Soccer coaches the world over have been known to invoke the oft-quoted cliché that there’s no “I” in team. And while players may groan at hearing it mentioned, the fact is that success only happens when everyone is doing their part to beat the competition. But it’s not enough to simply have talented players. It takes Strategy and planning at every level to make the perfect winning team.

In today’s rapidly changing marketplace, companies face increasing competitive pressure and are looking for ways to utilize Technology to streamline their operations and make it easier for teams of employees to work together. When it comes to implementing a unified communications platform, having a cohesive strategy and the right partners can make the difference between success and failure. In this fifth installment of a blog series on the shifting landscape of collaboration technology, we take a closer look at how finding the right partner can smooth the transition to a more collaborative organization.

Today’s workplace looks very different than it did even a few years ago. Face-to-face meetings and workers chained to office desks are a thing of the past. The new generation of employees are mobile and untethered, conducting business on-the-go and holding virtual meetings while sipping lattes at the local café or Ubering to another meeting. As a result, technology is imperative in today’s work model. At the same time, collaboration tools have evolved over the years with greater variety and more capabilities. And with more technology moving into the cloud, the possibilities of what these tools can accomplish only get broader.

The challenge for IT is knowing what technology is best for the organization and developing a strategy for migrating to the new model. Cloud technology has made it easy for vendors to offer easy access to applications. With so many readily available solutions, the choices can quickly become overwhelming. The last thing you want to do is make a decision based on the promise of a quick fix only to find out later that technology doesn’t fit your business model or lacks the functionality to integrate with your existing framework. In the world of digital transformation, “one size fits all” simply doesn’t work.

This is why it is crucial to have the right partner helping you make sense of all the tools available and working with you to develop a plan that’s right for your business. At CenturyLink, we understand the importance of partnership and teamwork. We meet customers where they are and help them define a strategy and develop an implementation plan to move them to the next level.

We recognize that one company can’t do it all. This is why we invest in partnerships for each step of the transition. This partnership strategy is not all-encompassing. We invest in the technology leaders in their spaces, who in turn invest in working with us to optimize their solution over our network. Our partnerships with industry leaders like Amazon, Cisco and Microsoft allow us to provide a flexible, scalable solutions that are customized for your business.

This strategy minimizes the complexity of managing a multi-vendor solution and provides an integrated approach that can help your organization make the transition from on-premise collaboration platform hosted in your data center to cloud-hosted platforms, and every step in between. The result is a unified, cohesive solution that works at all levels across the enterprise.

With a trusted advisor like CenturyLink in your corner, you don’t need to take all the shots yourself. Our team includes an “I” for investment with key partners to deliver the collaboration solutions that our customers are looking for. Do you have the right partner on your team? Contact CenturyLink to discuss your goals.

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