UCaaS is by far one of the most popular solutions for companies making the transition into the cloud landscape. Offering a convenient way to align multiple communication tools in one environment, UC can effectively boost productivity and efficiency, while providing better business visibility.
However, with any technology upgrade comes a range of new challenges to consider, particularly around security and privacy. 81% of customers say they need to be able to trust a brand to buy from them. Generating this trust starts with ensuring the communication tools of the business are managing and storing data correctly.
Right now, there are a number of scenarios pushing companies to think more carefully about how they preserve the security of their team members and customers. Here’s an insight into just some of the trends influencing the rise of security in UCaaS environments.
The Evolution of Hybrid Work
For decades, flexible and remote working was only possible for a handful of digital employees. However, in recent years, the pandemic has pushed countless organisations to begin experimenting with more diverse working options. According to one survey, around 87% of employees want to work from home at least one day each week.
While remote and hybrid work practices can have a number of benefits for both businesses and their employees, from cost savings to productivity enhancements, there are risks too. Employees working in a range of different environments can allow various unknown threats into the business network. These employees can also be targeted by a host of scams, phishing strategies, and social attacks.
Implementing the right tools to empower hybrid work while minimising risk is crucial in today’s workplace. Companies need to consider everything from multi-factor authentication to the use of additional security tools for encrypting and protecting communications. What’s more, it’s important to ensure policies and security are managed across every channel.
Unifying UCaaS & CCaaS
For many organisations, the transition into the cloud for “UC as a Service” is just the first step in a much wider strategy for cloud computing. To ensure ongoing business continuity and exceptional customer service, many business leaders are embracing multiple “as-a-service” solutions. The natural next step in UCaaS implementation tends to be the combination of UC and the contact centre.
Combining UCaaS and CCaaS allows businesses to build a more collaborative back-end environment for employees serving customers. The end-to-end environment also allows for better business intelligence, offering a behind-the-scenes look at which factors influence both employee experience and customer experience.
However, when the contact centre and UC environment are aligned in the cloud, companies need to work even harder on keeping data secure. There are additional concerns to think about when it comes to everything from encrypting conversations, to control who should have access to which pieces of data in the business network. The challenge for most companies will be combining exceptional security with an excellent employee experience.
The Rise of Video Communications
Video communications have become increasingly popular in recent years for connecting both teams and consumers to the business landscape. Video provides an immersive and engaging environment where team members can share ideas with colleagues wherever they are. Emerging video communications platforms even allow for webinars, online events, and larger group meetings. However, video has a unique threat landscape to consider when compared to audio.
Business leaders need to think about not only how voice is encrypted and stored but how video information will be managed by the IT team. On top of this, in during the pandemic, many companies found themselves struggling to keep their video meetings secure as they rapidly shifted to a new form of communication. Issues like “zoombombing” put crucial private data at risk.
As the demand for video continues, organisations will need to think more carefully about how they can protect and preserve video interactions. Even the hardware purchased by a company will need to have in-built security tools, like screens and shutters to stop a video camera from running without the express permission of the user. As video communications evolve into XR interactions, there will be a new set of security points to address.
Intercompany Collaboration
Collaboration tools have become a must-have part of the unified communication stack in the new age of work. These tools allow for the rapid sharing of information and content, without the need for face-to-face interactions. However, it’s not just the internal employees in a team who need to connect through these tools. Many businesses also need to collaborate with external participants.
Ensuring information remains secure and access controls are in place when dealing with contractors and partners will be essential for businesses going forward. Many of the collaboration vendors on the market, such as Microsoft Teams, are implementing highly configurable policies for companies that need to interact with external parties.
Being able to invest in intercompany collaboration can save companies significant time and money when it comes to things like travelling between offices. However, it’s essential to ensure information remains protected, regardless of where people are joining a meeting.
AI Powered Service Management
As the threat landscape for Unified Communications platforms continues to evolve, business leaders are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence for assistance. The right AI tools can tackle everything from fraud, with biometric voice printing, to tracking potential threats.
AI-powered service management is one of the most interesting and valuable new trends emerging in the UCaaS security landscape. Service management tools give business leaders a better level of visibility into all of their apps, tools, and software in a specific technology stack. This can make it easier to find the source of potential threats and issues at speed.
An AI-powered service management solution can even come with access to 24/7 monitoring tools, so businesses can watch both the quality of their communications, and check for threats at the same time. As security standards like GDPR and CCPA continue to evolve, many business leaders might begin looking into service management solutions to access the exceptional visibility required in a changing landscape.
