Unified communications (UC) offers a host of benefits to the companies that implement it; from rich features to the ability to utilize communications tools from anywhere, anytime, the technology offers a better experience for employees and improves productivity. Many companies give too little attention to a unified communications security plan; however, with the following steps, your company can ensure you’re protected against malicious attacks:

Get Buy-In From Key Stakeholders: Getting your entire team on board with your UC security plan isn’t a one-and-done kind of strategy. You need to open up communication between your IT team deploying the security plan and various stakeholders in the company. Get their feedback about the processes they use and how new security policies might impact their functions.

By talking extensively with line-of-business managers about your unified communications security plan, you’ll get their insights to make better decisions and ultimately have widespread buy-in for your policies.

Implement Safety Policies: If you only implement one key policy, make it a solid password regulation. Require employees to change passwords often, train them on what makes a strong password, and consider going the extra step to two-factor authentication.

Utilize the Right Tools: The right solutions to secure your UC systems and data may include better firewalls, virtual private networks (VPNs) for remote users, and even managed services for security. Depending on the size of your company, you may not have the in-house support you need to adequately secure your communications technology.

Many companies choose to implement UC alongside an upgrade to their network infrastructure because IP-based communications tend to have high bandwidth requirements. If your company is considering a virtualized networking solution such as software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN), you will enjoy better visibility into data transmissions.

Secure Devices: Companies are experiencing an exponential growth in the number of devices they must monitor for potential security issues. From mobile devices to fleets of internet of things (IoT) devices, it can be challenging to know what the company owns, in addition to managing things like updates and security patches.

It’s important for IT teams to stay up-to-date on the cataloguing and maintenance of each device owned by the company. For those with bring your own device (BYOD), securing devices can become more complicated.

One important step to put into place as part of securing your company devices is a clear reporting policy when devices are lost or stolen. Employees should be able to quickly alert the right party within minutes that there has been a loss of equipment.When your unified communications security plan is in place, be sure to schedule regular reviews and updates to ensure that it is adaptable with your changing technology and risks. Contact us at S2 Solutions where we help you leverage technology solutions with a holistic approach to securing your data and systems, while equipping your company for optimal productivity.