The Hidden Costs of Industrialized Communications

An interesting repeating pattern of industrialization consequences has found its way to the communications industry. Organizations looking for extreme efficiency and cost control through adopting a standardized, industrialized approach have resulted in a situation akin to being in a city where everyone wears the same clothing. It offers consistency and efficiency but stifles innovation, limits flexibility, and compromises critical areas like compliance, security, and resilience. We’ve seen similar consequences in other industries, like the monoculturalization of agriculture or the “BigBoxification” of retail, resulting in a loss of diversity and quality. Just as a diverse wardrobe allows individuals to express themselves or adapt to different environments, organizations need similar flexibility and control with more adaptable communication infrastructure to thrive in today's dynamic organizational landscape.

This is where a hybrid cloud communications approach offers a transformative opportunity. It provides the flexibility and control organizations need to manage their communications infrastructure while leveraging the advantages of the cloud. 

Industrialized Communications: A Double-Edged Sword

The rise of "as-a-service" models in the communication space brought a wave of standardization and cost-efficiency. However, this approach often overlooked the diverse ways in which organizations communicate and collaborate. By imposing operational boundaries, industrialized communications limited the potential for innovation and customization.

While UCaaS offers a valuable solution for many organizations, it's important to recognize its limitations. While it can provide a cost-effective and predictable solution for basic communication needs, it may not meet the more complex requirements of certain businesses.

Overreliance on industrialized solutions, specifically communications, can hinder an organization's ability to innovate and tailor communication strategies to the outcomes that help it differentiate or grow. This rigidity can compromise control over vital aspects like data, compliance, and security.

The Hidden Costs of Standardization

The real cost of industrialized communications becomes apparent when you consider its limitations:

• Lack of Flexibility: Standardized solutions often don’t accommodate an organization's unique needs, stifling innovation, and adaptability. 
• Compliance Challenges: A one-size-fits-all approach can make it difficult to meet diverse regulatory requirements, especially for industries operating across multiple regions. 
• Security Risks: Single points of failure in standardized systems leave businesses vulnerable to outages, reducing resilience and endangering business continuity. 

💡 An industrialized approach limits exposure to diverse perspectives, stifling innovation, and creativity.

In contrast, a hybrid cloud infrastructure allows businesses to customize their communication strategies while ensuring they maintain control over data and comply with varying regulations.

Breaking the Monoculture: Benefits of Hybrid Cloud Communications

A hybrid cloud approach to communications is a powerful alternative to industrialized solutions. By leveraging both public and private cloud environments, organizations can enjoy the cloud's scalability and flexibility without sacrificing control over sensitive data.

📰 Press Release: Mitel Announces Launch of Mitel Hybrid Cloud >

Key Benefits:

• Bring-Your-Own-Cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service (BYOC): Companies can select the best cloud environment for their needs and integrate it with private clouds or on-premises solutions. From leveraging a technology partner or internal channels to optimizing economies of scale through virtual machines or public cloud. Also, by simplifying migration from on-premises to the cloud, customers have the freedom to choose the right cloud infrastructure for their business, and a solid foundation of control. 
• Control and Innovation: Hybrid models empower organizations to innovate and adapt to new technologies, such as AI-driven communication platforms, in ways that best suit their organization’s needs. 
• Compliance and Security: In industries like healthcare and finance, where data privacy is paramount, hybrid cloud solutions offer the control necessary to meet stringent regulatory requirements. Mitel’s Secure Cloud helps protect your organization by proactively addressing data sovereignty and delivering control of your communications. 

💡 137 countries and counting have enacted data protection and sovereignty laws. This means that national data privacy law covers 70% of nations worldwide, 6.3 billion people, or 79.3% of the world's population. - IAPP 2024

Hybrid cloud communications also ensure enhanced resilience through inherent redundancy and failover capabilities. By distributing workflows across multiple environments, businesses can reduce the risk of single points of failure, meeting regulations like the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), which mandates disaster recovery and business continuity plans.

Embracing Communication Diversity: Enhancing Frontline Worker Productivity

Frontline worker productivity—which often includes demanding environments—depends heavily on robust communication. Hybrid cloud platforms enable real-time collaboration across remote and on-site teams, improving efficiency and engagement.

Use cases in industries such as healthcare, financial services, logistics, and manufacturing highlight the positive impact of hybrid cloud platforms on worker productivity. Whether enabling remote support for complex machinery or facilitating quick information sharing for patient care, hybrid platforms foster collaboration and empower teams to respond swiftly to customer and organizational needs.

💡 91% of enterprises prioritize a hybrid approach to enable collaboration between remote and in-office teams while maintaining control over sensitive data. - June 2024 global survey of 1,954 organizations conducted by Mitel and Techaisle.

Where to Begin: Intentional Inclusivity in Hybrid Communication Solutions

A successful hybrid communication strategy starts with planning and intentional inclusivity. We’ll share more about key steps to outcome success in the future, but here are two to get started:

1. Assess Current and Future Needs

Evaluate your communication infrastructure, including call volumes, workflows, and security protocols. Look at integrations to existing systems and forecast growth to determine which workflows are better suited for the public cloud and which should remain on-premises.

2. Prioritize Security and Compliance

Review your security policies to ensure they extend to public cloud and on-premises environments. Industries with strict compliance needs, such as healthcare and finance, we encourage involved UC specialists to help ensure standards, including how to capture compliance evidence, are fully met.

💡 A hybrid cloud model, with robust monitoring and encryption, allows organizations to adapt while securing sensitive systems and information. 

The Future of Communications is Hybrid

Mitel is committed to hybrid cloud communications as the future of organization communications. This approach offers the flexibility, control, and innovation needed to empower diverse workforces, streamline collaboration, and meet the security, compliance, and resilience demands of modern enterprises.

➡ Ready to explore your hybrid cloud communications journey? Contact your local Mitel sales representative today.