Monday Morning Impact – November 15

Gartner Survey: More than Half of Employees Experience Frustration with New Software

A recent survey by Gartner suggests most employees wish their companies would reinstate old systems as opposed to remaining with newly purchased software.

Sixty percent of workers said new software had occasionally or frequently frustrated them within the past 24 months, according to the research. In fact, 56% of users said new software had made them wish management would bring the old system back.

“The democratization and consumerization of IT has resulted in employees who have more discretion over what software they use and how they use it,” said Craig Roth, research vice president at Gartner. “Software product leaders often focus on adding new features to keep up with competitors, but this leads to overly complex products with poor user experience (UX).”

The survey found that 81% of software users have taken some kind of action – positive or negative – after a notable experience with software. For example, 40% of users have resisted using applications after a negative experience by using minimal features, avoiding or delaying use. After a positive experience with an application, however, 41% of users spent more time delving further into its features.

“Depth of application usage can have a significant impact on the value an organization receives from software. That perceived value becomes important when renewal or upgrade time rolls around,” said Roth. “Consumption of new features helps technology providers increase the stickiness of a product, but when users ignore advanced features, vendors have less influence to secure upsells or renewals and stay ahead of competition.”

The survey also found that users frequently share their opinions on software with peers, with IT and with business leaders, either proactively or in response to requests for input. This “word of mouth” can start a chain reaction that influences whether others adopt or avoid applications.

Forty-two percent of survey respondents said they have complained to peers after a negative software experience, while 38% have recommended an application to peers after a positive experience. Additionally, 42% have shared negative experiences with IT, and 25% have shared those experiences with business management.

When users were asked what actions software vendors could take to make them more likely to recommend their products to peers, IT or business leaders, the top answer was to make products easier to use, cited by 51% of respondents. Adding missing features was a distant third place, cited by 30%.

The global Gartner survey polled 4,953 technology product and services users in April through June 2021.

Channel Impact^®
The data underscores how channel partners can differentiate themselves through a strong educational component to support new software sales.

Verizon Adds Fortinet Secure SD WAN

Verizon Business has announced the expansion of its global SD WAN offering with the addition of Verizon Software Defined Secure Branch with Fortinet Secure SD WAN.

The solution is designed to provide businesses, including enterprise and business market customers, with a converged networking and security solution “in-a-box” to secure and connect hybrid and remote workforces.

“The quick transition to hybrid and/or remote working models opened new avenues for cyber threat actors,” said Sampath Sowmyanarayan, Chief Revenue Officer for Verizon Business. “Solutions like Verizon’s Software Defined Secure Branch with Fortinet add those layers of security that help safeguard your employees, your business and ultimately your customers against cyberattacks.”

The solution also works with many types of network transports including MPLS, Internet, Broadband, and Wireless to enable hybrid WAN and LAN transformation. It builds upon the capabilities of traditional network routing with additional SD WAN and integrated security to help safeguard communications between network endpoints, either on-premises or in the cloud, and ensure organizations are better protected from the expanded attack surface introduced by remote and hybrid work.

Channel Impact^®
This combined solution is expected to provide customers with added agility and flexibility as they adjust their digital transformation strategies.

Lumen and Cisco Expand their Partnership Toward Collaboration

Lumen Technologies and Cisco have expanded their partnership to include a new offering: Lumen Solutions for Cisco Unified Communications Manager Cloud (UCMC). This new product pairs Cisco’s cloud-based collaboration services with Lumen’s global fiber network.

“Because of the pandemic, enterprises all around the world have realized that the future of work includes remote and hybrid environments, so they are investing heavily in cloud solutions that integrate calling, conferencing, file sharing, and software applications,” said Scott Velting, Lumen vice president of product management, voice, and collaboration solutions. “Our expanded partnership with Cisco will enable current and future users of Cisco Webex to deploy flexible, agile, and efficient collaboration technologies without large capital investments, ongoing maintenance, or high IT expenses for staffing and training.”

Service features may include calling, messaging, Cisco Webex integration, instant messaging, presence mobility, mobile and remote access, emergency call handling, collaboration phones and endpoints, network connectivity options, global availability, Lumen global 24/7 support and dedicated account teams.

Lumen holds certifications across all Cisco portfolios including Gold Integrator, Gold Provider, Master of Collaboration, Advanced Collaboration Architecture Specialization, and Customer Experience Specialization. The latest agreement to offer Lumen Solutions for Cisco UCMC includes a commitment to add more than 250,000 seats.

Lumen claims approximately 450,000 route fiber miles and serving customers in more than 60 countries.

Channel Impact^®
Since the outbreak of Covid, companies have been heavily investing in the unified communications and collaboration tools that are necessary for remote work.