“It used to be that you’d work in a fixed location of some sort, and people were tethered to that environment, whereas today it’s entirely untethered,” says Dean Douglas, newly appointed CEO of Unify – formerly Siemens Enterprise Communications.
“I haven’t been down to my office in a few weeks now, and I think that increasingly we’re all finding this to be very much the case for ourselves. No matter how you work, the fact is that you’re no longer tied to your desk, and that, in essence, is the fundamental change affecting our industry.”
In recent years the communications software services industry has undergone a period of transformation, after having long ago advanced from its simple beginnings in telecommunications and more recently incorporated all manner of devices into the mix.
“Because of these multi-faceted communications, business has changed dramatically,” says Douglas, who spoke to World Finance about the ways in which the workplace dynamic has transformed and how it is the communications business has changed as a result.
Studies undertaken by the Pew Research Centre show that by 2020 approximately 50 percent of the workforce will consist of millennials, who, says Douglas, are best characterised by a desire to be social and to leverage technology wherever they can in satisfying this pursuits. As such, the future of the workplace will be a product of both technological and cultural change, and one that will be typified by a multi-faceted, web-based and increasingly mobile approach to communications.
“I find myself doing as many video conferencing calls as regular conference calls these days, and, on top of that, maintaining a strong presence on various social media platforms which is becoming an important part of my business day-to-day. These social aspects, coupled with the increasingly complex ways in which we communicate today, have been the biggest driving forces behind the company and the wider industry in recent years,” says Douglas.
Technological evolution
It is imperative in today’s hyper competitive climate that businesses are able to easily communicate their performance targets and strategy with as little complication as possible.
The communications software services industry has undergone a period of transformation, after having long ago advanced from its simple beginnings
“Only a few short years ago in what some would call a “traditional business environment”, if you wanted to host a video conference for example, you’d have to go into a specially fitted room with the appropriate equipment and support.
“Skip forward to the present day and most enterprises can dial into a web-based platform and download the appropriate software to make just about any video conversation happen. When you think about that huge transition, you begin to wonder about what else can be achieved. If you can make something as extraordinarily complex as video accessible to all, then think of what else is in store for the future of communications.
“Having experienced this evolution first hand, I think this is why the marketplace today is looking for a way to incorporate that same sense of innovation in various other areas, while at the same time integrating the whole solution.”
Born of Siemens’ engineering DNA, Unify builds on a rich heritage of excellence and innovation to bring integrated communications and networking solutions to 75 percent of the Global 500. Late on in 2013 the vendor rebranded as Unify, and, with this announcement, stated its intent to focus specifically on addressing the various ways in which the workplace dynamic has changed communications for good.
“The fact is that the marketplace is changing significantly and we’ve got a brand that really does embrace where we want to be and where the marketplace is heading, and that is unifying communications beyond on-premise capability.”
The new brand reaffirms Unify’s commitment to be a transformational leader in the segment and brings the company’s focus to moving to solutions that go beyond simple unified communications to solutions that bring communications, content and context together to provide more powerful collaboration than was ever possible before.
This shift in the way people communicate, driven by an increasingly millennial workforce, is something that we feel we have to address
“These developments drive progress for a lot of organisations, ourselves included, and call for a much more robust communications solution. This shift in the way people communicate, driven by an increasingly millennial workforce, is something that we feel we have to address.”
Unify’s principal targets are fourfold in nature, says Douglas, with each focal point designed to bring the company’s diversified communications solutions to market ahead of the rest, and to keep apace with the rapid rate of technological and cultural change in the industry. The company’s first area of focus is to make sure that they’re adequately leveraging its people.
“What I mean by that is we take advantage of the broad skill sets that we have here and that we make sure our employees’ skills and capabilities are capitalised on to full effect.”
Unify’s second area of focus is to gain a further understanding of the changing marketplace and, as a result, the challenges that its customers are facing in the communications space in the future.
“Over the last few years we’ve seen customers challenge traditional views in our industry as communications have become a lot more mobile, and gathered web capability like never before.
“For this reason we need to keep moving to make sure that we’re very much in sync and prepared for these market changes, both from a customer requirement and an education standpoint.”
Aside from Unify’s recent efforts to plug its new combined communications platform Ansible, the company continues to focus on product development and expansion among its existing portfolio.
“Thousands of companies, including some of the largest in the world, have substantial investments in Unify on-premise communications solutions. Our role as their trusted advisor is to help them with a road map to address these marketplace changes and the demands of an increasingly mobile and millennial workforce, while maximising their investments in existing technology.”
Spearheading specialised products
The company’s final point of focus is through expanding its geographic reach and tapping emerging markets. As the developing world becomes much more technologically adept, emerging nations will come to require Unify’s services in a way that is efficient and cost-effective for their specific set of circumstances.
As the developing world becomes much more technologically adept, emerging nations will come to require Unify’s services in a way that is efficient and cost-effective
Expansion in this field represents a sizeable opportunity for companies such as Unify, one that it cannot afford to ignore if it is to remain at the forefront of the industry. Its products differ quite crucially depending on their stated purpose. Whereas the company offers some products that are horizontal in the sense that they address basic communications requirements for just about any enterprise, its second area of focus is on providing specialised solutions for specific clients in numerous industries.
“One of the crucial areas we’ve addressed in terms of the vertical marketplace is financial services; we have a trading desk platform that is very robust, in fact one of the largest traders, Wells Fargo, uses our platform for trading,” says Douglas. “We also have a set of capabilities that address specific requirements for healthcare providers, which are very distinct from what you might find in other enterprises.”
The product that best characterises Unify’s unified approach to communications, however, is ‘Ansible’, which looks to redefine the way in which people interact in the modern day workplace.
“Ansible is a suite that allows for meaningful communications across virtually any interactive channel or device. What it creates is seamlessness across various devices and the ability to have the same conversation on any number of platforms.
“I think that a robust communications solution should provide for the opportunity to make more accurate decisions because all the facts are accessible. If you’ve got the ability to address various sources of relevant information then there’s no reason why companies can’t respond rapidly to whatever opportunities there may be,” says Douglas.
Ansible is a direct response to the changing demands of the workplace and something that will surely improve team productivity, given that the opportunities for collaboration and communication are almost endless.
It is only with a focus on the changing workplace dynamic and a continued commitment to matters of technological development that Unify will continue to be a leader in the communications space.
“We will ensure that we continue to be a market leader by providing innovation while maintaining that same level of quality we have become renowned for,” says Douglas.
“Some of the biggest brands in the world rely on us for key elements of their communications, so we’ve got to be able to provide them with the capabilities to communicate effectively both internally and externally.”
There is no doubt that the workplace we know today will change dramatically in the future, however, with new and innovative products such as Ansible, Unify is well positioned to cater for any forthcoming market changes.
