Why We Don't Have UC

Cloud Communications

Why We Don't Have UC

By Peter Radizeski, RAD-INFO Inc.  |  July 14, 2015

I tend to throw Collaboration into the UC bucket, which means we have to include Microsoft Lync (renamed Skype for Business), Office 365, Dropbox (News - Alert), conferencing (audio, web, video), and contact centers. Many CLECs just offer the hosted voice as a standalone product. Some of it has to do with the buyer. Most buyers only know what they know; they don’t know what they don’t know. Do they have the time (and patience) to learn what they don’t know about how UC can make the business flexible and competitive? In my experience, not usually.

It is true that people buy out of pain. It is also true that people hate change. The buyer often doesn’t want change, especially if there are costs or disruption associated with it. What they often ask for is a replacement that is better and costs less. Telecom, in a nutshell, has been about this – I will sell you a replacement for less money – from when the first pin dropped.

When the seller doesn’t want to change either, how does cloud get sold? As a replacement service. Instead of Hosted UC, it is really hosted voice. Instead of conferencing and collaboration, it is a hosted phone system the customer will rarely get a big benefit from (though, some of that is from a lack of training or a poor customer expectation set or a slipshod deployment).

Executives at organizations of all sizes and across countless industries experience many of the same challenges – from improving customer experience to staying ahead of the technology curve to cutting costs. One common challenge many executives face is avoiding the stigma of being seen as “out of touch” with what is going on from a day-to-day perspective in their organizations. Unfortunately for them, that’s exactly what a recent Evolve IP (News - Alert) survey exposed.

So the buyer doesn’t really know what is available; the seller doesn’t really want to sell the complex cloud solution. It is far easier for all involved to continue to do things the way they have always done things. This is why we are seeing Jabra (News - Alert) and others comment about the lack of UC adoption. Installing Office 365 with Lync in your organization and voice-enabling it is hardly UC, but it is a step closer than Hosted VoIP replacing your PRI. It will only change when all parties work towards change


Edited by Maurice Nagle
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