Many businesses are turning to Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) to improve the way their employees and customers connect. UCaaS is an excellent tool for enhancing productivity, collaboration and employee visibility by addressing many common pain points that businesses experience.
These services offer a variety of features, such as dedicated VoIP technologies, file transfers or better visibility for employee availability. Whatever features an organization chooses, the end goal is always to unify the communications experience.
But finding the right UCaaS provider is no easy task. Many options are on the market, with features to choose from and important questions you’ll need to ask.
If your company is interested in adopting a UCaaS provider — what exactly should you search for, and what questions should you ask?
Question #1: Is Their UCaaS Platform Known for Reliability?
A UCaaS platform is more than just a basic messaging service. It facilitates a large portion of essential communications for your business. Ensure you find a UCaaS provider with a proven track record for delivering on all of the promises they make.
The company should have a sophisticated offering that it properly supports and frequently updates for better performance and security. Your organization needs to avoid unnecessary downtime from an inexperienced company that overpromises and underdelivers.
A proven provider should have a long history in the communications industry as well, including a variety of products that extend beyond UCaaS. Valuable industry expertise is another nice-to-have that can help the platform continue to function efficiently, plus it ensures they’re making the necessary improvements to keep up with the needs of their customers, the industry as a whole, and evolving communications requirements.
Question #2: Does It Offer a Feature-Rich Toolset?
Basic features like VoIP and presence are important, but those are only two examples of the many things your company will use daily. A reliable UCaaS platform should have a varied feature set your company can customize to create the platform ideal for the needs of your business.
For instance, the service provider might offer several packages complete with different tiers of features, or it may allow its clients to pick and choose through an “à-la-carte” model.
Another option is the white-label or private label approach, where you can customize a platform with your own company branding to cement your brand awareness and identity. These solutions play a significant role in boosting business credibility when it appears you have full control over your own communications.
Question #3: Does the Platform Offer a Stellar User Experience?
70% of enterprise CEOs agree that usability should be the number one consideration. Your company can’t afford to provide a service that doesn’t meet customer or employee expectations.
A dependable UCaaS platform will understand the importance of the user experience, meaning every feature will seamlessly integrate with another to create the ultimate user experience. For example, users can connect over VoIP to discuss the details of a project, quickly share files, and check the status of another employee.
The idea is to simplify how communications take place by providing access to a platform that conveniently houses them all in one location.
You should look for a UCaaS provider that designs its products to empower your business through a suite of premium features that are streamlined into one singular experience that doesn’t require app switching.
Question #4: Can the UCaaS Platform be Integrated?
Although a UCaaS solution may combine several services you’re already using into its functionality, not all companies do so. Be ready to select third-party solutions to work with your UCaaS platform. Because UCaaS should have collaboration in mind, a successful solution will allow your company to integrate existing third-party apps into your workflows.
The goal is to empower your employees and users, not inhibit them.
Popular UCaaS services will also have a large resource hub that can help you overcome potential integration issues. Smaller providers may lack this critical aspect that is only attainable when working with a more recognized, well-established company.
Question #5: What Kind of Security Does It Offer?
Security is more necessary than ever today. Your business must do everything it can to keep communications secure and in the right hands. Inexperienced UCaaS providers may not have the proper security and encryption systems in place, compromising your data, and leading to costly fines and violations.
A proven provider has likely made significant investments toward an encryption system that keeps your data secure. Its experience in the industry ensures the service is up-to-date and capable of dealing with today’s biggest threats.
Inteliquent uses high-end encryption like SIP over TLS to solve authentication, confidentiality and integrity problems, and SRTP to ensure confidentiality, integrity, replay protection and message authentication.
Security should always be a top priority for your organization. Ask any UCaaS provider you’re considering what kind of encryption they offer.
Question #6: Does It Have Front-End and Back-End Solutions?
You have to consider both the front-end and back-end when deploying a UCaaS platform. All complex communications require a reliable back-end system to function while the front-end plays a more prominent role in making the experience visually appealing.
Most UCaaS solution providers on the market only offer one of these facets and rely on other third parties to complete the loop. However, Inteliquent delivers on both of these needs through our own back-end resources combined with our acquisition of Acrobits and their leading front-end UCaaS solution — Cloud Softphone.
With our combined front-end and back-end functionality, you can implement a complete UCaaS solution more quickly than ever. Both of our offerings are compatible and seamlessly integrated to offer you a complete experience.
Question #7: Is There Dedicated Customer Service?
Sometimes a knowledge base isn’t enough. After all, UCaaS and VoIP platforms are complex and error-prone. That’s why your company needs access to a quality customer support team when you experience an issue.
An on-demand support team is often necessary to help troubleshoot through technical issues. These types of teams are more familiar with the platform and may be aware of the specific problems you’re facing. Support is an excellent way to troubleshoot issues more quickly than on your own.
The right UCaaS provider will have a dedicated support team you can turn to when you’re having issues configuring settings, provisioning your platform, and other problems. It’s essential that you have access to a technical support team whenever you need it, especially when it impacts your company’s communications.
Inteliquent’s technical support teams are available 24×7, ensuring your company is taken care of whenever you need it most.
Inteliquent: Communicate More Effectively with a Proven UCaaS Provider
Finding the ideal UCaaS service doesn’t have to be difficult when you know what questions to ask. Remember, a reliable company should have:
- Years of industry expertise
- A proven track record of satisfied clients
- A platform rich with features and built for third-party integration
- The necessary resources to provide effective and ongoing support
Inteliquent is the leading UCaaS provider that can help your business complete its digital transformation smoothly by providing an established UCaaS solution with complete front-end and back-end capabilities.
Are you interested in learning more about how Inteliquent can help your business? Get in touch with a member of our team today to learn more.
