1. What are the security advantages of UCaaS platforms?
Samuel Tourbot, Head of Cloud Business Engine at Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise: “It mostly depends on the deployment model, but the advantages are manyfold. “If you’re looking to go with a public approach, you’ll be hosted on a shared cloud instance, which means the security measures in place have to be top-notch as a lot of different organisations are using one instance. “It’s also about sharing the load, meaning that high-tier security measures become cheaper that way. If you’re aiming at a private deployment, then security mostly depends on you, although private deployments are usually the most secure of all, as the data is stored either in a private cloud or on-premises. This allows for flexibility in deciding on which security measures you’d like to put in place and how much effort you’re willing to spend on them.” Sanjay Macwan, CIO & CISO for Vonage: “UCaaS platforms are built on cloud-native modern infrastructure and deliver communication services to business customers where customers are relieved from the complexity of managing on-prem solutions including security challenges of on-prem solutions. “As a cloud-native architecture, key security measures such as zero-trust micro-segmentation architecture, secure software development life cycle (SDLC), modern identity and access management controls, encryption of data at rest and in transit as applicable etc. are embedded in UCaaS platforms and offer business customers key security advantages. “Additionally, by delivering the UC experience from the cloud, UCaaS providers can effectively force conversion en-masse across the entire user community anytime a security threat arises, and new software has been made available.” Roman Tobe, Director of Product Marketing at RingCentral:
“There are many security benefits to using a UCaaS provider, with the most obvious being an IT department's risk surface is minimized as a result of using a unified vendor for all of their communications needs.
“This eliminates the need for multiple applications, whether they are sanctioned or unsanctioned operating as shadow IT, operating under one organization but with their data in multiple locations and tenants. The next would be the cloud-based nature of UCaaS. “It’s more secure, easier to address vulnerabilities that arise and easier to implement the latest security technologies and push that out quickly is a major benefit to UCaaS platforms vs. legacy systems. “Also, from our perspective, having an open dialogue on these issues is a major advantage for our customers. We’re customer obsessed, and when we hear of security and privacy requests from our customers, we prioritize those and make good on those initiatives.”
2. What are the latest UCaaS security strategies?
Samuel Tourbot, Head of Cloud Business Engine at Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise: “There are many trends when it comes to security so we should focus on the ones making the most sense and having the most realistic chance of long-term viability.
“Apart from AI and IoT playing a huge impact on UCaaS in general, providing both new security measures and potential security breaches, biometrics is gaining validity by the day.
“Multi-factor authentication is currently the most reliable way of protecting your data and combined with biometrical data locks, might just be enough to make sure your data is untampered with and untouchable. “At least for the time being. As AI becomes smarter and more versatile, I can see it taking a more leading role in securing one’s data by adapting to user behaviour, personal routines or even the personality of your staff.” Sanjay Macwan, CIO & CISO for Vonage: “In a globally connected world, now more than ever, businesses need to ensure their UCaaS solutions are able to support communications and collaboration needs of their remote and hybrid global workforce and deliver world-class employee experience while providing the highest levels of security and privacy posture. “Modern UCaaS solutions embed security, privacy, trust, and compliance by design and not as an afterthought. Security constructs are embedded in the entire software development lifecycle and in the underlying cloud-native infrastructures which, in conjunction with privacy-centred operational policies, offer the best security and privacy posture for customers. “As the UCaaS platform and its provider deliver consistent security and privacy posture, it earns the trust of its users. And thus, the best security, privacy, and trust elements lead to strong compliance with all global and industry-specific compliance needs such as GDPR, HIPAA, PCI, SOC2 Type 1 and Type 2 etc.” Roman Tobe, Director of Product Marketing at RingCentral: “First, end-to-end encryption (E2EE) is a powerful security and privacy control, as it prevents any unauthorized third party–including the UCaaS solution–from accessing communication data. “Introducing E2EE into UCaaS deployments not only allows for the most confidential and private conversations possible but also serves as an important security measure, protecting organizations from risk exposure should host UCaaS solution suffer data breaches. “Second, mobile application management makes it easy for IT to monitor and enforce security policies across company-owned and bring-your-own-device (BYOD) environments. Today’s work environment is more mobile than ever, which means UCaaS solutions must meet the needs of an increasingly hybrid and remote workforce. “Lastly, compliant archiving and content supervision is a critical component in today’s UCaaS environment for regulated industries. These integrations are key to automatically detecting conduct risks and sensitive data exposure.”
3. What are the key security considerations to look for in a UCaaS vendor?
Samuel Tourbot, Head of Cloud Business Engine at Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise: “There are always three main layers to consider and inspect for potential discrepancies or faults.
