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AT YOUR SERVICE: XaaS barrier to getting work done more quickly among respondents was workforces operating in silos leading to a lack of cross-functional collabo- ration – named by 61 percent of respondents to the McKinsey & Co. survey. The problem of inefficient collaboration was even more acute for businesses operating in technology, media and telecom; healthcare; and consumer products and retail sectors, show McKinsey figures. “Many noted that communica- tion across areas of the business would enhance the quality of decision making, promote the sharing of assets such as data and prevent work from being duplicated,” said the study. Nearly one-quarter of respondents said better communication and collabora- tion would increase the speed at which their organizations act, in part by increasing transparency. UCaaS platforms also can help fill productivity gaps between remote and in-office by aiding with team and project management and monitoring. Often able to integrate pre-existing tools and third-party applications, UCaaS platforms can be set up as a type of project hub. In such a scenarios, all employee interactions and key tools now reside in one place, thereby improving visibility and information sharing among employees and teams and increasing project visibility for managers. In some cases, workplace analytics can aid in managing and monitoring the use of applications within the UCaaS platform. “In our experience, organiza- tions can benefit from moving toward more nonhierarchical, agile models of communication and collaboration that improve the efficiency of information sharing,” said the McKinsey study on corporate speed. It’s not hard to grasp why a technol- ogy initially built many years ago to be cross-functional, collaborative, central- ized but mobile and flexible is meeting the demands of our current realities. UCaaS has been targeted toward remote, off-site and mobile workers since its day one. In a summer survey of channel partners by Baird, for example, more than a third of UCaaS providers experi- enced growth of 30 percent or more during the past three months. Nearly eight in 10 experienced growth to some degree. Likewise, 36 percent expected growth of 30 percent or more during the next three months, while more than three quarters expected some growth. Six in 10 UCaaS partners said they are also targeting larger customers nowadays. Moving forward, a mid-year survey of end-users by Avant Communications research arm found that 67 percent of respondents plan to replace legacy phone systems with a UCaaS solution within the next 12 months. Businesses operating within construction/engineer- ing, retail/e-commerce, high tech and manufacturing are expected to move the quickest. In terms of headcount, Avant expects the strongest forthcom- ing uptake to be within the 10,000 to 50,000 seat range, although organiza- tions of all sizes plan to invest in UCaaS, especially next year. Prior to this year, UCaaS penetration was greatest among the largest firms surveyed (10,000 and up) and the smallest (fewer than 250). Across the board, more than 50 percent of all-sizes of firms were utilizing UCaaS somewhere in their companies by 2019. The move to UCaaS is especially timely for about a quarter of respon- dents who said they were considering UCaaS because their legacy system is falling out of warranty. Incidentally, when companies delay migration to UCaaS from legacy systems, bandwidth issues at certain sites is the most common concern, Avant data shows. One in 10 business- es considering a UCaaS solution expressed interest in a bundle that ties UCaaS with SD-WAN. o Biggest Barriers to Getting Work Done More Quickly, By Industry Industry Lack Cross-Function Collaboration Slow Decision Making Lack of Strategic Clarity Rigid Policies Formal Hierarchy Overall 61% 42% 31% 25% 24% Tech, media, telecom 72% 47% 25% 27% 33% Healthcare systems/services 70% 43% 30% 28% 24% Consumer product/retail 65% 38% 35% 22% 24% Banking 59% 41% 26% 31% 17% Energy and materials 58% 36% 40% 24% 18% Advanced industries 57% 44% 36% 20% 31% Insurance 57% 32% 22% 25% 30% Pharma, medical products 56% 59% 30% 31% 23% Travel, transport, logistics 53% 32% 32% 20% 20% Source: McKinsey & Co. 26 CHANNEL VISION | September - October, 2020