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Expert Insights: 2023 Unified Communications Predictions

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Today, unified communications (UC) technology is more than just IP phones and simple features like live chat. You’ll want to partner with a local provider who can help guide you toward the right mix of today’s solutions and evolve with you in the future.

TCI has been supporting the DC Metro Region for 40 years and we’re here to help. As we look toward the new year, we know many organizations will be modernizing their communications systems to streamline operations and keep employees and customers connected.

Our strategic technology partner, Mitel has weighed in on what UC will look like in 2023. Here are their predictions.

Generative AI will take off.

Generative AI can create content automatically. It has the potential to revolutionize certain aspects of business, specifically when it comes to content marketing and contact center communications.

The technology can improve the chatbot experience on websites and provide personalized content to customers based on their history. In the contact center, Generative AI can produce content for agent coaching. It can also document and summarize interactions between agents and customers, creating content that can be used for training and development.

Organizations and UC providers need to stay on top of the role Generative AI will begin to play and be able to incorporate the content produced by it into their UC technology stacks.

CISOs will focus on recruiting employees to play a bigger role in preventing attacks and securing edge devices.  

Phishing attacks rose in 2022 and organizations are concerned about unauthorized access or leaks of their proprietary information. Business leaders need to raise employee education and vigilance in avoiding ransomware, phishing, and other threats coming in email, texts, and social media.

Another challenge is securing a rapidly expanding universe of edge devices, both professional and personal. Most employees work on multiple devices, and you can’t protect what you don’t know about, so auditing and securing a widely dispersed infrastructure will be essential.

Mitel and TCI offer a software assurance (SWA) subscription that keeps your UC up to date on the latest software, security fixes, and compliance requirements.

A one-size-fits-all approach to delivering UC will no longer work. Organizations are demanding customized solutions.  

Customers have many communication technology choices today, and many use a mix of infrastructures. In 2023, the world’s business communications will occur across a panorama of on-prem, private cloud, hybrid, and UCaaS systems.

Currently, deployed on-premises solutions lead the pack, but Mitel’s survey found that over 40% of enterprises are combining their on-premises solutions with a cloud solution, and almost half are either evaluating or currently moving their on-premises communications to the cloud.

UC providers need to fully embrace Customer Lifecycle Management as organizations look for the right communications solution to deliver long-term value for both the customer and employee experience.

With so many choices regarding technologies and deployment options, organizations need more than just a drop-ship phone provider. They need a local partner who can support them on-site and guide them toward solutions that support shared workspaces, file and screen sharing, and a mobile-first design. Businesses are looking for a quick and sustainable ROI that empowers their customers to collaborate and complete tasks from anywhere.

Our local team of experts is ready to advise you on the best path forward as you implement your 2023 plans. Contact us at (703) 321-3030 or GetHelp@tcicomm.com.

 

7 Office Trends Redefining Online Team Collaboration

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The way people use technology continues to shift quickly, and consumer behaviors and expectations are bleeding into business environments, creating new requirements and methods of doing business.

Here are several important office trends redefining how businesses and people collaborate online.

1. Using More Outsourced Resources – Freelancers and consultants fill various roles depending on a company’s size, priorities, and policies. Whether enterprise or SMB, some companies use the expertise of outside resources to provide a necessary perspective, service, or advice to help businesses. Other companies use outsourced workers to quickly scale up and down, improving their agility and flexibility. Businesses using freelancers, consultants, or other types of remote support need robust online collaboration tools to connect these outsourced workers and the company’s staff to work effectively and efficiently.

2. The Rise of Solopreneurs – The trend of companies using more outsourced workers and the rise of solopreneurs go together. Solopreneurs run their single-person businesses, often relying on contracting or consulting work for employment. They’re usually experts in niche areas. As more workers become solopreneurs, companies will increasingly have to look outside of their walls to fill needs in those specialties. Your online collaboration tools should be user-friendly, so solopreneurs don’t need to become experts in obscure software to get on board and pitch in.

3. Cloud Enablement and the Rise of Mobility – With increased connectivity, the proliferation of smartphones and tablets, and a global economy, mobility changed the game for many companies. With today’s cloud-based technology, work is an activity, not a location. Files and other resources once chained to the office are now available from anywhere with a decent Internet connection. Online collaboration tools are more important than ever to connect those in the office, those traveling, those working remote or hybrid, or outsourced resources to keep work moving productively.

4. Real Estate Consolidation and Savings – Real estate can be pricey for businesses, with some urban areas commanding $100 or more per square foot of office space — a 10×10 office costs a staggering $10,000 per year in some places. Enabling remote workers can help keep real estate costs under control by reducing your need for space, avoiding relocation, and more. Without a good online collaboration tool designed for remote workers, it’s tough for workers to connect with their in-office counterparts to get work done.

5. Hyper Specialization – When you need an expert in a particular field, there’s a good chance they won’t live near your office. Some are willing to relocate. But many are not. If your much-needed expert feels like staying put, you may need to make concessions to bring them on board. Or you might have to offer them work-hour flexibility as a perk to seal the deal. Either way, it makes hyper-specialization another factor putting pressure on companies to use reliable online collaboration tools to stay competitive.

6. Wanderlust and the Rise of Ex-Pats – Have you seen House Hunters International? It’s not just showcasing ex-pat retirees settling into another country to spend their golden years with an exotic sea breeze tickling their noses. More people on the show are working professionals who want to travel or live abroad while continuing to work. This trend is growing, and innovative companies are leaning on online collaboration to help enable staff to work where they want to keep key talent on board.

7. Bring-Your-Own-Device – BYOD shouldn’t be a big surprise when it comes to identifying trends that are redefining online collaboration. Bottom line: companies that enable BYOD must find an online collaboration tool that works across various platforms, including smartphones, tablets, and computers. This trend points to the need for a user-friendly interface that’s intuitive and easy to use. If it’s not easy to use, workers will be quick to abandon it, hurting productivity or spawning pockets of shadow IT.

Adapt to Stay Competitive

The workplace is changing fast and leading to a revolution in how we collaborate online. Innovative companies and savvy tech providers adapt to stay competitive and ensure work gets done. Whether you’re affected by one of these trends or all of them, it pays to know the forces reshaping the landscape. Because the more you know, the better you can respond.

Let’s talk about your business and how you can exploit better Online Collaboration tools. Contact TCI today at: (703) 321-3030 or GetHelp@tcicomm.com.

 

Improving Operations with Better Technology Starts with Your 2023 TCI Planning Session

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With budget season here and 2023 right around the corner, now is a great time to start evaluating your office technologies and setting strategic goals.

A TCI Technology & Business Review gets you prepared for the new year, whether you’re connecting a Hybrid Workforce or thinking about Faster Broadband, Online Collaboration, Disaster Recovery, Cloud, or Managed Services.

Not familiar with the latest innovations or apps? We’ll get you up to speed so your business can connect more easily and become more productive than ever.

Schedule your 2023 planning session with TCI today. Contact us at (703) 321-3030 or GetHelp@tcicomm.com.

Too Busy? How Cloud Phone Systems Provide Time Saving Solutions for IT Managers

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Often working with limited resources and a small team, IT managers shoulder an immense set of responsibilities. In addition to implementing new growth initiatives, there are multiple systems to maintain and often multiple locations to support. With more users on the move, their jobs have only become more complicated.

Moving to a cloud phone system can go a long way toward alleviating this heavy workload and give your IT team more time to focus on higher level business initiatives. Here’s how…

  • Reduce Multi-Vendor Management – Managing multiple vendors not only impacts daily productivity, but outdated systems that are patch-worked together typically cannot deliver a consistent user experience, especially when you add different devices to the mix. Troubleshooting problems is more time-consuming, and because the systems may not be integrated, you’re not getting a consolidated view of your operations.
  • Lower Total Cost of Operations – Managing to budget is a core responsibility for every IT leader, and a cloud phone system can help you predictably meet departmental targets. By working with just one vendor instead of many, you’ll lower the total cost of operations by reducing the complexity of day-to-day management and time spent troubleshooting. You can also mix and match the customized features you need without paying for ones you don’t.
  • Future-Proof Your Business – One challenge with traditional phone systems is that the technology ages quickly. With a cloud system, you can always take advantage of the latest features and applications. Plus, there are increased opportunities for integration with other business applications. Employees can leverage new capabilities as they need them, without ever involving the IT team.
  • Headache Relief – By reducing complexity, a cloud phone system will save you time and allow you to focus on mission-critical IT tasks that drive productivity across the business. With easier implementations and uniform deployments, your IT team can spend less time training users and more time working on high-value projects. You might still have headaches, but they won’t be caused by your phone system.

If you’re an overworked and understaffed IT manager, wouldn’t it be nice to stop worrying about at least one of your systems?

If you’re thinking “yes,” then consider transitioning your business phone system to the cloud… Contact us today at (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

 

 

TCI Host Cloud Voice Service… Locally Designed, Deployed and Supported

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Our TCI Host Service is all about flexibility… Add new cloud-based tools to your existing business phone system, and when you’re ready, migrate your entire platform to the cloud to reduce your overall telecom costs.

Cloud communications isn’t an all-or-nothing endeavor

There are several deployment models to choose from depending on your business’s unique situation, and you can shift from one approach to another over time. Managing a multi-site business? TCI Host can bring your offices closer together.

Unified Messaging and Integrated Apps

With access to these Mitel-powered tools, your team’s work can be tackled on more devices from any location:

  • Integration with business applications from tech leaders like Microsoft and Google
  • Presence Tools
  • Softphone App on Mobile Devices
  • Unified Messaging
  • Remote control of desktops
  • Outlook client plug-in
  • Message retrieval from one synchronized message store

Powerful Collaboration Capabilities

Explore some of the Mitel-powered team building and conferencing tools your users can tap into with their mobile or desktop phones…

  • Virtual workspaces for team meetings, conversations, content review, and project management
  • Team Video Conferencing and Recording
  • Participant management
  • Desktop application sharing
  • Team and private chat
  • Web-based file sharing
  • Document management

In and Outbound Contact Center / Call Center

Whether you’re a small or big business, you can support omnichannel queues that let customers contact you the way they prefer. Track your customer contacts and get real-time metrics for informed decision-making and better team coaching.

  • Integrate with your CRM, like Salesforce, Microsoft, and others
  • Offer Live Agents, Web Chat, Email, Text Messaging / SMS
  • Monitor and respond to Social Media feeds (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.)
  • Automate and access Full Reporting on Your Customer Interactions
  • Improve Customer Experience
  • Become more efficient

Empower your people to serve your customers better

For a single, low monthly price, you can upgrade their old phones to advanced mobile-enabled, desktop phones and use Mitel’s award-winning capabilities to dramatically improve your Customer Experience.

Contact us today to schedule your TCI Host demo: (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

 

Tips for Team Success… 4 Types of Meetings You Want to Avoid in 2022

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Today, it seems like everyone is dialing in from their home office. Up to half of the workforce plans to work from home at least part-time, according to new research by Frost & Sullivan, so yet another evolution of meetings is on the horizon.

Given this new work environment, here are 4 types of meetings to avoid in 2022 – and tips to make your meetings more effective in our hybrid world.

1. The “Can Everyone See My Screen?” Meeting

The problem: Broken video and muted microphones may have been par for the course at the beginning of remote work, but with video usage 350% higher than pre-pandemic days according to Frost & Sullivan, meeting-goers expect more. Nobody wants to wait for their host to figure out how to share their screen or load their own presentation. Failed breakout rooms leave everyone feeling like their time has been wasted.

The fix: Make sure you’re using collaboration applications that effortlessly support the functions you need. Improvements like adaptive lighting, sound bars for better audio, and adjusted camera angles help make it feel like everyone is in the room together. It’s also important to ensure everyone involved can use these tools effectively. Spending time training your team means less precious time wasted during their actual meetings.

2. The “This Could Have Been an Email” Meeting

The problem: The entire team has gathered together to discuss the latest project, only to spend an excruciating hour going over a single document, line-by-line. Or the “update meeting” just to learn that there haven’t been any changes since the last time you met. If your meeting doesn’t require in-depth discussion and distracts people from their day, it probably could have been an email.

The fix: This might seem obvious, but sometimes emails really are better than meetings! Emails allow participants to respond at their own pace, provide complete records of the communication and give updates in real-time. Of course, nuance can sometimes be lost over text or ideas that need to be explained. In cases like these, having the right technology makes it easy to transition to a quick call, but only for long enough to clarify the point. Just be sure to follow up with an email to keep everyone on the same page.

3. The “What Are We Talking About Again?” Meeting

The problem: Absent agendas, rambling tangents, and discussions that are more like digressions – these are all signs that a meeting has gone off the rails. Without a focused plan and a dedicated leader to guide the discussion, the overall quality of work and satisfaction can suffer.

The fix: Unified communications technology makes it possible for a team leader to create and share an agenda ahead of time, along with any files needed for the discussion. Action items can be assigned and tracked in a collaborative workspace, so everyone is on the same page, during and after the meeting.

4. The “Gang’s All Here” Meeting

The problem: When too many people are required to attend a meeting that they have little practical involvement with, engagement rates plummet. Some studies show that less than 50% of meeting time is effective and engaging. The rate of engagement is even lower for remote participants, meaning that most meetings aren’t just boring, they’re ineffective.

The fix: The best meetings have a maximum of 5 or 6 participants, but the smaller the better. This allows everyone on the call to feel included in the discussion, leading to more innovative, productive dialogues. Make sure the collaboration tech for your meeting allows for each participant to easily communicate so that everyone’s voice can be heard.

Better Meetings in 2022

These are just four types of meetings we’d all like to put behind us this year, but there are so many ways to make meetings better. With hybrid work on the rise, it’s time to adjust our approach.

It’s time to embrace new ideas and technology to create an inclusive meeting culture that makes collaboration easy for everyone. TCI has the solutions. Contact us today at (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

 

Strong Storms Are Rolling In… How Business Continuity Planning with TCI Helps Protect Your Business

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TCI’s cutting-edge Disaster Recovery solutions are tailored to help protect your entire technology environment – from data and applications to office computers, mobile devices, networks, and phone systems.

Will your business continue to operate when disaster strikes?

Here are just some of the ways TCI’s comprehensive approach helps you safeguard what counts:

  • Determine appropriate risk reduction strategies, remedies, and alternatives for critical systems and networks, including affordable ways to address voice and data protection measures like off-grid power sourcing and secure off-site storage.
  • Enable a remote work program that can keep your business open when your office is shut down during an emergency.
  • Avoid critical data loss or recovery delays dealing with missing databases, disrupted systems, networks, and more.

If you’re considering moving to the cloud, remember you don’t have to do it all at once.

Create a plan… Identify what should stay in-house and what should go to the cloud. Focus on what you’d need to operate if a major interruption or disaster occurred. Determine the connectivity your employees need to do their jobs remotely. Also, work toward consistent and seamless end-to-end communications. TCI can help you build a hybrid or full cloud solution that meets the needs you’ve identified.

The cloud gives your company the agility it needs to respond to any disruption, be it a natural disaster, pandemic, a security breach, or a failure of your network or hardware.

Schedule your Business Continuity Planning meeting. Contact TCI today at (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

 

eBook: What Post-Pandemic Life May Look Like for Your Business

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Flexible Work from Home arrangements may not end for many organizations in our region.

Digital Transformation has become comfortable and familiar, and many employees have fully embraced remote working – even when their managers haven’t.

The business world is transforming and adapting with new technology. Video meetings, Digital proximity, and Hybrid workforces are here to stay, and it’s important to have a post-pandemic plan for your business too.

Check out Mitel’s eBook:
Life on the Other Side of the Pandemic

Change can be a challenge, but the good news is that TCI is here to help. When it comes to business communications, we make it easy.

We have decades of experience and the tools and technology that can bring your employees, teams, and business together.

Contact TCI today at (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

 

TCI’s Wi-Fi Service Offers High Speed In-Building Broadband Connections

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TCI’s Managed Wi-Fi Service… Simplify and speed up your day-to-day operations. Our Managed Wi-Fi puts intuitive yet powerful tools in the hands of your network administrators:

  • Add wireless capacity in minutes with fully automatic provisioning
  • Manage complex, dynamic environments using Auto RF
  • Throttle bandwidth and block unauthorized applications
  • Streamline device onboarding with built-in Mobile Device Management

Wi-Fi 6 Support… TCI supports enterprise-class Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) access points to solve density and throughput challenges. With up to 8 transmit and 8 receive antennas, your applications will always operate at peak performance. In addition to 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz radios, many APs offer a dedicated security radio that:

  • Continuously scans and protects against security threats
  • Senses the RF environment and adapts to interference
  • Automatically configures RF settings to maximize performance

Wireless Made Easy… From growing offices to large corporate enterprises, TCI designs, implements and maintains the wireless networks that keep local businesses connected and running strong. Our expertise includes:

  • Wireless site surveys
  • Wireless coverage testing
  • Access point cabling
  • Wireless security
  • Wireless network management

Whatever your environment and business goals, TCI can design, deploy, and support a cloud-managed wireless solution for you.

Our certified infrastructure experts will ensure your mobile workforce has access to the connections they need to stay productive… Contact TCI today at (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

 

Schools, Non-Profits, Gov’t… Are You Exploiting Sourcewell’s Discounts for Telecom Solutions?

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Sourcewell is a municipal contracting government agency serving the public sector.

Who qualifies for Sourcewell membership?

  • Educational institutions – both public and private, including K to 12, special education districts, charter schools, and higher education/universities
  • Non-profits – including hospitals and nursing homes, rural power cooperatives, housing authorities, member associations, and groups
  • State and local government agencies – including cities, counties, water districts, and tribal nations

How does Sourcewell work?

First, Sourcewell goes out to competitive bid nationally on a wide range of products and services that would benefit their members. They then award the contract to the selected vendor. Sourcewell sets up the legal authority between vendor and member.

The member organizations then have access to the vendor’s services at Sourcewell, resulting in accolades like this from a school district:

“Sourcewell contracts have streamlined our purchasing process, saving our district thousands of dollars.”

Significant Discounts

Working with TCI as your local technology partner, Sourcewell members can purchase Mitel telecom solutions without issuing an RFP, including:

  • Public Cloud
  • Private Cloud and On-site Systems
  • Contact Center
  • Team Collaboration
  • Mass Notification
  • Business Phones
  • Devices and Accessories

Mitel is the exclusive Sourcewell telecommunications equipment vendor based on its record of innovation, product quality, customer service, pricing, and overall market leadership.

Simplified procurement and savings … More reasons to go with TCI and Mitel. Contact us today at (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.