Operate from anywhere The time is now.

In 2020, Forrester estimates that, collectively, organizations spent $15 billion a week during the first three months of the pandemic to adapt to remote work. 15. BILLION. DOLLARS.

In reactive mode, organizations implemented one solution for video meetings, another for messaging, some type of stopgap cloud contact center tool, and a host of other quick fixes. IT directors and CIOs became heroes for moving everyone to a remote work environment in a matter of weeks—or even days.

The business bright side of 2020 is that it hastened the move to the cloud, especially for traditionally on-premises functions like the contact center. The downside: band-aid solutions left fragmented employee and customer experiences that aren't working now and won't stand the test of time.

Gartner estimates that this year, businesses must accelerate their digital transformation by five years just to survive the disruption the new decade delivered. But the quick-fix technologies that served their purpose for a moment in time can’t serve transformative future needs.

Digital transformation is accelerating. Digital engagement has increased by 40%. Customer expectations have risen even further and faster. Plus, market leaders are going all in on trending technologies like edge, 5G, AI and IoT.

How can businesses catch up, keep up and even leapfrog new or long-time leaders?

In advancing immediate and long-term transformation in 2021, a unified communications platform positions organizations to not only break down communications silos to create efficient, effective employee and customer experiences. It positions organizations to be ready for anything - and take advantage of the next big thing.

We would argue that consolidating all business communications—phone, video, fax, SMS, and contact center—to a single vendor generates the highest, fastest ROI. But we don’t have to. Because research firms including Metrigy, which provides metrics-driven strategic guidance to technology leaders, have made the case. Their research shows that organizations that move to a single unified communications and collaboration provider experience a 32% increase in employee productivity, a 33% increase in usage, a 36% employee UCC ratings improvement, and a 44% decrease in operational costs.

The future of cloud communications and digital transformation is fueled by an all-in-one platform enabling employees to operate from anywhere while increasing productivity, customer satisfaction, innovation and revenue.

The benefits of a unified communications platform that includes the contact center go far beyond volume discounts, licensing consolidation, and streamlined tech support. A platform approach creates leaders out of laggards and fast followers with:

• Collaboration, productivity and engagement gains that just can’t be achieved through disparate solutions.
• Intelligence that doesn’t just inform and improve organization-wide performance, but accelerates the use and benefits of machine learning and AI.
• Simplicity that is not just for your employees and customers, but for your IT team in management, maintenance, reporting and transformational integrations.

"Our research finds significant ROI, on the order of double digits in many cases, across the spectrum of benefits in offering workers a more integrated communications experience," notes Constellation Research VP and Principal Analyst Dion Hinchcliffe. "The key is ensuring that as many communications channels are integrated as native, first-class citizens in a primary hub or in existing communications/meeting solutions."

There’s no need to follow the leader when you are one. The stakes are high. The choice is clear - and so is the ROI. The time is now for a single platform approach.

The economics of legacy on-premises communications platforms, as well as band-aid, disparate point solutions in the cloud, become less and less clear as time and digital transformation expectations increase. To be a resilient business—one that is armed for anything and ready for the next big thing—requires agility, intelligence, speed and scale. The choice is clear. The ROI of a single platform approach has been proven.

Learn more about 8x8’s All-in-One Communications Platform

The ROI of Uniting Unified Communications and Contact Center

Infographic: The High Cost of Siloed Communications

Report Reducing Team Communications Silos for Better Worker ROI

Report: Gartner Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications as a Service, Worldwide

Press Release: Leading UK Retailer Halfords Expands 8x8 Cloud Contact Centre and Communications Deployment to Enhance Digital Transformation Efforts

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While existing technology trends are accelerating (think analytics and artificial intelligence), others are emerging that every IT leader needs to be aware of and incorporate in their strategy and budgeting. What should be top of mind or on the radar of digital leaders today? Find out in Chapter 5 and then assess where your organization is—and where it needs to be.