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Zoom – UCaaS: All you need to know

technavadmin UCaaS , , , ,
Zoom – UCaaS: All you need to know

By Chis Newell
Founder & President

UCaaS migrations have moved into hyperdrive in 2020 because of Covid-19. Companies who were waiting for their migration to UCaaS have pushed this initiative to the forefront of their projects.  

In addition, organizations who were on lackluster UCaaS solutions with limited features are now looking at top UCaaS providers to supply them with the feature functionality they need to keep communication and collaboration going. With much of the workforce still “at home”, it is fully understandable why UCaaS is more important than ever. 

The list of suppliers competing for this business continues to change and evolve. Cisco purchased Broadsoft in 2018, which generated shockwaves across to the UCaaS industry as there are thousands of UCaaS providers using the BroadSoft platform as the backbone of their solution. However, one of the largest announcement as of late has been Zoom Conferencing, who officially entered the UCaaS arena in 2019, just in time for the Covid-19 lockdowns.   The other latest announcement is 8×8 purchasing Fuze in 2022.  

If you have Zoom today 

Zoom “Enterprise Cloud Phone System” has provided the ease of use that we enjoy from Zoom Meetings and has applied it to a UCaaS solution. This is backed by a solid backbone and scalable/redundant platform that has successfully absorbed the tremendous number of new Zoom Meetings and UCaaS since 2019. 

There are plenty of features that Zoom provides on their platform. However, being relatively new to the UCaaS solution there are gaps. The Zoom application that is used on smart phones and desktops has strong feature/functionality.  

Pro’s and con’s  

For most SMB clients, they expect their UCaaS or phone system to also act as their contact center solution. With Zoom, there are limitations in how this solution can be configured for contact center services and it also lacks the omnichannel feature set that most CCaaS solutions are known for.  

To combat this, Zoom has partnered with Five9, Genesys and others to supply clients the integration between CCaaS and UCaaS. While not the same platforms, there is a decent level of integration.  

Out of the gate, Zoom appears to have a strong offering with their UCaaS product, but it is important to weigh all the requirements for your solution and make the right decision. Each supplier in the UCaaS arena has aspects of their solution that are stronger than others. Looking at all the relevant suppliers will give you a full scope of what the industry has to offer. My team and I look forward to helping you make this important decision.  

What DaaS & Managed VDI can do for your company

technavadmin DaaS / VDI , , , ,
What DaaS & Managed VDI can do for your company

By Chis Newell
Founder & President

The modern workforce is highly collaborative.  However, one of the most significant challenges many organizations face is centralizing their IT infrastructure to keep their employees connected, even if they are working remotely.  

Enter Desktop as a Service Infrastructure (DaaS) and Managed Virtual Desktop Interfaces (VDI).  Organizations can host desktop environments in a managed, centralized environment and keep employees and critical stakeholders connected.  To determine if this is the best solution for you, let us dive into some key features.  

The Pros and Cons of DaaS & VDI 

Managed VDI and DaaS are cloud-based applications managed by solution providers.  Organizations work with the solution providers to create golden images designed for their employee profiles.  They don’t have to worry about configuring individual desktops and keeping IT infrastructure updated, scalable, and secure.   Because DaaS is a cloud-based solution, it is not limited by space availability, allowing for scalability to meet demands while keeping data in a secure environment. 

Organizations can anticipate costs with predictable subscription models and low upfront charges while eliminating maintenance or management efforts and costs.  

However, for organizations with specialized and unique configurations, there is the possibility of having some hybrid users to meet the highly specific operating system or hardware requirements.   It is important to compare the recurring subscription costs against all aspects of the Managed VDI and DaaS solution (employee/management, security, certifications, audits, hardware, and colocation) in developing the ROI. 

Key Takeaways 

Like most IT organizations, running an agile environment with fewer resources is required.  Using a Managed VDI or DaaS solution future-proofs organizations, lowers IT efforts, and moves the costs to an operating expense.   Ready to explore further?  Connect with us to discuss these technologies and how they may impact your organization.  

Is SD WAN right for you? 

technavadmin SD-WAN , , ,
Is SD WAN right for you? 

By Chis Newell
Founder & President

Before you decide if this is best for your business, let us share our insight with you. 

There are three major segments to consider with SD WAN solutions. The actual SD WAN box (including switches, security, and redundancy/resiliency), Internet circuits, and voice services.  

SD WAN

While most SD WAN providers have the same basic concept (self-service portal, multiple IP connections with aggregation, failover and resiliency), there are key items that differentiate them, such as user portals, failover speed, packet algorithms, and security elements. Some of the top providers we have seen deployed are VeloCloud, Versa, Cato, Cisco IWAN/Meraki, TELoIP, Viptela, and BigLeaf. SD WAN is just the box or service, it does not encompass the circuitry. The SD WAN boxes are purchased through a provider/vendor who then will manage the solution.  

Internet/Network

To have SD WAN services work effectively, it is important to vary internet providers, to provide different mediums of connectivity. For example, if provider #1 is a coax provider, the secondary provider’s service should run over either fiber or copper, which will provide redundancy and resiliency at the physical location.  

SD WAN & Internet/Network Providers

Local Exchange Carriers (LECs) can provide the SD WAN box along with a primary circuit. However, it has been discovered that LECs will not effectively manage the secondary internet circuit or switches. In our experience, using an aggregator for SD WAN solutions will provide the best results. The reason for this is that aggregators can provide and manage the full solution (switch, SD WAN, 1st & 2nd Internet provider, failover and security). Aggregators can order and manage all types of circuits (fiber, coax, copper, microwave, 4G, etc.) and hardware (mentioned above) to support the full solution.  

Voice Services

Voice/dial-tone phone services are as important as always. However, voice services are being delivered differently by mixing soft phones with desktop hard phones. Most aggregators have voice services available within their solution set. However, depending on which SDWAN provider you choose, UCaaS providers such as RingCentral, GoTo, 8×8, Zoom and MS Teams have direct integrations into the SDWAN box provider, which is fairly effective.  This part of the solution can be easily bundled into the SD WAN and Internet/Network solution.  

Aggregator Solution Providers

So, you are asking, who are the aggregators? Narrowing down the list of possibilities can be daunting, and we want to help you find the best fit for your needs. If you are interested in hearing more, Contact us here! 

5 Reasons Every Business Should Invest in Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) 

technavadmin IT Security , , ,
5 Reasons Every Business Should Invest in Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) 

By Chis Newell
Founder & President

With technology constantly evolving and security breaches becoming more common, data has never been more vulnerable. Businesses need to back up their data to restore it in the event of a disaster or security breach.  

However, ensuring that businesses remain operational after these events requires a little more than just data backup plans. What is needed is a solution that maintains the critical functions to minimize disruptions to business continuity and losses. That’s where Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) comes into play. 

What Is DRaaS?  

Disaster Recovery as a Service is a managed solution that allows businesses to establish alternative data processing sites used in a disaster or security event. As a result, it simplifies the disaster recovery process and makes it quicker and easier for businesses to back up critical data and apps cost-effectively.  DRaaS solutions come with many benefits for businesses and have become increasingly popular across all industry sectors. Let us look at some of the most notable advantages of making companies turn to DRaaS vendors to safeguard their data. 

Fast, Reliable, And Secure 

With DRaaS solutions, there is a faster, automated, and more dependable recovery process compared to traditional practices. Moreover, your data will be securely stored in multiple cloud locations, so businesses don’t have to worry about having a single point of failure.  Most importantly, DRaaS solutions also guarantee the backups, practice failover, and disaster declaration and ensure copies are current and complete, giving peace of mind. 

Cost-Effective 

Unlike traditional backup methods, DRaaS solutions keep monthly expenses low and predictable. In addition, businesses never have to invest in on-premise IT infrastructure for disaster recovery, lowering costs.  

Better Administration 

The nature of DRaaS eliminates the need for IT teams to handle tedious data recovery and repair activities. Hiring a third party to take care of data recovery reduces the burden on IT, allowing the focus on what matters while reducing FTE in-house expenses.  

Ease Of Scale 

DRaaS is easy it is to customize the disaster recovery plan.  Businesses can quickly scale up the DRaaS solution for growth or scale down depending on requirements.  As a result, companies won’t have to overextend their environment and pay more to safeguard data.  

Strategic 

DRaaS vendors can create a formal disaster recovery plan taking different scenarios into account based on their experience in the industry and promised recovery point objectives (RPO) and recovery time objectives (RTO).  They are also capable of testing disaster recovery plans periodically to ensure their effectiveness.   

Our Verdict?  

Using a third party to take care of data backup and disaster recovery plans can safeguard data and keep businesses operational in a disaster. Contact us If you want to know more about what DRaaS can do for your business or organization. 

Six Key Points to Consider When Implementing CCaaS

technavadmin CCaaS
Six Key Points to Consider When Implementing CCaaS

By Chis Newell
Founder & President

If you have an interaction contact center, NOC, or customer service team, chances are you have looked at CCaaS (Contact Center as a Service). There are a lot of choices out there for CCaaS and it can be overwhelming.

My team has deployed over 10,000 contact center seats with a multitude of different service providers. We have requested RFP information on most all service providers in the CCaaS Gartner Magic Quadrants and we assist with the management of their solution. Here are six key points we have learned along the way.

Infrastructure & Redundancy

It is vital to have a solid infrastructure with multiple layers of redundancy and resiliency, both within the CCaaS datacenters and availability zones as well as geographically. We have seen issues with this in the past, not only with the level of redundancy and Business Continuity (BC) capabilities, but the testing of the redundancy and Business Continuity plans.   

Redundancy also needs to come into play with 8xx and voice providers, core routing solutions, internet providers (running in tandem not just failover), call delivery, database and reporting. Many service providers say they have redundancy and BC processes, but what they offer isn’t comparable to what needs to be in place.

My team has done the research and we know which service providers have the best redundancy and BC.

Feature Set / OmniChannel and MultiChannel

While having redundancies in place is important, it is a moot point if a supplier does not meet your requirements with their feature set. Through a validating RFP you can determine what feature set is necessary for your solution, what would be nice to have, and what is on your wish list. In my opinion, it is a good idea to see what each service provider can offer, then scale back to fit your budget.  OmniSession, OmniChannel and MultiChannel are important to consider as well when looking at suppliers and how “efficient” your agents will be in the mediums of communication.

In some cases, Application Programming Interface (API) integration is more relevant as some service providers are not developing the complex feature sets but connecting best of breed service providers to deliver certain products. With the detailed RFP templates our team has created we are confident we can ask the right questions to determine if that service provider meets your needs.

Workforce Management Optimization (WFO)/WorkForce Management (WFM)/Quality Monitoring (QM)

If you have less than 30 seats, using a WFO/WFM solution set does not make much sense, as a manager should be able to administer and track scheduling using spreadsheets, etc. However, once you get over the 30-seat mark, it is best to implement WFO/WFM software to help manage scheduling, monitor call volume, call recording, and provide analytics.

QM is equally important to help management control the quality of the agents’ work. Service providers like NICE InContact, Genesys, and Aspect have natively baked WFO and QM into their solution, while others rely on “plug in” providers like Verint or Calabrio.

Solution Delivery

How do you intend to have CCaaS implemented? Options can be to integrate with your UCaaS, with your on-premise phone system, or you can consume CCaaS using SIP/VoIP provided by the CCaaS supplier. Each has its advantages and disadvantages depending on if you are using remote home agents, single or dispersed call centers, as well as cost and ease of deployment.

Our clients have connected calls over MPLS, IP, TDM, hard/soft and even Mobile phones. We have deployed and worked through the issues with each of these options. Depending on your strategy it is best practice to do a network assessment before testing, as well as a POC before launch of any production environment.

Security

The security of your client’s information (Pii) is vital. To protect this information, you should be reviewing encryption of data, voice recordings, call paths, and regionalization of data storage/country borders. If credit card processing is part of your business, there are very important strategies to make sure this information is being protected.

Pricing

CCaaS can have a great ROI if priced correctly, however it can also be costly when adding features. But don’t let the suppliers ROI calculator fool you, it is important to know the cost benefits and the right questions to ask when shopping for this solution. One tip is to watch for add on costs. Some of these include gamification, long distance w/surcharges, WFO/WFM/QM, API integrations, storage, and analytics. Because of the number of RFPs we have managed for CCaaS, my team is well versed in these pricing strategies.

There is much more to share with you on CCaaS. I hope to provide additional blogs on Security and WFO/WFM soon, so be on the lookout.