In Part 1 of Conquering Enterprise Disruptors, we looked at the collision of higher customer expectations and the challenges posed by new, emerging hybrid work environments. A solution combining a suite of omnichannel applications and a secure communications platform that delivers full functionality to a hybrid workforce — wherever they are working — allows the focus to be where it belongs: on delivering exceptional service.

Part 2 focuses on another area of troubled waters for enterprise organizations: the changing and complex regulations surrounding data privacy and security compliance. Because enterprises are highly visible, serve a large customer base, and typically have deep pockets, they need to adhere to the highest standards of compliance. But that becomes more challenging when policy and regulations are a moving target.

Data Security and Privacy Regulations: More Complex and Changing Rapidly

To avoid penalties for non-compliance, enterprises must thoroughly research the data privacy and security laws of each of the countries they operate in before placing sensitive and critical data in the cloud. The more geographically distributed they are, the more research they need to do, and the more requirements they must comply with.

But the regulatory landscape has been changing on an ongoing basis and is unlikely to settle down soon.

The Disruptor: Data privacy remains challenging for enterprises operating within European countries, where organizations must make sure they follow the local and global data protection laws. But it’s also challenging and continuously changing in other geographies, as well. In the United States in 2021, the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and a growing set of other agencies issued new guidance and took actions against organizations with alleged privacy and cybersecurity lapses.

This puts the enterprise squarely in the hot seat. They need to empower their people and serve their customers, but they don’t want to end up on the wrong side of data regulations. Communications solutions provide an example of just how easy it is to make a deployment misstep. Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) solutions can be hosted in a location that’s outside a sovereign nation, which conflicts with some requirements. To keep control of their infrastructure and data, some enterprises are selecting private cloud solutions — either deploying and managing them by themselves or via their trusted partners. The Techaisle Worldwide Future of Flexible Work Study, 2022, found that among enterprises:

And according to Gartner, “Verticals with significant complexity or regulatory requirements may retain premises-based approaches over the next several years.”

The Implication: The right compliance approach isn’t always clear, and non-compliance is increasingly expensive. As new regulations are introduced, they can trigger multiple waves of compliance evaluations over an extended period.

Enterprises can’t always rely on external vendors for future-proof compliance guidance. And if enterprises can’t look outward for guidance, they need to look inward — ensuring they are comfortable with their level of control today, while leaving the door open to evolving to new deployment models as the path to compliance become clear.

The Mitel Solution: Enterprises need a vendor they can count on to provide robust communications solutions in a range of deployment options. Mitel is committed to offering enterprise customers a choice.

Mitel allows enterprise customers to deploy their unified collaboration and communication solutions in their data center, in a partner-managed data center, or via a dedicated instance private cloud environment that uses data center companies like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google, Azure — or any combination — to achieve the fulfillment of local data privacy laws. Selecting a serverless private cloud option using AWS, Google, or Azure enables the enterprise to keep control of its data without owning its hardware. Choosing the dedicated instance in a private cloud also removes the complexity of maintaining hardware, simplifying management, and reducing costs. Finally, using the private cloud option increases enterprise flexibility to grow or reduce capacity, based on current business needs.

Mitel customers can also utilize hybrid cloud scenarios, where the on-premise solution can be deployed using a private cloud in combination with cloud applications. This approach provides customers with the ability to either remain on their current on-premise solution using dedicated hardware, to use a private cloud while taking advantage of cloud applications or migrate or expand a part of the business utilizing a public cloud solution. These options allow the enterprise to choose the best solution for their business while simultaneously driving innovations that leverage different communication technologies.

It's All About Choices

Talk to any enterprise CIO, and data security and privacy are on their list of top priorities. When the stakes are high and complexity looms large, they need to trust their judgment. Being able to select from a range of best-of-breed deployment options lets them make choices without trade-offs. That’s why many enterprises are turning to Mitel. They can talk with experts about how to find the right communications solution deployment for each market and how to ensure they all work together. Learn more about how Mitel partners can help you successfully navigate the complex data security and privacy environment.

Dominique Poizat

Director Product Management, Enterprise Solutions

After several years dedicated to the global enterprise communications business, Dominique has extensive experience in managing on-premise and cloud solutions, especially for large enterprises. More recently, Dominique has led the evolution of these solutions to adapt them to the digital transformation needs of customers and to diversify their business model to include subscription-based offerings.

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