After watching the San Francisco Giants (ShoreTel Client) and the Kansas City Royals game last night, I couldn’t help but think of all of the millions of people left either elated or heartbroken by the outcome.
All of the hard work, blood, sweat and tears came down to just a couple of plays and inches. Had that base hit dribbled through second base, the result could have been far different. And any number of small variables might have changed the fact these two wildcard teams were even in the playoffs to begin with!
It’s a game of inches-as is running a business
Just as the placement of players in a baseball game is key, the tools your business uses also need to be in place to ensure your team is as productive as possible.
Having those tools in place will help to keep your business ahead of the competition and will show as strategically cost-effective over what some other companies have been doing today.
So many companies have shared with me how they are really looking forward to next year’s budget-when they can fit in the replacement of their Legacy PBX. It’s something I love to hear!
And I always respond with: “What if I were able to find you a faster bandwidth, more capacity and flexibility of call paths, and redundancy and disaster recovery options? Oh and by the way, I could also throw in a state-of-the-art, unified communications platform which is scalable and could encompass all users throughout the organization inside and outside of the office and DO IT FOR A LOT LESS THAN WHAT YOU ARE PAYING TODAY!?” (Sorry I had to shout that so you all could hear).
Cost savings resulting from enhancing productivity
Here’s a fact: Over 80% of the organizations I work with are able to implement productivity-enhancing technologies (keeping in mind 95% of our projects are UC deployments) and are able to do it using far less money and time than they did supporting their old technologies. Many of these organizations now have IT staffs of 3 or less.
So why do so many companies put off today what they could be saving and gaining tomorrow?
The list is vast; most organizations just don’t have the time to research the lightning-fast changes in the UC industry and to implement those on their own. Yet, it can be done-and quickly, efficiently, and for likely less than what their currently-stunted output is costing them today.
Start with a qualified UC Partner
Identifying the right UC business partner is an important first step. A business partner willing to go all the way-from start to finish is vital.
They should be willing to learn about your business and outline the current spend, to spotlight the challenges your business faces and present senior leadership with a detailed plan on how they will overcome those challenges, and to clearly state when they will do the work and how much it will cost (down to the penny).
They should also be able to provide you with access to case studies and to Net Promoter Score rankings from the manufacturer, as well as, to other business executives they are currently teamed up with so you can receive first-hand feedback as to how well their UC system/service is working.
With so much on the line, finding the right fit for your business can be hard work. But remember, if what I just listed is not offered up front, not available, or contingent upon up-front costs, keep looking. Make sure you are giving your players every capacity to achieve your business goals. If you are not, another business is.