pipeline for the future. We plan to be here for at least another 15 years.”

quality or Quality of Service (QoS). The design, installation, operation, monitoring, repair, and maintenance are all handled with the same high level of professionalism. AireSpring’s enterprise-grade cloud phone system, AirePBX provides a true unified communications capabilities through a host of advanced features that let users communicate and collaborate from anywhere.

One of the differentiating factors which sets AireSpring Managed Connectivity apart from other solutions is the unique value of the AireSpring Advantage. AireSpring’s award-winning voice and data products come with provider stability and reliability that comes with being a long-time industry leader, debt-free and profitable. AireSpring’s premier support includes a single point of contact, free AireCare 24/7 account management portal, and an escalation list that extends all the way to the CEO. The AireSpring Advantage also offers the largest available coverage on a reliable and diversified network and the assurance that, because all services are delivered by a single vendor, there is none of the usual finger-pointing in the event of a network outage. Avi Lonstein, a Telecom EntrepreneurAs a President of ADDTEL, he was directly responsible for growing the company from a start-up operation to one of the country’s most successful nationwide long distance resellers. Under Mr. Lonstein’s direction, ADDTEL was recognized as one of the telecom industry’s most innovative and well-managed companies, and experienced substantial growth during his tenure.

Mr. Lonstein’s next entrepreneurial venture was AireSpring which he co-founded in 2001. Mr. Lonstein and his

VoIP, SIP Trunking, MPLS networks, and Business Internet. AireSpring primarily differentiates itself through their managed connectivity services, as many companies find it increasingly resource intensive and have neither the technical teams, nor the CAPEX budget, to manage and maintain their own networks.

By delivering cloud communications services over AireSpring’s network, companies avoid the inherent unreliability of the public “best effort” internet, as AireSpring is able to ensure and control the priority of customers’ voice traffic on the network. Also, AireSpring provides professional execution and service from design, to implementation and turn up, to network monitoring and customer support, which helps alleviate pain throughout the process.

AireSpring’s managed network services enable companies to reduce their CAPEX expense and lower their operating costs. AireSpring’s managed services help customers defray those costs, and reduce their financial burden. By letting AireSpring take on the network operations, customers are able to have a stable monthly cost while enjoying all the benefits of the latest technology.

Unique “White Glove” Service ApproachOne of the only companies to offer a “white glove” service approach in delivering UC solutions, AireSpring’s business VoIP customers are given professional on-site installation and testing of phones, switches and routers. In addition to their nationwide network, they also have partnerships with all major carriers which enables them to configure their network switches to prioritize AireSpring’s customers’ voice traffic, reducing latency and delivering clear call

Phones, faxes, emails, and letters are no more the only means of business communication. The

condition is totally different than it was just a decade ago. With the introduction and the increasing use of mobile technology, cloud services, and 4G LTE cellular networks, which easily supports streaming video, business communication has changed its communication way thoroughly. The revolution in communication has begun, and there is a lot more yet come to come. Here are some Unified Communications trends ruling the industry.

Desk phones replaced by BYOD A big trend setter of business communication nowadays is the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) approach of the companies. The use of smartphones by employees and especially the ease of using them and the flexibility of these devices have

initiated the urge of BYOD in the companies. This is the reason business communication has shifted its way towards the new ways of communication.

Web-based communication tools has entered the scenarioThe traditional PBX systems and hardware-based video conferencing setups have been replaced by mobile devices and web-based communication services, making business communication a simple and more effective process. The untrustworthiness of BYOD approach has led the acceptance of VoIP and cloud-based email servers while it comes to business communication. WebRTC becoming ‘Communications Favorite’Proving to be the combination of all- mobile, web-based, and unified

communications trends is WebRTC, which is becoming the business communications favorite. It is an open standard for peer-to-peer unified communications that enables businesses to easily embed rich communications in apps and websites with no need of plug-ins, hardware or proprietary technology. An easy, cost-effective method to deploying unified communications, WebRTC is the most preferred business communication platform nowadays.

‘Internet of Things joining the conversation’Machines have been adding to the benefits of the business for a long time, but this is the age when truly machines will be ‘the whole and sole’ of the business because of the entrance of the Internet of Things in to it. The addition of connected devices to the business communications landscape via the Internet of Things has become the latest business communication trend. IoT is helping companies to transmit real-time business data employees are using throughout a work day and as systems develop, there will not be just a one-way communications with machines, but more interactive business communication that involve these devices.

Though these are the four leading trends of Unified Communications as of now, on the other side they are supposed be the leading trends for several more years.


Impacting Business

Communications

24 | June 2016 |

Chalk Talk

Carriers. It is a technology driven,

Irish-owned Cloud Telecoms provider.

Founded in 2004, Blueface has

operations in Ireland, Italy and the

UK. Offering targeted solutions for

small to medium sized business

customers and customized Managed

Communications services to large

corporates, Blueface is focused on

delivering real costs savings through

the use of ground-breaking

in something unwieldy. This has been

changing recently as new

developments in technology and

interface design have impacted the

usability and efficacy of such systems.

One such pioneer in the field is

Blueface.

Blueface is a leading Unified

Communications-as-a-Service

Provider to Business, Enterprises and

The concept of Unified

Communications as a Service

(UCaaS) has been around for

some time, however there are various

interpretations and variations. UCaaS

seeks to create a single system to

handle all communications media

which a person might use including

phone, video, chat etc. Many systems

which have attempted this

simplification have ironically resulted



10The



10The

The company has experienced substantial

growth under the dynamic leadership of

Alan Foy, Group CEO at Blueface. Alan

holds a Bachelors in Business Studies, a

Masters of Arts and Masters of Letters from

University of Dublin, Trinity College. He is

responsible for the strategic direction and

overall management of Blueface.

Blueface: Making Communication

Simple

Alan Foy CEO

26 | June 2016 |

| June 2016 | 27



10The



10The

integration between their phone calls

and their sales and marketing process.

Blueface as a Team

Like any company, Blueface owes its

success to their people, who make it

happen each and every day. They are

fortunate enough to have a team of

talented, hardworking and most

importantly, genuinely nice people.

They have established a culture where

high performance is expected, and

delivered. People at Blueface are at the

heart of everything.

Future Perspective

Blueface’ in-house engineering team

has spent almost 100,000 development

hours on the company’s new platform.

They have already rolled out white

label service across 12 countries, to

major mobile carriers and ISPs, and

the latest version has already been

selected by an MNO and a pan-

European ISP. They expect demand to

remain high as businesses continue to

demand advanced cloud services.

Simultaneously, Blueface will also be

launching into the United States,

France, Germany and Spain to

complement their existing operations

in Ireland, Italy and the U.K. Their

new voice platform is making this

possible so the second half of 2016 is

shaping up to be an important and

exciting time for Blueface.

A little bit further down the road, it

will be time to organize the official

launch of their CRM and some other

interesting and innovative projects

which they want to bring to the

market.

platform upon release in the short

term.

Key Features of Blueface

A key element of Blueface’s service is

the close integration of mobile and

fixed voice, along with the integration

of various other channels. Their user

interface has been developed over the

past twelve years, constantly evolving

from user feedback with the latest

UX/UI features which enables the end

user to self-manage - it gives control

of the most sophisticated elements but

in a very simple way on any device.

Blueface is also rolling out their own

CRM that gives SME’s out of the box

technologies coupled with a reliable

value proposition.

Leader behind Blueface

Alan works closely with the

management team on a day-to-day

basis to execute Blueface’s growth

strategy and lead the company’s

expansion into new markets.

Prior to Blueface, Alan was an

executive with NCB Group (now

Investec) on the wealth management

side of the business and worked with

Coyle Hamilton (now Willis) in the

area of business transformation. Alan

was President of the Trinity Business

Alumni, the Chairman of the Ireland

Funds Young Leaders committee and

Board Member of the Ireland Funds.

Core Strategy of Blueface

Blueface’s strategy is built on a core

commitment to delivering cutting

edge, innovative solutions which

empower their customers’ businesses

while providing extensive cost

savings. Stunning innovation with

revolutionary pricing, and carrier

grade reliability is at the very heart of

Blueface’ DNA.

Blueface has a very sophisticated

deployment model which ensures that

deployment of service post-sale is

rapid and efficient. Pre-qualification of

the proposed site ensures that the

deployment is both suited to the end

use and capable of installation.

Blueface deployments revolve around

zero-touch hardware configuration and

a suite of sophisticated online tools for

user management. Blueface CRM will

provides additional functionality,

integrating seamlessly with the UC

““

As an MVNO, we

provide fully

integrated xed

and mobile voice

services which

includes shared

voicemail box,

short-code

extension to

mobile dialing

and call recording

add-ons for all interactions.

With the help of Microsoft UC technologies, Luware supports companies in adapting the communications between their staff and the customers to present-day demands, thus meeting the constantly rising expectations of the customers and ensuring work flexibility for their staff members.

productive day by day.

With the use of latest and most innovative technologies such as WebRTC, Luware is having clean and most performant integration capabilities. By using Skype for Business as base application and framework for the add-ons, Luware simplifies the user experience tremendously while providing only one client enriched with the respective

Native interfaces between Telephony, IM, Webchat, Mail, Video Conferencing,

Application/Desktop Sharing as well as interfaces for popular social media such as Facebook and Twitter build the foundation for full Skype for Business Integration and extension. Every aspect of the Interaction between customer and employees is covered with the popular add-ons of Luware and empowers Businesses to be more



10The



10The

Philipp Beck, Founder and CEO of Luware, is a leading provider of service platforms based on Microsoft Unified Communication technologies. His portfolio includes solutions for contact centers, team-ACD or single-user workstations over multiple channels.

Luware AG:

Promising - Swiss and Simple

Philipp BeckFounder & CEO

28 | June 2016 |

| June 2016 | 29



10The



10The

customer request, directly to the Microsoft UC client of the Contact Center Agent. Chat, Voice, Video, Email and even Faxes can be handled without leaving the Client.

TeamManager, provides advanced features to the Response Groups of Skype for Business / Lync such as Team Contacts, Team Presence, Reporting, and different Routing Options for Chat, Voice and Video.

PresenceAssistant, simplifies the routing of incoming calls, thus adding a feature known as target-oriented presence to Skype for Business / Lync various presence statuses.

RTC LAUNCHER is a web application using the open standard of WebRTC among others, thus enabling end-to-end connectivity between web browsers and Skype for Business / Lync.

SwitchBoard is a completely in Skype for Business Integrated Application that provides one-click functionality such as call transfer, calendar integration and email templates for callback requests.

Future PanoramaWhile talking about the future panorama Philipp says, “Due to the growing user adoption of Lync and Skype for business worldwide, Luware started focusing since 2014 mainly on the international market. First wins in Germany, Belgium, UK and Kuwait in 2015 paved the way for strong international growth.”

Going forward, with its headquarters based in Switzerland, Luware will focus on strongly deliver local in-county services in those regions 2015 and beyond. The most recent development includes offices in UK, Dubai, Spain and New York.

other add-ons, Luware offers a full range of all additional functions for Skype for Business and Lync.

The unmatched experience and expertise of Luware includes business processes in customer service, Microsoft UC technology, product development, project management and software engineering.

In conjunction with Microsoft products, the solutions from Luware allow customer service representatives

and internal services alike to handle all concerns individually, personally and quickly.

Beyond Traditional SolutionsLuware provide solutions that are more than just communications; they make the customers experience true cooperation:

LUCS, The Contact Center Solution that integrates native into Skype for Business or Lync. This enables channel independent routing of any

Philipp Beck, Passionate Persona behind Luware

Philipp Beck, just after his electrical engineering studies at the Hochschule Rapperswil, where he pasted with distinction, he worked at the Institute for Networked Solution and deal with Microsoft UC environment. Since 2007, Philipp holds the title Microsoft Certified Master for OCS, which he later confirmed with the title Microsoft Certified Master Lync 2010 and Microsoft Certified Solution Master Communications for Lync 2013.

Philip says, “We at Luware work with the principle, that happy employees is the key to sustainable corporate success.”

He adds, “At Luware we work closely with our clients to deliver solutions which meet the needs of today's customers and employees alike. With an emphasize on innovation and ease of use, combined with quality and simplicity our solutions are breaking new grounds in customer service while at the same time improving agent/employee productivity, supporting the requirements of the modern work place through improved communication, collaboration and mobility. Luware AG is a leading provider of customized custom service platforms based on Microsoft Unified Communications (UC) technologies.”

Luware - A Leading Provider of Customized Service PlatformsLuware is a leading provider of customized service platforms based on Microsoft Unified Communications (UC) technologies. It offers solutions for contact centers, team-ACD or single-user workstations for the following channels: Chat, Voice, Video, Mail, Social Media and Co-Browsing. With the help of latest technologies such as WebRTC, CRM integrations, recording solutions and

““

Solutions from

Luware provides

more than just

communications,

we make

customers

experience true

cooperation

CXO Standpoint

Pick up any periodical; monitor any blog and you will hear tale of the power of Unified Communications and how organizations galore are basking in a

connected world. But is this fact or fiction?

For decades, business has progressively sought quicker, more direct and effective ways to communicate both internally and externally. Not to show my age, but I grew up in the world of receptionists, large mail rooms, and pink message slips. We just knew we were cutting edge. This gave way to fax machines, WordPerfect on our desktops, and DID (Direct Inward Dial) where incoming calls were automatically routed direct to my desk phone, bypassing the

receptionist and my admin. Great to start with; quickly a security hole where all sorts of folks were ringing me up direct. Yuck! Not a fan of too much communication.

Fast forward to 2016, where the mantra is a Unified, Global, Universal world where we are all peers communicating via phone, email, text, mobile, video, social media, and groupware (Slack,Yammer). We even use text-to-speech and speech-to-text as we are too lazy to listen to our voicemails. Are we gaining ground or has the noise level risen to where little is accomplished while we are bombarded with information? My friend Heather Clancy opines on the social aspect in her Fortune column today:

Is Unied Communications

Worth the Effort?

Is Unied Communications

Worth the Effort?

30 | June 2016 |

CXO Standpoint

employees’ appreciation of technology to enable them to work anywhere. So UC is worth the effort when properly designed and implemented. It may require some open minded analysis as the company’s current providers often may not be the best choice for a UC rollout. And some folks will have to think ahead….At Peak UpTime, our goal is to help you elevate the IT conversation to address business challenges. We identify innovative IT solutions to help you effectively serve your clients, and leverage technology to keep your teams operating efficiently.

Celebrating our 30th anniversary in business in 2013, Peak has experienced growth and change in IT technology, but never wavered in its passion for serving our clients. Our history of serving clients and their corresponding reference, our strong financial position and capable, skilled team make Peak your natural choice to support your IT infrastructure.

At Peak, we tend to act in an advisory role with clients and strive to match their defined business processes with the available technology. A key component is providing just the right amount of unified connectivity for each role or usage model. For example, a call center agent needs telephony, text, and perhaps point to point video to serve the client, but should not receive incoming personal calls, extraneous emails, or be ordering shoes on Zappos at their desk. Access control is still a valid term.

I recently rented a car using a kiosk at the rental call center. Great experience! While others formed a line in front of a harried counterperson, I had a quick video call with a pleasant an efficient agent in a far city and was behind the wheel in a snap. We had a data, video, and audio conversation. My paperwork was delivered to my phone while I strolled to the car. I brought up a QR code which was quickly scanned as I reached the gate. Effective use of technology….

There are myriad UC systems available today with varied capability and market acceptance. Two characteristics define the winners; simplicity in function, and tight integration to application platforms.

The best technology, poorly delivered and overly complicated, will be swiftly be rejected by the user community. There is a reason iPhones triumph over technically superior and far less expensive competing devices. Simple. Intuitive. Bulletproof.

Saw this first hand on a UC rollout several years ago. At the time Blackberry and Nokia ruled the corporate mobile market with Motorola

close behind. As we trained users in the use of their mobile client app, the universal question from executives (not sales or engineering) was “When can I use my iPhone to connect?” Each had a company phone (Blackberry) in one pocket, and a personal iPhone in the other. That is when I predicted Apple would win. (And I was smart enough to purchase a few shares).

Application integration is where a properly implemented UC system can leverage the incredible sums spent on Enterprise ERP, CRM, and integrated databases. Information is delivered directly to stakeholders at their desk, on the road, at home, and unfortunately even on vacation. The flip side is delivering a flawless presentation to your best client via desktop sharing from your tablet whilst standing on the sidelines at the youth soccer game. With your boss and team conferenced in. We have seen corporations win “Best Place to Work” rankings due to

Dave Casey

Regional Vice President

Peak Up Time

| June 2016 | 31

Accessible anywhere, anytime and on any device, PGi’s award-winning collaboration solutions drive productivity and teamwork for approximately 50,000 customers around the world.

Noteworthy innovations of PGi:

Smart Calendar App. PGi launched iMeet Agenday nearly two years ago

customers to leverage specialists like PGi. PGi: Conferencing Solutions for Every BusinessPGi is the world’s most dedicated provider of collaboration software and services. For more than 25 years, PGi’s dedicated portfolio of products has served the end-to-end collaboration needs of enterprises.

Today’s incredibly dynamic and complex, UC&C marketplace is dominated by a few large,

well-known vendors, collaboration providers and small start-ups. Clients are seeking more choices; they want help making collaborative decisions that work for their users. The risk and investment required to get it right in today’s intricate and rapidly-moving market, making it more important for



10The



10The

PGi: World’s Most Dedicated

Provider of Collaboration

Software and Services

Theodore P. Schrafft, CEO of PGi is leading the group since the company’s private equity acquisition in December of 2015. Ted served as President since July 2006 and oversees the entire operations of PGi. He has more than 35 years of experience in the technology and business communications industries. Theodore P. Schrafft

CEO

32 | June 2016 |

| June 2016 | 33



10The



10The

The Collaborative AdvantageToday, PGi are uniquely positioned with a new, strong capital partner, as well as a more balanced approach in their go-to-market strategy as they continue to evolve and succeed in this market. The good news is, collaboration is on everyone’s mind and there is no shortage of opportunity. “After 25 years in this space, PGi has established credibility and built a customer list that's second to none. We are well-positioned to be more agile and responsive than the other brands. Furthermore, we have the global reach, scale and credibility that our customers demand,” assures Mr. Schrafft.

Team PGiPGi is synonymous with collaboration. Their products – and, by extension, their satisfied customer base – does not exist without the collaborative mindset exemplified by their team. The bright minds at PGi have streamlined the process of putting their heads together to take a concept from inception to reality with impeccable execution.

Team PGi provides their customers with top-notch products that incorporate cutting-edge technology for a seamless user experience. Their focus on the customer with a constant eye on innovation is driving the company forward in 2016.

Effulgent Days aheadAt the highest level, team PGi is being more deliberate about listening to their customers in every way they can. In July 2016, PGi will celebrate its 25th year in business; they have built the company by listening to customers and anticipating their changing needs in the collaboration space.

Microsoft Outlook. Equipped with custom company branding and key dial-in numbers and passcodes, the enhanced Outlook plug-in improves the user experience of scheduling and joining meetings and allows one-click entry for guests joining via a mobile device.

Leadership Dedicated to Bringing the Best Collaboration Experience

With extensive expertise in operations management, sales and marketing, Mr. Schrafft previously served in various capacities with the company. He also served as President of PGi’s former Voice and Data Messaging business unit and as Vice President of Corporate Messaging.

as one calendar app that unifies personal and professional calendars and makes it super simple to join a meeting in one click. iMeet Agenday presents all of your meetings and appointments in one easy-to-read format and then connects to conference calls and web meetings with a single touch. iMeet Agenday users can also check out LinkedIn profiles of meeting guests and get updated weather and driving directions.

Webcasting. iMeetLive is a PGi product that makes it easy to create professional-quality webcasts and webinars for up to 10,000 people. The secure, cloud-based iMeetLive webcasting platform provides marketing and corporate communications teams with fully managed or self-service webinars for lead generation, town halls and other events.

Services. PGi drives additional productivity and value for businesses through adoption and real-time service support of collaboration solutions. Beyond products and applications, the services part of their business is also becoming more critical as PGi helps customers manage the complexity of enterprise collaboration. The more value we can bring to our customers by driving adoption and utilization means clients realize the value of collaboration and can document a return on investment.

Productivity Apps. Their Modality Systems subsidiary has some unique productivity apps that are ‘add-ons’ for the Office 365/Skype for Business experience. As an example, they recently launched CustomInvite by Modality Systems to make it easy to create customized Skype for Business meeting invites directly from

We are dedicated to

bringing the best

virtual collaboration

experience to each

and every business

professional around

the world through

our product

innovation, our

global network and

our extraordinary

customer care

““

Assured Motion forany Vehicle

PS has been a boon for the

Gworld of transportation in

general and for the robotics

industry in particular. Despite this,

robots have failed to permeate our

world. They still lose track of where

they are and as we see in the news both

military and commercial drones fall

out of the sky. After years of using

robots to solve difficult, real world

problems such as landmine detection,

mapping out the hazardous chemicals

and detecting radiation, 5D came to

realize that reliable, useful behavior is

dependent on accurate positioning.

GPS lacks accuracy and doesn’t work

indoors. For instance, GPS systems

often still think you are on the

highway, even after you take an exit.

Vision and laser systems can be used to

aid in localization and 5D has

incorporated a great deal of those

technologies to aid in navigation.

Unfortunately, neither lasers nor

cameras can see around corners and are

easily disrupted by dust, rain, snow,

and dynamic environments. This lack

of reliability reduces value of mobile

robots across the board and impacts

hopes of more efficient, autonomous

driving.

To address this problem, 5D created

and patented a technology that

provides reliable, centimeter level

accuracy and reliable behavior in any

environment. The 5D module

David BruemmerCEO, Co-founder5D Robotics.

CXO Standpoint

34| June 2016 |

embodies this technology, including an

innovative Ultra-Wideband necessary

to provide accurate position,

orientation and behavior software for

safety and autonomous navigation. The

reliability and accuracy have been

proven for landmine detection, squad

support missions and hazmat

environments for both ground vehicles

and drones in the military. Now we are

bringing the technology into a variety

of commercial environments starting

with heavy equipment and moving

towards intelligent transportation. The

technology can go onto people, robots,

drones, automotive systems and

anything else you might want to track.

There are two complementary ways to

use the 5D module. The first uses

relative positioning to allow safe

motion, obstacle avoidance, follow,

wagon training and a host of vehicle to

vehicle applications. In this relative

frame of reference the modules link to

each other without any dependence on

GPS or a global reference frame and

no modules are necessary in the

infrastructure. Like neurons in the

brain, modules that support a particular

function work together and specific

clusters of modules can dedicate

themselves to a particular function

while still maintaining recursive

awareness to a larger ecosystem.

The second way to use the technology

is as an absolute position reference

where modules in the environment can

be a GPS enhancement. In this model,

applications designed around GPS can

work as intended, but with much

higher reliability and accuracy. With

the 5D module it is possible to

accurately judge follow distance and

perform predictive braking. Within

minutes, it is possible to add the

modules to just about any

environment. We anticipate building

modules into light fixtures, traffic

lights and roadside equipment. We are

already contracted to move the

technology into a variety of heavy

equipment applications for forklifts,

scissor lifts and other equipment. The

technology has the ability to impact

construction, mining, logistics and

energy sectors. In the burgeoning

drone world, 5D has shown that we

can replace or enhance existing GPS

dependency, allowing drones to

provide more accurate surveying,

mapping and data collection for

surveillance, security and inspection.

One of the most exciting future

opportunities is smart mobility

applications. Beginning in closed

environments like campuses and

resorts, off-highway personal mobility

systems can meet you wherever you

need a lift and drive you on dedicated

routes to your destination using

existing paths. You never have to go

somewhere to pick it up or drop it off.

It just goes on to the next closest

person who needs a lift. Across all

these applications, the 5D modules

provide a crosscutting, interoperable

solution and help us create intelligent

ecosystems where everything is safer

and more efficient. The benefits extend

not only to robotics, but also include

big data analytics where the 5D

modules provide the ability to collect

and accurately position a variety of

data. The precision of this data allows

for both analysis and prediction at a

level never before possible, allowing

increased efficiency and awareness

across countless applications.

CXO Standpoint

| June 2016 | 35

processes and/or create revenue opportunities. We do this by creating innovative or disruptive approaches to the way businesses use communications technologies, and the results are measurable business gains”.

Q. What kind of different tools and applications does your company use to extend your UC service beyond the traditional voice, video, instant message and presence that comprise UC today?SOFTEL engage across many different sectors and we have found that “Unified Communications” means something different in each of them. As examples;

video collaboration, etc. So SOFTEL stepped onto the scene aiming to facilitate how people communicate in the midst of changing modalities. Our customers capitalize on this disruption because we help them align new communication norms with their existing business strategies. Effective communication is the foundation for all business transactions. SOFTEL is an expert at adapting the tools (systems and modalities) businesses use to communicate internally-and externally. As new technologies evolve, consumers compel businesses to adapt to ever-changing methods of transacting business. SOFTEL helps those same businesses optimize their

Q. What kind of support and services related to Unified Communication does your

company offer?“For more than 20 years, SOFTEL has been helping businesses think in creative, progressive ways about their technology investments. In 1993, our founders began the business in response to evolving enterprise communications modalities. Business-to-consumer and business-to-business interactions were, and continue to be, progressively disrupted-think voicemail, call centers, Interactive Voice Response (IVR), cellular phones, Internet, email, VoIP, smart phones, SMS, social media, web and



10The



10The

John Cognata, Co-Founder and Business Development Executive of SOFTEL Communications, explains why SOFTEL is a proven choice for enterprises and organizations looking to harness business opportunity though unified communications and collaboration technology. John’s passion is finding ways to combine innovation with technological solutions that solve business problems, creating distinctive (sometimes disruptive) value-driven solutions for network service providers, IT solution providers and their customer base.

John CognataCo-founder & Business Development Executive

SOFTEL Communications: Helping Businesses to Evolve

& Produce through Innovations & Collaborations

36 | June 2016 |

| June 2016 | 37



10The



10The

“We chose expertise and experience over a big name. We appreciated the SOFTEL hands-on approach and their capacity to assimilate our complex business processes and propose appropriate solutions.” “The SOFTEL solution has been invaluable to our organization and has resulted in a reduction of about 70% of our security resets on the network side, and there is no telling what the translation is in productivity gains to the organization. This has helped us become among the pioneers in the journey towards true self-service and user empowerment.” Q. What are the future plans of your company?Our company, like many others, evolves with the available technologies. SOFTEL invests perpetual research effort and time in looking beyond the available sectors for Unified Communications, in the spirt of innovation to drive value for our customers. We look for opportunities that bring together UC as a Service, outside of where you might expect to find it. That’s because we recognize that UC isn’t just for human to human interactions - there’s a whole host of new business within collaborations for business, gamification, telemedicine, collaboration for the federation of resources, remote resource training, Virtual Reality, IoT and on-line bots & Artificial Intelligence (Content & Knowledge Management) - all of which continues to extend UC into all directions, across all sectors. Of course, we serve many different clients and customers in Contact Centers but that is’t where we see that UC ends. Wherever there is a need for innovation, expertise and experience in supporting excellence in communications and collaboration amongst humans or between humans and machines - that’s where you will find SOFTEL!

While our core area of focus is B2B communications, we see a growing need to provide Collaboration between B2C. In doing so we are innovating the Telemedicine, Gamification, Education/Training, and Social Media applications and enhancing communication channels in these market segments. As an example, in the areas of telemedicine and preventive maintenance; We are helping our service provider and IT solution provider customers develop and deliver new services through the innovative application of UC or Collaboration technology thereby creating additional revenue streams and generate better productivity for multiple parties.

Q. With the introduction of a new technology every other day, what kind of changes you are experiencing?SOFTEL recognize that most customer service-oriented organizations are facing a dilemma in keeping up with the explosion of new technologies and new ways of communicating for consumers. Our aim is to provide the glue that keeps our clients solution upright, functional - and relevant. With each new wave of social or personal communication methods comes the opportunity to innovate, through that disruption. The end result is a more streamlined and unified method of interacting across each channel - new or old.

Q. How your team has contributed to the success of your company? Experience, focus and an unwavering commitment towards our customers’ success! Our team reflects this in each role and task they are allocated; seasoned professionals who know what works and - more importantly - what doesn’t. Through their teamwork at every level, they uphold the core of SOFTEL, frequently going the extra mile to make sure the job is done right. Here’s a few of our customer quotes, reflecting our core values;

Microsoft Skype for Business (SfB) is the fastest growing UC platform, according to leading industry analysts. SOFTEL is a key Microsoft partner, with Gold certification and competency in Microsoft Communications and Productivity platforms. Alongside platform implementation and ongoing support, SOFTEL provides core re-development using both the UCMA and UCWA developer toolsets. This is a key area of strength for SOFTEL, in developing Microsoft Skype for Business Cloud applications - something very few other providers can achieve. This means that we can develop from the ground up, based on very specific enterprise customer needs. As for Cisco, SOFTEL is a key service partner with expertise in UC and Contact Center, including an evolving Cisco IoT practice. With strong experience in CISCO UCCE best practice implementations for leading multi-national enterprises that aim to streamline both operations and customer services. Using a “hybrid” approach to combining UC communications channels we architect, design, develop, test, implement and manage on premise and Cloud enterprise applications based on a customer’s business specifications and enterprise security protocols. In truth, there is no real extent to the versatility of the UC or Collaboration solutions that SOFTEL have provided for their customers and partners. Our applications and development toolsets reflect whatever is required to combine the customers channels and platforms of communication.

Q. How your company is going beyond the conventional way and proving to be the unique one in the maturing competition?SOFTEL continues to provide new ways to enable Collaboration through Unified Communications solutions.

Unified Communications (UC) is referred as, “A whole new way to the business

communication”. A perfect UC solution is the backbone of a successful business, just because of its ability to operate, work and communicate best. The successful implementation of UC depends on the investment of time and resources: strategic planning and engagement of the business. The most important part is the ‘strategic planning’, which needs to be observed, understand and incorporate, effectively. The basic is the understanding of the requirement of a perfect planning and following the process. First of all, a business needs to start identifying why exactly they want to incorporate Unified Communications, just to properly build a business case and measure success.

Just because there are multiple elements, which resides in unified communications solutions rather than a single product, getting a tailored solution is essential and more achievable when knowing exactly what is required. There are numerous challenges companies have to face, while implementing a perfect fit UC plan, including changes to business processes, integration issues with other software applications or systems already in use, security and compliance.

For the best adoption of UC, there are a few points to think on:

Need of Regular Evaluation in the

Technology

Unified Communications is not a technological tool in isolation, but on the other hand, it is a strategic solution that benefits business efficiency and operations. An important aspect while instrumenting the UC solution is to understand the benefit and outcomes it is going to bring. A regular evaluation of the technology and correspondence with employees to help incorporate awareness, adoption and culture change is the key to a successful implementation of a Unified Communications Solution.

A Perfect Strategy to be Implemented

A perfect strategy for UC is needed to be developed first, and then implemented. The fact that Unified Communications affects all parts of the business; there are some factors to be considered, which include culture change and technology adoption, training, business processes and objectives, technical requirements, financials as well as stakeholders, governance and policy.

Changing Business Cultures

One of the utmost important things, while implementing UC is the knowledge of ongoing business culture, which will let the company determine the impact deployment and integration of the Unified Communication’s solution, is having. It will help the company to transform

the culture which will be more collaborative and communicative. The change can be made by planned training and education to employees through the different levels of the Unified Communications solution deployment.

More emphasis on Training and Employee Engagement

Another key factor of a successful employment of a UC strategy is getting the employees, who are the actual users of the unified communications solution on board. The training and getting employees to understand the value offered by the technology to help in their workflow will help in better UC strategy implementation. This will eventually turn into getting employees involved and add up an engagement and integration into their workflow.

Importance of Planning and Testing

Regular planning, measurement and evaluation are very important, while ensuring maximum benefit from UC. This will turn out into a better response and resource allotment to challenges, technological requirements, employee adoption etc. which can arise in the process. These things have to be cared of while implementing the UC strategy to get most from it, which will be resulted in a UC adoption and use by employees as a regular part of their work and help with an increase in their level of productivity.

Successful Implementation

Of Unified Communications

Successful Implementation

Of Unified Communications

Need of an Hour

38 | June 2016 |

Systems, Media Gateways, Switches,

and Headsets. Also, Wildix offers

warranty on its products and

installation is carried out by Wildix

certified installers.

The distinguishing feature, however, is

the Wildix Software, which includes

the admin interface for system

who will simplify and automate daily

operations and increase the workplace

productivity of system users. Wildix,

founded in 2005, a state-of-the-art

solutions provider, offers a complete

solution of Unified Communications

including Hardware and Software.

Wildix produces its own certified

hardware: PBXs, VoIP phones, DECT

Organizations that are looking

to improve productivity and

responsiveness while

reducing their IT costs, Unified

Communications is proving to be a

significantly important investment.

Hence, it is crucial to select an

enterprise-class Unified

Communications Solution provider,

Stefano OslerCEO

Wildix: Simplifying the Company’s

Internal & External Communication

while Optimizing Productivity



10The



10The

Stefano Osler, CEO of Wildix got a degree in

Computer Science. He started his professional

activities, like working on software

development and analysis in the field of

human-machine interaction. In 1998, he

founded his first company, Intellicode, which

has grown over years and is now operational in

the market.

40 | June 2016 |

| June 2016 |41



10The



10The

and video), to schedule a

videoconference, to share a desktop,

an application or a link.

Approaching to the Radiant Future

Wildix believes that the future of the

UC is in the Cloud, this is why they

have created an offer that includes

Unified Communications services in

the Cloud. Another strong point of

Wildix is the integration of WebRTC.

Wildix system has been the first one to

fully integrate WebRTC into the UC

system, including softphone,

WP600ACG Android phone, WebRTC

Kite and videoconference. Finally -

Wildix constantly works on

integrations, to make its system

compatible with different HW and SW

solutions, such as CRM and ERP

applications, video surveillance

systems, professional headsets. Their

aim is to fully integrate their

communication solution with different

tools, in order to simplify and

automate daily operations and increase

the workplace productivity of those

who use their systems.

In March 2017, Wildix will participate

in the Enterprise Connect conference

in Florida. The conference is designed

with an objective to help maximize

your investments in communications

and collaboration systems, software,

and services.

“Surely our goal is to continue with

the process of internationalization,

considering new markets, such as the

US and the UK; research and evaluate

new technologies to be integrated into

our UC system; work on the

integration to ensure the compatibility

of our communication system with

different HW and SW solutions,”

desists Stefano.

solution, introduced back in 2013, is

the tool allowing the customer to

interact with the company via the

corporate website using live chat, call,

video, desktop sharing and file

transfer. Wildix WebRTC Kite solution

received the prize as the best Unified

Communication solution at the IP

Convergence in Paris, and was invited

to participate at WebRTC Conference

& Expo in Santa Chiara in California

(2013) and World Conference in Paris

dedicated to WebRTC (2013-2014).

Wildix also offers a web-based

videoconference solution based on

WebRTC, which does not require any

additional hardware. Wildix video

conference is available for the users of

the system, but also for the external

users via the browser. It’s possible to

record a videoconference (both audio

management and user interface for

collaboration. Both components are

web-based and accessible via the

browser, without having to install any

client or plug-in, which makes the

system compatible with any OS

(Windows, Macintosh, and Linux) or

tablet.

Leadership Committed to Standards

and Innovation

In 2000, Stefano started to work on the

development of a new communication

system and dedicated himself to the

project management activities.

Stefano assures, “Being a company

that develops front edge

communication systems, Wildix

strongly believes in innovation. The

product that we develop is the one that

we daily use at work. Before any new

tool or feature becomes available for

our customers, usually it passes a

usability test inside the company - our

employees are the first one to try it

out.”

In fact, new information and

communication technologies have

greatly changed the work lives over

the past years. Many of Wildix

employees constantly travel abroad to

other offices of the company and

participate in different events. Right

now, they can work anyplace, anytime

and use any device. Since the system

is web-based and compatible with any

platform, it makes no difference

whether they are in the office, at home,

on the move or abroad.

Outcome of Culture of Innovation

Wildix is the first company to have

fully integrated WebRTC technology

into a Unified Communications

platform. Wildix WebRTC Kite

““

The goal is to

avoid the

compatibility

issues

which often

appearduring

the installation

phase when using

the products of

different brands

As per the predictions, 1.3 billion workers in the

world are mobile workers. This is the reason;

many companies are sought after empowering

mobile workforce. Employees are using a single connected

device for all their needs like email, information

management, social media, corporate applications, web and

video conferencing, and note taking, for a long time. This is

the reason, which is making them use the multiple phones

and devices, making the companies have multi-device

connectivity to the enterprise systems.

The productivity of an employee can be traced from

anywhere, just because of the advancement of Bring your

own device (BYOD) strategy. Also, it fetches them freedom

of not getting bound by a workplace. The expectations and

needs of these workers in the modern scenario of working

are increasing the company’s choice of implementing

enterprise-wide Unified Communications (UC). UC offers


along with Bring Your Own Device

(BYOD) Priority on


Futurista

42 | June 2016 |

Futurista

employees the access to real-time

communications tools on any device,

proving beneficial to the companies by

letting employees collaborate anytime

and anywhere.

The Time Saving Ability for Real

Productivity Gains

According to a research, organizations

with UC save an average of 32 minutes

per employee per day, just because UC

enables staff to reach one another on

the first go. The real-time collaboration

features offered by UC, like screen

sharing, presence, instant messaging,

SMS text messaging, and video

conferencing makes the interaction

between colleagues quicker and easier.

This ease of communication and

collaboration empowers the workforce

which allows them to focus on

organizations core business goals and

avoid communication barriers like the

need to return missed calls and manage

multiple virtual voicemail boxes and

email threads.

No Restriction on Using Devices

UC also helps the user in keeping their

personal mobile number private, at the

same time allowing them to be in touch

with colleagues and customers using

virtually any device. Additionally, the

business phone calls made from the

employees mobile number appear to

originate from company’s Hosted

Voice number instead of employees

own mobile number. These business

phone calls also use employees Hosted

Voice minutes plan. An employee can

have a facility to start a call on their

desk phone and transfer it to their

mobile or vice versa instantly.

MegaPath UC includes desktop,

smartphone and tablet clients for all

major OS platforms, enabling a full-

featured UC experience across devices.

UC Makes the Cloud-Based

Deployment Easy

Organizations can constantly and

inexpensively scale cloud-based

communications services to best fit

their need. Organizations using a

virtual phone system with UC can

easily ramp up new employees and

perform self-service provisioning. The

availability of buying UC in a

subscription payment model, they get

only what they need and avoid large

up-front (capital) expenditures as well

as continuous staffing costs to upgrade

and maintain an on-premises system.

UC and Integrated Voice Making

Communication Faster

UC offers one easy-to-use interface

including all like, office phone systems

are often integrated with enhanced

collaboration and unified messaging

features such as screen sharing,

presence, instant messaging, SMS text

messaging, and video conferencing.

All these communication and

collaboration features of UC helps

speed up virtually every aspect of the

business cycle like decision-making,

customer support issue resolution, lead

generation, sales, etc.

UC with integrated telephony allows

busy workers more freedom and

flexibility in the way they

communicate and manage their

communications, expanding

productivity and collaboration. The

features like calling and mobility like,

Find Visual Voicemail (voicemail

transcribed as email), Me/Follow Me

(self-service call routing), Audio

Conferencing and Call Recording

enhances a mobile and productive

work style, at the same time improving

interactions with colleagues, partners,

and customers.

Need of an Hour

The need of an hour is the Real-time

communications and collaboration

solutions for a business; let it be of any

size. Let an organization have a single

location or hundreds of locations with

remote employees spread across the

globe, they need UC solutions, just

because of the benefits like, reduced

total cost of ownership, reduced travel

time, enables better collaboration, and

the ability for all employees to connect

faster and get more work done.

Thus, let it be company of any size, it

is keeping Unified Communications

and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)

as a high priority on the Technology

Roadmap.

| June 2016 |43

Beyond Traditional Services

Yorktel’s Professional Services

division offers an end-to-end suite of

advisory services that help Fortune

1000 businesses and government

agencies develop, deploy and

maximize unified video

communications and collaboration

solutions. By employing best practices

for video and an ITIL-based service

design methodology, coupled with its

and a trend toward cloud services or

cloud/premise hybrids.

For more than 30 years, Yorktel has

removed complexity from video and

UC&C, and executed its operational

mandate to deliver products and

services that increase usability and

agility for today’s multi-national

enterprise.

To address the objectives and

needs of clients as well as

employees, both inside and

outside its network, an organization

needs the ability to communicate and

collaborate effectively. Adoption of

unified communications and

collaboration (UC&C) becomes more

ubiquitous with smart devices

supporting clientless UC applications,

a greater density of commodity video

44 | June 2016 |



10The



10The

Yorktel: Making Unified Communications

& Collaboration Simple

Ron Gaboury, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) was promoted from Chief Financial Officer to CEO in 2011. His leadership has been characterized by executive management, financial and technical acumen. From 2012 - 2014, Yorktel acquired three companies, First Connections, Expedite VCS and MultiSense, which facilitated global expansion into EMEA and its entry into Telehealth and other new markets. Ron Gaboury

CEO

| June 2016 | 45



10The



10The

Ron was appointed Chairman of the

Board for the New Jersey Tech

Council, the state’s leading industry

association. As a frequent speaker at

events and years of active

participation, Ron was selected to this

post for his track record and insightful

leadership.

Education and thought leadership have

become a hallmark of Yorktel

communications and marketing. While

labor-intensive, case studies,

whitepapers, speaking engagements,

and other efforts provide a valuable

service to the market. Recent papers

on the Next Generation Workplace,

UC&C Productivity, Telehealth, and

Webcasting provide insight on proven

best practices, and guidance for a

marketplace in constant flux.

Team is the Strength

To Yorktel, “collaboration” refers to

more than products and services. As

the company evolved over the past 30

years, what has not changed is their

belief that each client relationship is a

partnership. Companies with a

“vendor” mindset focus only on sales

and their own agendas. Their mentality

is that they are an extension of their

customer’s team; they approach each

engagement with a conviction that

success will be defined by long term

gains in productivity, marketshare and

other quantitative returns.

Contrary to most, they know that the

relationship doesn’t stop once the

contract is signed. From the initial

assessment and roadmap development,

to deployment, user training and

ongoing management, Yorktel

provides the high-touch support to

execute from end to end.

including the aforementioned SIP and

H.323 protocols, Microsoft Lync and

Skype for Business, WebRTC and the

public telephone network. Native

support for disparate technologies

makes the Enterprise Gateway a

powerful yet simple solution.

Recognizing a worldwide exodus from

Capex-intensive Tech/Telecom

infrastructure, Ron successfully

positioned Yorktel at the forefront of

the cloud and managed services

revolution. In 2014, Frost & Sullivan rdranked Yorktel as the 3 largest

managed video conferencing services

provider in North America.

Yorktel has achieved numerous

milestones, industry honors and

distinctions during Ron’s tenure as

CEO, including, in January of 2016,

vendor-agnostic approach, Yorktel

delivers communications strategies

that support usage models for on

premise or cloud, self-service or

managed service, and integrate

seamlessly with IT practices.

Yorktel goes beyond traditional UC&C

with Univago, a breakthrough video

collaboration platform as-a-service.

Introduced in 2015, Univago solves

interoperability and quality of service

(QoS) problems common to BYOD

(Bring Your Own Device) and remote

collaboration, and with legacy

equipment connections and upgrades.

Developed in response to the glaring

absence of an enterprise-grade, video

collaboration platform that offers more

than just a ‘bridge in the cloud,’

Univago supports a variety of

deployment architectures and

drastically reduces bandwidth

consumption and bottlenecking that

result from large-scale video usage

forced to use the Internet. In addition,

as a self-service, subscription-based

offering, Univago is flexible and

simple to adjust over time, allowing

customers to control costs and scale

with future growth, while eliminating

the need for capital expenditures in

hardware that will soon be obsolete.

Unique to Univago is Yorktel’s

Enterprise Gateway, which

eliminates interoperability issues that

often plague users trying to connect

between their Microsoft Lync/Skype

for Business deployments and existing

SIP or H.323 conference rooms and

infrastructure. The Enterprise Gateway

enables Univago to natively facilitate

communication between existing

conference rooms and the most widely

used telecommunications platforms,

““

Our strategy is simple:

offer services and

solutions portfolio that

aligns with the needs of

our customers. The

markets in which they

compete grow more

competitive each day, and

it's essential that they

have a trusted partner

which not only provides

technology, but also the

tactical expertise,

guidance and long-term

support they need to

remain agile, productive

and efcient

Industry Evolution

It has been a long time since the first IPbased PBX was launched. Still today, loads of organizations are challenged by different UCC technologies. This is the

reason; IT decision-makers have to plan for comprehensive UCC strategies, and to invest in them essentially. Bring your own device (BYOD) approach of the modern day organization and the exhausted budgets are compelling IT divisions to act. The recent advances in enterprise video technologies and services, and the over use of social media for business use are increasing the collaboration options to the employees at the same time, tension for organizations.Here is how large organizations are looking towards Unified Communications.

Services for Any Need

For an effective and efficient voice and Internet communications available on a single software platform Unified Communications is the most helpful. UC enables an array of services which can be added or removed as required, easily adapting to the needs of the institution and the requirements of a variable workload. Being a backbone to the Public Sector organizations, IT is helping the public to get in touch with their local representatives, and allowing collaboration between Public Sector staff. In lower running costs, simultaneously offering the option to use services on a Pay-As-You Go basis, UC is giving a chance to these

organizations to become modernize.

UC Contact Center for Managing Vast Amount of Calls With the help of modern VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol), UC can create a local Contact Centre for public organizations at 80% lower costs than by running physical telephone networks. Using the available computer servers to create a virtual telephony network especially where calls are free to the user, this can be achieved. Having immense capacity, the system can manage thousands of calls at one go, allowing a higher rate of successful call resolutions and while affirming the loss of lost calls. One more striking benefit of UC is the single software platform that permits the user to see who is available at a glance from their displays, so employee can route calls to the most appropriate person instantly. UC will help the employees to deliver better customer service and add up to the morale of staff who will find it easier to successfully resolve enquiries.

Good Replacement for the Expensive New Infrastructure

UC services is having the ability to use the existing hardware and physical infrastructure of an organization to create an integrated, modern communications system. UC uses open software solutions to bring everything at one place. Variety of communication softwares like Email, text,

UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS

TO REVOLUTIONIZE THE

PUBLIC SECTOR

I

46 | June 2016 |

Industry Evolution

voice calls, video conferencing, Instant Messaging etc on a range of devices can be easily adapt to new technology and the changing needs of the organization, with the help of UC. The most important thing is there is no need to get rid of current equipment, because the only required thing is software installation.

Gives Flexibility to the Workplace Offering a range of services that can be changed to suit the organization’s needs, help organizations to be flexible to avoid a waste of money and resources, helping them to achieve cost savings without compromising on service. This is a way with which the

UC user-friendly software platform is accessible from any electronic device, enabling more flexible working patterns for Public Sector staff. Just with the help of a single contact number and email address, employee can access calls, documents and messages on the go, from the office, or working from home.

UC Offering Better Services to the Public

UC Contact Centre services make it easy for the members of the public to get in touch with those who manage local services, with a single contact number for departments or individual members of employees. The all-time

availability of these services makes the employees accessible all the time, let them be anywhere during the working day so queries can be addressed without delay. Additionally, the integrated IT platform enables members of the organization to see the available employee, to answer queries, so that calls can be answered at the same time, without any need of call back sometime later. With the availability of greater call capacity and fewer calls lost, UC offers a better, more efficient service to the public.

With these capabilities Unified Communications has the ability to revolutionize the public sector.

| June 2016 | 47

www.kal.com

The world’s leading ATMsoftware company

+44 131 659 4900