Is It Time to Reevaluate Your Cloud Communication Tools?

It’s been three years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the past few years may feel like a fever dream, IT leaders haven’t forgotten how challenging it was to set up systems to support employees working from home. Hastily-made decisions resulted in ill-fitting solutions, but many businesses managed to make it work.

Now that the dust has settled, it’s clear that remote and hybrid working models aren’t going anywhere – but are the cloud communication tools you rushed to implement at the start of the pandemic still the best fit for your business? 

A 2020 survey found that 20% of organizations suffered a security breach due to remote work,¹ so it likely won’t come as a surprise that the technology you rushed to implement may not be the most secure solution. But security isn’t the only challenge businesses face from having the wrong collaboration tools in place. Today’s platforms are more feature-rich than their predecessors, with advanced capabilities that streamline processes, improve communications, and keep employees happy.

In this blog, we’ll discuss the current state of cloud collaboration tools and how to determine if your current solution still meets your business needs.

The State of Cloud Collaboration Tools in 2023

Around 70% of remote-capable employees worked from home at the peak of the pandemic, but only 39% were completely remote last year.² More businesses seem to prefer hybrid work over fully remote or in-office environments, given that 58% of employees report working from home only part of the time.³ 

IT leaders are struggling to keep up with employee demands as a result of these fluctuations.  Despite the rising popularity of cloud-based collaboration solutions, 17% of hybrid workers say they still lack the tools to connect with team members effectively.⁴ And with new UCaaS platforms including features like HD video calling, messaging, and texting – all in a single application – your teams shouldn’t have to waste time switching between multiple separate systems to collaborate anymore.

Modern cloud collaboration tools enable hybrid workforces to work together in an intuitive, all-in-one platform without compromising on security or reliability. Customization is a major focus now, with more providers offering platforms that integrate all the essential communication tools in addition to third-party applications, such as your CRM or email service.

Ultimately, today’s hybrid teams need collaboration tools that simplify work. If you’re still using multiple systems to cobble together the basics like voice, video, and messaging, or you’re lacking integration capabilities, it’s time for an upgrade.

How Do You Update Your Cloud Collaboration Strategy?

One of the primary reasons why many IT leaders are still feeling the effects of the pandemic is that they have yet to re-align their company’s collaboration strategy with current and future needs. If you haven’t evaluated how the cloud tools you deployed during the pandemic fit into your business growth goals, here are a few steps to get started:

• Consider organizational goals, such as improved efficiency, customer experience, and hybrid work support.
• Identify all collaboration and communication tools, service and licensing contracts, and network information.
• Conduct a needs analysis to determine how your technologies impact workflows and day-to-day processes.
• Develop a strategic plan that focuses on meeting collaboration goals while improving operational efficiency.
• Ensure ongoing alignment by including plans to standardize onboarding, training, and employee adoption.

What Cloud Collaboration Tools Do You Need Today?

Analysts expect the cloud communications market to reach over $26.2 billion by 2027,⁵ so navigating the crowded landscape to find a collaboration solution that actually meets your unique needs can be challenging. Below, we’ll explore the most popular options to help you better understand what the right platform can do for your business.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is still the top dog in cloud collaboration tools. Teams’ daily active users rose to 270 million in 2022, nearly doubling from 2021.⁶ Voice-enabling Teams allows businesses to leverage this platform as an all-in-one collaboration solution, with real-time communication tools and seamless integration with other Microsoft applications in a platform its employees are already familiar with. 

Integrated Collaboration Platforms

A fully integrated cloud collaboration solution provides all the tools hybrid workers and road warriors need to work together in a secure, user-friendly platform. These solutions typically include voice, video, messaging, and other features that facilitate seamless communication and collaboration between employees, regardless of location.

Empower Your Team to Collaborate From Anywhere With Momentum

Now that you’ve taken a good look at your pandemic-era technologies, what’s the next step? If your current cloud collaboration tools aren’t cutting it anymore, Momentum has you covered.

We help work-from-anywhere teams connect and collaborate with secure, reliable cloud-based solutions, such as:

• Voice-Enabled Microsoft Teams – Leverage our highly-available voice platform and take advantage of everything Teams has to offer, including premium features like Quality of Service (QoS) monitoring, contact center, call recording, and other UCaaS services.
• Momentum Connect with Webex – Help your hybrid teams work together in a fully-integrated, collaborative environment that includes video, voice, messaging, conferencing, and more that can be easily incorporated with other tools to better manage workflows. 

If you’re ready to upgrade your cloud collaboration tools, reach out to Momentum today. We’ll help you find the best solution to meet your business needs so that you can experience the Momentum Difference for yourself.

Sources:

1. https://www.malwarebytes.com/resources/files/2020/08/malwarebytes_enduringfromhome_report_final.pdf
2. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/390632/future-hybrid-work-key-questions-answered-data.aspx
3. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/real-estate/our-insights/americans-are-embracing-flexible-work-and-they-want-more-of-it
4. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1111316/biggest-struggles-to-remote-work
5. https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com/unified-communication-as-a-service-ucaas-market
6. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1033742/worldwide-microsoft-teams-daily-and-monthly-users/