Five Steps to Boosting Security and Business Continuity with UCFive Steps to Boosting Security and Business Continuity with UC

Let's face it--you probably worry about security every day. Choosing a high-quality UC solution ensures that no matter where employees are, they can safely utilize your full range of corporate resources.

The decision to invest in new technology should never be taken lightly. From calculating ROI to anticipating and negotiating contracts and changes in infrastructure, there are a multitude of factors to consider when making the transition to a new or upgraded communication service. Yet while financial and infrastructure decisions are ultimately major factors in a company's choice of deployment, another significant area is often overlooked--the impact that a new solution will have on your company's security.

Organizations in every sector now collect and generate more information than ever before, and this information can hold a tremendous amount of value. Cybercriminals are well aware of this fact and are eager to get their hands on such sensitive data, which they can use to commit identity theft or fraud.

Beyond cybersecurity, maintaining business continuity is widely acknowledged as a priority for enterprises of all sizes and stripes. Even with business communications that are carried out across a variety of channels, the dependability of a company's telecommunications infrastructure remains vital to an organization's well-being. But often, disaster recovery planning places a disproportionate focus on IT resilience and maintaining the corporate data network in the event of a disaster, with scant attention to the viability of telephony systems.

Here are some vital steps to educating yourself on common pitfalls and achieving long-term security and stability.

1. Accept that while UC is fantastic, it still has risks.
A UC solution is all about connecting employees with one another and their customers. The unfortunate downside of this improved level of accessibility is that it potentially creates vulnerabilities. Making communication channels more readily available to authorized personnel can also make your network more accessible to hackers and other cybercriminals.

If a breach occurs, the consequences can be dire. Stolen information may be used for corporate espionage, providing your industry competitors with insight into your products and services. Even worse, a breach may lead to an investigation for regulatory noncompliance.

Then there's the reputation damage. Consumers are extremely aware of the need to protect their data these days, and they are going to stay well away from any company that has a history of data breaches. Consequently, an unsecured UC platform can directly lead to a loss of business.

2. Know which questions to ask to avoid those risks.
With all that said, how can a business ensure its UC platform is as secure as possible? First and foremost, you should look at potential vendors' reputations. No two UC service providers are the same, and you need to partner with a vendor that has an established record of delivering effective, secure solutions.

But that's not enough. You should dig deeper and ask vendors to describe in detail the nature of their security solutions. What makes their instant messaging solution safe from external threats? What about the video conferencing tool? A vendor should be ready and willing to describe precisely how its security solutions operate.

Curious about the other three steps to unified communications security? Download our free eBook, "The Unified Communications Buyer's Guide to Security & Business Continuity," and swing by booth 1920 to chat with the ThinkingPhones team in person at Enterprise Connect, March 16-19, 2015.