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Mitel highlights hybrid comms opportunities
Vendor shares research findings that underline the demand and interest from customers in updating their communications strategy
The channel is only a few weeks into 2025, but the research is already stacking up to signpost where opportunities are going to be in the next 12 months.
Already this year, the likes of security, artificial intelligence (AI) and compliance support have emerged as key areas after vendors and partners quizzed customers.
Mitel is now adding hybrid communications to that list, as it shares the results of a customer survey, The hybrid and AI revolution in business communications: What it means for you, revealing 92% of respondents are making the technology a priority this year. In the UK, 65% are still planning to modernise their communication systems.
The benefits of a hybrid communications model, combining on-premise with cloud platforms, is the flexibility it provides for collaboration and the promise of more consistent communications across different user environments.
Although the pressure on staff to return to the office has increased, the hybrid workplace remains a reality, and Mitel found that more than two-thirds of businesses are looking to adopt technology to provide a solid experience for both those working remotely and those in the office.
Those across the channel keen to step in and provide hybrid comms solutions need to be aware customers are also demanding offerings that take advantage of AI and video collaboration.
Vendor lock-in
Mitel’s findings also uncovered some of the barriers holding back customer cloud adoption, which included integration challenges, concerns about multi-tenancy, datacentre locations and vendor lock-in.
“After racing to adopt multi-tenant cloud solutions, many organisations face increasing complexity from evolving security requirements, compliance mandates and the integration of advanced technologies like GenAI [generative AI],” said Luiz Domingos, chief technology officer at Mitel. “Customers struggle with systems that hinder their ability to balance risks at scale and avoid business disruption.
“The findings from the report confirm these challenges, and show a desire from IT teams and business leaders to modernise and focus on hybrid communications systems to connect priorities: security, compliance, customer engagement and employee experience – all of which contribute to business resilience,” he added.
Verticals
If the Mitel research highlighted the technologies customers are keen to invest in, it also lifted the lid on some of the verticals partners could focus on.
The comms player found that high numbers of financial and government customers were relying on outdated systems, which increased their exposure to risk and prevented the adoption of emerging AI technologies.
Significant volumes of users were looking at investing in a comms strategy that would help consolidate systems and reduce the burden of complexity.
Marco Landi, group vice president of international sales at Mitel, said the fingings underlined there were clear opportunities for the vendor's channel.
“The findings of this report confirm that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach as organisations strive to address their multiple needs for risk mitigation, regulatory adherence, enhanced customer satisfaction, and optimised workforce productivity. Our channel partner ecosystems are a key element in helping organisations connect their priorities and take advantage of technological innovations when modernising their communications infrastructure," he said.
"In the long-term the findings reinforce the need for channel partners to act as trustful advisors to help organisations fully realise the potential of hybrid systems and modernized, flexible, and AI-powered communication, and select solutions tailored to their needs and long-term vision," he added.
Mitel has been getting itself into a position where it can react to changing customer demands.
The firm solidified its product strategy last year, with the vendor announcing a portfolio strategy that put the emphasis on unified communications, with its senior vice-president and head of the international region, Simon Skellon, highlighting the benefits for its channel.
“Our new portfolio strategy recognises that telephony alone is no longer enough, and for many businesses, neither is an off-the-shelf UCaaS [unified comms-as-a-service] application,” he said last summer. “Businesses not only need, but increasingly expect, tailored solutions that don’t require them to make trade-offs.”
The vendor followed that up with the launch of a Common Communications Framework and Secure Cloud into the portfolio to meet evolving customer needs.
