Today, all businesses, regardless of size, exist in a highly globalized world with organizations across every industry broadening their scope to draw resources and services from around the world. Consequently, global IT services are particularly valuable for organizations. CBTS—a provider with a global perspective and experience serving clients worldwide—offers an expansive portfolio of global IT services utilizing its holistic APO method: applications, platforms, and operations.

This blog will explore:

• The CBTS approach to global partnerships
• Leveraging app mod to globalize IT services for your company
• IT security service on a global scale
• Staying relevant in the global landscape

The CBTS approach to global partnerships

When a client’s environment requires an upgrade, the CBTS team will begin a ground-up assessment to determine which applications to modernize, platforms to implement, and operations to optimize.

Additionally, this global footprint and around-the-clock service approach put a wide variety of information technology resources at the client’s disposal. If the client requires application development support, incident escalation, or remediation, CBTS assists the organization in addressing any issue it may have—no matter when it arises.

One factor that enables this effort is a robust global IT services structure distributed throughout North America and South Asia. A worldwide footprint and around-the-clock availability give clients the responsiveness and reliability they expect—the result is that crises are addressed immediately with as little delay as possible.

Leveraging application modernization to globalize IT services for your company

With more enterprises embracing cloud computing environments than ever, cloud transition services are seeing an uptick in demand. In these cases, offering support when it is needed is only one part of the equation. Your organization’s journey to the Cloud is not simply a product—it’s a partnership. A genuinely collaborative service vendor will take proactive steps to manage the entire process of your cloud transition and provide the right technical and human resources to see it through.

To this end, CBTS offers a close partnership throughout the consultation and implementation phases. It also provides a dedicated service delivery manager who is a single point of contact and ensures that the client meets its business objectives. This service delivery manager performs quarterly business reviews and collaborates closely with client organizations, providing a level of global service for the client that is both efficient and cost-effective.

Learn more: Leverage the application modernization process to stay competitive

Global-scale IT security services

Security is another core offering from CBTS. The most sophisticated and future-proof cloud environment won’t do your organization any good if it isn’t also kept safe from scams, phishing, and other intrusions. That’s why it’s critical to seek a global IT services provider that weaves security into every layer of your cloud transition and maintenance process while creating a sustainable shared risk model that limits liability for your enterprise.

The number and complexity of cyberattacks are growing exponentially, year after year. To keep pace with these global threats, IT service providers must scale their security efforts. CBTS has done just that by implementing bleeding-edge cloud security measures such as SD-WAN, SASE, and AI-powered ENI.

CBTS monitoring services proactively identify anomalies of any type and take full ownership of the recovery of the client’s environment if there is an incidence. In this way, CBTS acts as the client’s first line of defense, constantly on alert for any intrusions and taking on responsibility for the performance of the client’s core business functionalities and the security of mission-critical data.

There’s no need to “go it alone” and place all the burden of risk solely on your organization. To achieve the best results, partner with a global IT services provider that can put your organization’s needs first while addressing the ever-evolving cyber threat landscape.

Staying relevant in the global landscape

Businesses that refuse to evolve—and thus, stay competitive—risk falling behind the rest of the world. Relying on outdated legacy applications causes companies to become inefficient. Additionally, employees struggle to navigate platforms, and operations lag. Not to mention, organizations that remain stuck in the past put their companies at risk of cyberattacks.

With offices in five countries and partnerships in many more, CBTS offers global IT services to address these complex business challenges. CBTS specializes in application modernization, cloud migration, infrastructure as a service, communications, security, and consulting services to help you achieve your goals.

Contact us to find out how a global IT services provider can offer your enterprise a new level of service and success.

What is developer experience?

Developer experience (DevEx or DX) is an emerging school of thought in software development. In essence, DevEx aims to improve the experience and efficiency of developers as they build, refine, and deploy applications. DevEx is similar to user experience (UX) in that the focus is on identifying and removing friction points for users—in this case, the users are developers.

According to a recent Forrester survey, 75% of companies say DevEx is critical to business strategy execution. A 2020 McKinsey study linked investment in high-quality developer experiences to exponential growth for those companies, far outpacing competitors. In addition, poor DevEx is tied to stagnant business performance.

This post will outline the primary principles of DevEx, highlight some of the pitfalls, and discuss how CBTS can support your DevEx initiatives.

Why does DevEx matter?

A foundational concept in developer experience is “developer velocity”—the time it takes for a development team to bring a new product to market or release updates to an existing product. According to the McKinsey study, the companies positioned in the top 25% of developer velocity “outperform others in the market by four to five times.” This metric translates into higher shareholder returns, operating margins, and even innovations with companies that have 55% higher innovation scores than the bottom-ranked companies.

McKinsey suggests four factors are critical in creating faster developer velocity and improving DevEx.

• Tools. Quality tools improve DevEx and increase time to market. Also, developers can streamline their processes by giving developers autonomy in selecting the applications and design tools they use.
• Culture. Key to innovation is a corporate culture of psychological safety, which means that developers can experiment and fail without fearing repercussions.
• Product management. Simplifying business operations and clarifying product management processes keeps projects on track and on time.
• Talent management. Businesses contribute to the above three factors by hiring and retaining quality developers.

Obstacles to quality DevEx

As much as a focus on DevEx improves most business outcomes, poor DevEx leads to stagnant growth, high developer turnaround, and disgruntled development teams.

The primary culprits in creating friction points in DevEx are legacy applications and tools. Aging architecture slows the development process at each stage. By modernizing applications, companies can remove massive blockages in the development pipeline.

Other common obstacles include:

• Forcing developers to use specific tools instead of the tools they want.
• Poorly written or broken code.
• Poor training and documentation.
• A toxic culture that penalizes failure.
• Unrealistic deadlines and long work hours.

Learn more: The methods and motivations behind cloud application modernization efforts

DevEx tools from CBTS

CBTS provides a portfolio of services that can significantly improve developer experience and allow your business to experience the benefits of optimal DevEx.

• Application modernization. Migrating development tools to the cloud (aka application modernization) speeds development time and frees up resources otherwise devoted to maintaining legacy infrastructure. Giving developers the best tools and autonomy in choosing them boosts development velocity.
• Consulting. Let our consultants help you build a roadmap to a DevEx culture.
• Automation. Most developers only spend 30% of their time coding. Save time by reducing or eliminating manual processes and optimizing Software as a Service (SaaS) integrations.
• Managed services. Free up your developers from mundane, repetitive tasks so they can focus on high priority business objectives.

Read more: CBTS commitment to outstanding IT service delivery drives success

Why CBTS?

Businesses across all industries are learning to value DevEx. By removing obstacles from the development flow, companies can drive innovation and reap the rewards of quality DevEx.

The CBTS team specializes in modernizing applications, optimizing processes, and speeding up business operations. With decades of experience, our team of highly qualified and certified application developers, project managers, and consultants can steer your business toward optimized developer experience and boosted developer velocity.

Contact us to learn more.

As the culture around remote work shifts, many companies have been forced to speed up technology innovations relating to hybrid and remote workplaces and communications across digital channels. Organizations in every sector have modernized their technology to stay competitive. Pioneering business leaders realize the need to implement versatile tools that respond to evolving customer and employee demand. By seeking support from the top providers in the Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) space, companies are moving to modernize communications infrastructure and secure future business. 

For the third consecutive year, technology market research giant Frost & Sullivan recognized CBTS as a top provider in the UCaaS space via their annual Frost Radar Report. As a leading UCaaS provider, CBTS prides itself on offering a suite of cloud communications solutions, collaboration tools, and contact center management products. With its team of certified engineers and years of experience, CBTS is poised to generate custom solutions for businesses of all sizes.

“CBTS remains one of Cisco’s top partners worldwide and a leading UCaaS provider for retail, healthcare, state and local government, and education (SLED) verticals. CBTS differentiates itself from competitors with its broad expertise and ability to tailor solutions to businesses’ specific needs by employing a highly consultative approach,” said Elka Popova, VP and Senior Fellow, Digital Transformation at Frost & Sullivan. “CBTS is poised for growth due to their commitment to their multiplatform UCaaS portfolio including Cisco Webex Calling and Microsoft Teams Voice.”

Read more: Six ways to enable business transformation with UCaaS

How CBTS compares to other providers in the UCaaS space

CBTS stands out from other leading UCaaS providers by utilizing third-party technologies for Microsoft Teams Voice (Direct Routing and Operator Connect) and Cisco Webex Calling. CBTS also offers a wide range of telephony and communications solutions, including networking, cloud contact center, and collaboration. Moreover, CBTS’ partnerships with Cisco and Microsoft allow us to provide best-in-class UCaaS services to users in all verticals.

Much of the growth CBTS has experienced in prior years comes from large deployments in SLED markets as well as retailers. CBTS continues to grow in these spaces due in part to the push to virtualize government and education and build better hybrid work experiences. With a corporate presence in five countries worldwide, CBTS is well positioned to continue its growth in the years to come.

Read more: How UCaaS is changing the face of education communication solutions

CBTS provides leading UCaaS solutions for cloud environments

Within the UCaaS space, CBTS provides vital communication and collaboration services that help your company fully utilize the benefits of cloud computing.

With Microsoft Teams Voice, CBTS can assist organizations with enabling cohesive telephony services within the Microsoft Teams application. In addition, users can choose between three calling plan services or mix-and-match advanced features with the help of the CBTS engineering team.

Webex Calling is an easy-to-manage, easy-to-scale cloud platform for critical business communications. The cloud-based phone system allows users to make and receive calls across devises, giving your team the freedom to work from anywhere at any time.

Also read: VoIP vs UCaaS: What is right for your business?

Why CBTS?

“Our team is thrilled to be recognized by Frost & Sullivan for the third straight year,” said Brandon Bowman, Senior Vice President of Strategic Services – Cloud, Communication, and Security practices at CBTS. “CBTS will continue to build partnerships and deploy our vetted methodology for managing large transformation projects. Whether through the vehicle of Microsoft Teams Voice or Cisco’s Webex Calling, our deep experience in communications allows us to create highly customized solutions for each client.”

CBTS remains a trusted partner in cloud computing, Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and IT consultation. Frost & Sullivan predicts that CBTS will continue its growth through innovative third-party partnerships and leveraging its broader IT services portfolio. The report emphasizes that IT providers must prioritize the delivery of integrated systems to take full advantage of the breathtaking advancements currently underway in the UCaaS space.

Get in touch to learn how CBTS can create custom UCaaS solutions for your evolving company.

Application-based companies are changing the business landscape. Digital models have disrupted legacy companies in every industry and sector. For example, Uber and Lyft changed the way we think about transportation. Amazon has supplanted countless retailers across the world, and investing has become more accessible to the working class because of companies like Robinhood. Calling on CBTS Application Modernization services can give companies the edge they need to compete in the digital age.

Unfortunately, many companies struggle to begin modernizing due to the costly investment and sometimes complex infrastructure strategy. (Even though legacy application architecture can easily consume a considerable portion of a business’s IT budget.) Thankfully, companies don’t have to go it alone.

This blog will outline how the CBTS holistic APO (applications, platforms, operations) approach to application modernization services can future-proof and streamline operations, securely integrate platforms, and manage applications via cloud-first environments.

Table of contents:

• App modernization defined
  • Benefits of app modernization
• Navigating the application era
• APO: What is it, and why does it matter?
  • Applications that work for you
  • Secure, scalable platforms
  • Optimized operations
• The CBTS approach to application modernization services
  • Holistic approach
  • Modern solutions
  • Security
  • Interoperability
• Connecting the dots
• Future-proof your business with CBTS

App Modernization defined

What exactly is application modernization? A precise definition has been elusive because service providers tend to offer explanations that suit their specific offerings. However, over our decades of experience, CBTS has put together an agnostic definition of application modernization.

Navigating the application era

Businesses can no longer afford to think of themselves as service providers that utilize apps. Instead, every company should think of itself as an application company that happens to sell products or services. Apps are no longer a marketing gimmick; today, they are a matter of survival.

Employing application modernization services is a powerful way for a business to update its operations across all departments—especially in the customer-facing realm. Modernized applications utilize a cloud-native architecture, providing greater flexibility, scalability, performance, and availability. Application modernization services are the key to future-proofing business operations.

However, many businesses are resistant to the idea of digital transformation. Understandably, companies fear significant infrastructure investments. They may lack the qualified staff to drive the change, or there may be concerns about system downtime. In many cases, these fears are justified. Most technology integrators provide point solutions as opposed to a holistic approach.

Watch the CBTS tech talk: 3 critical goals for application modernization initiatives

APO: What is it, and why does it matter?

It’s not enough to upgrade or rewrite a client’s applications. The true value for our clients is streamlining operations by connecting and optimizing those modernized applications and platforms.

The CBTS approach—coined APO (applications, platforms, operations)—encompasses the spirit of our commitment to client success.

Applications that work for you

In today’s world, cloud-native apps are the key to a thriving business. The CBTS application development process helps you achieve:

• Seamless, secure migration.
• Continuous deployment of new features.
• Future-proof scalability.
• Improved availability.

Secure, scalable platforms

Through our various application modernization services, CBTS can take over or help manage existing environments—compute, network, or storage—through:

• Managed services.
• Public Cloud lift and shift.
• On-premises private Cloud.
• Infrastructure and hardware upgrades.

Optimized operations

Connecting employees to apps requires a coherent approach with security, networking, collaboration, and platform considerations. CBTS helps our clients accomplish optimized operations through:

• Cyber security consulting, products, and services.
• Network as a Service (NaaS) and SD-WAN.
• Collaboration platform integration and customization, including Microsoft Teams and WebEx.
• Hardware and infrastructure design and deployment.

Download the e-book: CIO’s Definitive Guide to Safely Migrating Applications to the Cloud

The CBTS approach to application modernization services

How does CBTS use APO to achieve exceptional results? This comprehensive strategy hinges on four pillars: a holistic approach, modern solutions, security, and interoperability.

Holistic approach

Gaining a competitive advantage requires a personalized mix of interconnected apps, platforms, and operations.

CBTS takes a holistic approach to navigating your transformation journey by:

• Creating secure and scalable platforms.
• Developing and deploying modernized apps.
• Managing, monitoring, and optimizing your operations.

First, our project managers help our clients prioritize which legacy apps should be modernized with cloud-native development. Next, the team assesses and documents the current application environment to craft a customized roadmap outlining our clients’ complete transformation process.

Download the e-book: CIO Field Guide: Cloud Assessment Services

Modern solutions

A truly modern solution incorporates a mix of future-proof, agile technologies such as cloud-native development, DevOps, data lakes, containers, automation, and microservices. Adopting DevOps best practices improves collaboration between app development and IT operations teams while driving a culture of innovation and continuous process improvement.

Security

Moving apps to the Cloud does not always reduce risk or complexity if they are not appropriately designed and managed. Companies should be aware of the most common challenges associated with cloud security and how they can mitigate complications.

Security oversights. One of the biggest challenges is migrating safely. One wrong step and a company can put themselves and their customers at risk. Assess the challenges at the forefront and bake in security as you go. Common cloud security mistakes include unsecured storage containers, poorly set access rights, and open ports.

Legacy systems have outdated data security measures. Legacy systems have outdated data security measures and open companies up to security risks. Critical security updates can be risky to implement, often breaking older systems.  

Secure data
Customized applications made specifically for your business can reinforce your data security system. They are built to provide full compliance with all regulations, enable the protection of vulnerable data, and reduce the chances of intrusion.

Embed security at each stage of the process. Inspect the security of your legacy systems and fix issues immediately. Encrypt data and implement strong access/authorization measures.

Operations teams should have dedicated personnel who constantly analyze the threat landscape and implement security measures that minimize risks to the organization. Additionally, staying on the cutting edge of security technology is essential. CBTS managed security services include:

• Vulnerability and patch management.
• Security assessments.
• Penetration testing.
• AI-powered threat detection and response.

Also read: Q&A: Secure networking utilizing robust SD-WAN solutions

Interoperability

Application modernization is somewhat worthless if it creates communications incompatibility between your systems. The CBTS approach ensures interoperability between systems, software, and applications, allowing data sharing to produce data and analytics that drive business decisions.

Connecting the dots

The sum of application modernization services is greater than the whole. When clients step back from the individual pieces of APO, they see the power of the interconnected systems.

To enable long-term success, the CBTS strategy boasts:

• Outcome-based assessments.
• Continuous cloud-native application development.
• A secure application migration roadmap.
• Ongoing, optimized operations support.

Future-proof your business with CBTS

Modern customers demand intuitive, responsive applications with up-to-the-second updated information. A company’s platforms must be highly secure—following data governance and risk assessment protocols, policies, and procedures—and scalable on demand to optimize operations fully.

CBTS is well-suited to help our clients meet these challenges—developing and deploying modern applications and secure, scalable platforms; and the ongoing management, monitoring, and optimization of their operations. CBTS application modernization services take a holistic approach to navigating your app modernization journey.

Schedule a discovery session with our experts, followed by an assessment of your current application environment.

As enterprise technology continues to evolve, so must the quality of IT service delivery to ensure your company achieves its goals. For businesses challenged with managing performance, availability, and security of complex, mission-critical infrastructure, CBTS is a trusted partner known for its accountability, established processes, and insight to help you achieve success.

CBTS provides the breadth of experience you need, from managing our data centers to your on-premises environments, public cloud, and hybrid configurations. Our 700-plus certified engineers have the expertise to propel fast-moving companies by optimizing infrastructure to advance bottom-line objectives.

At the heart of our commitment to outstanding IT service delivery are people committed to flexibility and responsiveness as business needs change. With proven, well-documented processes and tested alerting and escalation, our 24×7 client service ensures rapid resolution when problems arise.

Dedicated project managers and operational engineers work alongside your staff, providing incremental knowledge and bandwidth to maximize your company’s productivity.   

Read more to discover how CBTS IT service delivery can transform your approach to managing your most valued business-critical assets.

How CBTS operational excellence transforms enterprise IT services

CBTS facilitates transformation of IT service delivery across your enterprise through well-defined processes for migration, platform build, onboarding, and ongoing monitoring, management, and escalation.

Step 1
A dedicated project manager will be assigned to help guide the migration and coordinate all engineering team activities.

Step 2
Once an optimal platform has been defined based on your organizational needs, CBTS operational engineers build the environment.

Step 3
CBTS operational engineers then move your applications and infrastructure with minimal impact to your daily operations.

Step 4
With the contract in place, the onboarding process begins including access to Service Now and how to engage with our team.

Step 5
Escalation Managers and Service Delivery Managers are assigned and will be your ongoing point of contact.

Step 6
All ongoing monitoring and management for applications, infrastructure, cloud, backup, and disaster recovery is delivered from the CBTS Network Operations Center (NOC).

Efficiently delivering predictive IT services

A partnership with CBTS includes meticulous planning for effective incident management. Developing an escalation policy that identifies and addresses predictable events is a priority in IT service delivery.

To improve your organization’s experience systematically over time, CBTS engineers use rich analytics to gain insights into troubled devices, suboptimal monitoring settings, and noisy environments.

Using our predictive alarm algorithm, engineers proactively identify and address predictable events before “would be” incidents occur. For instance, if capacity or usage thresholds impacting performance trigger a predictive alarm algorithm, on-call engineers will address the problem before it escalates and negatively affects your operations.

Commitment to excellence in IT service delivery is our priority

The goals of your organization are paramount to successful IT service delivery.

Quarterly reviews ensure our CBTS team meets predefined metrics for performance and continuous improvement. Additionally, CBTS has developed a “Metrics That Matter” program designed to measure and inform operations about response times (wait times, time to escalation, urgency of interactions) and the quality of resolutions (closure of issues, limiting ticket re-opens).

Finally, the CBTS quality assurance team focuses exclusively on identifying and recommending process improvements to increase quality of IT service delivery.

We understand the complex issues today’s enterprise organizations face and strive to deliver continuous improvements to our products and services to exceed customer expectations and meet all regulatory requirements.

Choosing an IT service delivery partner

When choosing an IT partner to manage your complex enterprise environment, look for technology companies that are flexible and responsive to your changing business needs, with multiple NOC locations and 24×7 coverage.

A commitment to organizational excellence, outstanding customer service, strategic focus, quality, and continuous process improvement are all critical attributes of a partner that can help your company achieve its goals.

At CBTS, our culture of collaboration, integrity, trust, and leadership—in concert with outstanding IT service delivery and expertise in compliance and technology trends—gives us the ability to be a valuable extension of your IT team.

Recently, CBTS earned a Sustainability Specialization with Cisco. The specialization is a training program for Cisco’s partners in sustainable business practices such as the circular economy, achieving sustainability goals, and meeting government environmental mandates. The timing is vital. According to experts, the circular economy will reach a market value of $4.5 trillion by 2030. This also comes as governments and markets shift strategies to address environmental concerns on an unprecedented scale.

Download the Environmental Sustainability Specialization and Takeback Incentive Ebook now.

As a part of the Sustainability Specialization, CBTS signed onto Cisco’s Sustainability Pledge. The goals outlined in this pledge include:

• Achieving net zero across Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions by 2040.
• Ensuring 100% of its products and packaging incorporate Circular Design Principles by FY2025.
• Accomplishing 100% return on end-of-use hardware.

“We are proud to earn this specialization, which supports our sustainability leadership and helps our clients reduce their environmental footprint by ensuring the technology they consume is reused or recycled,” said Jeff Lackey, President of CBTS.

This blog will examine details of the sustainable business practices that the Sustainability Specialization emphasizes. Additionally, we will explore the business opportunities unlocked for CBTS and their partners by participating.

The takeback incentive

Cisco’s Takeback Incentive is a program that offers discounts of up to 7% on newly registered products. The products return to Cisco at the end of use, and the discount is applied to replacement products.

The Takeback Incentive illustrates a dedication to the circular economy. Keeping hardware out of landfills through remanufacturing or recycling is a powerful way to generate cost-effective, sustainable business practices and pass those savings onto partners.

The Takeback Incentive also protects against hardware ending up on the gray market. Illegal hardware sales are estimated to be $2.5-3B yearly. The Takeback Incentive closes that loop and stamps down on bootleg competition.

Learn about CBTS social impact initiatives.

How sustainable business practices generate new opportunities

The Sustainability Specialization creates opportunities for CBTS and its partners to stand out from the competition in many ways, including:

Meet government requirements

Governments across the globe are creating new stimuli designed to encourage growth in green business and sustainability. Companies can access these funds by participating in programs like Cisco’s Takeback Initiative.

Enter new lines of business

Companies actively seek new ways to transform business practices through environmental and social good programs (ESG). Engaging in the circular economy and sustainable business practices is socially responsible and can be an icebreaker when reaching out to new business prospects. If nothing else, the Cisco Sustainability Specialization is a conversation starter for sales teams.

Expand service offerings

Customers often don’t know what to do with old hardware. Takeback programs are a great way to boost service levels and add value to existing customer relationships. Advising customers on ways to reuse, recycle, or refurbish obsolete technology are other ways to leverage the Sustainability Specialization.

Support partners’ efforts to reduce carbon emissions

Reducing emissions is vital for the world—and businesses in particular. CBTS is pleased to be able to advise its clients and partners with the expertise gained through this Specialization.

Win more proposals

A growing trend among businesses is to only source from sustainable and socially responsible companies. Certifications like this one from Cisco build credibility and meet customer expectations.

Also read: How Cisco Meraki + CBTS NaaS team up to deliver cost-efficient modernization for your network

Working towards a circular economy

Across the globe, companies of all shapes and sizes are stepping up to meet the threat posed by climate change. However, the time is fast approaching when companies who are not rapidly evolving to embrace sustainable business practices will be left in the dust.

According to an internal survey at Cisco, 41% of its partners were already engaged in some form of takeback or recycling services, and 45% expected to generate significant revenue from sustainability offerings.

CBTS is proud to offer a range of technology services for clients looking to advance their application modernization journey, including consulting, cloud, security, communications, and infrastructure solutions. A team of CBTS experts manages all services. The Sustainability Specialization from Cisco is only the latest in a long and fruitful partnership with Cisco. Additionally, CBTS has dozens of strategic partnerships with industry leaders, including Microsoft, Dell, Amazon, and many more.

Get in touch to see how CBTS can advise you on adopting sustainable technology business practices or providing other tech solutions.

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.”

Our employees and how they responded to the events of 2020 personally and professionally mirror how CBTS has weathered the year: with the resilient attitude on which our customer-first approach is built. Like our company, they adapted, transformed, and rose to the occasion to support our clients and each other.

From the moment we went home, our leaders made internal communication a priority, and took care to encourage us to communicate with them. Early on, more than 1,200 employees posted on an internal Gratitude Wall, sharing the positives coming out of the situation. The company, in turn, is indescribably grateful to our employees not just for their hard work but also for speaking out and trusting the company to have their safety and comfort at heart.

Headsets and earbuds became our new work wear and our loved ones became our new office mates. We are now intimately familiar with connectivity, collaboration tools, alternative backgrounds, and when we are—and are not—on mute during a record number of Webex meetings. Through trial and error we improved how we operate remotely as we worked toward an effective and productive remote situation. If this crisis has a silver lining, it is that it gave us the opportunity to explore how to improve the collaboration and communication experience for our employees and enhance our remote work products and services for our clients.

The key to everything was and is communication. In response to the initial reports about COVID-19, company leaders acted quickly to issue travel restrictions and establish frequent communications with employees. By mid-March, we’d all gone home and begun adapting, hoping, and planning for a temporary situation. Daily emails from the CEO stimulated transparency throughout the entire company and frequent health alerts empowered our new work-from-home culture with news about COVID-19, changes in the company, and suggestions and resources to help us all take care of ourselves and remain connected, productive, and healthy.

While CBTS is primarily a technology company with powerful tools to enable collaboration and communication, the recognition that our people are essential to our success is what drives us to survive and thrive in 2020 and beyond.

Join our team! Visit our careers page.

Also Read:

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Thriving in 2020: Employee Resource Groups Cultivate our Culture

While the health impact of COVID-19 on the world has been devastating and tragic, the economic impact in the United States has also been profound. As businesses shuttered to reduce the risk of spreading the virus, revenues dropped and jobs were lost, leading to record high unemployment figures across the country.

In this particular state, layoffs and furloughs were occurring at staggeringly rapid rates over a matter of weeks. As a result, calls for assistance and applications for benefits began to flood and overwhelm the state’s Department of Jobs and Family Services (JFS). The JFS office’s contact center normally handles an average of 12,000 calls per day, but that number spiked to more than 1 million calls in a day and eventually settled on approximately 800,000 calls per day.

Additional issues included busy signals and dropped calls that callers often received when trying to contact the JFS office. End users were also not confident that their claims were being processed even in the event they managed to speak with a JFS agent, due to the lack of benefit status updates.

Fortunately, JFS personnel had anticipated the need to keep up with the drastically increased call volume. The JFS office engaged CBTS to help them manage the overwhelming number of calls to address the various service issues that constituents were facing. CBTS was able to design and implement a solution within a week’s time. The solution included scaling existing call paths, organizing remote call center operations, and designing and configuring a new IVR solution.

Sorting out the chaos

CBTS stepped in with a customized suite of telecommunications solutions to enable JFS agents to cope with the massive call volume they were facing while also improving the user experience for constituents seeking assistance during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the solutions implemented was a self-service system designed to allow JFS applicants to manually check the status of their claims. All of the JFS Unemployment directory numbers were sequestered into separate carrier trunks to increase available bandwidth and reduce strain on the rest of the state agencies. Additionally, the contact center capacity was optimized by 400% to allow for all callers to be answered by automation or an agent.

Remote access licenses for Jabber softphones were also increased and extended to hundreds of additional users, boosting the number of available call center agents. Cisco’s Unified IP Interactive Voice Response (IVR) was deployed at a large scale specifically to answer mass layoffs by major companies.

Another improvement implemented was the redirection of calls away from busy signals to holding messages, which engaged constituents and informed them that their calls would be answered momentarily or offer self-service options to every caller.

Lastly, an extensive effort was made to design and deploy an optimized IVR system to generate responses to benefit inquiry, simplify call tree structures, and create more efficient queue management programs. Moving forward, CBTS will be partnering with the state’s JFS to introduce new functionality that will provide tier one agents with basic caller benefits status info that will assist them in answering initial questions. Callback scheduling will also be used to address more advanced questions that can’t be answered by tier one agents at the time.

CBTS and the state’s JFS planned ahead and collaborated closely to prepare for a pressing issue that would prevent vulnerable citizens from accessing the assistance they needed. The standard reporting and dashboard programs built for this client are part of an ongoing process to optimize solutions in accordance to customer experiences.

Contact a CBTS specialist today for more information on what a customized Cisco collaboration solution can do for your enterprise or government organization

Synopsis: CBTS recently conducted a network upgrade for an auto retailer by implementing Network as a Service (NaaS). As a result, the auto retailer experienced a significant cost savings of approximately 55 percent. Read this article to learn about more results the retailer enjoyed and other benefits of NaaS.

Customer satisfaction is a principal performance indicator for service centers. However, it becomes increasingly difficult to satisfy customers when the necessary technological and equipment support is not provided. An old and unreliable network infrastructure means that prospective customers will struggle to contact the service center, and when they do, the quality of both the call and customer engagement is compromised.

A network upgrade from CBTS provides a reduction in network downtime, an improvement in customer engagement, and access to vital customer data and analytics.

Network challenges for service centers

Multi-site service centers that run on outdated networks are bound to face a number of challenges.

CBTS recently worked with a service center client whose legacy equipment was being run on a copper network and could no longer efficiently serve its 103 locations. Constant network outages resulted in numerous lost business opportunities as prospective customers could not get in touch with the client while their resources were being expended to keep the network online.

Additionally, because of the obsolete nature of the technology the client was operating with, modern amenities were not available. A network upgrade was required to not only stabilize but enhance the network.

CBTS NaaS offers a wide range of solutions

Network as a Service from CBTS offers businesses a flexible avenue to expand, secure, and maintain their networks. It provides hardware upgrades, the ability to connect multiple locations seamlessly, 24x7x365 support, and more.

Impact of network upgrade on the client’s business

CBTS upgraded the client’s technology with our NaaS solution to provide their business with an ultramodern network managed and supported by CBTS. Voice calls and wireless services are more reliable and of higher quality, downtime across all branches has been reduced by 10 percent, and approximately 55 percent has been saved in operational expenses.

While waiting to be attended to, visitors get to enjoy Wi-Fi services; this allows the service center to gather valuable customer data and analytics such as how much is gained (or lost) depending on what time the store opens and closes. Data like this can be used to optimize service delivery, improve customer engagement, and increase customer satisfaction.

Furthermore, by selling advert spaces on the customer authentication page to vendors, the client generates even more revenue. The authentication page can also be used to provide customers with information on promotional offers, new locations, and so on.

Conclusion

CBTS NaaS helped upgrade this service center’s network from copper-based equipment with unreliable voice call services to a modern cloud-hosted infrastructure that seamlessly connects hundreds of locations. The solution is not only superior, it requires less time and resources to maintain. It provides a means to generate further income, and it allows the client to collect and leverage customer analytics.

The client’s IT staff now has complete visibility into their network with a centrally managed dashboard and has 24x7x365 support from CBTS expert engineers for all of their locations nationwide.