Cloud Communications: How the Issues are Evolving

February 27, 2025

Written by Eric Krapf, General Manager and Program Co-Chair, Enterprise Connect Publisher

One thread running through the content program for Enterprise Connect 2025 is the evolution of cloud communications services – UC as a Service (UCaaS) and Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS). These offerings have been around for over a decade now, and have been widely adopted, though CCaaS uptake has been slower than UCaaS. But the services themselves, and the way they’re being adopted into enterprises, continue to evolve and create new challenges that IT/communications/CX tech pros need to constantly re-assess.

One of the most significant developments: Your UCaaS/CCaaS provider has very likely also become your AI-as-a-Service provider. On No Jitter, attorney Brendan M. Palfreyman has a terrific, comprehensive article explaining the new issues that AI introduces into your cloud service. Given the seriousness of these issues, he suggests they may need to be the subject of an addendum to your contract, to protect you against some of the emerging issues around AI, such as intellectual property, enterprise data usage, and model bias.

AI’s emergence also introduces new security issues, which analyst Amy Stapleton of Opus Research will examine in a session at Enterprise Connect. Among the questions Amy suggests you pose to your CCaaS provider:

• How can I test my application against internal and external threats before deployment?
• How can I stop bad behaviors from occurring once the application is deployed?
• What tools can I use to continually monitor the behavior of my application?

Cloud communications’ evolution is also affecting enterprises in other ways, particularly those that grow by acquisition. Comms professionals have been dealing with this conundrum since the PBX days: Even if you standardize on a single vendor, invariably your enterprise will wind up making major acquisitions – or being the object of such transactions – and then you’ve got a multi-vendor environment again, which today means a multi-cloud environment.

That’s why I’m particularly excited about a session that Tony Joseph of Rollins, Inc. will lead at Enterprise Connect. Rollins owns multiple pest control companies, most notably Orkin, and its history of growing partially through acquisition has meant a continually evolving environment, which is why Tony’s presentation is entitled, Making the Multi-Cloud Journey Work for You. Tony will offer a model for an enterprise multi-cloud architecture, as well as offering key lessons learned, including the importance of bringing in project resources early, preparing for legacy systems to present you with surprises that weren’t part of your plan, and controlling the messaging on the project to your enterprise. The presentation will be followed by a Post-Session Networking period, where you’ll be able to stick around the session room to continue the conversation with Tony and your fellow attendees.

And if the project before you represents your initial shift from premises to cloud, we’ve got a couple of sessions that will focus on the challenging journey you’re embarking on. Julie Gardner of TechCaliber Consulting will go in-depth on How to Avoid the Gotchas in a Complex CCaaS Migration, featuring insights and learning from consultant Michelle Vossen on a recent project – a 2,000-seat migration for Allina Health, a nonprofit health system in Minnesota and Wisconsin with 12 hospitals, 14 retail pharmacies and more than 90 clinics. In another extensive case study session, Jennifer Herron and Craig Griffis from the University of Michigan will provide a deep dive into a series of CCaaS implementations that let the university improve its CX to meet new requirements. This session will also be followed by Post-Session Networking, so come prepared to share your own questions and stories, and to network with the speakers and your peers.

The cloud communications migration isn’t a one-and-done effort; it will continue to evolve as communications services and enterprise organizations evolve. Attending Enterprise Connect 2025 is a great way to learn what you need to know so you can provide the capabilities your enterprise requires. I hope to see you in Orlando!