Build a strategy to tap GenAI in unified communications
By harnessing generative AI, companies can dramatically improve the value of their unified communications platforms. Among the results: Quicker and more effective decision-making.
Unified communications teams are witnessing two significant events: greater emphasis on effective UC and the practical application of generative AI. Combined, these technologies offer a significant strategic advantage to organizations that implement them effectively.
First, it's imperative to frame generative AI (GenAI) coupled with UC as a strategic advantage that offers real benefit. Second, consider the implications of shifting UC from a cost center to a value-generating platform.
Let's discuss how to integrate GenAI with unified communications. We'll also examine KPI and ROI metrics. These will enable you to set and measure goals, such as increased enterprise communication volume, reduced employee time spent in meetings or inefficient collaboration settings and improved baseline productivity cost per employee.
The business case for integrating GenAI and UC
Legacy UC platforms are showing their age. In particular, they were built to connect people rather than facilitate getting work done. As enterprises scale hybrid workforces, establish global operations and integrate disruptive technologies such as AI, UC cannot keep pace. The result is a massive amount of unstructured, ungoverned and untapped data, including meetings, chats, voice interactions, shared content, recordings and other media. This goldmine of potentially profitable information remains difficult to exploit.
With GenAI, UC becomes more than just a communication channel; it assumes an active role in contributing to enterprise strategic goals.
GenAI changes the game by spanning communications channels. It generates usable information by identifying patterns, summarizing intent, capturing institutional knowledge and revealing actionable intel. Unearthing this information yields accurate, data-driven decision-making, speeds time to market, streamlines operations and enhances employee productivity. With GenAI, UC becomes more than just a communication channel; it assumes an active role in contributing to enterprise strategic goals.
KPI and ROI metrics at this point include the following:
Improved meeting efficiency, reducing the time employees spend in meetings.
Quicker time-to-decision turnaround, especially for cross-functional projects.
Improved productivity per employee based on quicker communications and access to better information.
Reducing external services, such as translation, transcription or editing, provides a cost-avoidance benefit.
Key GenAI-driven UC capabilities
GenAI-enhanced UC platforms offer new capabilities that directly address productivity and collaboration challenges. The exact features depend on the selected vendor, but many basic capabilities are standard.
Consider these tactical use cases of AI-enhanced UC platforms:
Virtual assistants. Establishes communication by scheduling events, capturing meeting outcomes and action items and automating follow-up actions.
Real-time transcription and translation. Aids employees by breaking down language and geographic barriers for greater global collaboration.
Automated content creation. Helps teams generate summaries, reports and documentation from live conversations, chats, webinars and other collaboration settings.
Strategically, the value of these features depends on how well they integrate with the rest of the enterprise technology ecosystem. These technologies may include CRM and ERP systems, knowledge repositories, productivity software and specialized applications. Integrating these resources effectively helps break down existing silos that hamper business processes.
Integrated GenAI UC platforms should reduce tool sprawl, improve data consistency and increase user adoption (especially with proper training).
How can you measure your success? Establish the following KPIs:
Reduced manual scheduling, note-taking and follow-up tasks.
Reduced time to completion for projects using GenAI+UC.
Decreased number of standalone collaboration, productivity and communication tools with a corresponding savings in licensing and support costs.
Increased user adoption of GenAI features.
Governing AI and managing risk
As with all AI-enhanced tools, integrating UC with AI means new governance and risk management requirements. UC channels often transfer sensitive information, including customer data, strategic discussions, product information and intellectual property. These transfers occur amid growing compliance requirements worldwide, including data sovereignty, localization and privacy laws. As a result, data controls, transparency and accountability are essential.
To build trust with employees and consumers, companies must understand how to protect, process, store and use their data across regions. IT leaders must carefully define and enforce acceptable use policies, data handling standards and oversight mechanisms.
Establish clear guardrails and guidelines around responsible AI use and include human oversight and review. Use the following KPIs to guide your path:
The percentage of GenAI interactions successfully governed by existing policies.
Reduced communications-related security incidents and data exposure events.
Cost avoidance based on regulatory fines, breaches, or reputational damage.
Strategic recommendations for IT business leaders
To maximize the effect across the organization, IT leaders must approach GenAI with unified communications as a strategic transformation that delivers measurable benefits. It's not a feature upgrade; it's a continuously evolving platform that brings a competitive advantage.
Use a phased approach to integrate GenAI-enhanced UC. Begin with clearly defined business problems that you expect GenAI and UC to solve together, rather than starting with abstract innovations or general features that lack a specific application. Ensure measurement tools are in place to manage expectations and illustrate the migration's value. High-value use cases are a good place to start.
Don't forget to educate users, emphasizing the value of GenAI to support work. Many will fear AI as an employee replacement tactic, so be sure to demonstrate its role as a tool that benefits them.
Comprehensive ROI metrics that apply to AI-enhancement include:
Time to value. Time from pilot launch to measurable business impact based on the KPI metrics defined above.
ROI realization rate. Percent of benefits achieved within established timeframes, such as quarterly or every six months.
Employee satisfaction. Scored surveys measuring employee experience with tools and collaboration opportunities.
Executive adoption. Usage rates among senior leadership teams. Consider administering scored surveys to this group as well.
A combined GenAI with unified communications platform provides organizations with strategic advantages, including accelerated execution, improved communications and better information integration. These features establish a measurable ROI. Begin exploring GenAI and UC to gain the competitive advantage and strategic benefits your organization needs.
Damon Garn owns Cogspinner Coaction and provides freelance IT writing and editing services. He has written multiple CompTIA study guides, including the Linux+, Cloud Essentials+ and Server+ guides, and contributes extensively to InformaTechTarget Editorial, The New Stack and CompTIA Blogs.
