MARKET REPORT Collaboration
“Most vendors are going down the route of APIs for third party apps, such as CRM systems,
ticketing systems, planning systems etc, and incorporating meetings etc. The key differentiator is
usability and flexibility to integrate with other systems.” Jon Dailey, Channel Director, NFON UK
Collaboration at its best
As 2020 rolls on in what seems like a whirlwind of activity there are a few markets which are currently
underpinning the entire economy. Collaboration technology is helping businesses tackle their daily tasks in
new, more effi cient, ways. In this feature, Comms Business explores this super-connected world
Over the last three months
I have been having a
recurring conversation
with business owners
about their collaboration
strategy. at conversation
generally starts with business
owners exclaiming they
managed to get everyone up
and running using one of the
many great tools out there, and
it ends with them telling me
they are now wondering if they
should be going back to the
o ce at all.
e current crisis delivered an
ultimatum for many businesses
– cease operations or deploy
technology to enable employees
to work from home for the
foreseeable future. ere are, of
course, several industries where
working from home is not an
option, but for the majority,
there are ways to simply
facilitate it – demonstrated by
the fact that more than 39% of
adults in employment are now
working from home, compared
to around 12% last year
(according to Giacom).
Many employees are thriving
working from home. And the
hours they have gained back
while working from home are
not going to be something
they will want to give up easily
– two-thirds (63%) of workers
said they are open to full time
remote working and never going
back to the physical o ce once
the crisis is over. It’s becoming
clear that the future will not
be a permanent o ce-based
workforce, but will shift to a
hybrid model combining both
remote and o ce working,
allowing for a larger degree
of exibility. is approach
of working fueled by the
pandemic is clearly favoured, as
77% of UK employees believe a
mix of o ce-based and remote
working is the best way forward
post Covid-19.
Will Emm, CEO of Oak
Innovation, commented
“In the late 1990 and early
2000’s, VoIP fuelled the
convergence of voice and
data. Similarly, collaboration
is fuelling convergence with
the computing industry.
Typically, traditional voice
vendors are strong in call
control features and contact
centre whilst vendors entering
from a computing perspective
are better able to deliver value
through desktop integration
and business intelligence.
Oak can help by collecting
voice data from multiple
sources to support customers
with hybrid solutions. We’re
also able to integrate with
Microsoft Dynamics Customer
Insights, to provide users with
a 360 degree view of customer
experience, support better
decision making and drive
process improvement.”
Differentiators
With so many solutions on the
market it is important to
establish a rm understanding
of where vendors are choosing
to di erentiate will be
important for any partner
looking to onboard a new
solution.
Justin Hamilton-
Martin, Director Centile
and Swyx UK, part of
Enreach, commented
“Integrations and mobility
are the two battlegrounds
for di erentiation right now.
Both help to put people at the
heart of the user experience,
which is a de nite trend we
are delighted to see happening
not just in the UK but in
mainland Europe too. APIs are
one way for resellers to build
packages that target speci c
markets, while mobility has
been a strong trend even
during lockdown, with people
using their mobiles even more
for collaboration, even when
working from home. As the
‘work anywhere’ workplace
revolution continues, mobility
is going to be where the smart
money goes.”
Jon Dailey, Channel
Director, NFON UK said
“Most vendors are going down
the route of APIs for third
party apps, such as CRM
systems, ticketing systems,
planning systems etc, and
incorporating meetings etc.
e key di erentiator is
usability and exibility to
integrate with other systems.
ere is a big opportunity to
www.tollring.com
Will Emm, CEO of Oak Innovation
Actionable Interaction
Analytics
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30 | Comms Business Magazine | September 2020 www.commsbusiness.co.uk
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