Three Mission-Critical Tech Solutions That Every Modern Business Needs
IT leaders routinely make decisions that have far-reaching effects across their organizations. Here are three tech solutions those decisions should include.
IT leaders no longer live in a bubble, where their decisions only directly impact a select few. Today’s CIOs now make decisions that have far-reaching effects on their entire organizations. To that end, their roles are often as much business-oriented as they are technology-oriented. The software and solutions they champion can quite literally make or break a business when it comes to mission-critical factors like information security, productivity, and scalability.
With that in mind, here are three of the most important tech considerations CIOs will face:
#1. Network-wide security
When it comes to technology for the modern enterprise, security is not simply something that can be tacked on later as an afterthought. It must be central to every decision IT leaders make from the tech solutions they choose to how they are implemented and maintained. Information and network security and privacy must be incorporated by design and default across every user account, endpoint, and the entire wide-area network itself.
The security landscape has changed enormously in recent years, and the notion of a perimeter is no longer as relevant in the age of cloud and mobile computing. SD-WAN solutions, which make use of the IPsec secure suite of protocols, are central to protecting networks at scale. Other critical elements of a secure network are encryption, multi-factor authentication, account-based security, and physical security for devices and facilities themselves. With multi-layered security driven by enhanced analytics and proactive threat-hunting ensures your business is always one step ahead of attackers.
#2. Unified communications
Communication and collaboration are the cornerstones of any business, just as they always have been. Yet these days, there are numerous ways to communicate and work together, and it is essential that organizations can support all of those methods and mediums that employees and their customers use. The challenge lies in consolidating all these communications as such that there is a streamlined process for all mission-critical workflows.
Having one technology provider to support all your communication and collaboration needs is a highly effective way to streamline productivity and manage otherwise complex technology ecosystems. With one managed platform to support voice and video calls, instant messaging, and email, the overhead on management will be greatly reduced. It should also work out a lot cheaper, since all your communications services will be consolidated under one bill. Another cost- and productivity-related benefit of modern VoIP and UC solutions improved accessibility. A fully managed, software-defined UC platform allows employees to use any internet-enabled device, such as employee-owned cellphones, for business communications.
#3. Data-driven analytics
Companies are, on average, doubling the amount of data they collect every couple of years. Perhaps the most pervasive trend of all in the modern business environment, this vast deluge of data is being driven by the adoption of internet-connected smart devices, online customer portals, and widespread use of mobile devices and cloud services. The challenge lies in using this data to drive informed decision-making, yet most data still goes unused for analytics.
Business intelligence (BI) platforms are vital for reaping the benefits of increasingly large data sets. Again, it is essential to take a consolidated approach by implementing a BI solution that can collect and analyze data from all your mission-critical systems, such as CRM and ERP. Newer BI platforms are heavily reliant on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, which help analyze massive data sets at scale to facilitate real-time decision-making based on facts, rather than emotions and educated guesswork.
SmartChoice has recently partnered with Verkada to incorporate physical security tools into our unified communications solutions. Get in touch today to find out more.
SmartChoice is a technology company based out of New York City with a unique portfolio of solutions including UCAAS, collaboration, software and analytics, dedicated contact centers, security, infrastructure, and managed connectivity. Through its unsurpassed white-glove service and 24x7x365 U.S. based support, it has grown to become one of the largest award-winning PBX/SIP providers in North America.
