Keeping up with the Jones': The Technology Edition.
Side note: I was googling this and realised that Gal Gadot and Zach Galifianakis did a movie by the same name... I watched the trailer, I think that was enough, it looks terrible, like, REALLY terrible.
Anyway, low imdb scores aside, in technology there is a LOT of this going on... Let me explain.
The new iPhone, or the new (insert brand) Android phone. When your contract comes round you need to upgrade to the new one, but why?
I all but guarantee if you are an 'everyday' user, you do not utilise more than 30% of the features your phone can do.
And so it is with all forms of technology. With the advent of SD-WAN,VoIP, and Unified Communications, it is very easy to get blown away by the latest and greatest, but what about your 'everyday user'.
The truth is, technology adoption is a slow process. If you are in different technology silos for fixed line, computers, and mobiles, deploying a fully laden Unified communication suite, with softclients, mobility options and cloud storage and hosting out of the gate will likely fall flat on it's face. The reason? People move slowly in these things, and going from one extreme to another is a surefire way to create confusion or worse, rebuttal of new technology.
And what about your everyday user? There is a fine balance to be struck with what a technology can do, and what you, as a business need it to do. Here is a handy list, that in experience, will cover 90% of your office based staff's requirements
- Make a phone call
- Take a phone call
- Forward a phone call
- Listen to voicemails
- Send an email
- Receive and email
That about covers the critical tasks. Within this you have no need for advanced telecoms structure, and no need for things like VPNs. You might benefit from SD-WAN services to maximise your network potential, but you dont need mobiles. If you have Field based (sales or service) you might want to add:
- Mobile softphones
- VPN for secure connectivity
But again, it is about what is needed to access critical applications on your architecture, just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should. In the past, I have seen (historically) fully blown systems which, at point of replacement, were found to be laden with licenses that were never switched on. Paid for, but never utilised.
My point is this, so often we see news stories of comapnies with all the toys, and all the productivity toys, and flashy speeches from the Senior VP of whatever touting boosted productivity. And, it is likely true, if somewhat inflated. The truth is, you need to map those changes, over time, to get from where you are now, to that experience. It takes time to deploy not only the technology, but also a culture and mindset that embraces these new technology and utilises them as a core business function, rather than just a novelty.
Don't buy massively advance Unified Communications structures just because they are for sale, but rather grow into the mindset and the productivity offerings as and when it is useful to do so.