Hybrid Unified Communications and Collaboration

Definition

Hybrid UCC enables organizations to operate UCC through blended cloud and premises-based deployment models. The hybrid split between the cloud and premises can be based on functionality, geography or utility/use case.

Position and Adoption Speed Justification

A growing number of providers are offering blended provisioning of UCC elements. Hybrid UCC is typically provisioned in one of three ways:

• Functional hybrid provisioning — Features UC functions (such as audioconferencing or telephony) delivered via the cloud, while other UC functionality (such as videoconferencing and email) is obtained via premises-based solutions.

• Geographical hybrid provisioning — Features UC elements delivered in different ways depending on the location of users. For example, users in a branch office site could obtain telephony functionality via the cloud, while users in a different site or geography could obtain functionality via a premises-based solution.

• Utility or use case hybrid provisioning — Selects cloud or on-premises UC delivery based on the UC use case, such as supporting a volume threshold or meeting certain requirements for quality/reliability. For example, internal audioconference calls for up to six people or informal ad hoc Web conferencing could be obtained through an on-premises-based solution, but conferencing requirements growing beyond six users could be obtained via the cloud to meet this larger capacity demand. Or conferencing supporting internal collaboration might utilize an internal solution, while external, customer-facing sessions could be served via a premium conferencing service.

Organizations employ hybrid UCC procurement for reasons relating to flexibility, costs, business requirements and organization structure. For example, an organization can use an existing Internet Protocol private branch exchange (IP PBX), with remaining useful life for voice functionality while obtaining conferencing capabilities via the cloud. Hybrid can also be appealing for planners concerned with adhering to regulatory or internal-communications requirements. For example, email functions can be delivered via an on-premises-based solution to retain control of sensitive content, while communications elements with fewer regulatory or security requirements (like conferencing) could be obtained via the cloud. Furthermore, some organizations have customization requirements or cultural preferences that demand on-premises functionality for certain UCC elements, while being open to cloud provisioning for other elements.

Some forms of hybrid UCC are more common than others. Functional hybrid approaches, which feature premises-based telephony and voice/unified messaging but use cloud-based conferencing services, are somewhat common. Furthermore, utility provisioning, in which internal conferencing could be obtained using a premises-based approach for internal collaboration but is provisioned via the cloud to meet requirements for greater scalability and reliability, is also growing as a use case.

Overall, hybrid provisioning is growing in maturity, but is not yet fully mature. The costs associated with integrating UCC elements can be prohibitive. The costs of the required professional services for getting the cloud environment to work with the premises-based environment can destroy the business case. Additionally, the complexity of management interface tools can lead to an awkward hybrid experience.

We expect inhibitors associated with provisioning hybrid UCC will gradually diminish over the next two to three years as unified communications as a service (UCaaS) solutions gain maturity, providers secure automated tools and APIs become available to support hybrid environments.

User Advice

Organizations considering migrating from a premises-based approach to a cloud environment should evaluate hybrid UCC as an interim path. Perform a detailed asset assessment to determine the infrastructure with remaining useful life that should reside on-premises. Determine regulatory, governance and security requirements that will affect UCC provisioning model decisions. Proactively work with your provider to ensure that basic compliance with these requirements can be satisfied. Use hybrid UCC provisioning as a tool to fulfill peak demands for certain capabilities. For example, evaluate cloud-based conferencing for large-scale or external conferencing activities while utilizing premises-based conferencing for either internal or small conferencing sessions.

Implement a partitioning approach in certain environments in which the two provisioning styles are not integrated. In this scenario, certain users are assigned to a specific communications approach, and other users are assigned to another approach based on their requirements. For example, a university could provision free consumer-grade UC services to students, while faculty and staff could utilize premises-based UC functionality.

Evaluate the hybrid UCC capabilities and limitations of providers — technology providers, service providers and system integrators (SIs). Consider the integration capabilities (and costs associated with integration efforts) of various hybrid UCC elements. Define a road map that takes into account which party has responsibility for management and maintenance associated with various blended cloud/premises-based elements.

Business Impact

Hybrid UCC provisioning offers organizations flexibility (financial, use case and asset management) when obtaining UC functionality. Blended procurement allows planners to leverage premises-based infrastructure with existing useful life. Hybrid deployments can also ensure that compliance, security and regulatory requirements are fulfilled on the corporate journey to the cloud. IT planners should factor application use, existing investments, in-house IT staffing resources, and other business requirements into their UC adoption and use road maps, instead of being restrained by the limitations that siloed on-premises-based and cloud-based provisioning may present.