“As companies become more aware of security threats and the impact they can have on a business, IT will need to take more control over how communications products are used within the company and who has access to those tools.â€
Organizations that had been shirking the idea of a homebound workforce found the future arrived sooner than anticipated. Amid the crisis, IT decision-makers realized digital transformation doesn’t happen without connectivity, unified communications and collaboration solutions, and the right cloud architectureOpens a new window . UCC vendors responded to the challenge with great vigour, handling the burst in demand with bulked-up portfolios and quick-to-deploy contact center solutions. For example, Intermedia described its heroics as its contact center solution helped LA County DHSOpens a new window turbocharge telehealth capabilities without causing any business disruption during the lockdown.
We catch up with Intermedia CEO Michael Gold to understand what the sea change means for customers and UCC providers alike and the changes he expects in the market over the next 24 months. Discussions about the future of work with Gold also spotlight how security will be a big piece in UCC strategy as IT teams will dive deeper into governing access controls. For vendors and resellers, this could mean longer and more cumbersome compliance and audit process. The current crisis also highlights the growing role of MSPs in orchestrating and provisioning solutions across cloud, data center, and collaboration solutions for SMBs.
Key takeaways from this interview:
- Top security considerations for UCaaS deployments
- Advantages of bundled solutions over point solutions in scaling digital workforce
- How to measure the ROI on UCaaS and CCaaS solutions
- 5 factors that matter most in UCaaS and CCaaS deployments
Here’s the edited transcript of the interview with Mike Gold:
Learn More: Intermedia Contact Center Solution Helps LA County DHS Scale Up in Coronavirus CrisisOpens a new window
1. Intermedia started out as an email hosting company has now entered cloud communications. How has the evolution been from a best of breed vendor to end-to-end player?
Our long-term vision and plan has been to be a provider of a broad and tightly integrated suite of cloud communicationsOpens a new window and business applications. While our roots are as the leading independent provider of hosted Exchange, we have been expanding our product line for a decade. Our cloud communications suite has evolved through a combination of in-house development and acquisitions, and we are proud to have become one of the leading providers of cloud communications and collaboration solutions. Our lucrative partner reseller programs, 99.999% uptime, and four-years running J.D. power-certified support helps to further set us apart.
2. The NEC win shows enterprise-buyers are looking to Intermedia for end-to-end scalable cloud communications solutions. How has this strengthened Intermedia’s position in the market vis-Ã -vis legacy players like Genesys and Cisco?
NEC is easily one of the most prolific communications brands in the market, so we’re very excited to be partnering with them. With over 80 million installed unified communications seats, NEC is one of the top 2 or 3 market share leaders globally. Through this partnership with NEC, we are now in the position of helping tens of millions of on-prem phone and contact center customers make a fast and easy transition to the cloudOpens a new window . Whether it’s service for voice, videoOpens a new window , chat, file sync and sharing, and/or contact centerOpens a new window , we have the solutions and support to help businesses of all sizes make the switch to the cloud.
3. How did Intermedia’s call center help the company achieve unprecedented growth and how will the cloud drive the next wave of growth?
With Intermedia Contact Center, we’re providing a cloud-based, omnichannel solution where we enable our customers to communicate with their own customers using their preferred method of contact – whether it’s a phone call, chat, text or via social media. In today’s world, people are looking to communicate beyond a simple phone call and frequently prefer other means of communication. A modern contact center needs to handle all of these different methods, and solutions born in the cloud are best suited to do that. Our success has stemmed from having an industry-leading product that addresses this need, one that enables customers to deploy the contact center solution in as little as 36 hours.
For example, during the COVID-19Opens a new window pandemic, many of our partners’ customers found themselves unprepared to operate with their legacy on-premises contact center systems, meaning they had an immediate need for a cloud solution that would allow their employees to be productive while safely working from home. Not only are we able to deploy our contact center quickly, but customer care teams can be even more responsive and informed because of the full omnichannel capabilities that our integrated solution provides. Even as companies start to go back to working in offices, we have all seen how important it is to have a business that can function as well remotely as it does in the office, and that’s why I think we’ll continue to see high demand for cloud solutions, including contact center, long after the pandemic passes.
Learn More: How to Win Contact Center Game by Scaling Virtual AgentsOpens a new window
4. Does recent market consolidation, Verizon buying BlueJeans reflect how IT buyers want bundled solutions from single universal clients vs best of breed to avoid complexity? Does a multi-vendor approach work from an IT buyer’s perspective?
When we think about our current world, where more and more people are working remotely, having a great business phone system that goes where you go is absolutely vital; at the same time, it is no secret the importance that video conferencing Opens a new window has played in keeping face-to-face communication going even when we can’t be in the same room as those we are meeting with.
Hence the tremendous growth in users being reported by video conferencing solution providers, including our very own Intermedia AnyMeeting. Intermedia AnyMeeting is sold as a standalone solution, but it’s also integrated within our all-in-one communications platform Intermedia Unite – which combines a full-featured business phone system with video conferencing, chat, file sharing and backup, and more, with integrated desktop and mobile apps that allow for seamless transition between communications devices.
What we’ve found is that if a business can purchase their communications and collaboration tools from one provider, with one point of administrative control, one bill, and one support number – all for one low monthly rate – then you’ve got a pretty happy customer.
5. Do you believe top team collaboration players Zoom and Slack are also headed this way?
Zoom is taking a similar approach as they’re starting to expand into the UCaaS space by providing a phone system, though I can’t speak to Slack specifically.
6. Large incumbents like Microsoft and Cisco have won markets based on unifying their core solutions — file-sharing/messaging, video, chats, and conferencing platform, heating up the vendor landscape. How does this move affect traditional UCaaS players?
While Google and Microsoft provide solutions for file sharing, video, chat, and a conferencing platform, they also provide many services that don’t live in the communications space. For pure UCaaS players, business communications is what we do.
By living it everyday not only do we understand what communications features and functionality businesses are looking for, but we are also able to more rapidly integrate and deploy like solutions such as contact center.
7. What are the changes in IT buying patterns that you observed over the past decade. How has the emergence of LOBs impacted the buying center? In your view, does IT still own purchase decisions?
Zoom and Dropbox are examples of tools that have grown organically through small internal groups within a business who initially try the product and then IT follows. At Intermedia, we tend to not win business that way as we primarily sell through our partners.
While a shadow IT approach can still be successful, we have focused on a partner-first approach that leverages the trusted expertise and relationships that our partners have within their communities .
Going forward, both strategies will continue to exist, but as companies are becoming more aware of security threats and the impact they can have on a business, IT will need to take more control over how communications products are used within the company and who has access to those tools.
8. How will IT budgets change post pandemic? Industry surveys indicate greater IT spends on digital workspace solutions and contact centers. Will this accelerate the race among vendors for IT budgets?
Post-pandemic we expect digital workspaceOpens a new window solutions to receive prioritization in IT budgets. A lot of businesses scrambled to set up remote working, and we believe they’ll start to fully replace legacy communications systems and add features and functionality to their communications platforms. Our recently completed Intermedia Remote Workforce Survey indicated that more than half of small business owners (57%) that shifted to remote work don’t expect to return all employees to a physical office. What’s more – the vast majority of small businesses, 87%, view video conferencing as a critical workplace tool.
Learn More: Contact Center: Guide to Selecting the Right CCaaS Vendor (Post-Crisis)Opens a new window
9. In your view, what appeals most to enterprise buyers and SMBs?
With respect to unified communications as a service and contact center as a serviceOpens a new window , what matters most are:
- One-size-fits-all cloud communications solutions that are easily integrated into how they’re doing business
- Uptime and SLA guarantees and 24×7 technical support
- Simplification and unification of digital workspace/cloud communications and contact center solutions
- Highest levels of security
- Easy-to-use products
10. What metrics should IT buyers use to measure ROI on UCaaS and CCaaS investments?
There are many, but start by taking a look at how much are you spending on maintaining and updating your current, on-premises, hardwired system, and compare it to how much you would spend on a system that doesn’t require you to buy any hardware, offers a greater amount of features and mobility, scales up or down as your needs do, charges only by the user in one, low monthly rate, has multiple levels of redundancy built-in in case of a local outage, is highly reliable and secure, and allows you to access the system from anywhere at anytime.
11. How will the vendors evolve post pandemic and what are the next core battles that will separate future winners and losers?
Vendors, just the same as their customers and partners, will have to embrace the new normal. The reality is this is not a temporary moment in time – the pandemic has triggered a permanent shift in how we work, communicate, and collaborate. As previously mentioned, our recent survey results revealed that SMB business owners forced to switch to remote work due to the pandemic said they will likely maintain increased remote working options for employees after shelter-in-place orders lift. Vendors that evolve product lines and services to accommodate this new normal and empower customers to remain just as productive, if not more, wherever they are working, will undoubtedly come out ahead.
12. In closing, how will the demand of IT buyers change post pandemic?
To put it in perspective, our sales across the board have more than doubled YoY since the pandemic due to the surge in demand for communications solutions that enable and support remote work. Although demand won’t necessarily keep going at this torrid pace, the value, mobility, and flexibility that cloud communications solutions afford have been realized at a level like never before.
The switch to the cloud will continue to accelerate long after this crisis passes.
About Michael GoldOpens a new window : Michael Gold is the CEO of Intermedia, an award-winning Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS), Cloud Communications as a Service (CCaaS), and cloud email and productivity applications provider. Gold joined Intermedia in 2011, and since that time has led the company in its transformation from a business email and web hosting company to a leading provider of cloud communications and collaboration solutions. Within that same period, Intermedia has seen its revenues and operating profits grow by 5X, and its business customer and channel partner bases grow to over 125,000 and 6,600 respectively. Gold has 20+ years of senior management experience in cloud services and channel development, including as founder and CEO of Zlago, CEO of Sphera, and executive roles at Parallels, Vicorp, and Qwest.s
About IntermediaOpens a new window : Intermedia is a leading Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS), Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS), business cloud email and productivity applications provider hyper-focused on delivering easy-to-use and secure communication and collaboration solutions to businesses and the partners that serve them. More than 125,000 business customers and 6,600 active partners rely on Intermedia’s tightly integrated suite of cloud applications that are managed through one intuitive point of control and are backed by 99.999% uptime SLAs and J.D. Power-certified 24/7 technical support. Solutions include the all-in-one cloud communications and collaboration platform Intermedia Unite, Intermedia Cloud Contact Center, AnyMeeting web and video conferencing, file sharing & backup, business email, security, archiving, and more.
About Tech TalkOpens a new window : Tech Talk is a Toolbox Interview Series with notable CTOs and senior executives from around the world. Join us to share your insights and research on where technology and data are heading in the future. This interview series focuses on integrated solutions, research and best practices in the day-to-day work of the tech world.
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