As more companies are drawn towards cloud-based unified communications (UC), the UC partner community can benefit from the transition by offering specialty equipment along with training, expertise, and other value-added services. This recent shift also affects legacy partners and local integrators, many of whom are finding their old roles diminished in today’s cloud-focused environment.

Cloud Conferencing vs. Collaboration

Many organizations find cloud conferencing appealing for a multitude of reasons. Since there’s no infrastructure to support, organizations can do without an internal IT staff and instead rely on off-site support. Companies also have their pick of service providers and a broad range of choices based on support, service, and budgetary constraints.

However, the cloud conferencing environment is limited to audio and video conferencing. Organizations also want real-time collaboration, where participants can actively engage in the creative and developmental processes through instant annotation and mark-ups. As a result, the major players in UC are adding true collaboration to their repertoire of available offerings.

Innovating the Boardroom

Today’s conferencing products have become much more user friendly and easier to deploy under short notice, making boardroom implementations less challenging.

The conference room itself is also changing. Organizations are moving away from big boardrooms in favor of “huddle rooms,” where smaller teams of four to six people can engage in collaborative efforts. These smaller spaces require simplified communications solutions. To accommodate the unique logistics of meeting in different spaces, organizations need solutions that offer unified user interfaces with commonality to existing user desktops, thereby promoting broader user adoption and acceptance.

Having the right audio equipment is also critical, with high-quality plug-and-play equipment being a must for effective communication. The devices used should be versatile and user-friendly, especially given the diminished role of on-premise IT staff.

Expanding Beyond Conferencing and Collaboration

Cloud-based services continue to expand well beyond conferencing and collaboration, opening new doors for organizations seeking to streamline their expenses while moving ahead of the technological curve. For instance, more companies are abandoning their old analog phone technology in favor of cloud-based voice solutions. Software-based phones are bringing features such as hands-free calling and desktop telephony to the forefront.

As organizations move away from the old brick-and-mortar paradigm, cloud-based UC solutions are providing what companies are looking for: a high-quality, location-agnostic experience that supplies users with the collaborative tools they need to get things done.

See how eXemplify can improve your company’s UC experience by contacting us today.