Building Bridges, not Islands – How Cisco is breaking out of silos with modern collaboration solutions.
Collaboration is a real future topic: Working models are getting more flexible, productivity is increasing, linked to the type of collaboration, and employee requirements are changing. Bechtle and Cisco support companies on their way to the digital workplace. Mathias Deufel, Collaboration PreSales Consultant knows the challenges—and solutions.
What is the most important aspect of modern collaboration? “Let people be free”, is the simple answer Mathias Deufel, Cisco Collaboration PreSales Consultant at Bechtle gives. The aim is to equip team members in a way that they can collaborate both on the go and on-site efficiently—while taking into account their individual needs. A mammoth task for many companies. Infrastructures have grown over time, users, departments and management have some differing visions and the solutions are rarely able to be standardised. And collaboration is a key topic for the future. Work models are changing; productivity is reliant on collaboration. And the teams themselves have different requirements: “The attitude towards how people work has changed: working today is approached flexibly. Companies need to act if they want to stay attractive as an employer and remain future-proof” says Mathias Deufel.
A survey by Cisco discovered that approximately half of employers in Germany are not using any digital tools to enhance collaboration. Despite this, 45 per cent of employees are hoping for more freedom with introduction of the digital workplace. According to Mathias Deufel, it is vital that employers get their staff on board with a modern workplace as a key part of digitalisation. “In my day-to-day work some common questions are: How will I replace the established solutions? How can I involve employees? How can I integrate holistic collaboration and communication solutions into existing business processes with my employees’ approval?” says Mathias Deufel. “There is no ready-to-go solution that we can just whip out and use.”
Cisco has a clear approach here: Bringing people together and away from island solutions—building bridges, not islands. Mathias Deufel is sure of these solutions. “These are very strong tools and they have a major advantage in that they integrate into existing applications. Cisco offers standardised, open interfaces and—in contrast to their competitors—are moving away from proprietary solutions and towards easier integration options.
The presales consultant finds the combination of Cisco and Bechtle unbeatable: “We share much experience, especially in SMEs where collaboration is often more challenging because there is less standardisation. Bechtle doesn’t just deliver on an application level, but also the underlying layers such as infrastructure and network.” Customers benefit from a complete hassle-free package based on a very good partnership.
Nachhaltigkeit wird zu einem Gütesiegel und Argument für eine Kaufentscheidung der Kunden. Dabei hilft Nachhaltigkeit sogar häufiger als oft von Unternehmen angenommen, die Wirtschaftlichkeit zu verbessern.
The quick pace of today’s technology is difficult to manage for many companies. Which solution is the best? What is the right step? “We’re here to help our customers keep an overview of the jungle of solutions and find the right answer for a clear transformation progress,” says Mathias Deufel.
On the other hand, the transformation is a competitive advantage because communication and collaboration is more than purely a question of cost. “Customers can benefit from a boost to productivity via downstream saving potentials and create a competitive edge for themselves,” says Mathias Deufel. This advantage is one that most companies are already sowing the seeds of: Some 95 per cent are implementing the topic of modern workplace. Something important to consider is a structured and comprehensive approach in order to avoid island solutions. “We analyse where are customers are via phone consultations and on-site workshops. In this way we work together on a catalogue of requirements and a target scenario. After the fine-tuning, we create a quote and then hand over to the technicians to implement the solution. Of course, we are also at our customers’ side in operation of the solution with our managed services,” says Mathias Deufel.
And how does the future look? “The topic of collaboration has some incredible dynamics,” says Mathias Deufel. People have recognised that it is important to share information, and it’s now being taken to another level. “In the past, it was all about phone systems... Today, collaboration is regarded holistically and companies are open to developments like artificial intelligence and the benefits that can be gained from it—such as getting background information in real time in order to expand knowledge in consultations, for example. We are just at the beginning. It is an exciting path that we are walking down.”
Contact person.
Mathias Deufel
PreSales Consultant Collaboration
Links.
- Digital Workplace—break away from outdated attitudes
- Collaboration Business Applications
- Bechtle modern workplace solutions
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