The 2024 digital workplace roadmap: The future of unified communications and collaboration

January 17, 2024
Neal Marksberry
Solutions Enablement Manager

The evolving digital workplace solutions market

What exactly is the digital workplace? It’s a question that every organization must face as industry and technology evolve. In the current communications space, hybrid and remote work are still the dominant modes of employment. However, offices are increasingly transitioning to expanded in-office time while retrofitting existing spaces to better suit hybrid work—fewer desks, more video phones, and upgraded collaboration spaces.

In this post, we will explore the current trends in the technologies that make up the digital workplace–unified communications, collaboration, and supporting networking and security solutions–and how CBTS sees these trends playing out in 2024.

Defining the digital workplace

As technology evolves to meet the needs of the modern workforce, it’s essential to define the digital workplace adequately. CBTS defines the digital workplace as cloud-based unified communications, collaboration, and networking solutions. We believe the power of the digital workplace extends beyond communication and collaboration to include security and networking solutions like SD-WAN, SASE, and Network as a Service (NaaS).

CBTS takes a full-spectrum approach, ensuring that all unified communications and collaboration are secured in a fast network architecture, embracing the latest security frameworks and thinking. As the definition and scope of the digital workplace continue to grow and change, CBTS continues to grow with it.

Core technologies of the digital workplace

The future of digital workplace solutions

Collaboration

The current trend in collaboration is to move away from individual applications and towards integrated platforms. Organizations are increasingly choosing platforms like Webex or Microsoft Teams that are fully integrated across the network to improve functionality, efficiency, and network simplicity. With custom applications and automation, the user rarely has to leave Teams or Webex to accomplish tasks.

According to Neal Marksberry, Sr. Product Manager for CBTS, “Collaboration is now a platform. It has expanded to the point where a particular communications application is the nucleus for all things relevant to the day-to-day needs of an end user, and it includes the additional integrations that make it that focal point for efficiency.”

Also read: Webex Calling vs Microsoft Teams Voice for your collaboration needs

UCaaS and CCaaS

Included in the trend towards the “platformization” of collaboration are Unified Communications as a Service and Contact Center as a Service. These two cloud services have traditionally filled similar roles but for different purposes. UCaaS is generally for internal communications, while CCaaS is customer-facing. More and more, UCaaS and CCaaS blend into a single, holistic solution. This unified platform is sometimes called a Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS), but the industry has not settled on a single term.

The benefits of merging CCaaS and UCaaS include an improved end-user experience and a centralized, single-pane-of-glass control.

Learn more: Top ten benefits of integrating your cloud-based contact center with UCaaS

Artificial intelligence and machine learning

Modern businesses use enabling technologies like people analytics, AI-driven productivity assistants, and workflow management solutions to streamline work processes and boost productivity. Organizational AI can help improve office space utilization and promote team interactions. Additionally, next-gen security tools are powered by AI and intelligent networking routing tools. The digital workplace presents a significant opportunity for AI and automation to improve employee productivity, save costs, and provide a positive experience.

Professional service offerings

IT providers are developing custom professional services to help companies manage the changing landscape of the digital workplace. With hybrid and remote work, organizations are facing increasingly complex environments. A business may need assistance with a migration or help managing day-to-day tasks. CBTS provides customizable, white-glove professional services based on your unique workplace.

Also read: CBTS commitment to outstanding IT service delivery drives success

Partnering with CBTS to bring your digital workplace into the future

Into 2024, CBTS predicts that the trend toward Unified Communications and Collaboration platforms will continue. Additionally, we’ll see further merging of CCaaS and UCaaS. It’s unclear what term will define this trend—whether it will be CPaaS or a new concept altogether. AI will power each aspect of the digital workplace, including organization tools, security, networking, and many more areas. As the capacity and capabilities of natural language processing (NLP) within AI continue to grow, it’s reasonable to assume that AI tools will expand rapidly in this space in terms of functionality. AI recording and note-taking, auto-healing, and remediation are just a few of the new efficiencies already present with AI. And those capacities will become even more refined in 2024.

But making the most of the digital workplace is not automatic. Delivering key integrations built around day-to-day tasks is a vital service from CBTS Professional Services. CBTS offers a range of managed offerings designed to lighten the load for your IT team: managed unified communications and collaboration, managed networking (NaaS, SD-WAN, SASE), and managed contact center.

Get in touch to learn more and partner with CBTS as you bring your digital workplace into the future.

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