According to Upwork’s 2018 Future Workforce Report, 38% of hiring managers predict that their employees will work predominantly remotely in the next 10 years. That’s just one reason why more small- and medium-sized businesses are moving operations to become cloud-based. And although the network plays a major role in overall cloud storage and data efficiency, not many people truly understand why. Without further ado, here’s a quick guide explaining why your business’s network is essential when it comes to cloud migration.

Capabilities

It should come as no surprise that networks have very different capabilities when it comes to speed and overall efficiency. Recent research from Software Advice shows that 76% of small and medium sized-businesses are interested in purchasing a UC solution like Cisco UC, and depending on the size of your business, you’ll need to make sure you choose a network and provider that can handle your cloud computing needs.

Versatility

There’s no denying the possibility of business growth, and your network needs to be able to accommodate the increasing number of employees that may start needing to access the cloud. Instead of having to upgrade your network with every small bit of growth, invest in a network that can accommodate big jumps in accessibility and business size — after all, business trends are highly unpredictable.

Innovation and Collaboration

Research from InformationWeek shows that 62% of businesses said that improved employee collaboration is a top business driver for UC. And it makes sense since 37% of employee time is spent in meetings, according to the National Statistics Council. And whether employees are attending meetings physically or remotely, they need to be able to collaborate as clearly and efficiently as possible. The wrong network can come with a slew of connectivity problems, and the lost time can seriously impact day to day productivity. In fact, glitches in any video conferencing application cost time. If a team of 10 people is in a meeting, a six-minute delay is an hour of lost productivity.

In a study by Steven Rogelberg of the University of North Carolina, 71% of senior managers said that their organization’s meetings are unproductive and inefficient, but choosing the right network is the key to optimizing productivity through cloud efficiency. For more information about Cisco UC management and Cisco WebEx meeting solutions, contact us.