#UCJourney

You’ve made the decision that your business will benefit from implementing a Unified Communications solutions.

You have explored the various UC deployment models (cloud, hybrid and on premise) and have a solid understanding of which one is right for your business.

#UCJourney

IT’S TIME TO INVESTIGATE VENDORS

#UCJourney

The vendor you choose will become a long term business partner, advisor and advocate. The importance of properly vetting vendors is critical.

We have identified 13 key criteria to help you choose the right partner.

#UCJourney

CUSTOMIZED SOLUTION

Your vendor should be able to accommodate short-term customization goals that are important to your business as well as proactively address long-term needs.

1.

#UCJourney

This is an extremely important as it could impact your organization, and your bottom line, significantly.

ON-PREM HOSTED HYBRID

2. DEPLOYMENT OPTIONS

#UCJourney

Take a close look at the deployment success track record for your model. Vendors will be able to provide detailed information regarding deployments for your reference.

2. DEPLOYMENT OPTIONS

#UCJourney

Does the vendor have the ability to offer and support all three deployment options?

The ability to support different deployment options is critical to the initial and/or future implementation phases, the vendor will need to demonstrate success supporting the various environments.

3. SOLUTION ARCHITECTURE

#UCJourney

In addition, ensure the vendor has add on UC applications and capabilities, and can deliver a seamless user experience that will work across all environments.

3. SOLUTION ARCHITECTURE

#UCJourney

Leading UC vendors offer diverse portfolios, which lets organizations compare solutions and decide which one best meets the needs of their business.

Evaluate a vendor's total solution, associated services and partnerships

VALUE PROPOSITION4.

#UCJourney

Ultimately, the true test of UC's value proposition is to measure its effect on how it

improves the business processes.

4. VALUE PROPOSITION

#UCJourney

UC is more than a VoIP/Telephony solution…

A top priority in selecting a UC vendor will be functionality.

5. FEATURES & APPLICATIONS

#UCJourney

Ensure that the vendor can deliver an enterprise-grade telephony experience and security for cloud applications and add on features like contact center and CRM integration

5. FEATURES & APPLICATIONS

#UCJourney

Mobility is key in today’s business communications. With more professionals choosing a mobile phone as their primary business communication device. Applications need to be user friendly and easily accessible.

MOBILITY APPS6.

#UCJourney

UC will transform the way your workforce communicates and collaborates.

Adoption of the new solutions are essential to hitting business productivity goals.

USER EXPERIENCE7.

#UCJourney

To properly secure network and devices some vendors provide their own others use third party resources.

It is important to ask the vendor if the network that the hardware and software lives on is secure.

SECURITY8.

#UCJourney

9. BUSINESS CONTINUITY

#UCJourney

Your business communications platform is the lifeline of the organization, and you can’t take the risk of downtime.

Vendors should have a solid plan that outlines how communication is accessible in the event of an emergency or disaster.

BUSINESS CONTINUITY9.

#UCJourney

If you are expanding your business across the globe, it’s important that you look for a solution that provides a localized calling experience for users located outside of the U.S.

Verifying this with your vendors is key.

INTERNATIONAL10.

#UCJourney

A true cloud communications solution will grow seamlessly with your business.

Adding a new user or a location should be simple and completed via an intuitive admin portal. Your UC vendor must provide the tools for real-time or close to real-time ability to scale up or scale down

SCALABLE11.

#UCJourney

Emergency services are often an oversight until an emergency situation.

Ensuring your vendor provides local, long distance, on-net and toll-free, directory assistance, caller ID, directory listing and 911/E911 service simply ensures your workforce is safe.

EMERGENCY SERVICES12.

#UCJourney

A solid UC approach combines telecom and IT goals into one strategy. Your chosen vendor will design a solution to meet this goal.

Part of that solution will be to develop an implementation plan that will work in sync with your IT team.

IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS13.

#UCJourney

Dissecting the granular criteria for finalist’s will center around company goals, references

and overall business to business compatibility.

#UCJourney

Thoroughly investigating your finalists will certainly take you outside of the parameters identified in this article.

These key criteria can serve as a guideline for initiation and research to identify the ideal partnership for your business.

#UCJourney

#UCJourney

GAIN MORE INSIGHT >