Understanding how Vodafone Business and RingCentral’s new joint collaboration solution helps organisations successfully adapt to a new way of working.
The world has just taken part in one of the fastest work transformations in history.
We saw companies send people home en masse, and we witnessed organisations leaning on technology to maintain some form of business as usual. Once a perk and not the norm, working from home became responsible for two-thirds of economic activity in some nations.
This all led to an increased focus on agility, business continuity and integration, and a move to cloud-based services. Companies quickly learned that updating IT systems from in-house servers to cloud providers made it easier to manage them from afar. It also gave employees instant access to business applications from home. According to a recent Boston Consulting Group (BCG) survey of over 12,000 professionals, 87% of employers now say that ‘they anticipate prioritising tech and digital infrastructure investments that support sustained remote work.
So it’s clear that many enterprises had to quickly react to changing working habits, and many plan on adopting these changes full-time, but what exactly does this long-term strategy entail?
A world of change
The global crisis fuelled a shift in where and how we work and collaborate. And it seems there’s always more change around the corner.
As we cautiously edge further away from lockdown, organisations are looking at what’s next. An example of a change yet to arrive is the UK’s 2025 shutdown of existing Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) networks, on which the vast majority of businesses rely.
The PSTN is the traditional copper wire telephone system, originally set up for analogue voice communication. It’s been in place since the late 1800s and was revolutionary at the time. While it’s been maintained and updated over the years, the technology underpinning it has essentially remained the same since its conception. It was once the most reliable method of making and receiving voice calls. But now it’s old-fashioned, and getting too expensive to run.
In the 1980s, ISDN was the new successor to the analogue PSTN system. It was created as there was a need for a more stable, secure connection for long-distance calling. It’s a digital version of a traditional telephone line.
However, even ISDN is starting to show its age. New broadband technology has changed voice communications and removed the need for costly, outdated wiring, in favour of complete digital functionality.
So, what can businesses do to prepare for a new era of work where collaboration and communication is not limited to fixed devices and locations? And what can they do to get ready for the switch off? It all starts here.
Introducing Vodafone Business UC with RingCentral
Vodafone Business UC is a highly secure solution that combines RingCentral’s state-of-the-art underlying technology with Vodafone’s innovation and expertise in emerging technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT). Developed using RingCentral’s award-winning Message Video and Phone™ (MVP™) platform, the joint solution offers businesses a communications platform with more choice, flexibility and simplicity when it comes to workforce collaboration and remote working . It also allows them to easily move away from legacy communications infrastructure to cloud connectivity.
“We are focused on bringing people the best communications capabilities across team messaging, video meetings and a cloud phone system. Bringing together the power and strengths of Vodafone with RingCentral’s leadership in unified communications, we are giving people the communications capabilities they need to get their work done, through a single mobile app. Additionally, our platforms and joint innovations are paving new paths to productivity and engagement around the world,” says Yves Desmet, Vice President, Global Service Providers EMEA at RingCentral.
Organisations can run Vodafone Business UC standalone or integrate it with various business applications, including Microsoft 365 and leading Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Helpdesk services. This means everything works in sync.
The platform also includes smart features to enhance communication and the intelligence to improve services based on how your employees use them.
Available from today, the platform is a real statement of intent from Vodafone as the company looks to increase its market share in the unified communications as a service (UCaaS) space.
Communication and collaboration for all
Right now, people are working from home, on the go, and some are even back in the office now and again. Businesses are getting to know the benefits of a hybrid working model. Vodafone Business UC with RingCentral easily caters to the needs of both office-based and remote workers.
Nick Gliddon, Business Director, Vodafone, comments on the launch: “We’re excited to be working with RingCentral to bring to market a unified communications solution that meets a real business need. This platform will help people work effectively and securely no matter where they are.”
Vodafone Business UC with RingCentral is at hand to provide your business with a one-stop-shop for all its communication needs and assist you throughout your essential transition towards the cloud.
Want to find out more about how this new offering could benefit your organisation? Discover Vodafone Business UC.
Originally published Feb 03, 2022, updated Jan 16, 2023
