Telavox’s VP of Product and COO on the trends shaping telecom today

There are so many exciting things happening in our industry, whether it’s markets that are merging or the launch of new features. Recently, we’ve seen more companies start to combine telecom with UCaaS, not least Microsoft. With that in mind, we asked our VP of Product, Tor Blomdell, and our COO, Fredrik Himmelman, a few questions about the state of the industry.

Tor, what’s happening in the telco and UCaaS market?

“It’s an exciting time for the UCaaS market. A few things drive this: The continuing growth of remote work, the need to collaborate within the company and with partners and customers; programmability, to build more efficient workflows to ensure better customer and agent experience; and last but not least, the need to communicate with customers across networks and channels with a common voice and great experience.”

Microsoft recently unveiled Operator Connect Mobile. What does it mean for the industry?

“Microsoft’s Operator Connect Mobile confirms the trends we’ve seen – and built – for many years, driven by remote work, SaaS delivery, and a cloud experience.”

With Operator Connect Mobile, customers will be able to manage numbers and get a seamless experience while moving across networks and devices. According to Tor, this will contribute to the "cloudification" of the UCaaS industry and accelerate the move from on-premise to the cloud. This enables customers to have an evergreen experience where collaboration and telephony are integrated.

Where is Telavox in all of this?

“We have a lot of experience working with Microsoft, including Lync, Skype for Business, Outlook, Teams, and Power BI. At Telavox, we’ve offered full convergence for fixed and mobile for many years, together with a strong programmability portfolio, PBX functionality, and the ability for customers to manage numbers and licences on their own.”

Tor believes that this ease of use is key for a modern UCaaS offering:

“Our integrations with Microsoft Teams and other platforms enable customers to benefit from the Telavox solution, have full flexibility across platforms, and integrate communication channels into their toolsets.”

Fredrik Himmelman, COO at Telavox, chimes in:

“Mobile Operator Connect will make it easier to partner with Microsoft and UCaaS providers. When a company like Microsoft confirms your position, you know you’re doing the right thing! “Telavox customers can already benefit from fixed-mobile convergence in Microsoft Teams. We look forward to more in-depth conversations with Microsoft as they open up for more telecom companies to join the program."

As we look forward, what else can we expect in 2022? Here are 3 things to keep in mind:

1. The hybrid workplace

Hybrid workplaces have been here for years. However, in light of and accelerated by the pandemic, we now take hybrid work for granted, Tor says.

“Having a great platform accessible across networks and devices while ensuring security and self-sufficiency is key.”

2. Voice is the way

Programmability will change the way we work with voice communication, Tor says.

“It will mean better customer service and that agents stay informed in conversations, and better ability to quickly help customers by connecting with internal experts and knowledge bases. With this comes the real transformation from call centers to contact centers, where omnichannel capabilities are key.

Fredrik Himmelman agrees that voice communication is still highly relevant.

“The voice channel is not going away – it’s just extended with omnichannel abilities. A few of these are presence sync, improved security, and advanced call capabilities.”

3. Operators look to UCaaS

“Many operators are looking to monetise their investment in 5G and especially how to extend their B2B business. We believe that operator-led UCaaS is a great opportunity to generate strong B2B relationships and monetise network investments. This will be an exciting year”, Tor concludes.