Choosing the right Unified Communications-as-a-Service solution will be one of the most critical decisions your company can make when upgrading your communications platform. There are hundreds of Providers servicing the market today, but there are 7-10 “leading” solutions you will encounter during your research phase.
We often get asked by our clients, “Who is the best UCaaS provider.”
Our response is always the same; the market leader is RingCentral and Microsoft Teams, but just because they are the market leader doesn’t mean they are the best fit for your unique requirements. There is always one Provider who is the best solution for YOU, based on your needs, current communication platform, and the future direction of your company (your cloud journey).
The experts at Cloud Collaboration Consultants are former UCaaS Employees, Partners, and Customers; we provide you with a unique perspective in the market. Having consulted on hundreds of UCaaS deployments, our team has developed a proven 8-step process that ensures you make the right selection when choosing from many different options.
The top UCaaS Providers: RingCentral, 8×8, Zoom, Dialpad, Fuze, Vonage, Microsoft Teams, LogMeIn, Mitel, Evolve IP.
Click here to see a full comparison of the top UCaaS Providers Over 100 Hours of Research.
Following is the 8-step process we use to help our Customers evaluate the UC Providers to determine which is the best fit:
Reach out to a Trusted Advisor
Before starting your digital transformation journey, reach out to your IT leadership peers or with a Trusted Advisor who focuses on cloud-based collaboration solutions. Your Trusted Advisor should act like a fiduciary putting your interests above their own. They are unbiased and don’t play favorites.
Determine your needs and requirements
Conduct an inventory of your current phone system and interview the department heads around their individual needs for collaboration solutions. A key takeaway is to determine if you will build off your existing collaboration tools in place, such as Microsoft Teams, or if you are willing to start anew. Lastly, don’t forget about any 3rd party integrations, applications, or a contact center solution that is tied to your on-premise phone system. These need to be addressed if you are going to migrate to a cloud unified communications solution.
Short-List the UCaaS Providers
The goal is based on your needs and requirements to short-list the vendors from 5-6 down to 2-3 vendors. It will be much easier to compare and evaluate a few key Providers, and based on your requirements, your Consultant or Trusted Advisor would be able to help you narrow down the field.
Schedule a Product Demo
At this stage, you want to see the different solutions in action. Ask the Provider not to do a canned demo but instead tailor a demo to your unique situation. The Providers might look and sound the same so focus on usability and ease of use.
Deploy a Proof of Concept (optional)
Business and IT leaders sometimes skip this step, but it is an important one to consider. Include different end-user “personas” to be part of the demo, so you get the perspective outside of the IT team. Don’t run more than two POC’s, and make sure the evaluation checklist is the same for both. The POC should not last more than 2-3 weeks. There are two types of POCs: Paid and Free.
Gather Proposals
After the demo and POC, it is time to ask the Providers to deliver their proposals. Hopefully, the Provider is going to provide you a solution and not just a quote. The cost proposal should address your pain points, future direction, etc. ALWAYS have at least one or two recommendations to compare, and you may or may not want to let the Provider know who the other competing bid is. The key to getting the most competitive offer is to introduce competition. At the end of the month, the end of the quarter is good events to ensure the most competitive pricing.
Request Contracts
Once your team has reviewed the proposals and chosen a Service Provider, you should request the contract package. The experts at Cloud Collaboration Consultants has reviewed hundreds of contracts on behalf of our clients.
Click here to view the most common clauses you should add to any UCaaS agreement.
Plan the Implementation
You’ve made it! It has been a long 8-week process, but you did your due diligence and chosen the best UCaaS solution for your business. UCaaS providers are guilty of advertising the resolution as “plug-n-play” It is true that the phones are pre-configured, and you can plug them into your network, and you will have dial-tone. However, there are many parts of the UCaaS solution that aren’t plug-n-play. Overhead paging systems, integration with analog fax machines, contact center, CRM integration. None of these applications are “plug-n-play.”
Find out what options your UC Provider offers for Professional Services and take them up on it! Providers offer up to four free months of service in some cases, which can easily offset the Pro Services engagement cost.
Conclusion:
When implemented correctly, the 8-step evaluation process will save you time, save you money, and, most importantly, ensure that you make the right decision for a new cloud-based collaboration solution for your business.