(703) 321-3030 | cornbrookst@tcicomm.com.

Upgrade to the #1-rated cloud communications and collaboration solution – RingCentral MVP (Message. Video. Phone.) service – ranked as a market leader on the Gartner Magic Quadrant.

For more details and to take advantage of this limited-time offer, contact us today: (703) 321-3030 or GetHelp@tcicomm.com. 

The way people use technology continues to shift quickly, and consumer behaviors and expectations are bleeding into business environments, creating new requirements and methods of doing business.

1. Using More Outsourced Resources - Freelancers and consultants fill various roles depending on a company’s size, priorities, and policies. Whether enterprise or SMB, some companies use the expertise of outside resources to provide a necessary perspective, service, or advice to help businesses. Other companies use outsourced workers to quickly scale up and down, improving their agility and flexibility. Businesses using freelancers, consultants, or other types of remote support need robust online collaboration tools to connect these outsourced workers and the company’s staff to work effectively and efficiently.

2. The Rise of Solopreneurs - The trend of companies using more outsourced workers and the rise of solopreneurs go together. Solopreneurs run their single-person businesses, often relying on contracting or consulting work for employment. They’re usually experts in niche areas. As more workers become solopreneurs, companies will increasingly have to look outside of their walls to fill needs in those specialties. Your online collaboration tools should be user-friendly, so solopreneurs don’t need to become experts in obscure software to get on board and pitch in.

3. Cloud Enablement and the Rise of Mobility - With increased connectivity, the proliferation of smartphones and tablets, and a global economy, mobility changed the game for many companies. With today’s cloud-based technology, work is an activity, not a location. Files and other resources once chained to the office are now available from anywhere with a decent Internet connection. Online collaboration tools are more important than ever to connect those in the office, those traveling, those working remote or hybrid, or outsourced resources to keep work moving productively.

4. Real Estate Consolidation and Savings - Real estate can be pricey for businesses, with some urban areas commanding $100 or more per square foot of office space — a 10x10 office costs a staggering $10,000 per year in some places. Enabling remote workers can help keep real estate costs under control by reducing your need for space, avoiding relocation, and more. Without a good online collaboration tool designed for remote workers, it’s tough for workers to connect with their in-office counterparts to get work done.

5. Hyper Specialization - When you need an expert in a particular field, there’s a good chance they won’t live near your office. Some are willing to relocate. But many are not. If your much-needed expert feels like staying put, you may need to make concessions to bring them on board. Or you might have to offer them work-hour flexibility as a perk to seal the deal. Either way, it makes hyper-specialization another factor putting pressure on companies to use reliable online collaboration tools to stay competitive.

6. Wanderlust and the Rise of Ex-Pats - Have you seen House Hunters International? It’s not just showcasing ex-pat retirees settling into another country to spend their golden years with an exotic sea breeze tickling their noses. More people on the show are working professionals who want to travel or live abroad while continuing to work. This trend is growing, and innovative companies are leaning on online collaboration to help enable staff to work where they want to keep key talent on board.

7. Bring-Your-Own-Device - BYOD shouldn’t be a big surprise when it comes to identifying trends that are redefining online collaboration. Bottom line: companies that enable BYOD must find an online collaboration tool that works across various platforms, including smartphones, tablets, and computers. This trend points to the need for a user-friendly interface that’s intuitive and easy to use. If it’s not easy to use, workers will be quick to abandon it, hurting productivity or spawning pockets of shadow IT.

The workplace is changing fast and leading to a revolution in how we collaborate online. Innovative companies and savvy tech providers adapt to stay competitive and ensure work gets done. Whether you’re affected by one of these trends or all of them, it pays to know the forces reshaping the landscape. Because the more you know, the better you can respond.

Let’s talk about your business and how you can exploit better Online Collaboration tools. Contact TCI today: (703) 321-3030 or GetHelp@tcicomm.com. 

At TCI, we strive to support our customers through their communications lifecycle and deliver value regardless of whether they are using on-premises solutions, moving to a hybrid solution, or migrating to the cloud.

Today’s “on-premises” solutions can be deployed in your building – or hosted in a cloud infrastructure provided by Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure, or TCI’s Data Center. Customized private cloud arrangements provide customers with a means to optimize availability and spend, while maintaining tight control over application deployment, management, and customization.

According to Metrigy Research’s recent study, the adoption of UCaaS continues to grow. Still, many organizations continue relying on custom-hosted, on-premises, or hybrid solutions to meet their communications needs.

These organizations are looking for lower total cost of ownership, greater flexibility and control, enhanced ability to integrate communications and workflows, and higher reliability.

No longer is the size of the company a determining factor in UC architectural decisions. Instead, the most significant variant is industry, with technology companies, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, hospitality, manufacturing, retail, and education among the biggest adopters of on-premises platforms.

Customers continue to choose on-prem based on better reliability, security, TCO, customization capabilities, and complex integrations with other business applications. In some cases, UCaaS providers either simply do not support these customizations or, if they do, they require the use of additional third-party platforms and complex custom application development. Cost is another factor that drives organizations to stay with on-premises solutions.

When evaluating the right go-forward approach, it’s essential to consider the capabilities and partnerships of your local UC partner, not just today but in the future. The ideal provider won’t force you to UCaaS if it doesn’t meet your needs or offer clear benefits. When it makes sense to migrate, you’ll want a vendor who can provide a simple pathway to the cloud. This is where TCI and Mitel tick all the boxes of being your preferred UC provider.

TCI’s portfolio supports CapEx or Monthly Subscription billing with a flexible choice of private, hybrid, and on-premises deployments. Contact us today: (703) 321-3030 or GetHelp@tcicomm.com.

Business communications solutions have become the foundation for customer and employee experiences. Should your phone system or contact center software become unavailable, customer service is put on hold. Employees can’t meet, chat, or call when collaboration software fails.

Bugs can be the source, but software downtime can be caused by new releases of other software in your company’s ecosystem, human error, security breaches, and other mishaps that may occur daily.

That’s why Mitel customers need software assurance. At TCI we’re continuously working to ensure your employees and operations can work 24/7, empowered by the communications software and systems Mitel provides.

Every new Mitel solution includes at least one year of Mitel SWA. To ensure uninterrupted support, don’t let your coverage expire. Based on your equipment and the needs of your business, your organization can choose from two levels: Standard, which provides support from 8am-5pm, or Premium, which offers 24/7 coverage, and the Mitel Performance Analytics proactive monitoring tool.

SWA works to ensure continuous operability in two ways - through proactively updating software and systems and providing responsive support that is fueled by best practices and industry-leading expertise. Let’s explore both.

TCI and Mitel engineers are in continuous communication, using tools to monitor real-time software issues worldwide. This proactive knowledge-sharing allows us to gather intelligence early before an issue can impact customer operations. Roughly 80% of the issues we detect in the field have already been solved in Mitel’s latest software release. This indicates that some customers’ systems have not been updated — not just with the new features and functions included in that release but also with the fixes that could ensure continuous operability. That is why it is so critical for Mitel customers to be protected with the value and peace of mind that SWA provides.

When operations are impacted, you need a fast response to minimize downtime. Customers with Mitel SWA have guaranteed a quick local response reaction as their first line of defense. The ongoing software monitoring means we have real-time intelligence that can jumpstart support efforts. We’re trained and certified by Mitel, so we have the expertise and additional tools needed to resolve problems efficiently. Should a problem require further escalation, Mitel SWA allows us to obtain support from Mitel as a second line of defense.

Because your business relies on communications and collaboration software, you must plan for the unexpected. You don’t want to be caught without a backup plan if your solutions should suddenly go offline.

It pays to understand the benefits that continuous communications deliver. Virtually all departments rely on unified communications solutions. When those solutions run uninterrupted, productive communications support the following:

TCI is here to help safeguard your business communications. If you don’t have a Mitel software assurance subscription, don’t wait. Contact us today: (703) 321-3030 or GetHelp@tcicomm.com.

With budget season here and 2023 right around the corner, now is a great time to start evaluating your office technologies and setting strategic goals.

A TCI Technology & Business Review gets you prepared for the new year, whether you’re connecting a Hybrid Workforce or thinking about Faster Broadband, Online Collaboration, Disaster Recovery, Cloud, or Managed Services.

Not familiar with the latest innovations or apps? We'll get you up to speed so your business can connect more easily and become more productive than ever.

Schedule your 2023 planning session with TCI today. Call (703) 321-3030 or GetHelp@tcicomm.com.