Enterprise unified communications (UC) has come a long way in recent years. However, despite becoming a rather mature market overall, there are still exciting developments on the horizon. At 3CX, we are seeing several interesting trends which we expect to continue to drive the market forward in 2017 and beyond.
Mitel has recently provided an outline of its strategic vision, aimed at the constantly changing mobile-first environment. The company hopes to use its cloud offering to remove the technical blockades between enterprise and mobile silos, providing better access to mobile, collaboration, and information tools.
How attached have we become to our cell phones? Surveys show that as many as two-thirds of Americans - and more than 90 percent of those between the ages of 18 and 29 - sleep with their smartphone on or near their beds. Clearly, it's unrealistic for employers to think their employees will separate themselves from such an important and ingrained life tool. That said, employees taking advantage of Bring Your Own Device for business purposes will be more willing to adapt to the needs of their employers if the solution meets certain criteria.
2014 was a strong growth year for Unified Communications as a SaaS service from the cloud. When delivered from the cloud, UC has compelling advantages over on-premises UC solutions. In 2015, we predict a breakthrough year for cloud UC solutions due to several new trends, including UC-enabled "everything" services, UC enriched mobility, and the maturing of cloud infrastructures to handle cloud UC services.
I just wrapped up my most recent project, the InformationWeek 2013 State of Mobile Security Report, and it does appear that the desire to let employees use their own mobile devices for work is getting ahead of the systems that would ensure the security of corporate data and systems.
The word on the street says that Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is here to stay, but there is a new rumor going around that BYOD might just be a phase after all. This phase will be replaced by a more convenient and modern version with the new wireless management concept known as "corporate-owned personally-enabled," or COPE for short. According to some sources, this transition could happen sooner rather than later.
bigtincan, the enterprise content and productivity hub designed for mobile devices, announced its new enterprise content solution that is claimed by the company to address security issues surrounding BYOD. The bigtincan hub will serve as a social platform for mobile workers, enabling them to bring business at their fingertips.