Organizations can move from traditional voice systems on-premises to integrated collaboration suites that increase productivity with careful planning.
Many businesses switched from legacy PBX (or private branches exchange) phone systems to VoIP (voice over IP) systems about a decade ago. Some organizations have moved to cloud collaboration suites, which include voice, video, and persistent chat. This allows for simplified management and allows for more features.
Many companies still use their existing systems. These leaders know that they will eventually need a cloud collaboration suite. They must think carefully about when, why, and how they will make this move to maximize the value of their current systems and future solutions.
When to plan the best time for collaboration migration
It is never too early to plan a major IT migration. Leaders will be reluctant to abandon existing systems if they have just invested in new handsets or other equipment to support VoIP systems.
A refresh cycle is an excellent opportunity to start removing legacy systems and move to a cloud collaboration platform. Instead of spending $50,000 on an upgrade, an organization could instead plan to get the best out of the existing system and then migrate to the next generation.
Why? Identify the Goals that Drive Your Adoption Strategy
As with any major IT move, cloud collaboration solutions should be driven by business results. The unified nature and ease of use of collaboration suites are one of the main drivers for their adoption. Supporting different solutions for collaboration can lead to IT support becoming overwhelming and a poor user experience. Cloud collaboration suites have a major advantage: They can be accessed from anywhere. This makes them ideal for remote workers and mobile workers.
Organizations that use cloud collaboration tools to manage their aging infrastructure are another major driver. Companies that adopt cloud collaboration tools can reduce the footprint of their data centers and redeploy IT staff to other projects, rather than supporting old hardware.
The move to cloud collaboration also allows organizations to shift away from a capital expenditure financing model to embrace an operating expense model. This makes costs more predictable and manageable.
Track Your Migration's Progress
A discovery and design phase is a key part of the migration to cloud collaboration. This involves organizations documenting not only their current infrastructure but also their most critical workflows and needs. For example, IT and business leaders may decide to adopt new features such as call recording or chat support in organizations that support contact centers.
Want to Know More About Our Services? Talk to our Consultants!
Companies should also embrace a vigorous adoption effort, which includes extensive training for users. Organizations often roll out collaboration suites that are not used because their employees don't know how or don't see the value.
Organizations can maximize cloud collaboration tools by carefully considering each step.