February 2023 - Month in Review

Presented by Jeff Garrett, Opkalla VP of Solutions Architecture

Well…better late than never. There are a few cliché phrases that come to mind when I think about what has transpired the last month, but I’ll go with “life comes at you fast.” I’ve had a lesson in not sweating the small things because there is probably a larger and more serious problem waiting around the corner. Nevertheless, the show must go on so finally and without further ado I present the Opkalla February Month in Review. 

As this is only my second Month in Review write-up, I want to make sure to point out two things to be aware of as I continue forward with these write-ups for the rest of the year. 

1. Some categories may repeat month to month, but I’ll always try to address a different or unique conversation from that category so that a topic never truly repeats. 

-And- 

2. These are not meant to be solution pieces where all the answers to a problem are given. As you might imagine – the solution itself heavily depends on each individual situation. If you are looking for specific solutions in these areas, then let’s talk further so we can find the best option for your unique use case. 

1. Microsoft 365

According to data from Statista, in 2022 Microsoft 365 revenue topped $63 billion with an estimated total user count of 345,000,000. However, the adoption rate itself is not a hot topic here. As more organizations move to cloud solutions and look to SaaS based applications to fill the role of legacy on-prem solutions, it’s no surprise that this adoption rate is climbing.

Many of our conversations now are not about moving to Microsoft 365. Rather they are about helping customers navigate what exactly they have with their current licensing. This involves making sure they are not duplicating efforts, and dollars, on other solutions they may already have in their E3, E5, Business Premium, etc. licenses.

These conversations can also center around eliminating unused features to downgrade licenses and save money. The core of these conversations is around security, specifically Defender for Endpoint and Defender for O365. I’ll touch on Defender for O365 in the next section, but when it comes to Defender for Endpoint, it is amazing how far this solution has come. What used to be the first thing many of us disabled on a new server build is now a leader in the EDR space. Organizations looking to consolidate spending in the Endpoint Security space are making more use of their existing Microsoft licensing. They are only going to other solutions in cases where they need specific integrations with other tools instead of a direct lack of features in the platform itself.

I imagine, given some uncertainty on the economic front and what seems to be continuous changes from Microsoft, the journey to discover what exactly is included in those Microsoft licensing packages, and whether they are being used properly, will continue for some time. 

2. Email Security

The area of email security is growing quickly as a topic of discussion. There are several talking points that will probably come up in this field over the next 6 – 12 months, such as the continued development of AI usage in this space. However, in the month of February, most of our conversations around email security were based around supplementing Defender for Office 365 and moving to API based systems.

Microsoft makes several recommendations for additional email security that can help catch the more advanced threats standard email security could miss. This is one area where we are seeing additional product layering instead of consolidation. It makes sense when you consider that some recent reports speculate around 90% of all attacks begin with email.

Furthermore, all of these additional layered platforms are API based instead of inline secure email gateways. Even the traditional SEG providers are introducing API based offerings as organizations want to get out of the business of MX record changes and troubleshooting SEG bottlenecks that prevent their highly available cloud-based system from operating efficiently. 

3. UCAAS

While UCaaS has always been a core area for Opkalla, over the last month many of the conversations have specifically been about how Microsoft Teams fits into this strategy. As mentioned above, organizations are trying to decide if they can make use of features they are already paying for in their Microsoft licensing, and while security is the number one topic, Teams usage has become a close second. This is especially true now that Microsoft has included some basic voice features as a $0 add-on.

The truth is, the answer to the question “can I just use my existing Teams licensing to fulfill all my UCaaS needs?” is not always the easy “yes!” that most organizations want to hear. The need for advanced features and options such as call queues, call recording, reporting and analytics, and fax services, just to name a few, may cause organizations to look beyond Teams for full UCaaS services.

However, even when this is necessary, the gap can be bridged as several UCaaS organizations are providing Teams integration. This means that even when users are not using the call features of Microsoft, they can stay within the interface and create the feel of a seamless environment. 

4. Mobility

In the area of mobility there were a lot of conversations around cost savings when it comes to deploying and managing provided devices for users. More and more organizations are looking for services that can help centralize these efforts and provide an aspect of self-service to their users.

While some of this stems from IT organizations being stretched thin on resources, many of these conversations are simply based on monetary concerns. With some uncertainty around the economy, we find a lot of conversations are drifting more and more towards cost savings. It appears even more so now than what we saw during COVID.

Many of these conversations currently are around managing employee provided devices. However, there is some shift starting to happen toward BYOD and stipend-based approaches for organizations that have been long-time advocates of providing devices under the concept of better security and control.

If this shift continues to occur, then the next conversation for these organizations will be determining how they protect company data on a device they don’t control and weighing the true cost of BYOD versus a well-managed company provided device service.

5. POTS Lines

It’s not the most thrilling conversation when it comes to technology considerations, but it is an obstacle that organizations are having to face. POTS lines are going away, but systems and services that rely on them may still be hanging around the organization. There are plenty of legacy systems in place that still require analog dial tones such as fax machines, alarms, elevators, POS terminals, vending machines, ATMs, E-911 and voice lines.

While there are more and more solutions that replace these individual systems, it is not always the most cost-effective route to rip and replace everything in the environment requiring POTS lines just because the carriers are deciding to no longer provide the service. Sometimes it may even be impossible to switch as quickly as needed because the solution or service will need to be rebuilt from the ground up.

Fortunately, there are several options on the market that allow organizations to safely transform all analog lines into a digital world without having to take on the costly task of finding replacements for those systems and without losing operational functionality.

That’s all for this iteration of the Month in Review. Until next month, let’s keep the collaboration and conversations going.