Miles Davis
Vice President, Canadian Channel Sales
Driven by the need for business continuity and streamlined communication due to the pandemic, companies are adopting cloud solutions like UCaaS as they enter the future of work.
“Before the COVID-19 pandemic, small businesses were citing concerns about scaling up and adopting new features, but only 18% of them were concerned about remote work,” says Miles Davis, Vice President of Canadian Channel Sales at Avaya. “All of that changed in March 2020.”
Companies quickly turned their attention to digital transformation, adjusting their business models and adopting new technologies to enable remote working and effective communication.
A seamless, streamlined application
“It can be frustrating for employees to jump between different apps to accomplish their goals,” says Davis. “Standalone services can be expensive, and create more work for employees.”
With unified communications as a service (UCaaS)solutions like Avaya Cloud Office by RingCentral, employees can make and receive calls, join online meetings, and collaborate with screen sharing and video. The cloud-based app can be accessed on any device, giving employees the flexibility to work how and where they want.
“The way you communicate should fit the way you work — and this is particularly true today more than ever with COVID-19, both for well-established companies and companies that are new or looking to grow,” says Davis. “Never have the benefits of cloud communications been so evident.”
Avaya Cloud Office simplifies the way businesses operate, replacing a number of standalone applications to save businesses money. It seamlessly integrates with hundreds of existing tools that employees rely on, such as Salesforce and Oracle.
Unlocking the growth potential for small businesses
While many small businesses have struggled to survive during the pandemic, the changes brought on by COVID-19 can be an opportunity to unlock post-crisis growth.
UCaaS provides two key benefits for small businesses looking to scale up: the first is improving internal productivity by simplifying internal processes and ensuring employees have the features they need to optimize their workflow, whether they’re on their laptop or smartphone.
The second is becoming more strategic with customer engagement.
“Customer engagement is a major untapped resource for small businesses,” says Davis. “By implementing cloud communications, we’re helping them connect the dots from research and insights to the buying cycle.”
One of the major benefits of Avaya is its robust Nortel base. Avaya acquired Nortel over a decade ago, which means that Avaya Cloud Office has many of the features that customers know and love.
“We’ve retained many of the top customer features, like the park-and-page,” adds Davis. “It’s an essential feature for many businesses, and a must-have from our historical offerings.”
