More than ever, companies are powered by people in different buildings, geographies, and time zones. Business owners today realize that they require more than traditional enterprise phone systems to support their employees and serve their customers. In response, they are searching for innovative ways to connect with their stakeholders while getting the flexibility and cost savings they need. Managed communications services (MCS) are the best solution to this problem.
Managed communications are a convenient and cost-efficient way to provide companies with comprehensive, highly-available technology services to power their communications infrastructure. Rather than having multiple disparate technologies, managed communications services enable unified applications for streamlined collaboration across multiple offices and locations. This cloud-based solution empowers your workforce with enhanced connectivity and flexibility, along with the ability to scale instantly and seamlessly at a cost-efficient price.
What Does Managed Communications Services Include?
The days of enterprise PBX systems are waning. Conducting business is not confined to any single office but can include homes, cars, planes, trains, and virtually any location accessible by cell signal or wifi connectivity. Companies of all sizes are undergoing a digital transformation. Virtually everything they need to operate can be accessed or performed by workers from any site.
That type of flexibility takes an investment in time, technology, hardware, and expertise to put into place on-site. That’s why many businesses have moved to managed cloud-based services. These services not only relieve companies of the burden of purchasing, hosting, and maintaining hardware but they provide network, security, and technology expertise for all required communication and workforce collaboration systems.
Managed services may include any or all of the following:
- Managed connectivity
- Managed SD-WAN
- Network monitoring and management
- Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)
- Technology expense management
- Integrated enterprise business applications
- Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS), including instant messaging, presence, voice and video calling, and desktop sharing
Related: What Are the Benefits of SASE in Your Business?
Managed connectivity gives business leaders the confidence and assurance that their network is secure and available when they need it so their team can serve their customers. It ensures that their data and that of their clients are transmitted and stored safely. The best providers will have an industry-leading uptime guarantee with best-in-class customer service.
Benefits of Managed Communications Services
Managed communication services (MCS) is a smart operational and financial strategy. It allows companies to focus on their core competencies to serve their customers better while leveraging the expertise, resources, and technological investments of a business that focuses only on those services.
In today’s world, communication management isn’t simply a phone system but a highly complex, interconnected environment that can span multiple locations. Most companies need in-house knowledge and resources to implement and support that.
MCS saves businesses time and money while reducing risk. These companies invest in recruiting top talent, ongoing training, and the latest tools and technology. They know their success depends on being a great partner, offering dependable services and quality customer support. Let’s look more in-depth at why you should consider managed communications services.
Lower Costs
IT and communications operations are critical to most companies’ ability to provide goods and services. They also require a significant budget for optimal results and dependability, starting with recruiting the right expertise and paying salaries and benefits. Outsourcing ensures you know how much you’ll spend each month and lowers overall communications technology costs.
Increased Productivity
It requires communication to get any job done. In today’s business environment, that means bringing people from multiple locations together quickly and effectively to share ideas, solve problems, and make decisions. Productivity depends upon presenting ideas through virtual meetings, video, live streaming, real-time chat, texting, calling, and sharing documents. MCS makes all that and more possible so your team can get more done.
Related: Key Network Considerations for Remote Workforces in 2023
Enhanced Mobility
There was a time when someone stepping away from their desk meant that a problem went unsolved or a customer went unserved until they returned minutes, hours, or days later. Today, there are many options to ensure customers get the answers they need or coworkers get the support from other departments they depend on. With managed communications, you can easily route your calls to another office, home, or mobile phone where you can still be reachable while conducting business in the field.
Cloud Technology
Companies that previously invested in in-house departments, equipment, and technology to manage communications are now turning to the cloud and in many cases MSP’s. Technology changes quickly, which could mean your systems are obsolete before you’ve finished paying for them. A managed communications service provider uses the most current tools, technology, and equipment, so your resources are available anytime and from anywhere. They take all the responsibility so you can reap the benefits.
Easy Scalability
Scalability means more than planning how to upgrade your unified communications systems as you grow. It can also mean having the flexibility to increase availability with demand and save money when demand isn’t as high. MCS allows you to scale with seasonality or to serve your needs better as your business goes through changes.
What To Look for in a Managed Communications Services Partner
Who you partner with can make all the difference. With the lightning speed of technology evolution, cloud-based managed communications services are an essential part of any successful business strategy. Consolidating data and voice services for all your locations into one comprehensive, integrated, maintenance-free system is a primary reason business leaders seek a managed systems partner.
Many factors play into what managed services you need and how you can benefit from them. Some factors to consider:
- Is the deployment quick and seamless?
- Are the options and pricing transparent?
- Do they support all needed devices?
- What are the network emergency response times?
- How often are upgrades applied, and are they part of the plan?
- What customer service hours and communication options are available?
These are just a few of the questions you should ask of any unified communications providers. Before you choose your managed service provider, consider the following factors.
Reputation
How other clients view the service they’ve received from a provider can indicate the experience you can expect. Don’t simply depend on the sales pitch or marketing materials. Research current and previous clients’ reviews as well as industry ratings.
Security
Security for your network goes far beyond the basics. More than firewalls and antivirus software is required. Find out what technologies they use, how often they evaluate their security strategy, what certifications they hold, and whether security is managed by their teams or an outsourced firm.
Service Level
Any managed service provider should be able to provide a list of service-level agreements or SLAs. You will want to know what to expect for response time, uptime, and problem resolution. They should be able to provide a tiered level of support so that you can choose the one that is right for your business.
Technical Expertise
Your MSP should proudly advertise its technical expertise. Your managed communications services provider should maintain the depth and breadth of technical knowledge and experience to provide reasonable prices. Ensure that they are trained, certified, and have the expertise to adequately service and support your entire system proactively, routinely, and in an emergency.
Managed Services Are Essential in Today’s Work Environment
Managed services are designed to reduce risk, take the responsibility of infrastructure, network maintenance, and upgrades off your team’s shoulders, and be customizable to fit what each company needs. BCM One takes the complexity out of business communications so that leadership can focus on managing the company. Talk to us today to see how we can help.