Moving Forward During Uncertain Times with Unified Communications

As businesses are forced to change their everyday operations, due to new work-from-home policies, mandatory shutdowns, and much more, they are rightfully anxious about maintaining the health, well-being, and safety of colleagues, suppliers, and customers.

They are also just as concerned about stabilizing their operations during a disruptive and uncertain time. Keeping up productivity, managing costs, and ensuring that customers are properly served are all issues that are front and center for owners, managers, and staff — even in the face of a pandemic.

Channel partners are continuously helping their customers meet these changing business dynamics. Transitioning from a traditional office setting to one that relies on a remote and mobile workforce can take some creativity and flexibility. More importantly, it takes an infrastructure that provides maximum scalability, reliability, flexibility, and simplicity, all of which can be provided by an effective unified communications solution, coupled with the guidance of an experienced cloud service provider.

An infrastructure that enables a productive, fully functional and seamless remote work experiences relies on an all-in-one solution from which users can make and take calls, manage voicemails, manage and change auto-attendants, chat, and conduct video meetings from anywhere. The combination of these critical work functions in one simple interface is an indispensable component of any company’s successful work from home or remote work strategy. Savvy Channel Partners know the value of offering an all-in-one unified communications solution, and this offering is more important than ever for minimizing potential difficulties of voluntary or government-mandated modifications to business operations. CoreDial’s proven technologies and experienced team have helped thousands of small- and medium-sized businesses remain connected, engaged, and productive while working in remote environments — numbers that have skyrocketed overnight during the “new normal” of COVID-19. As partners evaluate the right solution to offer their clients, there are a few important guidelines to help businesses ease into a remote communications environment:

Ask the Right Questions

Customers aren’t looking for communications technology; they want solutions to real-world business challenges. To provide this, Channel Partners need to understand the workflows and processes that every business relies on. Partners should make sure they understand the customer’s operations before suggesting a solution — that way, they can identify the right tools and functionalities to ensure the business can maintain productivity and a sense of “normalcy” even amongst rapid changes. After all, the last thing employees need to worry about in uncertain times is learning new software.

Access to Essential Tools and Services

Business communication doesn’t just happen over the phone — employees rely heavily on the ability to chat, text, conduct video meetings, and easily access business contacts in the office and on the go. Now more than ever, an effective UCaaS solution needs to be able to deliver all of that functionality and more — all the features that make a business hum. Removing any one of these features would be highly disruptive throughout the organization. CoreDial has designed its CoreNexa UCaaS platform to give remote and mobile employees access to the very same features and functionalities they use daily. 

Redundancy is a Requisite

UCaaS providers that provide a georedundant network offer the best option for businesses. CoreDial has built a network architecture that minimizes any disruption to the network caused by power outages, severe weather, and other factors. If one data center goes down for any reason, a fully redundant site immediately becomes active, ensuring continuous service for all CoreDial customers.

Security is Paramount

For many businesses — particularly within regulated sectors such as healthcare or financial services — the move to remote operations can bring with it serious security concerns, as private, protected data that was previously handled locally is now being distributed via digital channels. An effective UCaaS solution needs to be able to mitigate those concerns by providing the most stringent of security protocols.

Mobility is a Must

All employees — regardless of where they work — should have the same communications tools at their disposal. This is especially important now, as more and more employees — and even entire workgroups — are finding themselves outside the traditional office space for a significant period of time. Giving those remote employees a mobile application with the same level of functionality as their desk phone ensures they can maintain the same level of collaboration at home as they could in the office. This is crucial on not just a practical level, but in terms of giving those employees a sense of a familiar work environment — something easily lost among the rapid changes that came with COVID-19. 

Be the Trusted Advisor

These are extraordinary times for any business, but there’s no reason to go it alone. With the right UCaaS platform, businesses can remain productive, engaged, and connected to the needs of their customers throughout the COVID-19 epidemic and beyond. But just as important as the right platform is the role of the trusted advisor, who can help these businesses adjust to the “new normal” and address the many questions, concerns, and new needs that come with these turbulent times. This is an opportunity that a savvy Channel Partner should be ready to step into now more than ever.

Ready to Help Your Customers Work From Home?

Now more than ever, your customers need effective work-from-home solutions — and they need a trusted advisor they can count on to answer questions and provide guidance during uncertain times. Read our guide to becoming a one-stop-shop for your customers to learn how offering proven UCaaS solutions positions you as that trusted advisor, putting you in the center of your customers' ecosystems.