Principles of Modern Unified Communications

The Principles of Modern Unified Communications

Unified Communications (UC) technology streamlines multiple communication tools into a modern communications solution. However, service and security management issues must be addressed to effectively deploy modern UC services such as Microsoft Teams phone. That’s why businesses rely on  Unified 365. It’s a platform built on five principles: Security, vendor independence, hybrid solutions, unification, and manageability.

Security: Organizations should avoid security risks when planning to migrate to Microsoft Teams telephony.  To connect Teams users to the telephony network, Microsoft Teams Direct Routing based on SBC, is widely used. SBC security is a concern for IT professionals deploying Direct Routing. Recent reports of vulnerabilities show that SBCs are the weak link in the chain. It takes ongoing expert effort to ensure that risks are addressed. Unified 365 eliminates the SBC and public cloud in the Direct Routing setup. It is the only technology with a direct connection to Microsoft Team’s end-to-end encryption. In addition, the platform provides multi-factor authentication to the Microsoft domain. This prevents third-party access to administrator credentials.

Vendor Independence: The expectations for modern UC are changing. Businesses want to get more out of UC and want to deploy new solutions faster. Today’s needs are constantly evolving, whereas traditional telephony services have stayed the same for years. And different employee profiles require different solutions. Enterprises can combine Microsoft Teams with customer contact solutions and legacy telephony with Unified 365. The platform allows the assignment of the most cost-effective product for each employee.

Successful adoption by the end user also includes the timing and mechanics of the change. The phased introduction of services is an important part of the transition process for all stakeholders. The platform allows easy migration in small steps. Old and new systems can remain in place simultaneously.

Hybrid solutions: Communication services based on private or public clouds are referred to as hybrid solutions. Businesses cannot migrate overnight and will always need a combination of legacy (on-premises) PBXs combined with modern Cloud PBXs, contact center solutions, and Microsoft Teams Phone. Unified 365 is a platform that aims to provide seamless interworking of SIP trunks for legacy PBXs, modern contact center solutions, and public cloud products such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Webex. Since phone numbers can be migrated in real time between the different communication variants, the migration process is made much easier. Unified 365 also provides management and migration tools for on-premises Active Directory and Azure Active Directory domains.

Unification: Unified 365 introduces a single user interface across different communications solutions. For collaboration, video calling, chat, and business telephony, the Microsoft Teams client becomes the single app. A single app for any device without the need to retire existing PBXs or contact center solution. In addition, it synchronizes presence, address books, and integrates with Active Directory.

Manageability: Services need to be managed. To effectively manage modern applications and address service management and operational aspects, Unified 365’s control panel is the single management interface for all UC services. Operational activities typically include onboarding and offboarding employees, assigning new services, managing phone numbers, and managing Direct Routing. Access to the Control Panel is based on multifactor authorization. User management and reporting services are also included in the package.