Simplicity of the Cloud -- True?
And is the UCaaS cloud model really that much simpler when you look at all of the components required to deliver on a new UC implementation replacing legacy telephony infrastructure? Once deployed, the ongoing management of a UCaaS solution is less than that of a premises-based solution. For example:
- Most UCaaS providers offer the full UC and contact center suite, something they were lacking just 24 months ago. Kudos to the UCaaS providers here.
- For public cloud, the data center infrastructure is already built and therefore delivery and build time are improved.
- For private cloud, the enterprise still needs to build out a geo-redundant virtual server environment.
- For either the public or private model, providers offer the opportunity for change control windows without requiring any enterprise customer intervention. Most updates in this case are transparent to the customer without any change window for scheduled downtime. Some large updates or upgrades, depending on the vendor, do require downtime off-hours. In such cases, the provider will notify the customer of such an outage prior to the scheduled update/upgrade.
Let's take a look at specific variances between a hosted and a premises-based solution.
In the case of UCaaS, the provider is responsible for the following:
- IP telephony, disaster recovery
- UC, unified messaging (UM)
- Remote workers
- Mobility integration
- Voice mail
- Contact centers, contact center apps
- Voice circuits, SIP trunking (some larger enterprises also deliver their own backups for PRIs and SIP in the event of a key site outage)
- Network performance assessments (prior to go live) -- to ensure the network is ready for voice and video communications
- Delivery of the endpoint only to the site, with no hands-on staff to implement and test, unless specifically requested
In the case of a premises system, the customer, vendor, or a combination of the two is responsible for the following:
- IP telephony, disaster recovery
- UC, UM
- Remote workers
- Mobility integration
- Voice mail
- Contact centers, contact center apps
- Voice circuits, SIP trunking (some larger enterprises also deliver their own backups for PRIs and SIP in the event of a key site outage)
- Network performance assessments (prior to go live) -- to ensure the network is ready for voice and video communications
- Delivery and install of endpoints is the responsibility of the vendor, unless specified that the provider delivers on such
These lists are nearly identical, with the core applications and voice network delivery provided by the UCaaS provider in the hosted model. In either case, however, the customer is responsible for the following:
- WAN, MPLS/SD-WAN
- Dial plan
- # change or keep
- Closets
- Interoperability between UCaaS and legacy PBX during migration to the new solution (especially larger enterprises)
- Cabling
- Switches, routers to support VoIP/UC/contact center
- Network management tools, including QoS-based tools to measure call quality and mean opinion scores
Cloud Challenges for Larger Enterprises
Based on our experience, the areas that UCaaS vendors must address if they want to win over a larger enterprise include:
- Trust, as IT is now giving up control to an outside provider, oftentimes with little to no history. UC providers deliver on an all-in-one, all-in solution. UCaaS vendors must show that they’re trusted partners, allowing customers to get under the covers and take a look at their networks, reliability, redundancy and even SLAs of their internal partners for SIP trunking, WAN, collaboration, contact center, and more
- Higher costs -- as detailed above, the significant cost variance will give enterprise owners pause before migrating to a UCaaS solution
- Five-nines reliability, through redundancy and QoS, guaranteed
- Custom APIs -- some enterprises require customized reporting and integrations not found in cloud-based solutions (this is changing) and larger enterprises are seeking such
- Complex IT environments, with integrations to third-party applications -- again, larger enterprises need flexibility to continue managing complex environments while migrating to a UCaaS solution
- Security requirements -- with security breaches in the news causing some CEOs their livelihoods, security is a key requirement for larger enterprises, especially those that require PCI and HIPAA compliance. Note that many of the hosted providers now offer some level of PCI and HIPAA compliance; this needs to be addressed at deep levels with potential buyers that require such.
Summary and Conclusion
As you read this post, you may think that I’m anti-cloud, anti-UCaaS, anti-CCaaS. Far from it.
In my experience, a high-reliability QoS-based model is an absolute requirement for any enterprise organization delivering on real-time communications. Reliability simply cannot be compromised. I think most enterprise owners would agree. We currently use UCaaS in our own consulting practice for the flexibility and delivery; however, the reliability has been less than stellar, forcing us to use our mobile devices as the go-to tool for communications much of the time. I’m a fan of UCaaS and CCaaS, as long as the vendor commitments, reliability, delivery, and QoS are close to matching that of a premises-based system.
It’s time to get beyond the hype of UCaaS and CCaaS and get under the covers on guarantees for delivery and performance.
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