MARKET REPORT Collaboration
“Regardless of how partners are delivering services to their customers, we are definitely seeing far more focus
on the customer experience, putting users at the centre, and towards a mobile-first UX.”
Justin Hamilton-Martin, Director Centile and Swyx UK, part of Enreach
automation - it’s fair to say
that a good portion of nearly
every knowledge worker’s
day is taken up by tasks that
could be automated. is
would free up more time for
the strategic thinking and
tasks required in this rapidly
changing environment.
Finally, augmentation - the
era of disparateunorganised
information is over, we now
expect to be able to interrogate
information in data in a
detailed and precise manner.
Augmentation and integration
of existing tools will enable
this.”
Justin Hamilton-Martin
said, “Certainly, from our own
experience, we are seeing a new
generation of resellers emerging
who are totally focused around
APIs, realising that these give
them far more opportunities
to di erentiate, with bundled
features and targeting di erent
verticals. People used to talk
about the app economy, we
are now in the era of the API
economy. e explosion of APIs
across the entire technology
stack is only going to continue.
Another trend we are seeing
is the channel making common
settings for di erent markets
accessible via apps and portals,
putting key features directly
in the hands of users to create
a customised experience. is is
far beyond product selling: this
is about pre-Justin Hamilton-Martin, Director Centile and Swyx UK, part of Enreach packaged solutions-
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Vendor Interview – Keith Jackson, Channel Sales Director at
8x8
“Over the last few months we’ve seen businesses shift their entire
operations online, causing a huge shift in how we communicate
with each other. Whether we’re talking to a partner, colleague
or customer - those relationships are defi ned by our ability to
communicate.
Refl ecting on this year’s events, it’s never been more important
to nurture a culture of open communication. Businesses need to
get teams off email and onto video, chat and SMS to open up more
channels of communication and break away from transactional
relationships, which are expected when we rely on email alone to
conduct business.
That said, we need to be mindful of digital tools overload.
Streamlining all channels of communication onto a single
technology platform will minimise complexity, increase effi ciency,
and most importantly open up communication within the
organisation and with partners and customers.”
remote and mobile workers
to be able to access the
same phone system features,
regardless of whether they’re
working from a desktop or a
mobile device. Teams makes
it easier to stay connected to
customers and prospects from
any location, and from any
device.
In a retail setting, Teams
gives workers on the shop front
access to tools to help them
respond to customers more
rapidly and e ciently: helping
them check stock availability
or locate the nearest branch
with the speci c item available,
for example. Customers
bene t from better levels of
service, while employees feel
empowered by being able to
provide accurate information
on-the-go.
Hospitals and other
healthcare settings are also a
good example as using Teams
enables them to orchestrate
resources and care across
departments, digitize clinical
work ows, and enable
coordinated care with instant
access to people and patient
information. is means
clinicians can spend more time
with their patients, where it
matters the most.”
Will Emm commented,
“Microsoft Teams has been
improving every month
with a wide range of voice
enablement options ranging
from integration with on site
or hosted telephony through
to Microsoft Calling Plans and
Direct Routing.
e recent introduction of
a Microsoft Teams recording
interface has expanded their
available market to include
heavily regulated industry
sectors like FinServ, as well
as organisations that focus
on customer experience and
reputation. Oak are one of
the rst recording vendors to
announce the availability of a
recording solution for Teams.”
The longer term
In the recent crazy period
companies scrabbled to adopt
their collaboration tool of
choice, as we look ahead
there is likely to be continued
activity as companies realise
what they implemented the
rst time isn’t quite t for
purpose, or another platform
contains enhanced favoured
tools. I asked the market what
they thought the collaboration
space would bring us over the
next 12 months?
Mark Smith from Atos
commented, “Firstly,
accessibility. No matter how
you collaborate, the need to
make it accessible to all should
be top of the list. Secondly,
32 | Comms Business Magazine | September 2020 www.commsbusiness.co.uk
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