In 2026, the mandate I’m seeing for IT leaders is paradoxically easy but extremely tough: innovate sooner, however spend much less. As budgets tighten and the “do extra with much less” mentality solidifies, I do know a lot of you might be scrutinizing each line merchandise. However surprisingly, one of the vital efficient levers for value discount and operational effectivity is hiding in plain sight: Enterprise Voice.
I just lately sat down with Doug Jones, AVP of Product Administration & Growth – Collaboration at AT&T, to dig into why fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) – or what we’re now calling “Cellular UC” – is not only a nice-to-have. It’s a strategic necessity that permits us to remove complexity and drive higher collaboration with out sacrificing compliance.
The Hidden “Double Tax” on Enterprise Comms
After I requested Doug the place he sees enterprises leaking cash of their present setups, he pointed to a legacy redundancy that many people have merely accepted as the established order.
“At first, it’s having a number of phone numbers with a number of calling plans. Enterprises, in far too many circumstances, have a desk telephone of their workplace and a telephone quantity on their cellular at a minimal. You don’t actually need each of them, clearly, because it’s duplicative.”
It struck me that this isn’t simply concerning the month-to-month invoice. The hidden prices lie within the infrastructure overhead. Sustaining legacy PBX methods alongside fashionable cloud platforms creates a “double tax” on our IT sources. By consolidating these right into a single id through AT&T Cloud Voice, organizations can instantly cease paying for {hardware} and features they don’t want.
The “3 Cs” of Trendy Voice
Doug argues that shifting to a Cellular UC mannequin isn’t only a cost-cutting train; it’s about delivering on what he calls the “3 Cs”: Collaboration, Compliance, and Value.
We regularly assume “voice is voice,” however Doug warned me that in an AI-driven world, high quality is the differentiator.
“Any over-the-top app could make a VoIP name today, however solely the most effective ones… are those that prioritize the voice. Collaborating advantages from higher name high quality. AT&T prioritizes that voice to offer a greater expertise.”
We additionally touched on compliance, which stays a large blind spot. I see this continuously in industries like finance and healthcare – workers utilizing private mobiles for consumer calls create a regulatory nightmare. Doug defined how their answer closes this hole by extending company compliance insurance policies – recording, logging, and safety – on to the native dialer of the cellular system.
Assembly You The place You Are
One of many issues I actually appreciated about AT&T’s technique is its platform neutrality. Whether or not your enterprise is dedicated to Microsoft Groups, Cisco Webex, or RingCentral, Doug emphasised that they combine their wi-fi community straight with the UC platform you already use.
“It actually offers prospects the power to satisfy them the place they’re. AT&T has the identical wi-fi community that we carry and combine with the leaders within the unified communication trade.”
That is significantly related for the Microsoft Groups Telephone Cellular providing. By integrating the native cellular dialer with Groups, IT groups can provision customers in minutes, making certain {that a} single enterprise quantity follows the worker in every single place.
Why You Can’t Afford to Wait
For these of you reviewing your 2026 roadmaps, the message from our dialog was clear: modernizing voice is a foundational step towards AI readiness and hybrid work safety. It’s, as Doug put it, a “silver bullet” that solves for consumer expertise and finances constraints concurrently.
He concluded:
“It’s by no means been a greater time to embrace cellular UC. It’s by no means been simpler to make use of, simpler to purchase, and simpler to handle. You don’t wish to be left behind.”
Watch the Full Dialog
If you wish to see precisely how AT&T Cloud Voice can consolidate your distributors and unlock actual financial savings, I extremely suggest watching our full dialogue.
Click on right here to observe the total video interview the place Doug and I break down precisely how you can future-proof your communications stack for 2026.
