Managing today’s complex business communications solutions is beginning to require more than just a guy with a manual and some IT experience. New evidence is mounting that Unified Communications solutions are becoming vital for companies big and small. As the UC sector is busy working up some momentum, industry experts are already sensing the need for Business Communications Operations Management, or BCOM. UCStrategies, a self-proclaimed authority in UC education and information, hints at the need of configuration templates for businesses looking to finally say yes to technology.

It’s no longer about the device

10 years ago you’d have been lucky to just have one cell phone. Today, almost everyone is engaged with a whole bunch of communication mediums, including smartphones, tablets, messaging clients, soft-phones, and of course the longstanding desktop computer. UC vendors make it easy to reach your peers on any of these devices with a single action on your end. Hence the name “Unified Communications.”

The problems to solve today are no longer in the hardware, but in the software. And because of this shift, the traditional line-centric model  is dying off. Lifecycle events related to changing user needs are slowly but surely causing traditional communication systems to go extinct, as they progressively become impotent, unable to keep up with the times.

Photo by Nick Nice on Unsplash

Worst still for those who are reluctant to take the plunge and unify their communication channels, the transition from legacy PBX to cloud calling is becoming a tougher nut to crack with the passing of each day. In a way, it’s like playing Texas Hold’em with a really short stack of chips. The more time passes without a winning hand, the less chances you have to stay in the game.

This shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone. UC platforms can support change up to 100 times more frequently than legacy telephony systems. And because UC allows this to happen, it’s happening.

Late to the party? Hop on the BCOM train

All is not lost, though. UCStrategies believes it has identified a new category of management platforms and solutions that can address this challenge for Johnny-come-lately adopters. Defined as Business Communications Operations Management (BCOM) solutions, this new product category drives configurations across UC platforms based on lifecycle change events: multi-device, multi-vendor, multi-system, multi-tenant, multi-region, etc.

Expected to become a vital appendix to UC, BCOM promises to reduce costs and errors “by effectively managing resources and automating configuration steps and processes,” according to the consulting firm. “Being freed from the crushing load of routine configuration and changes enables staff to focus on successful implementations, improving user adoption, and adding new capabilities, which increase business effectiveness,” says UCStrategies.

BCOM indeed seems promising, but just like UC itself, it will take a while for it to pick up steam. Smart business owners will undoubtedly waste no time in reviewing its benefits, even if just to stay on top of the latest trends. Which is always a good idea, regardless of the business model or geography. This here whitepaper describes BCOM at length. Enjoy!