I work with companies of all sizes across a variety of industries on their Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) initiatives. There are almost as many different reasons for making the move to a cloud contact center as there are organizations using them. One might want to redeploy internal IT staff to more business-focused strategic projects. Another might be following internal policies to seek out cloud solutions where viable. Still another might be under the (often mistaken) impression that CCaaS will result in instant cost savings.

However, several reasons come up in our conversations time and again. Here are the top factors driving organizations’ CCaaS deployments.

Over the past year, organizations have turned to a wide array of solutions to help power remote work. One of the most effective has been virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), which allows companies to centralize their IT resources and provide users with remote access to a consolidated pool of compute power.

While VDI may not be the right fit for every business, the model can provide a solid foundation to enable a remote work environment that is both powerful and secure. Here are three significant benefits that organizations can achieve through VDI.

Cisco customers have a choice between Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) and Ethernet VPN (EVPN) for building their data center network fabrics. Since these technologies are thought to be interchangeable, the choice often falls to cultural, political, or other “Layer 8” decision-making. But the fabric technologies are, in fact, different in ways both subtle and significant, and one’s choice has a profound impact on fabric orchestration, operations, and staffing.

I hope you’ll join me all the way through this three-part blog series as I compare and contrast these technologies and provide a foundation for deciding on the best choice for your organization’s needs.

Often, when an organization is ready to refresh its storage, compute and networking infrastructure, IT and business stakeholders want to start the conversation with a specific product in mind. Perhaps they have a solid relationship with a vendor, or they’ve heard about a best-of-breed solution at a conference, and they just want to find the best price on their desired solution.

However, we’ve found that the process is actually more important than the product during a refresh. Sure, modern data center infrastructure can improve performance and reliability, but the most critical aspect of a refresh is identifying a solution that will help an organization meet its specific business needs.

Here are five steps we follow to help organizations ensure success when they refresh their infrastructure.

The CIO of a large financial services firm recently approached me for assistance in building out her company’s cyber-resilience strategy. Specifically, she knew that the firm was going to need to add an additional data center over the next year to meet growing demand, and she wanted to use that expansion as an opportunity to enhance the firm’s business continuity program. CDW provided the company with some practical advice to help draw this additional benefit from its investment.

While we were helping a very large organization expand an existing global footprint, the advice we shared is relevant across firms of all sizes. Let’s take a look at a few ways that all organizations can enhance cyber resilience.

In recent months, organizations across industries have been forced to adopt new approaches throughout their entire operations. Barbers started giving outdoor haircuts and accepting contactless payments. Schools have equipped their students and instructors with laptops, sent them home and invented new methods of teaching and learning on the fly. Sports teams have even played in empty stadiums, with professional basketball players enclosing themselves in a “bubble” for a COVID-free playoff tournament.

The pressures of the coronavirus pandemic have also led to changes in many data centers. This new business environment has forced companies to embrace modernization, especially those that may have previously lagged behind on needed changes.

Here are four ways that I’m seeing savvy IT and business leaders improve their data center infrastructure and operations through digital transformation.