Hype can have quite an impact.
Powerful and hard to ignore, it can sometimes encourage us down a path that might not actually be in our best interests.
It’s sometimes better, instead, to try and see past it: to weigh up the alternatives and have the confidence to buck a trend if that’s what works for you.
For businesses investing in technology, there is much to consider.
Cloud-powered communication, collaboration, and engagement tools are business-critical enablers; not only powering day-to-day workflows but delivering game-changing long-term efficiencies too.
Microsoft Teams was first to blaze a trail – providing a virtual safe place for colleagues and customers to continue to interact when Covid hit. And sure, its impressive smarts have evolved almost as quickly as the morphing of the new-look (now permanent) workplace into today’s modern, super-agile iteration.
However, there IS an alternative to Teams. And, for businesses around the world – as well as their IT service providers - seeing past the hype can actually deliver benefits they didn’t know were even on offer.
Webex by Cisco is the perfect case in point.
For businesses reliant on voice calling, its fully-integrated call routing functionality is powerful and slick; its collaborative video conferencing capability is second to none; and, thanks to the ease with which it integrates with legacy and third-party technologies, multiple endpoints such as existing desk phones, door entry systems, tannoys, and DECT networks can be simply and inexpensively connected.
Indeed, compatible phones can be half the price of their Teams equivalent.
So, businesses not only get a better user experience, they make savings too.
Also, in a world in which Artificial Intelligence continues to positively transform processes, the lower-cost nature of Webex’s baked-in AI cleverness, such as transcription, meeting notes, and action assignment, is eye-catching too.
Just as appealing – and particularly relevant for small-medium sized IT departments - the back-end configuration and maintenance of Webex is a relative breeze compared to competitor platforms.
For our network of service provider partners too, day-to-day management of the platform on behalf of their end user customers is easy and cost-effective, meaning margins can be bigger.
All this is proof that the obvious choice is not always the optimum choice.
Don’t get me wrong, Evolve IP and its growing network of global partners are of course delighted to sell Microsoft Teams to businesses for which it is a great fit. It packs a big punch and, for millions of users, it ticks multiple boxes.
But we like to get under the skin of a business first; find out exactly what its challenges are and advise on a solution that will deliver the best results for the best level of investment.
To use a car analogy, you might be convinced that you want to buy a BMW when actually a Mercedes is the better option.
I could put it another way too.