Millennia Technologies

What is UCaaS and why should UCarE?

Unified communications as a service (UCaaS) is a cloud delivery model that offers a variety of communication and collaboration applications and services. UCaaS features include enterprise messaging, presence technology, online meetings, team collaboration, telephony and video conferencing. 

Let’s break it down even further. 

Unified Communications (UC) integrates many communications such as phone, chat, and video conferencing. It enhances productivity and provides ways to interact across different communication channels. 
“As a Service” (aaS) is a delivery model for cloud service and software. Unlike Software as a Service (SaaS), UCaaS is exclusive to communication tools and APIs. 

An obvious reason why companies adopt UCaaS is to let their employees work anywhere. But there’s more to it than that. The problem UCaaS solves is the uncertainty from many separate, disparate communication apps. UCaaS brings VoIP, video conferencing, instant messaging, and collaboration tools together as one. 

If you still have an on premise PBX you are living in the dark ages!  It’s time to look a UCaaS to replace what you have.  

Here are the primary components of UCaaS: 

Voice: Phone service that includes call forwarding, call recording, and advanced call routing. 
Video: One-to-one and multi-participant video conferencing for meetings with a personal touch. Guests can join via web conferencing. 
Messaging: Internal team instant messaging that allows for individual and group-based real-time chat. 
Collaboration: – Tools that enhance workplace collaboration with scheduling, messaging, and project management. 
Cloud-based: – Hosted over the internet in a dedicated private cloud …

7 REASONS CIOS AND CTOS ARE INTERESTED IN UCAAS

What’s next for CIOs and CTOs? A move beyond the “information” and “technology” responsibilities of their roles, it seems. According to analyst firm Gartner, driving business growth is now a top priority, even as these executives remain focused on the digital transformations of their organizations.

Business growth, though, is dependent upon the ability to innovate and pivot in a fast-moving competitive landscape. As CIOs and CTOs evaluate how to manage disruption and change, they’re turning to Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS). Here’s why…

 
How UCaaS Helps Organizations Innovate and Pivot

Business Model Change – A key challenge for CIOs and CTOs in delivering growth is supporting business model change. According to Gartner’s annual CIO Agenda survey, 49% say their organizations have already experienced a change in their business model. This trend appears likely to continue. In Gartner’s CEO Perspective survey, 63 percent of respondents said they plan to shift their business model by 2020. To support this vision, CIOs and CTOs must identify and guide specific initiatives that “change business models and drive consumer engagement, product management, and technology,” Gartner says.
Return on innovation – While support for digital transformation is high, CTOs still must show a return on investment. Cloud communications lowers the total cost of ownership, of course, but it also facilitates innovation, which in turn leads to growth. For example, UCaaS allows dispersed teams to assemble and collaborate with ease, thus breaking down internal silos. Meanwhile, …

What are the Advantages – and Potential Risks of UCaaS?

What is Unified Communications As A Service?
UCaaS stands for Unified Communications as a Service.  The service boasts many cloud-based services that are beneficial to businesses.  You can learn of some of its advantages and create a strategy for unified communication.
What are the Advantages of UCaaS?
When UCaaS technologies were first introduced, small businesses were the first adopters. This makes sense since smaller companies typically have less staff and limited resources to maintain and support on-premises communications. Over time, larger companies have begun to see the advantages of streamlining their UC services and supporting multiple locations, including global communications. However, avoiding the capital expenditures and operational costs of on-premises UC remains the primary advantage of UCaaS. Shared cloud call centers cost less than installing the infrastructure for a full PBX service.

Additionally, you don’t have to worry about outdated equipment as your business grows since the UCaaS provider is responsible for replacing a feature. You save on hiring IT specialists because maintenance issues are also handled by the vendor.  UCaaS can be customized for your business needs, allowing you to choose the amount of service that fits your company, scaling up or down as things change.
In addition to lower costs, other benefits include:

Better disaster recovery – Disaster recovery capabilities are one of the most persuasive reasons to consider UCaaS. Think about the importance of uninterrupted communications to your business. While large companies can build redundancy into their systems, this can be …

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN UC AND UCAAS?

UCaaS is a delivery model in which a variety of communication and collaboration applications and services—all of the regular integrated apps associated with UC—are outsourced to a third-party vendor and delivered over an IP network, most often the Internet. So, the main difference between standard UC and UCaaS is that the latter offers UC as a hosted service, which usually provides higher levels of availability, flexibility and scalability and greater cost savings (most UCaaS users invest to avoid the capital and operational expenditures of deploying UC on their own).

You’ve probably heard the phrase “everything is going to the cloud,” which refers to a global trend towards cloud-based services, also known as digital transformation. Well, UCaaS is part of this transformation. UCaaS is not a single service, but rather a variety of communication applications and services using cloud-based software services to store and transmit information. The “UC” refers to the communications channels we use every day, while the “aaS” simply refers to “as a service,” such as “software as a service (SaaS).”

 
Why is Now the Best Time to Invest?
According to research firm MarketsandMarkets’ comprehensive 2013-2018 UCaaS report, 2018 represented the beginning of the technology’s widespread adoption. The report describes UCaaS as “a rapidly growing market” that is generating a lot of interest, and “one of the key enabling factors that will drive the market for unified communication.” All in all, the UCaaS market was projected to grow from its current …

10 REASONS COMPANIES ARE MOVING COMMUNICATIONS TO THE CLOUD

There’s a lot of buzz around the cloud these days and cloud communications is no exception. But buzz isn’t always an indicator of a business case for technology purchases. Smart businesses are asking what’s driving the rush to the cloud—and they’re getting solid answers. So why are so many businesses moving communications to the cloud today? Here are 10 real-world reasons:

Cost

Predictable monthly costs. This may seem like old news, but many companies don’t realize just how much they can save by moving their communications to the cloud. By hosting a phone system over the Internet, businesses are charged on an “as needed” basis, paying only for what they use. That makes cloud-based communication systems especially cost-effective for small businesses—eliminating the need to pay for the installation and maintenance of a traditional phone system.

 

Management

Outsource IT support to the provider. The management of an on-site solution can be very expensive. Because of the complexity of today’s communications systems, it can often take an entire IT department to manage. Cloud-based communications can help alleviate the burden by eliminating maintenance, IT work load and some of the more costly internal infrastructure, including servers and storage systems.

 

Scalability

Scale up or down based on users. Anyone who has moved or expanded an on-site phone system knows just how difficult it can be. Whether a business is growing, moving or sizing down, the cloud provides the flexibility and scalability the business needs now and in the …

ANSWERS TO YOUR TOP 7 QUESTIONS ABOUT MIGRATING FROM SHORETEL TO MITEL CONNECT

When you tell me that ShoreTel has reached the end-of-life, what does that really mean?

Mitel acquired ShoreTel in 2017. The Connect platform changed in brand name only. With ShoreTel technology underpinning the Mitel Connect platform, it is now called Mitel MiVoice Connect. Mitel announced the end-of-life of the ShoreTel 14.2 software and all previous software releases.  All future bug fixes will be rolled into Connect release, while ShoreTel 14.2 continues to be supported through December 2019. Support for software updates/bug fixes will no longer be provided for ShoreTel 14.2 beginning 2020.

 

What are the requirements for us to upgrade to Connect?

While there are not many “requirements” for upgrading to Connect, there are some infrastructure requirements that should be noted:

Must be on ShoreTel version 14.x
If you are using Enterprise Contact Center, you will need the 8.x or 9.x versions to upgrade to Connect Contact Center
Mobility needs to be on 8.x
64bit Windows is required
VMWare ESXi 6 or 6.5 is needed if you are looking to utilize any of the virtual switches and appliances
30 GB HDD available is a minimum

 

Will we be able to use the same desktop handsets?

Connect Premise will continue to support all handsets.  On the other hand, the Connect Cloud supports only the 400 series handset. With Connect, the EdgeGateway will replace the VPN Concentrator. The phones from the VPN concentrator will not work with the EdgeGateway.  Also, only the …

Millennia Technologies is Growing!

Here at Millennia Technologies, we have been excited about the growth and changes our organization has experienced recently. And we’re so thrilled about what’s happening that we’d love to share some of the exciting details with you!

As our partnership with Mitel has grown, our President saw opportunities for expansion in our technical and support side of the business. These changes are made to better service our loyal customers as our business continues to respond to our growth. Here are some of our staffing additions and product upgrades that are currently taking place:
New Director of Engineering and Technical Services (E&TS)
Robert Bonnell joins us with over two decades of experience as a technical director for one of the largest Orthopaedic private practices in the Mid-West, which was also among our first customers at Millennia Technologies. And in addition to 36 years of IT experience from both the customer and vendor perspective, he brings managerial, team development, and process improvement experience to our growing organization. Having been a Mitel customer for over 15 years, he also brings a unique customer advocacy perspective to the Millennia Technologies team.
Other E&TS Additions

Kim Taylor – Customer Advocate / Tier 1 support
Jamie Cushman, PMP – Project Manager

 

And the majority of our entire E&TS team has one or more Mitel certifications.

Millennia Technologies would also like to welcome back Sr. Telecommunications Systems Engineer, Becky Emerick! Becky has 6 IT Certifications and we are delighted to have such a talented individual back …

What is the Essential Ingredient for Success? Just One Word: TEAM

For the purpose of this Blog, Team is synonymous with teamwork. It’s my belief that to be a success at anything, your Team is the most important factor, bar none. If your rebuttal is there are many successful sole proprietors’s out there; I would make the argument, that the successful one-person-companies, still surround themselves with a team of professionals. Or if you make the point that Serena Williams won 19 Gland Slam Singles tournaments by herself, my counter would be her family is her team. After all, she grew up playing with Venus, not to mention they are 13-0 in Grand Slam doubles. Plus both her father Richard and her mother Oracene are credited as being her coach up until she brought on Marcos Baghdatis in 2012. I would make a similar argument for Tiger Woods.

Vince Lombardi defines teamwork as “individual commitment to a group effort”. He is also quoted as saying “People who work together will win, whether it be against complex football defenses or the problems of modern society.”

Paul Bear Bryant “In order to have a winner, the team must have a feeling of unity; every player must put the team first-ahead of personal glory.”

Henry Ford when discussing teamwork, “Coming together is a beginning, Keeping together is progress, Working together is Success.”

Thomas Edison when asked why he had a team of twenty-one assistants, “If I could solve all the problems myself, I would.”

Andrew Carnegie “Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct …

Unified Communications: 4 Challenges and How to Overcome Them

The 4 Most Common Obstacles of UC Implementation

The implementation of a Unified Communications (UC) system is becoming increasingly popular for companies of all sizes. Organizations realize these technologies can reduce costs, streamline processes and enhance productivity. These system changes can not only improve the business operations in-house, but also with offsite employees who need to collaborate and connect to various systems in order to work effectively at other sites or mobile locations.

Typically though, no massive system change from a desk phone over to a softphone is viewed as an easy task for businesses. When changing what has become a force of habit for day-to-day business tasks, there may be some growing pains. However, most of these obstacles are manageable as long as proper preparation occurs.

In order to best prepare for the possible concerns with a UC change over, let’s evaluate the most common obstacles:

Obstacle #1 Resistance Giving Up Established Systems

Let’s be honest, sometimes it’s just nice to do things the way we’ve always done them. Many employees feel this way about their phone systems. However, with the proper training program implemented regarding the features and benefits of the new system, the transition becomes more accepted and understood.

Obstacle #2 Financial Concerns

Although UC systems are often a much less expensive option than traditional phone systems of the past, they still require an investment. About 73% of companies with $5,000 or more employees report that cost is an issue for implementing a new system. This concern is partially …

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Millennia Technologies is a full-service voice and data solutions company for midsize to enterprise customers. Specializing in UCaaS , CCaaS , Cybersecurity , IoT , Voice , Cloud , and more. Our passion is firmly rooted in showing clients how well-designed data solutions can significantly accelerate business operations, and then celebrating their goal-shattering successes.