New year, new start – why technology will play a pivotal role in 2021

While 2020 will be a year for the history books, it’s interesting to consider how people and businesses would have coped if similar events had happened 10, 20 or even five years ago.

You don’t have to visit the distant past to find a time when a mass switch to remote working would have been unthinkable.

But in 2020, many organisations successfully put their systems and processes to the test, dealt with the disruption and maintained business as usual. And we’ve got technology and telecommunications to thank for that.

Rapid progress made in these areas in 2020 has given us a taste of what’s possible. So, while it’s been a difficult 12 months, there are reasons to be cheerful as we look forward to 2021. Here are just a few of them.

5G to make an impact

We’ll see 5G enter a new level of maturity in 2021, with more users acquiring devices that are 5G enabled, uptake of the iPhone 12 is demonstrating this already.

And that will mean more people with access to significantly upgraded wireless technology, capacity and responsiveness.

We’ll also start to see standalone 5G networks transforming service delivery, heralding a new era of network embedded services. Exciting times lie ahead and there are possibilities out there that the industry hasn’t realised yet, but one note of caution – it’s very easy to consume data quickly on 5G. Businesses must ensure their mobile tariffs are futureproofed with the right data management, spend alert and capping tools that are essential for mitigating bill-shock.

Unified Communications

If your business wants to be prepared for future disruption, it makes sense to unify and streamline services to increase resilience.

Unified communications integrate telecommunications with other channels and systems – such as CRM, video conferencing, collaboration features and more – in a single platform to give you consistent, adaptable and reliable ways of working, whether in the home, the office or elsewhere.

Options to consider include a hosted, cloud-based VoIP system that delivers all phone features through a broadband connection rather than the more traditional telephone. VoIP is increasingly popular and requires very little physical infrastructure, so employees can use it in all sorts of locations and on many different devices.

For businesses, the benefit of hosted telephony is simple – hunt groups, IVRs and call flows can all be managed through one single telephony portal, seamlessly. In addition, hosted telephony enables users to answer calls from their mobile, a landline or even a PC, meaning there is no longer a need to consider complex call forwarding plans which is particularly beneficial with a dispersed workforce.

Flexibility and security

Flexible working – at home, in the office, on the move or a mixture of all three – is likely to become second nature for many of us in the future, and the accompanying technology offers many advantages.

For example, Vodafone’s Gigacube is a portable WiFi router, giving instant and high-speed access to the internet from pretty much anywhere, without the additional hassle of installation.

But it’s also important that businesses don’t drop their guard when it comes to the safety and security of devices and data. Now is the time to review working practices and ensure all devices have secure connectivity, particularly if your business has a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy that allows employees to use their personal devices for work.

Our Wandera service can help. It not only enables you to manage and control your mobile data usage, but also protects against mobile threats such as malware, device data leaks and rogue Wi-Fi hotspots.

Preparing for what’s ahead

At Adam Phones, being prepared includes making sure we’re focussed on our solutions being adaptable to meeting goalposts that are often moving. It means only working with supplier partners who we’re certain we can trust to deliver. And it means helping you futureproof your business for the year ahead and beyond.

So, if you’re looking for advice, want to control your telecommunication costs or have specific business needs, call us on freephone 0800 123 000.

Wishing all our customers, partners and suppliers a happy and successful 2021.