UC service management solutions are becoming increasingly essential in every business environment. Trends like hybrid and remote work, evolving technologies, communication preferences, and diminishing IT budgets are forcing companies to rethink how they manage their technology stacks.
UC (Unified Communications) service management solutions offer companies a comprehensive environment in which they can manage and provision licenses, track crucial data about software and device lifecycles, maintain service quality, and run diagnostic reports.
As demand for UC continues to grow (currently at a CAGR of 17.4%), the right management platforms will be critical to ensuring companies can make the most of their UC investment.
Here are the top reasons companies should consider investing in UC service management in 2024.
1. Unlock Efficiency with Comprehensive Automation
It is challenging to manage a wide range of UC platforms and solutions, from video conferencing technology to collaboration apps, across a dynamic landscape. UC service management tools empower companies to streamline crucial business processes with intelligent automation.
Leading vendors offer businesses a single pane of glass environment where they can automate workflows associated with license allocation, device configuration, software updates, and more. This makes everything from onboarding and offboarding new employees simpler. Innovative solutions can even automate report creation, issue instant alerts to companies when they hit certain thresholds, and help companies maintain clear views of networks and device functionality.
With the right technologies, businesses can sidestep the complex and labor-intensive process of managing and configuring workflows, even in diverse, multi-vendor environments. Plus, leading vendors offer companies tools that help streamline their migration into the cloud, allowing for consistent and secure digital transformation.
2. UC Service Management Can Reduce Costs
While IT budgets are set to increase in the years ahead, most companies still strive to accomplish more with less. Business leaders and IT teams must ensure they’re making the most of every solution and license they invest in.
The only way to accomplish this is with comprehensive visibility into your unified communications landscape. US Service management tools help organizations to effectively manage and optimize budgets, with advanced automation and insights. Business leaders can use automated systems to optimize resource allocation and reduce manual tasks, leading to operational cost savings.
Automating tasks like license management and provisioning reduces the need to hire additional IT staff members. Additionally, reporting tools built into UC service management software can empower teams to make more strategic purchasing decisions. Leading tools can help you identify underutilized licenses, optimize the use of network bandwidth, and identify opportunities to consolidate services or renegotiate vendor contracts.
3. Enhance Productivity and Performance
Leading UC service management platforms don’t just simplify the process of provisioning and configuring communication tools. They also ensure companies can optimize performance and productivity throughout their teams in various ways.
With the right technology, companies can leverage behind-the-scenes insights into performance metrics, identifying potential bottlenecks. You can use your software to identify exactly which endpoints, software, and solutions employees use each day and switch feature access on and off on demand. Companies can simplify the transition to the cloud, enhancing hybrid and remote work strategies with zero-touch provisioning and end-to-end monitoring.
Additionally, business leaders can identify and rectify issues with hardware and software from a distance. This reduces unnecessary downtime. Some UC service management solution providers even allow companies to give their teams access to self-service portals. These tools mean employees can quickly access additional licenses, troubleshooting tools and resources. This all leads to a higher level of productivity.
Some technologies even offer “self-healing” capabilities, leveraging AI and monitoring tools to rapidly detect and eliminate problems without human intervention.
4. UC Service Management Tools Improve Decision-Making
As the number of unified communications solutions grows, companies need to remain agile and adaptable, adhering to changing market dynamics. To accomplish this, businesses need the right insights and visibility into their communication stack.
With in-depth insights into device and software usage, productivity and performance metrics, and network allocation, businesses can make more intelligent decisions. Companies can alter their telephone network, apps, and licenses, leveraging insights from comprehensive reports to fuel decision-making.
The right tools can help businesses improve call quality, reduce downtime, and pinpoint opportunities for automation and innovation. Some market leaders in the UCSM space also include state-of-the-art AI technology in their tools. Through artificial intelligence, companies can leverage more of the actionable insights they need to boost team productivity. They can discover how meeting rooms are used, which trends influence team collaboration, and more.
5. Greater Security and Compliance
The rich insights offered by leading UC service management tools don’t just support effective decision-making. They also ensure companies can adhere to changing compliance guidelines. First, leading platforms help to reduce data silos, allowing companies to monitor data movement throughout their ecosystem. Some solutions even include integrated solutions that streamline de-provisioning strategies and track suspicious activity.
Leaders in the UC service management landscape empower companies to implement comprehensive automated workflows that reduce the risk of data leaks and losses. They also provide business leaders with comprehensive role-based access controls. This guarantees business leaders can provide each team member with specific privileges in multi-vendor environments, based on their responsibilities.
Depending on your chosen platform, you may also be able to integrate your UC service management solution with device and endpoint management technology. This helps to strengthen security policies and reduce risk.
6. Improve Flexibility and Agility
Finally, UC service management tools empower companies to remain agile, flexible, and scalable in a changing landscape. They empower organizations to manage and support hybrid teams. However, they also ensure companies can consolidate their technology stack, aligning various pieces of technology in one unified environment.
Vendor-agnostic provisioning management tools ensure businesses can rapidly expand their technology stack. They can access new AI solutions, contact center apps, call recording systems, and more without having to work with multiple different platforms.
The right solutions can even help companies leverage new trends. For instance, companies can adapt to a growing demand for mobility in their environments with 5G mobile network management.
Invest in Leading UC Service Management Solutions
UC service management platforms are quickly becoming one of the most valuable solutions for businesses seeking agility and growth. With these powerful tools, companies can improve security, empower remote teams, and reduce costs.
As the UC landscape becomes increasingly complex, demand for service management tools will only continue to grow. Investing in UCSM can give your company a competitive edge.
This post originally appeared on Service Management - Enterprise - Channel News - UC Today.