A new Oracle study reveals that enterprises view in-application communications technologies as critical to enhancing customer experiences and gaining a competitive edge and higher growth. While 65% of enterprise IT decision makers polled noted that embedded communications will become the dominant way of communicating with employees, suppliers and customers moving forward, nearly half (46%) noted they lack the expertise to deploy new communications technologies.
According to Oracle, enterprises risk losing customers, revenue, and competitive advantage if they don’t meet their customers’ expectations of engagement and experience. As such, enterprises are increasingly turning to cloud-based communications solutions to enable this change, but many are still behind the curve when it comes to infusing critical communications capabilities into their business transactions. Industries including education, energy, engineering and construction, financial services, public sector, technology, healthcare/life sciences, hospitality and retail rated their companies “below a C” in this regard.
The survey also found that fast adoption means faster growth. Those that described their communications adoption culture as “Leader” or “Aggressive” tended to achieve a higher revenue growth rate relative to their plan (more than 10%).
In addition, the majority of enterprises (74%) agreed that cloud-based communications are a key factor in achieving business objectives, and nearly three-quarters expect to accelerate the deployment of cloud-based communications technologies over the next 5 years. In addition, 65% agree that communications embedded within cloud applications will become the dominant way of communicating with employees, suppliers, and customers.
Enterprises see benefits in using communications cloud services, including increasing flexibility, reducing costs, and increasing worker productivity. And although security concerns are the number-one barrier to adopting the cloud, 60% of respondents consider cloud-based communications more than or at least as secure as on-premises solutions.
The report, The Cloud Redefines Customer Experience, is available from the Oracle website.