Working in the mode of new realities or how to prepare a business for remote work

Working in the mode of new realities or how to prepare a business for remote work

The crisis associated with the COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for business leaders. Everyone had to adapt to the new reality and build new ways of communication.

Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise specialists have prepared a guide to provide enterprises with solutions to adapt to new working conditions.

1. The main business-critical priorities

37% of all enterprises stated that their main priorities are securing the network infrastructure and upgrading communication systems or implementing cloud solutions that allow them to communicate and work together remotely/remotely.

From the very beginning of the crisis, business communications have proved to be critically important for many organizations. These include, in particular, an increase in the number of customer requests in need of additional information, fast-growing remote sales, ensuring continuity of communication between employees working remotely and employees working from the office.

With all this in mind, as well as new and future continuity requirements, a robust infrastructure was needed to provide the personalized digital experience that customers expect.

Below are a few recommendations that will help solve the main critical business priorities of enterprises:

• Strengthen the network infrastructure
• Upgrade the network to cope with increased traffic and prevent security failures.
• As network bandwidth is close to saturation, organizations need to increase the level of effective network bandwidth to support latency-sensitive video and voice traffic, as well as to deal with the impending increase in the number and density of customers.

The rapid growth in the use of Internet of Things (IoT) devices in retail, healthcare and manufacturing is also putting pressure on the network in terms of capacity, operations and security. Simplified preparation, classification and visibility of devices, as well as network security will help ensure an efficient and secure deployment of the Internet of Things.

The rise of cybercrime, including data leaks and ransomware, is the reality of our time. Today's enterprises need a secure environment at all levels of the network to guarantee the security of users, devices, the Internet of Things and network components.

Global events have exacerbated the problem of the need for the development of networks and technologies. With the growing number of new Internet of Things devices, as well as with the transition of businesses and employees to online mode, the need to ensure efficient Wi-Fi operation, increase network bandwidth, as well as secure and simple network management is increasing, and therefore there is an urgent need to modernize the network.

Secure your network with high-performance multi-gigabit switches (Alcatel Lucent OmniSwitch® 6560, Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch 6860 (E and N) Stackable LAN Switch) and Wi-Fi 6 access points (Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess® Stellar WLAN access Points) with built-in protection.

Upgrade communication systems

The transfer of communication systems to the latest technologies will increase multichannel and thereby expand interaction with customers in a digital format. After updating the systems, employees working from home will be able to use all communication functions as if they were in the office.

They can also stay in touch with colleagues through Rainbow™ cloud communications and collaboration services. from Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, which provide secure audio and video connections, conference calls, screen and file sharing, and more.

ALE communication systems are connected to the Rainbow Collaboration Cloud Service by default, so users can communicate with each other naturally from their mobile phone, computer, landline phone or mobile device.

In addition, access to the latest versions of the software is provided under the current maintenance contract. This is a guarantee of updates to the communication system, which allows you to successfully navigate any possible changes.

Some customers use the option to upgrade to an Alcatel-Lucent OpenTouch® Enterprise Cloud subscription. Thanks to this solution, they have received all the benefits of ALE and pay only for what they use. Every month they can remove or add options on request to adapt the communication systems to the needs of their business.

Adapt cloud solutions for communication and collaboration to support remote/remote work mode. Enterprises cannot afford to stop their activities during periods of unpredictable instability.

Rainbow, ALE's cloud-based communications and collaboration platform, helps businesses get through tough times by providing employees with services that allow them to stay in touch with each other, customers and business contacts wherever they work. Rainbow supports remote work with secure online collaboration tools.

With Rainbow, you can:

• Conduct video meetings with clients, partners or colleagues from home
• Call from any device (computer, mobile phone, tablet) in audio and video modes
• Create or join audio and video conferences with up to 120 people and up to 12 simultaneous video streams
• Share screen and files for effective interaction
• Schedule events in Outlook and work with calendar invitations with one click without leaving Rainbow

A secure solution that ensures data privacy

Data security and confidentiality are of paramount importance. Rainbow guarantees data security through local data storage and combining technologies and solutions to ensure the highest level of security.

Rainbow has ISO 27001, HDS (French Medical Certification) certificates.

Expand secure access to your company's network and databases

Most employees can continue their duties simply by connecting to a VPN through a remote access program. However, employees working with important and confidential information need more direct and secure access to the corporate network and databases.

Extend a secure connection to the corporate network in remote locations, such as an employee's home office, using a remote access point that provides the necessary connectivity and security.

Why use a remote access point?

A remote access point, such as Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Stellar AP1201H, provides secure and automatic connection to the corporate network, including enterprise applications and databases that are not related to cloud. Other manufacturers depend on controller-based architectures.

Our Remote Access Points (RAP) are based on a distributed intelligence architecture, independent of the manufacturer and provide centralized orchestration and management.

2. The plan of enterprises to implement the remote/remote work model in the short, medium and long term

41 percent of enterprises reported that they have a long-term plan to implement a remote/remote work solution.

It's hard to say how the business will develop if you look at the situation today. But currently, it is expected that enterprises will revise their plans and accelerate the implementation of remote/remote work solutions. To maintain readiness at any time, regardless of the situation, below are some solutions that allow you to maintain the productivity of your employees at the highest level, wherever they work: from home, in the office, on the road.

Solutions that allow you to stay in touch with your customers when working remotely

Alcatel-Lucent IP Desktop Softphone

ALE provides agents and customer support representatives with an IP Desktop SoftPhone solution that allows them to maintain a constant level of customer service in remote operation mode. The IP Desktop Softphone solution allows you to use all the call management functions of office phones on a personal laptop.

With the IP Desktop Softphone app, you can communicate from home just as if you were in the office. Also you can:

• Use all the functions of Alcatel-Lucent 8068s Premium DeskPhone from a computer or laptop
• Get access to the corporate directory and connect to service groups directly from your screen
• Ensure effective negotiations with customers due to the high quality of voice over IP (VoIP). Work with Rainbow, ALE's collaboration tool, for seamless interaction.

IP Desktop Softphone allows your employees to stay in touch with customers thanks to the following features:

• Extensive contact center capabilities,* accessible from home. Manage a large number of calls without the need to retrain your agents
• Support for existing call allocation and routing instructions
• Logging in and out of the agent profile as usual

The solution is easy to deploy and does not require additional equipment to get started (a headset is recommended). It can be deployed remotely through your IT department. There is no need to change the configuration of Alcatel-Lucent OmniTouch® Contact Center Standard Edition.

Work with Rainbow, ALE's collaboration tool, for seamless interaction. The expansion of remote work requires a revision of communication technologies, especially with remote meetings and the use of video modes to stay connected. Rainbow cloud service offers group messaging, mobile and desktop communications, as well as video meetings in a single, easy-to-use secure application certified according to ISO 27001.

To complement the remote worker's toolset, we provide employees with secure professional phones for use at home. Ergonomic communications both in the office and at home, with the preservation of numbers and call routing rules.

3. Plans of enterprises to maintain/expand the remote/remote work mode

56 percent of all enterprises represent a hybrid model in which some employees

they work locally, while others work remotely/remotely.

Some work functions can be adapted for remote work, while others are difficult to perform remotely. That's why ALE offers solutions for businesses looking for hybrid models where remote and local employees stay connected to continue serving customers and ensuring business continuity.

Given today's need for constant adaptation, some organizations are striving for greater flexibility to easily deploy a remote work system and new means of communication on demand in accordance with current needs.

Alcatel-Lucent OpenTouch Enterprise Cloud (OTEC), a cloud solution for corporate communications, provides the flexibility needed by organizations: communication services are available under one license for each user for a period of one month. The company pays only for what it consumes, for example: the number of users and options such as softphone and video collaboration, as well as automatic customer greeting can be changed every month to quickly respond to any new requirements.

The OpenTouch Enterprise Cloud solution, designed for businesses of any size, transforms your business into a digital system. This is a full-featured solution that includes tools for communication, collaboration and a contact center, as well as special add-ons for the hospitality industry. This flexible, secure and comprehensive solution can be deployed in a private cloud (offline or locally) or in overlay mode.

4. Other types of solutions that businesses are evaluating to support remote/remote work

At the beginning of the healthcare crisis, companies had to quickly choose communication and collaboration solutions to allow employees to work remotely/remotely and locally, as well as to ensure business continuity. There was no time to carefully select the most appropriate solutions to ensure the security of data and customer data.

Now that months have passed, they can look back and choose the solutions that best meet their current and future requirements.

Organizations that have already chosen a collaboration solution other than Rainbow can still switch to secure professional communication services and collaboration tools from ALE. Thanks to Rainbow, your remote, remote and on-site employees get the opportunity to communicate and work together in real time. They can successfully answer any call and customer request, wherever they are.

Rainbow cloud services provide group messaging, mobile and desktop communications, as well as video meetings in a single, easy-to-use secure application.

Organizations can also connect all users using open technologies. ALE connectors are available for Microsoft Teams® and Google Suite, as well as for business applications such as SalesForce, Microsoft Dynamics, ServiceNow and ZenDesk.

Choosing Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise means choosing business communications that can be integrated into any business or collaboration application using built-in cloud connectors or through on-demand integration from the open Communication as a Service programming platform.

If you are interested in getting more information about solutions for organizing remote work, please contact us for advice in the office.

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