Are You a Good Candidate for UCaaS? [Updated for 2022]

Even in the age of emails and text messages, phone calls are still an important component of your business communications. 

Phone calls connect you to your customers, and a quality phone system is something every business requires. 

However, traditional phone systems require a large IT infrastructure investment. As a result, businesses want to move away from a large infrastructure footprint, avoid one in the first place, or have a more flexible infrastructure in general, UCaaS (unified communications as a service) is one of the avenues of making that possible.

The desire for flexibility shouldn’t be the only factor you consider when determining whether UCaaS – also called cloud-hosted collaboration – is a good fit for your business.

As more and more customers ask us at The KR Group about cloud-hosted collaboration, we have found the best candidates to have a few things in common:

1. A strong, stable internet connection
2. A desire to move away from on-premises IT infrastructure
3. A mobile or remote workforce
4. A desire for a secure platform

Of course, these don’t describe every customer who could benefit from UCaaS, but they’re a good starting point if you’re wondering if this call system is right for your business.

 

You Have a Strong, Stable Internet Connection

The first qualifier you need to examine if you’re considering moving to a cloud-hosted calling system is your internet connection.

When you choose to have your collaboration system hosted in the cloud, you no longer have your own on-site infrastructure. Instead, you’re using an internet connection to access the infrastructure hosted at the provider’s data center.

If your internet connection isn’t strong and stable, then you can experience latency or jitter.

Latency refers to how long it takes between sending and receiving data. Distance and ineffective internet infrastructure play a role in this.

Cloud-hosted calling data already has to travel further since it has to go to the data center between caller and receiver.

If your connection is sensitive to latency, the distance between you, the data center, and the receiver could exacerbate the issues.

Meanwhile, jitter is when the data packets from your phone call are received out of order.

This is a common problem if your internet connection isn’t stable and has lots of speed fluctuations.

When jitter is an issue, the data packets may not be received at all or received in the wrong order and wrong time.

Your IT services partner will likely advise you that fiber internet will best handle the demands of cloud-hosted calling, but that doesn’t mean other forms of high-speed internet won’t suffice. Even LTE data can work in a pinch but isn’t stable enough as a long-term solution.

However, while high-speed is increasing in availability across the U.S., there are certain areas where high-speed internet is unavailable. Unfortunately, if you find yourself in the second category, you’ll want to look into an on-premises call system.

Depending on your reliance on phone calls, you may also want to consider a redundant internet connection in case your primary provider has an outage.

 

You Want to Move Away from Traditional IT Infrastructure

Cloud-hosted calling removes the need to host the infrastructure on-premises for your phone system to work. If desired, you can still purchase and host handset phones, but with UCaaS, even those aren’t a requirement.

You’ll need an internet connection and devices to make phone calls, but your gateways, servers, SIP trunks, etc., are all hosted at the provider’s data center. You can even opt not to have desk phones and have your users make calls using a quality headset and mobile or desktop application.

There are a few common situations that fall under the umbrella of businesses looking to reduce IT infrastructure.

1. You are a new business looking to add a business phone system but are looking for a lower upfront cost.
2. You want the predictability of not having IT infrastructure. When you’re not hosting the hardware, you don’t have to plan for costly hardware replacement.
3. You have an existing on-premises call system but want to move to the cloud. (If you’re using Cisco for your on-premises PBX today, you can work with your partner to leverage Cisco’s flex licensing to migrate to cloud gradually.)

 

You Have a Remote, Hybrid, or Mobile Workforce

UCaaS is a good choice for businesses that have a mobile or remote workforce because it is available with an internet connection.

On the go, your users can connect to UCaaS from their desktops or smartphones. UCaaS even integrates between the two applications.

For example, if you’re using instant messaging, your users’ desktop and smartphone applications will update simultaneously.

You do need to keep in mind that if you’re using UCaaS with a remote or hybrid workforce, you’ll need to consider your remote employees’ internet speed, which we discussed earlier. Otherwise, they’re likely to experience latency or jitter.

To test your users’ connection, you can instruct them to complete a free online speed test or a more specific test such as Cisco Webex’s network testing tool.

 

You Want a Secure Calling Platform

As an IT leader, you must think of everything through a cybersecurity lens. So, for UCaaS, that means thinking about how different providers can reduce your remote workforce without forcing you to invest in additional security hardware and software.

As you’ve read a few times in this article, working with an IT consultant is extremely beneficial here, since they already know the various features – including security function – the numerous providers offer.

Part of working with a technology services partner for your UCaaS deployment involves a discovery phase, where they look at your current phone environment and ask questions about what features are most important to you, such as security.

They’ll then take the information you provide and find the ideal vendor and product for your specific needs.

 

Who Isn’t a Good Fit for UCaaS?

There are undoubtedly many benefits and reasons to host your phone system in the cloud, and the choice is good match for many organizations.

But, if you read through the above information and didn’t relate to any of the categories for ideal candidates, you’re likely wondering if you should implement a UCaaS solution.

So here are a few examples of organizations that aren’t a good fit for UCaaS.

 

You want a hands-on approach

UCaas is a straightforward option for calling in part because it is hosted and managed in the cloud, which means less infrastructure to manage. In fact, it can take as much as 50% less time to deploy a cloud-hosted phone environment in comparison to an on-premises PBX.

The simplicity of UCaaS means you can’t dictate how updates are deployed. For some businesses, this lack of control can be a problem.

While cloud-hosted collaboration vendors give you ample notice of when a significant update is scheduled. (Significant generally means the update will add notable new functionalities, resolve a problem reported by multiple users, or cause a brief outage.) Smaller updates, on the other hand, may happen in the background without you being notified.

So, if an upgrade ends up not working with some of your other technology, you can alert your UCaaS provider of the problem, but there is no way for you to resolve the issue on your own. As a result, if you’re reluctant to lose this control, UCaaS may not be right for you. 

 

Your business must meet FedRAMP regulations

Based on additional requirements for government agencies (especially the federal sector), you’ll want to work with your IT consulting partner to ensure whichever vendor and product you select is adequate for your organization.

For example, traditional Cisco Webex doesn’t meet the security requirements required by the Federal Risk and Management Program (FedRAMP). Their cybersecurity risk management program requires federal agencies to only use cloud service providers who are FedRAMP approved.

If this describes your organization, instead of Webex Calling, you may consider Webex for Government. This is a combination of Webex Meetings and Unified Communications Manager with the advanced security protections FedRAMP requires.

 

What Call System Is Right for You?

UCaaS often makes sense if you’re a business with a stable internet connection, employ a hybrid or remote workforce, don’t want a large IT infrastructure footprint, or are looking for a secure calling platform.

However, we know those parameters don’t encompass every business. There is a chance UCaaS might not be the right fit for you if you must comply to FedRAMP requirements, are a failover center for emergency central dispatch, or just want to take a hands-on approach to your call system. Instead, these businesses benefit from an on-premises call system, or in the case of FedRAMP compliance, Webex for Government.

Whether you find yourself in the first category and are certain UCaaS will work for your business, know you’ll need something other than UCaaS, or are still unsure which option is right for you, an IT consultant can help.

IT consultants can analyze your existing phone system and your specific needs to find not only the right hosting option for you but also the best vendor. To learn more about this process, download this free timeline on the UCaaS readiness assessment.