The modern workplace is more reliant than ever on digital technology. This makes us stronger and more efficient, but it also creates a new potential for vulnerability.
If the technology we depend on fails, business is interrupted. This can happen for reasons beyond our control, from power cuts to extreme weather. The resulting downtime always costs time and money, but the consequences can be even worse. If your infrastructure is not secure, this could lead to data breaches, reputational damage, and even legal problems.
The goal is to harness the power of new technology, while creating contingencies in case of failure. This is why every organization must have a BCDR (business continuity and disaster recovery) plan.
The unstoppable rise of digital technology
In the age of the internet of things, interconnectivity, automation, and globalization make our economies more advanced and interdependent.
Increasingly complex networks connect people, devices, and offices across borders and continents. Even the smallest businesses depend on connectivity, for processes ranging from customer relations to administration and point-of-sale.
The need to be prepared
While we live in an age of digital transformation, we also live in an age of disruption. The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted economic life worldwide, while also showing us the possibility of remote work. Post-pandemic, supply shocks and inflation have brought new uncertainties.
Many businesses were unprepared for these shocks and had to improvise to adapt. Some did not survive. In the United States alone, COVID-19 caused an additional 200,000 business closures, according to research from the Federal Reserve.
In the coming months, energy shortages could bring power cuts and other problems. Businesses must be agile and prepared.
The need for robust technology
Business continuity is essential if we are to continue to deliver for customers. This is why resilience should always be a consideration when you are building your technological infrastructure.
Communication technology is a core part of this. If we cannot connect with customers, suppliers, or colleagues, we cannot do business at all. Cloud technology is bringing new levels of resilience to this vital part of business.
iPECS Cloud: bringing reliability to business communication
iPECS Cloud from Ericsson-LG Enterprise is a unified communications (UC) solution that is built with resilience at its heart.
Traditional on-premise business phone systems are vulnerable to any outages or other problems affecting your location. iPECS Cloud solves this with geographic redundancy.
The entire platform is hosted in secure data centers away from your site. If there is a problem at one data center, it automatically fails over to another. Geo-redundancy makes businesses significantly less likely to suffer downtime, so that you can continue to deliver for customers.
Business mobility is business continuity
If you do have problems affecting your site, it is essential that business continues. From power cuts to severe weather, there are all sorts of reasons why the office might have to close. Business mobility allows your team to carry on.
With the right technology, remote working has many benefits, which have become well-understood since the pandemic. These include improved team morale, wider recruitment pools, and improvements in productivity. But there is a less well-known benefit too. This is resilience.
If you can work from anywhere, this can form part of your broader BCDR strategy. Problems on your site do not have to prevent your team from working. But you will need technological solutions to support them.
Agile, flexible communications
iPECS ONE is a UC app supported by the iPECS Cloud platform. By putting all the power and features of a modern business phone system in an easy-to-use app, it brings business mobility to new levels.
It offers full UC features, with voice, video, and instant messaging in one place, along with options for CRM and email integration. This allows you to bring the office with you, wherever you need to be, with no loss in productivity or professionalism.
Better still, thanks to WebRTC technology, users can access iPECS ONE through a web browser, with no downloads at all. If you cannot work in the office, your team can still provide the highest standards of service from anywhere.
Everything is still possible, from collaboration and team meetings to administration and customer contact. With add-ons like call recording and iPECS Analytics, it is even possible to run an enterprise-level contact center remotely.
The cloud: working any time, anywhere
Cloud technology is one of the main engines behind the digital revolution. It enables us to work anywhere without compromise on quality, service, collaboration, or productivity.
The risk of disruption to business is significant, and is with us every day. Cloud technology offers resilience through geo-redundancy. It also helps to make businesses agile and prepared for trouble, whether in the form of local outages or larger macroeconomic shocks.
iPECS: your communication solution
At iPECS, we recognized the power and potential of the cloud early. This gives us experience and expertise in realizing its benefits, from productivity to resilience. Your communication solutions should form a core part of your business continuity plan.
iPECS Cloud and iPECS ONE are designed and built with this in mind – to give businesses worldwide the resilience, agility, and efficiency to face the challenges ahead and thrive. To find out more, speak to your nearest Ericsson-LG Enterprise Global Partner.
