An Illinois-based power company with multiple locations was having issues with their phone system. Their on-premises infrastructure was outdated and couldn’t support their remote and mobile staff members.
The company turned to our trusted technology advisors to find a Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) platform that offered a similar experience to their old on-prem system while simultaneously delivering the features remote and mobile workers need to stay productive.
Our advisors leveraged their extensive experience in the UCaaS space, advanced tools and our extensive partner network to identify a UCaaS solution that met all the client’s requirements. Once their UCaaS solution was in place, the power company enjoyed lower spending due to eliminating hardware-related costs and enhanced mobile and remote work capabilities, among other benefits. Learn more from the full case study: Power Company Achieves Success With UCaaS and SD-WAN.
If you’re considering deploying a cloud phone system to achieve similar results for your business, you’ll want to do your research first to ensure you don’t run into problems during implementation. Based on our advisors’ experience assisting our clients with UCaaS deployment, here are a few tips you should keep in mind to ensure the process goes as smoothly as possible.
1. Make sure you’ve properly vetted your UCaaS provider.
Before you get started, consider whether you’re working with the right supplier. You don’t want to spend months setting up a UCaaS solution and then realize it lacks crucial capabilities or comes with unanticipated costs. It pays to engage with a third-party advisory firm that can offer insights into the pros and cons of all your options.
If you do your own research, you’ll deal with sales representatives who will play up the benefits of their company’s product. On the other hand, our advisors can produce objective comparison matrices. Additionally, we can base our recommendations on a detailed assessment of your environment, including call flow, hunt groups, integrations into business applications, and degree of integration.
2. Work with a project manager who understands your environment.
Whether you’re going from an on-prem system to the cloud or cloud to cloud, we strongly recommend appointing a project manager with phone system and contact center experience. An internal staff member or a professional from an outside entity like Stratosphere can fulfill this role. Although the UCaaS supplier will also designate a project manager, you’ll want someone on your company’s side to make sure nothing gets overlooked.
A project manager from a firm like Stratosphere that has assessed and gained in-depth knowledge of your on-prem environment can make a significant difference in preventing issues with implementation. Your project manager can keep the UCaaS deployment on track regarding dates, porting and numbers. They can also go on-site if needed to ensure you’ve aren’t missing any analog devices or applications that require integration.
3. Include all your department heads in the UCaaS discussion.
It’s common for the IT department to handle this type of initiative, but we strongly advise including the heads of other divisions from the very beginning. They can help you find the best UCaaS software for your company and assist with end user adoption by getting their teams excited about this transformational project.
Here are just some of the departments you should keep in the loop so you can find and deploy a solution that aligns with everyone’s needs and strategic goals.
- Marketing
- Customer service
- Operations
- Executive leadership
Executive buy-in is vital for end user adoption no matter what type of IT solution you’re rolling out. Emphasize to your leadership team that a UCaaS platform isn’t just a phone system. It can also improve CSAT scores, boost competitiveness by enhancing the customer experience (CX), help your company attract and retain employees with a better user experience (UX), and more.
4. Evaluate your network.
As you deploy your new UCaaS solution, it’s an ideal time to consider your current network – including bandwidth, traffic, phone lines and MPLS – and determine if you could potentially cut costs with enhancements or replacements. For example, purchasing and implementing SD-WAN could lead to significant savings while also improving application performance. Some UCaaS suppliers also provide SD-WAN: The power company mentioned earlier in this article obtained both solutions from the same source.
Ultimately, working with an advisory firm to find and deploy your ideal cloud phone system can make a big difference for your business in terms of efficiency, competitiveness and savings. Our technology advisors have helped many clients find and implement cloud phone systems that cut costs and boosted accessibility and productivity. If you’re dissatisfied with your on-prem phone system or current UCaaS solution, our team can save you a significant amount of time and money by shopping around for you to find a platform that aligns with your needs and goals.
To learn more about our advisory services, please call 877-599-3999 or email sales@stratospherenetworks.com.
