Benchmark research
This article was written based on the survey, "How do IT service providers deal with the trend: Calling via applications such as Microsoft Teams? Conducted by BenchLab among IT service providers. This survey is conducted since June 2024 to date. Meanwhile, 50 decision-makers participated in the survey. Over 300 decision-makers have been added to EvolveIP's network and provided with regular survey updates. All benchmark reports were followed up by appointment by EvolveIP specialists.
Although IT and telecom services have been speeding along with all the developments in recent years, they are missing an important opportunity: partnering. Indeed, one of the striking trends in the market is the increasing demand for integrated solutions such as Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) and Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS). In the report following Evolve IP's benchmark survey conducted by BenchLab, 53% of respondents indicated that customers more often want a single supplier for both IT and telecom services. Evolve IP stresses: see integration as an opportunity to increase your professionalism.
Although IT and telecom services have been speeding along with all the developments in recent years, they are missing an important opportunity: partnering. Indeed, one of the striking trends in the market is the increasing demand for integrated solutions such as Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) and Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS). In the report following Evolve IP's benchmark survey conducted by BenchLab, 53% of respondents indicated that customers more often want a single supplier for both IT and telecom services. Evolve IP stresses: see integration as an opportunity to increase your professionalism.
Customer-friendliness as the most important value
Of course, professionalism is about the quality of your product or service, but it is also about service. And there is room for improvement here, according to the survey: customers often have no idea who to contact for which problem. They want to be helped with their problem as quickly as possible, but the separation between different service providers is confusing. Who is responsible if your sound does not work during a video call: the headset manufacturer or the video conferencing provider? Due to the lack of customer service ('from the cupboard to the wall'), customers are increasingly looking for total solutions and it becomes imperative for IT services to address this quickly.
Increasing demand creates more complexity
So why don't they? In principle, it is not surprising that IT services saw no need for integration: before corona, hardly anyone was doing video calling and far less people worked from home than now. Moreover, the integration of telecom and IT services presents several obstacles:
For instance, IT service providers face a lack of knowledge about specific telecom solutions. Offering services such as VoIP and UCaaS, for example, requires specialised expertise. But with the aforementioned increasing use of voice and video communication via applications such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom, the pressure on networks is increasing. Ensuring quality and stability thus becomes a critical but necessary task.
A persistent belief within the industry is that integration does not yield anything for the IT service provider. But taking a telecom service as a side sale can certainly pay off: the margins are quite high and the service often sells itself. Moreover, they can do customer service from your name.
Finally, the survey shows that IT service providers are conservative because they are concerned about the risks when other service providers can work their institutions.
These are three challenges that must be carefully considered in finding the desired solution for the customer. The question here is not whether you should then just not collaborate, but rather: how? Yet it seems as if the IT world does not yet see this movement or at least its importance.
Collaborate or expand?
The report shows that IT companies are best placed to take the lead. To meet the demand for integration, IT service providers can roughly do two things: either expand their services or partner with telecom companies. Although the market demands the latter, competition remains a stumbling block; more than half of respondents (56%) see telecom companies as more focused on competition than collaboration. And that while 61% of respondents agree with is the statement that collaboration with telecom companies is actually essential to remain competitive.
At the same time, the report shows that many IT service providers are expanding their portfolio; services such as Managed IT Services, Cloud Services and Support/Helpdesk Services are increasingly being deployed. Important here is to critically examine whether the chosen partner is really (still) the right party.
By responding to the increasing demand for integrated solutions and investing in knowledge, partnerships and infrastructure, companies can not only survive but also thrive in the current and future market.
