Unified Communications and Collaboration: Navigating the All or Nothing Misconception
A common misconception about Unified Communications and Collaboration (UC&C) is the “all-or-nothing” idea. This means that if you upgrade to UC&C then you must upgrade your entire system to VoIP, and you can no longer use Legacy Voice or whatever system you have. This is a widely believed idea but, it is completely false. In fact, there are many companies that use UC&C but still use TDM infrastructure. It is difficult to just up and change an entire system. You would have to shut down your company, and the process could take years! No one has the down-time or funds for that.
UC&C is a communications platform combining voice, video, text, etc. With this system, you are able to connect with anyone in any country through video call or voice call from many platforms like phones, computers, and tablets. While it is definitely helpful to upgrade to VoIP, it is not necessary in order to use UC&C. But, it still is a daunting task to transform an entire company to UC&C. So, what are your options? There are ways to upgrade to UC&C in phases throughout a couple of years to make it an easier process and keep your business functioning throughout that time.
- Select a provider
- Establish a foundation
- Assess current state
- SIP voice communication
- Scale UC&C services
- Implement extra features
These 6 phases will help you to slowly administer Unified Communications and Collaboration. As you can see, there is a process for using UC&C without fully upgrading your whole system. There is a gap between planning and deployment that allows you to keep your old Legacy Voice but still use UC&C. There you have it, the “all-or-nothing” misconception is just that, a misconception.
