Checklist: Reach for the Cloud and Deliver Better Outcomes

By **Christopher Bayliss**, Public Sector Sales Executive

Checklist: Reach for the Cloud and Deliver Better Outcomes

By Christopher Bayliss, Public Sector Sales Executive

With the UK Government's “Cloud-First Policy” now in its sixth year, cloud technologies are transforming how public services are delivered, allowing local councils to tap into the flexibility, efficiency and cost savings cloud provides.While a priority for the public sector, the speed of adoption of cloud services across councils varies, in some cases hampered by perceived riskiness of a cloud transition as well as a lack of IT skills.However, the 2018 Socitm/Eduserv Local Government Cloud Adoption report found many councils still felt they were at the early stages of their journey to cloud-based IT.A closer look reveals a significant majority of councils are clearly “cloud-aware,” and actively considering the benefits of cloud IT on a case-by-case basis.This pragmatic approach allows councils to be strategic in deploying cloud services, enabling IT to work in agile ways with different parts of the council and help deliver change at a faster pace.Councils can accelerate their transition to the cloud by educating key stakeholders about the direct benefits of cloud technologies. This requires an organisational culture change that starts with prioritising workplace collaboration on one system of engagement that brings together voice, video, messaging and contact centre.

Checklist:

Answering these questions will help you evaluate how a cloud communications solution can lead to better outcomes for your organisation, your staff and local communities.

Are monthly communication costs unpredictable and expensive? When was the last time you checked?

Do IT staff spend more than 20% of their time administering and maintaining the phone system and related communications applications?

Are council contact centre managers able to measure performance metrics like how long residents are on hold or how often calls go unanswered?

Is adding or changing phone numbers or locations burdensome to IT or so slow it becomes disruptive?

Does IT require help from one or more third-party vendors?

Does a fixed number of phone lines result in residents’ calls not getting through? Is getting an outside line problematic at times?

Are residents complaining about long wait times when trying to reach council contact centre agents?

Is setting up communications for a new council office or location a significant undertaking?

What other communication services do council staff use besides phone and conferencing (video conferencing, web meetings/webinars, chat applications and collaboration tools like Slack)?

How many separate vendors are you managing for these services?

Do council staff use other, non-sanctioned technologies to communicate and collaborate (aka “Shadow IT”)?

What kinds of metrics and insight into citizen interactions would help improve perceptions of your council?

What is the impact on the council when your phone system goes down?

How do you integrate communication islands across team messaging solutions?

How is data protected in motion and at rest?

How are communications integrated with security and compliance policies and procedures?

Does your current communications solution provide fully automatic disaster recovery?

Is your communications provider listed as a Crown Commercial Service supplier for Network Services framework (RM1045 or RM3808)?

Is your communications provider compliant with the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) regulations for protecting customers network information?

Does your communications provider hold Cyber Essentials Plus, ISO 27001, ISO 9001 and UK Government Authority to Operate (ATO) Certifications?

Get started

Find out how 8x8 can help you streamline operations and enhance citizen communication using cloud-based communications.

Speak to our dedicated public sector team at uk-publicsector@8x8.com

For more information call 0333 043 8888 or visit 8x8.com/uk-public-sector