Traditional contact centers were not designed to handle the overwhelming volume of calls that have flooded healthcare organizations, government agencies, and many other industries during this global pandemic. Although the initial surge may have leveled off, the coronavirus continues to impact the way contact centers operate day-to-day.

With millions of citizens seeking COVID-related guidance, medical information, and government assistance, contact centers must rethink how they manage interactions across channels to deliver prompt and seamless service in times of crisis.

By harnessing automation and artificial intelligence technologies to streamline and scale modern call center operations, CBTS is helping companies maintain and even enhance customer service through the pandemic.

Here’s how contact centers can transform their approach to handling pandemic-level call volumes with next-level support from CBTS.

Addressing pandemic challenges with a contact center transformation

Since the onset of COVID-19, calls to hospitals and government offices have skyrocketed. Call centers that were only equipped to handle tens of thousands of calls per day were suddenly fielding millions of urgent requests—often while agents adjusted to a remote work environment.

Facing this deluge of demand, hard-hit contact centers have encountered a few common challenges during the pandemic:

• Overflowing backlogs and overwhelmed phone systems stretched past capacity.
• Busy signals, long hold times, and dropped calls that frustrate customers in need of help.
• Overworked agents juggling conversations across multiple channels through various platforms.
• Inefficient options for disseminating information or switching between inbound and outbound calls.

These obstacles put a serious strain on contact centers while obstructing customer service.

To keep up with the drastically increased call volume, agencies must plan a contact center transformation to leverage the efficiencies of unified communications, automated technologies, and advanced analytics.

Also read: Enhance the customer experience by blending Five9 Contact Center as a Service with CBTS enterprise voice solutions

“No Wrong Door” in customer service

When citizens are in critical need of medical or government assistance, calling for help should be hassle-free. Patrons want convenient options for contact and instant access to information without having to crawl through a convoluted triage process. 

A modern call center can accommodate these needs with a “No Wrong Door” approach that streamlines service to connect every caller to the right destination—regardless of which channel they use to communicate or what type of assistance they seek. This approach leverages solutions such as:

• Omni-channel communications to smoothly switch from voice to digital channels.
• Artificial intelligence (AI) to automate self-service through interactive voice response (IVR).
• Chatbots to engage callers by providing repetitive answers to common requests.
• Precision-based routing to quickly redirect queries.
• Analytics to identify critical insights and optimize call center efficiencies.

These solutions equip contact centers to serve customers faster and more efficiently—alleviating long hold times and daunting call center backlogs while reducing the burden on the phone system and the agent.

The original “No Wrong Door” policy, part of the Affordable Care Act, was intended to help citizens access traditionally siloed health services through a centralized point-of-entry.

Using advanced technologies, a contact center transformation can apply this concept to provide flexible solutions and streamlined experiences that benefit both agents and callers.

Case Study: IU Health, CBTS cooperate to deploy COVID-19 pop-up testing centers in 24 hours

The value of seamless service during a crisis

With decades of experience designing powerful contact center solutions, CBTS has helped contact centers pivot quickly to deliver uninterrupted service throughout the pandemic. As COVID-19 accelerates the need for more flexible omni-channel communications, CBTS equips modern call center agents with the tools they need to respond quickly. 

Leveraging unified communications technologies powered by AI, CBTS can recognize repeat callers and deflect them to an automated status update—alleviating a large portion of incoming calls. Callers can opt to receive a callback for future updates or additional assistance, access self-service options, and even reserve a spot in line to receive vaccinations.

CBTS can integrate these contact center technologies with your existing CRM software, enabling you to easily provide patient status updates in real-time. By combining these advanced telecom tools into one integrated platform, CBTS equips contact centers to deliver an exceptional omni-channel experience that can be easily scaled when call volume spikes.

By using AI and IVR in the contact center to streamline queue management, simplify phone trees, promote self-service options, and generate automated responses, companies can augment their contact center capacity during times of crisis.

Planning your contact center transformation with CBTS can alleviate longer-than-average hold times and overwhelming backlogs—enabling faster service and improving overall satisfaction.

Effective communication and cutting-edge collaboration applications are more important than ever in the new age of remote workforces. However, organizations and IT juggling collaboration tools, conferencing tools, and diverse technologies that exist across their locations can quickly become overwhelmed by the volume of applications and equipment that require support and upkeep.

This scenario has played a part in the rise of unified communications as-a-service (UCaaS), especially in organizations that depend on reliable connections between disparate remote offices and employees working from home. Although enterprise UCaaS has proven to be an invaluable tool throughout the turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic, implementing a UCaaS solution requires thorough planning and preparation.

Below are a few missteps to watch out for when plotting your UCaaS deployment:

Also read: How CBTS is Integrating Hosted UCaaS with Microsoft Teams

2. Prior to deployment, build a rigorous enterprise UCaaS support system 

A successful UCaaS deployment brings every branch of an organization together with intuitive communication functionality, including voice, collaboration, video conferencing, and more. To maintain this network, precautions must be taken to ensure that peak traffic periods and downtimes can be managed without losing quality of service. This means provisioning sufficient bandwidth and staffing enough knowledgeable experts to keep the enterprise UCaaS infrastructure intact. Remember that poor traffic routing, call lag, or dropped connections can be severe detriments to the overall experience of your customers, partners, and users.

3. Have a comprehensive process map in place before your UCaaS deployment 

The devil is in the details; if your UCaaS deployment roadmap fails to account for business continuity, then your communications upgrade could end up disrupting strategic operations and hurting more than it helps. To maintain regular business activities during an enterprise UCaaS transition, your deployment must include contact center routing plans, IVR configuration, auto attendant setup, strategic hunt groups, call flows, call handling strategies, and any other critical workflow elements your organization relies on.

Also read: UCaaS roadmap requires support from stakeholders

4. Thoroughly train and prepare team members at every level of the organization

Training, adoption, and ongoing technical support are crucial elements of follow-through that can help a UCaaS deployment make a meaningful long-term impact. After all, simply buying a new collaboration application or handset for your company doesn’t mean much if your teammates aren’t taught to use it effectively. Not only should employees be properly trained to get the most out of the new enterprise UCaaS solution, but this training should be tailored to specific departments based on the needs of each branch of the company. For example, sales staff and warehouse technicians typically don’t require the same training since they use their communications hardware and software for different tasks. This approach to specialized training and adoption should be baked into the planning process of your UCaaS deployment and accounted for with ongoing support.

Precautions such as these can help ensure a successful hosted cloud communications transition and set your enterprise up for long-term success. It’s also worth considering pairing your enterprise UCaaS solution with a customized software-defined wide-area network (SD-WAN) service to fully modernize and streamline your network infrastructure and applications.

Also read: Stepping up your UCaaS experience with SD-WAN

Contact CBTS to find out how to properly prepare for and execute a UCaaS deployment for your enterprise.

The era of 5G communications is about to break wide open on the world economy, putting untold amounts of data in the hands of businesses and consumers and unleashing a vast array of new services, some of which will require uninterrupted connectivity to perform vital functions.

The fact remains, however, that cellular coverage on which these services depend is spotty at best within most buildings. Conventional materials like steel and concrete act as RF blockers, as do newer materials like eco-friendly windows. If building owners and managers do not take steps now to improve coverage within their facilities, critical applications are likely to fail. This will negatively impact not just the user’s quality of life but will also diminish the value of owned property, whether it is used for housing, retail space, entertainment, manufacturing, or some other purpose.

The DAS advantage

While it may be tempting to simply place a cellular repeater on top of a building or utilize Wi-Fi extenders inside, both of these approaches provide limited improvements at best, particularly as usage and data traffic increase, which they most surely will under 5G. A more compelling solution is the Distributed Antenna System (DAS), a fiber-based technology that utilizes small, low-power antenna nodes to push connectivity into dead spots without hampering performance with latency and interference issues.

Unlike a repeater or booster system, DAS does not amplify or extend an existing cellular service. Instead, it generates its own coverage, which can then be amplified to the cellular carrier’s network to provide stable, reliable service from virtually anywhere.

DAS is also easy to install and inexpensive to operate, with many solutions costing as little as $1.50 per square foot. At the same time, it is highly scalable, enabling resources to be more easily matched to data demands. This allows for rapid and simplified installation coupled with low operating costs because the network does not need to be over-provisioned with resources that sit idle most of the time during periods of low demand.

Yet another advantage that DAS has over Wi-Fi or cellular repeaters is the ability to locate users on a far more granular level. This offers advantages when the need for emergency services arises or when location-based applications are employed, and it allows network operators to more accurately analyze where data is being consumed within the building in order to deliver high Quality of Service (QoS) and to plan for future growth.

The right managed service partner

Few building owners and managers have the expertise to effectively manage high-tech communications networks, however, which is why finding the right partner to implement a DAS solution is essential. CBTS has been at the forefront of advanced network technologies for more than two decades and can deploy experienced engineering teams to provide a detailed analysis of indoor networking needs and then devise a DAS system that generates optimal coverage at minimal costs.

Whether the solution is deployed under a traditional infrastructure model or under a DAS-as-a-Service (DASaaS) model, CBTS offers full installation and integration with carrier networks, as well as 24×7 support and operations, plus detailed reporting and analysis to ensure the system remains in peak working condition even as data demands shift over time.

As the new decade unfolds, wireless service will transition from a simple convenience to a downright necessity. Connected devices will require nearly 100 percent uptime in order to fulfill their functional mandates, but this cannot happen if dead spots remain indoors due to blocked signals.

If building owners hope to maintain financial returns on their properties, they must take steps now to ensure robust data access throughout all enclosed areas. After all, when users cannot access their data in one location, they quickly move to a place that is properly connected.

Download the infographic about the benefits of 5G-ready, in-building wireless network.

Continue reading: Why a Distributed Antenna System is the best answer to in-building wireless dead spots

Contact us for more information on how CBTS can ensure effective 5G connectivity in your facility.

The past year has seen a meteoric rise in the demand for, and proliferation of, remote collaboration technology as organizations of every size, shape, and type have scrambled to meet the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As an influential figure in this rapidly shifting atmosphere, CBTS has been recognized for its efforts in providing access to revolutionary solutions for mid-size and enterprise businesses.

Market research and business consulting firm Frost & Sullivan recently placed CBTS within the top quadrant of the 2020 Frost Radar™ for growth and innovation in Hosted IP Telephony and Unified Communications as a Service [UCaaS] for North America.

“CBTS differentiates from its competitors with its broad cloud, infrastructure, communications, and consulting expertise, and its unique ability to leverage the resources of a large organization and nimbleness of an entrepreneurial company culture to deliver excellent customer value. With its rich portfolio of cloud communications, collaboration and contact center solutions CBTS can effectively address the diverse needs of a broad customer spectrum—from SMB to large enterprise and from private to public companies. CBTS also stands out with its tailored approach to different industries. Specialized teams of vertical industry experts enable CBTS to custom-tailor solutions for SLED, healthcare, retail and other verticals’ highly specific requirements.”

Elka Popova
Vice President and Senior Fellow, Digital Transformation of Frost & Sullivan

The report further explores the tumultuous but opportunity-rich environment that managed service providers currently find themselves in.

“Digital technologies, including cloud communications solutions, have captured the spotlight in this time of crisis,” the study reads in part. “At the time this study is publishing, the global pandemic is already experiencing a second wave, which means that most businesses will be unable to resume normal operations for the foreseeable future.”

Despite the myriad challenges presented by the pandemic in 2020, there is also significant room for growth that agile and forward-facing organizations may capitalize on.

Although cloud migration rates could be hampered by the current economic climate, the Frost Radar report suggests considerable growth potential for the UCaaS marketplace.

“In the near term, UCaaS solutions are likely to see pockets of rapid growth in certain customer segments and verticals,” the report reads. “Service providers leveraging modern cloud architectures and with the ability to deliver services over public broadband, on any connected device and network utilizing technologies like SD-WAN, are likely to better capitalize on the growing demand for hosted IP telephony and UCaaS than providers relying on managed circuits, premises-based infrastructure (e.g., session border controllers (SBCs) and desktop devices.”

The report elaborates that in the future, diversified offerings and comprehensive service suites that offer “one-stop shopping” for clients, such as unified communications, contact center solutions, and collaboration toolkits, are likely to provide the broadest avenue toward sustainable growth.

“Going forward, providers with broader cloud services suites are likely to experience faster growth than those selling point solutions,” the report reads. “Integrated cloud collaboration suites such as Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and Cisco Webex will gain traction as businesses seek to deliver more compelling user experiences whereby users can use a single pane of glass to access a variety of modalities including, voice, video, team messaging, SMS, and more.”

Growth is widely considered the key to survival in the business world, but growth not is equally simple or achievable for every organization. That’s why many business leaders are seeking out managed networking solutions such as network as a service (NaaS) by CBTS.

NaaS, powered by Cisco Meraki, enables geographic expansion and increases revenue without the added burden of increased operation expenses. It accomplishes this by folding hardware, licensing, configuration, implementation, and co-management into one monthly expense. The package can also be scaled up or down according to need. CBTS currently supports NaaS solutions for more than 600 clients and is able to install managed networks in an average of 30 days. CBTS is proud to receive the highest compliment to our NaaS solution by Cisco Meraki in their recent case study.

Also read:CBTS NaaS Awarded Product of the Year by CIOReview

The current iteration of CBTS’ NaaS offering, complete with Meraki’s single-pane-of-glass dashboard, came out of a need to rapidly modernize outdated equipment without increasing costs or negatively impacting a client’s budget planning. The Meraki dashboard also features a managed service provider’s (MSP) portal, which allows for the management of multiple customer networks much more easily and with less personnel than is possible with traditional simple network management protocol (SNMP) tools.

Flexibility and agility are also core components of the Meraki/CBTS NaaS solution. It can easily be scaled up or down at any time to accommodate relocations, new facilities, or other network reconfigurations—making expansion a breeze for growing businesses or organizations with seasonal locations and job sites. Additionally, end users can benefit from collaborative co-management features if needed. This allows service providers to provide oversight during peak traffic periods or offer expert insight—all without the client needing to give up direct control or access.

CBTS offers the NaaS solution as a co-managed utility with a simple monthly recurring expense, including an automatically refreshing Meraki equipment licensing agreement. Complete visibility into the managed network is built into the solution, so end users can stay apprised of how the network is performing.

Other functions are also enabled to fulfill user expectations, including services like Cisco DNA Spaces and Cisco Unified Communications. This allows CBTS to deliver artificial intelligence and network insights in addition to a reliable software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) experience. Being able to offer all of these capabilities with a single cost-effective and user-friendly platform allows enterprise leaders to set their organizations on a stable road toward sustainable growth and adaptation—all without major capital expenditures every few years.

Easily migrate from MPLS to cloud computing of the future powered by Cisco Meraki

In recent years, CBTS has seen remarkable growth as a service provider, thanks in significant part to the transport-agnostic nature of the Meraki MX, which enables migration from a regional MPLS provider to a managed WAN provider that can reach across the entire North American continent. CBTS has since enabled MPLS solutions for 116 unique customers, with an average installation time of only 120 days. Today, CBTS can claim more than 600 WAN customers and an average WAN site install interval of 30 days. The partnership with Meraki has not only led to rapid geographic expansion for CBTS, but also simultaneously cut down on the provider’s quote-to-cash interval and operating expenses.

Another key to the success of the Meraki NaaS offering is the way it factors in each customer’s unique network environment, goals, and needs. From 3,800-site foodservice and retail businesses that require centralized, consolidated data center solutions to smaller organizations seeking an expert partner to troubleshoot their aging networks, CBTS has been able to reduce downtime, increase revenues, and simplify operations for a wide variety of clients with the Meraki NaaS offering.

CBTS plans to continue growing the Meraki solution suite with new functionalities in the future, including Meraki MG wireless WAN, MT sensors, and a VMX virtual security/SD-WAN appliance.

Contact us for more information on how CBTS and Cisco Meraki can enable your organization to simplify operating expenses while achieving strategic networking goals.

Many professionals working remotely are struggling with insufficient wireless networks and constrained bandwidth, whether they’re operating from home or a branch office. For companies still grappling with the “new normal” of remote work, getting the most from their networks requires maximizing remote office capabilities and targeting mission-critical business goals.

CBTS, already demonstrating a proven network solution track record, is offering optimized solution bundles leveraging software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) technology with Network as a Service (NaaS) to empower organizations to meet these new challenges. These bundles are designed for the needs of remote branch employees and allow staff to access their private networks from anywhere and on any device, while companies can enjoy easy scalability to meet bandwidth demands and facilitate new locations. This support takes the form of two distinct remote collaboration technology offerings.

Meraki Remote Worker Bundle

The first bundle, based on Meraki technology, utilizes an MX67C to provide a next generation full unified threat management firewall and also includes a SIM Slot, automatic VPN functionality, and an internal LTE modem to pair with an LTE data plan from CBTS.

VeloCloud Remote Worker Bundles:

The second package centers around a VeloCloud SD-WAN 510 LTE Edge that features an integrated LTE modem. When coupled with a managed LTE data plan from CBTS, this one-box solution provides improved signal strength and coverage over USB modems while also limiting the compatibility issues that non-standardized USB modems occasionally suffer from. Check Point Network Security can also be added to this second bundle for enhanced protection and peace of mind.  Check Point Harmony Connect is a system that manages cloud security services at the enterprise level to integrate advanced threat protection measures and create secure connections over hybrid WAN transports.

Managed Cloud Network as a Service (Naas) from CBTS is another boon for the active remote office. Built on Cisco Meraki technology, the solution includes Auto VPN, switching, and Wi-Fi. Fully supported by CBTS engineers, the network is WAN-deployed, saving organizations from a management burden as their employees continue to operate from home.

Remote worker bundles include cloud-enabled security measures and remote management tools, while also eliminating the need for a second Internet connection and providing network survivability through LTE connectivity. Serving as a cost-effective backup, LTE offers flexibility and security for branch offices or home networks. Ensuring day-one connectivity for remote workers means leveraging an all-in-one branch solution that supports LTE as the primary WAN link. Once a wired connection is established, the same multi-WAN router can be utilized to load balance between wired and wireless links.

Companies now relying on remote environments—either temporarily or on a more permanent basis—must also furnish their workers with networking know-how equal to what is available in the office. CBTS is offering a suite of remote worker solutions that link employees to dependable networking options regardless of their location.

SD-WAN abstracts the network hardware and application transport characteristics to simplify management and enhance performance. It also allows companies to replace expensive private WAN connections such as MPLS by building higher-performance WANs using low-cost Internet access.

Ideal use cases for an SD-WAN solution combination include on-premises, cloud, and hybrid deployment models that require a Quality of Experience (QoE) for real-time applications such as VoIP and video regardless of where the user is located. SD-WAN can be an especially good fit for organizations that operate call centers or rely heavily on critical applications.

Network solutions can be further bolstered by Check Point Harmony Connect, a cloud-hosted threat prevention service that protects SaaS, IaaS, and branch-office assets with scalability, intelligent provisioning, and consistent control across physical and virtual networks. Rather than burdening IT staff with the maintenance of dedicated hardware and supports, the system’s cyber protection benefits are added to existing routers or SD-WAN deployments. This enables branch offices to stay connected while removing the operational overhead of sustaining hundreds or thousands of physical devices.

Meanwhile, hosted unified communications (UC) is giving businesses control over their remote communications. This cloud-contained, fully-hosted solution can replace aging telephone systems, enabling organizations to allocate workloads across locations.

As many workplaces are still working diligently to implement efficient remote work solutions during the COVID-19 pandemic, cloud-friendly tools are available to help companies avoid productivity losses and enhance the performance of their remote employees.

Contact CBTS for more information on how SD-WAN & NaaS networking solutions can accelerate the productivity of your remote workforce.

What can a business do when its growth has outstripped its networking resources? With IT personnel stretched thin and struggling with limited budgets, many organizations have seen their networks suffer from increased downtime and higher operating expenses as a result. Over time, this has led to business networks becoming more difficult to manage, even in terms of simple day-to-day tasks.

That’s why so many organizations across a wide variety of industries have turned to Network as a Service (NaaS) to simplify and streamline their IT needs while gaining improved network reliability, total transparency, overall lower operating costs, and many more benefits. With NaaS, clients are able to offload the monotonous daily tasks from their in-house IT teams to CBTS experts, freeing up the client’s resources, which can then be dedicated to more long-term and mission-critical strategic initiatives.

As the business world works tirelessly to match the relentless pace of cloud technology’s evolution, managed solutions like NaaS will only become more relevant and in-demand. In fact, NaaS’s flexibility in cloud-powered networks is one of the key factors of its rapid adoption rate—many top-performing companies are seeking a way to leverage the power of the cloud and with NaaS, CBTS delivers that power along with a dependable partnership and ongoing technical support. Currently, more than 600 clients in 5,000+ locations rely on NaaS by CBTS.

On top of providing measurable and superior business outcomes with its customized NaaS solutions, CBTS also brings to the table years of valuable experience in implementing unified communications (UC) services, software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) solutions, and other offerings that synergize to deliver clients a full-spectrum and future-forward networking strategy.

One aspect that makes the NaaS by CBTS offering unique is the involvement of Cisco Meraki, a platform that enables seamless expansion, maintenance, and security of a client’s managed network—all with unparalleled scalability. This leaves the client’s network in capable hands while it scales as needed and is kept safe from intrusion. These capabilities add up to a tremendous value for CBTS NaaS clients, who gain peace of mind and the precious breathing room necessary to reallocate their internal IT resources toward the mission-critical objectives that drive the growth of their companies.

CBTS also leverages automated monitoring capabilities to make seemingly complicated installations significantly more manageable. During the consultation and auditing phase, CBTS experts work closely with the client to solidify a functional template for the client network. This then allows CBTS to utilize a hybrid monitoring system and launch automated processes that manage the network with minimal input. These cutting-edge solutions make it possible to install NaaS environments quickly and painlessly.

One example of the success that NaaS by CBTS has brought to clients can be found in the story of Tire Discounters, an automotive service company based in the Midwestern United States that operates 137 locations. When Tire Discounters found itself in need of a new point-of-sale solution to process transactions and manage inventory, as well as a more standardized network to manage analytics across the corporation, the company turned to CBTS for support. After CBTS implemented a NaaS solution, Tire Discounters benefited from a seamless, interconnected, and managed networking environment that balanced more than a hundred disparate retail locations, leading to less network downtime and lower operating expenses.

NaaS by CBTS would not be the popular solution that it is without the trademark CBTS commitment to agility, adaptivity, and meeting client expectations at all levels. As the provider, we’re not content to sit still either—CBTS has plans in motion to launch new services to address demands in the marketplace for cyberthreat detection, patch management, multifactor user authentication, and more. NaaS has proven to be a gateway to the future of enterprise networking, and that future waits for no one.

Contact us for more information on how NaaS by CBTS can help streamline and simplify your organization’s network for the cloud age.

As communication channels rapidly evolve in today’s digital age, businesses must adapt quickly to support seamless interactions across voice, video, mobile, messaging, and chat. With workplace trends shifting toward more remote collaboration, it can be challenging for organizations to effectively manage a multitude of tools to keep employees, customers, and partners actively engaged across channels, devices, and locations.

To provide a more flexible workplace for their employees, agile enterprises are turning to hosted unified communications as a service (hosted UCaaS) to streamline collaboration and maximize productivity. Now, the advanced collaboration capabilities of Cisco Webex are fully integrated into the CBTS Hosted UC platform powered by Cisco BroadWorks—bringing together hosted VoIP, chat, video conferencing, remote meeting capabilities, and many more features—all through a unified collaboration application: Webex.

By combining all the features of Hosted UC enterprise-grade cloud communications solutions with the Webex collaboration tool, CBTS delivers an integrated platform that empowers companies to stay completely connected. Keep reading to learn how this integration can increase productivity and improve efficiency in your organization.

Unified collaboration and communication

Modern communication can be a juggling act that requires toggling between systems, devices, and networks to carry on a conversation. When enterprise phone systems are completely integrated into cloud-based collaboration tools, it streamlines the user experience and simplifies IT operations.

Leveraging the leading VoIP technology from Cisco BroadWorks, the CBTS platform enables WiFi calling, hosted VoIP calling, and smooth VoIP handovers to support calls as you move between data networks. Similarly, the system can seamlessly move active calls from audio to video, or from desk phone to softphone to mobile phone with a single click—without interrupting your call.

By integrating these calling capabilities with Webex, CBTS users can enhance the omnichannel collaboration experience for internal employees and external partners alike. Group chat, file sharing, whiteboarding, chat, and presence features make it easy to collaborate anywhere, at any time, with built-in application integrations that automatically connect to other business tools you use every day.

Meanwhile, Webex meetings features keep teams connected even when working remotely. Users can join meetings from any device with a single click, while effectively multitasking and staying productive. Online meeting rooms blend audio, HD video, chat, messaging, screen sharing, and wireless content sharing to keep participants engaged.

Blending these features on a single hosted UC platform creates a seamless communication experience. Instead of dealing with dial-in numbers or using mobile phone minutes, CBTS users can join virtual meetings with the click of a button from the company’s enterprise dial plan. You can make and take phone calls through the Webex application—using the desktop, tablet, or smartphone device of your choice—to connect more easily and collaborate more effectively. If you prefer to continue to use a traditional desk handset, that option is available as well.

The enhanced Hosted UC experience

By integrating cloud calling and collaboration solutions onto one secure platform, CBTS delivers a managed UCaaS experience to help companies future-proof their communication infrastructure. Designed to be open and interoperable across the most complex enterprise ecosystems, our integrated solutions are custom-designed to deliver the tools you need to enhance your unique customer journey.

Whether your employees work from one central office, multiple locations, or remotely from home, they can enjoy one core user experience across multiple devices, software applications, and workstyle preferences. Plus, CBTS can layer on advanced applications such as hosted IVR, mass notifications, e-911, and other contact center features to make your employees or agents more productive and your business more profitable.

Simplifying enterprise calling, messaging, and video conferencing through the unified Webex platform can also reduce telephony hardware costs and ongoing maintenance requirements, since upgrades happen automatically without any downtime or additional investments. The predictable fixed monthly cost of hosted UC enables you to focus on core innovations instead of billing surprises.

Hosted UC from CBTS delivers all the features of an enterprise-grade, cloud-enabled communications solution, combined with the latest remote collaboration apps—all on a single platform that’s flexible enough to scale up as your business grows. With 99.999% network availability and full redundancy, along with end-to-end security and 24x7x365 support, CBTS integrates Hosted UC with Webex to meet the full range of ever-changing communication and collaboration capabilities your enterprise needs in order to be equipped for the future.

Contact us to learn how Webex can empower your business to leverage the benefits of Hosted UC.

Customers today demand faster service from companies across multiple communication channels. They expect contact centers to deliver extraordinary experiences with every interaction—but that becomes more challenging as communication technologies rapidly evolve.

Thanks to their widely recognized reliability and flexibility, cloud-based contact center solutions can help companies keep pace with these changes by equipping agents to provide stellar service across channels, leveraging advanced features and unlimited integration capabilities to stay ahead of the curve. By offering Five9 Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS), CBTS gives enterprise clients a scalable platform from which to enhance the customer experience while streamlining agent workflows.

By combining industry-leading contact center software from Five9 with trusted Cisco UCaaS solutions from CBTS, this powerful new platform empowers companies to future-proof their contact center experience for both remote agents and customers. Below are a few of the ways Five9 and CBTS are working together to expand your enterprise communication capabilities.

Delivering a seamless contact center experience

Call center agents can’t provide a streamlined customer experience if they have to toggle between multiple systems to field incoming calls, use outbound dialers, or switch from voice to other channels. The Five9 blended contact center unifies inbound and outbound calling features to bridge this gap, so agents can access multiple applications simultaneously through a single cloud-based platform.

CBTS and Five9 work together to connect agents with customers across voice, e-mail, web, social, chat, and mobile. Built-in integrations and advanced API capabilities offer connectivity to critical business applications that agents use every day. Customers ultimately benefit from this seamless experience, thanks to integrations with Salesforce, Microsoft (Dynamics), NetSuite, Oracle (Service Cloud), ServiceNow, Sugar CRM, Velocify, Zendesk, and Zoho. This collaboration also includes open REST-base API functionality that integrates with existing systems, enabling higher quality service across channels.

Bundling Five9 Contact Center software with CBTS Unified Communication as a Service solutions can reduce expenses while streamlining your company’s telecom infrastructure with a single vendor. As a single solution provider, CBTS can fully customize each client’s communication capabilities, allowing you to Bring Your Own Voice (BYOV) provider or adopt a cloud-based voice solution like Hosted UC or Hosted Enterprise UC to support your agents’ PSTN calling.

Empowering call center agents anywhere

As the omni-channel contact center experience grows more complex, it can be challenging to maintain consistency and continuity. With more companies shifting toward a remote work environment, it’s even more important to equip agents with the same service capabilities regardless of where they’re geographically located. Make sure you’ve set your remote work agents up for success; learn more about remote work best practices here. 

Whether your agents work from one central office, multiple locations, or remotely from home, Five9 Contact Center and CBTS offer scalable support. The flexible cloud-based platform keeps agents connected anywhere, on any device, by providing reliable access to all the tools they need.

Five9 also offers comprehensive supervisor capabilities that let you monitor, whisper, and barge into calls from any location, so you can manage agent interactions everywhere. Plus, real-time insights and robust performance metrics help supervisors manage contact center operations at a glance.

Preparing for the future

Aging on-premises contact center solutions can’t keep pace with the rapidly changing telecommunications landscape, and limited technical capabilities can even hold companies back. By contrast, the feature-rich functionality of Five9 Contact Center as a Service from CBTS keeps enterprises nimble and poised for growth.

Read more: Now More Than Ever it is Time to Move Your Enterprise Contact Center to the Cloud

CCaaS offers flexible scalability as your contact center needs grow and change. You can simply add more agent licenses with our concurrent user-based pricing, IVR ports, and line capacity as you need it—paying only for what you use to make growth more affordable. The interfaces are intuitive and training is included so administrators can easily add and change routing strategies and IVR call flows.

Even when natural disasters, power outages, and other emergencies strike, CCaaS helps companies maintain communication without interruption to support business continuity. Together, Five9 and CBTS provide peace of mind through:

• 24x7x365 network availability.
• Redundant global data centers.
• Strict end-to-end security protocols.
• Real-time software upgrades.
• 99.990% uptimes.

Why CBTS?

CBTS and Five9 will help you adapt quickly to the constantly changing environment and stay ahead of the competition.

• Single account team, project management, training, and implementation.
• Overlay hosted unified communications advanced PBX features.
• No interruption of service, ease of migration.
• Common calling plan and extension dial legacy systems.
• 24x7x365 U.S.-based support.
• Bundle integrated collaboration and unified communications solutions to reduce expenses.
• Consolidated billing for all solutions.

As a leading Five9 Contact Center provider and integrator, CBTS offers enterprise solutions to future-proof your contact center with reliable cloud-based tools that deliver consistent, high-quality customer experiences across channels, devices, and locations. The streamlined platform enables service with more flexibility, functionality, and consistency—ultimately boosting agent productivity and customer satisfaction.

Contact us to learn more about bundling Five9 Contact Center as a Service with CBTS enterprise voice solutions to enhance your contact center experience.

As cloud-based applications catch on in terms of both popularity and availability, the users who rely on them are expecting easier and more reliable access from any remote work situation they operate in.

Simultaneously, software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) technology is solidifying its place as the leading solution for deploying and managing cloud-enabled network environments. Small, medium, and enterprise-level organizations alike are seeing the value in partnering with a qualified SD-WAN provider to enhance and simplify their cloud application and managed software processes.

Identifying and selecting the right partner for your managed SD-WAN needs is no simple matter, however. It’s crucial for organizations to have an intimate knowledge of their existing network architectures in order to find the best fit for their goals.

Not every provider has the expertise to smoothly transform a legacy Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) network into a cloud-powered hybrid or SD-WAN architecture, regardless of the industry or vertical the client occupies. This requires a provider to work closely with the client’s IT teams to identify vulnerabilities, map out the existing network environment, and meticulously plot out a transition plan.

The right SD-WAN partner must also bring a critical eye and modern approach to your organization’s security situation. When designing and deploying an SD-WAN environment for your enterprise, a Security Service Edge (SSE) solution should be layered throughout the architecture of the managed service. In short, your SD-WAN provider should fully and comprehensively assess your existing network to not only optimize bandwidth but to safeguard data and applications as well, counseling you on where to layer on additional security measures when needed.

Additionally, a managed SD-WAN solution provider should offer a suite of services that achieve the end goal of freeing up your IT personnel and resources to focus less on mundane daily tasks and more on critical strategic business initiatives. A properly implemented SD-WAN environment can achieve this, but only if the provider works alongside your team throughout the entire deployment process by monitoring, maintaining, and updating the environment as necessary to ensure a smooth transition.

It’s a common misconception that after migrating to a Software as a Service (SaaS) SD-WAN model, organizations lose direct control over their network. This isn’t the case for experienced and proven SD-WAN providers, which partner closely with clients to co-manage the new network environment. In this manner, a truly collaborative SD-WAN solution combines the strengths and expertise of both client and provider to achieve the client’s long-term goals.

Contrary to some popular perceptions, SD-WAN is not a magic button that solves every networking difficulty with the press of a button, even when users are extensively trained and experienced in the operation of SD-WAN networking solutions. That’s why a qualified and trusted partner is so important to effect an orderly migration from legacy MPLS networking to a cloud-enabled SD-WAN environment while giving your organization a greater degree of flexibility and control over your network.

That’s where CBTS comes in. Whether your strategic goal is to cut down on operating expenses or greatly increase application uptime, CBTS will synergize with your IT infrastructure to formulate a customized SD-WAN solution that is tailor-made for your specific circumstances and needs. CBTS can also easily factor in and balance additional features like Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) as needed.

SD-WAN is defining both the present and future of enterprise networking and is creating exciting new opportunities, but it takes an expert guide to navigate these turbulent waters safely. Choose your partner carefully to get the most out of this cutting-edge technology.

Contact us for more information on finding the right SD-WAN provider for your organization.