By Guest contributor |
The truth is simple: technology doesn’t transform organisations, people do. And meaningful transformation requires connecting those people across both legacy and modern environments in ways that are seamless, secure and measurable.
At Continuant, we’ve learned that the real differentiator in enterprise transformation isn’t just cloud adoption, automation or AI readiness – it’s interoperability. When systems, processes and people work cohesively across boundaries, transformation accelerates progress rather than adding another layer of technical debt.
Legacy investments are a perfect example. Contrary to common perception, they aren’t barriers; they’re assets. They reflect years of capital spend, operational expertise and user familiarity. But as organisations shift to hybrid work, distributed operations and cloud-first strategies, those same assets can become anchors without the right integration strategy.
Many enterprises live this balancing act every day, whether it be a financial institution running decades-old private branch exchanges alongside Microsoft Teams, or a healthcare provider managing multiple unified communications (UC) and contact centre platforms. They must modernise without disrupting mission-critical systems, and innovate without compromising compliance or security.
This often results in an ecosystem of tools that function independently but rarely interoperate effectively. Without a deliberate approach, enterprises end up managing the symptoms – duplicated capabilities, inconsistent experiences, rising costs – rather than realising the outcomes transformation was meant to deliver.
Continuant’s philosophy is to help enterprises extract value from what already works while transitioning intentionally towards what’s next. Transformation becomes a process of rationalisation, integration and human enablement – not a rip-and-replace event.
This approach is grounded in six interconnected pillars: connected collaboration; interoperability and integration; intelligent infrastructure; experience and adoption; security and compliance; and lifecycle management. Together, these pillars guide organisations in evolving technology around people and measurable business outcomes.
The results are tangible. In 2019, Adient, the manufacturer of automotive seating, unified its communications across Microsoft Teams, Cisco, Zoom and hybrid audiovisual (AV) ecosystems. By modernising from Avaya to Teams, integrating hardware and automating service workflows, the automotive seating manufacturer improved global reliability and strengthened employee engagement.
Interoperability is no longer optional – it’s operationally essential. Continuant’s ability to bridge multi-vendor environments helps organisations preserve and extend the life of legacy infrastructure while ensuring seamless connectivity across UC, AV and IT networks. For Univision, the most watched Spanish-language television network in the USA, that meant unifying legacy and cloud platforms to enable collaboration between studios and corporate offices, reduce inefficiency and maintain broadcast continuity throughout the migration process.
Across nearly every engagement, one ecosystem consistently sits at the centre: Microsoft Teams and the broader Microsoft 365 platform. Teams has evolved from a communications hub to the nervous system of enterprise collaboration – connecting meetings, messaging, telephony, devices and data, now further amplified by Microsoft Copilot and Fabric.
Continuant’s role is to make this Microsoft ecosystem interoperate intelligently with what organisations already rely on – Cisco infrastructure, Zoom rooms, contact centres and complex AV systems – so they can modernise at their own pace without sacrificing continuity or user experience. In this model, Teams becomes the strategic core of hybrid collaboration, while interoperability safeguards existing investments and prevents the accumulation of new technical debt.
Crucially, digital transformation should be measured not by how many tools are deployed but by the outcomes they create. Continuant works with customers to define and track success metrics, such as: adoption and engagement, uptime and performance, support efficiency and cost reduction, customer satisfaction, and the value retained from legacy infrastructure. These measurements ensure transformation delivers meaningful, accountable business impact.
As organisations navigate hybrid work, accelerating AI capabilities and growing security demands, one constant remains: transformation succeeds only when people are equipped, confident and connected. Systems can be modernised and workflows automated, but human enablement is what turns technology into progress.
Continuant’s human-centred approach – grounded in interoperability, guided by adoption and change management and measured through outcomes – helps enterprises move forward with purpose. Whether enabling clinicians to communicate more effectively, optimising operations for manufacturers or unifying media workflows across global teams, the objective is always the same: empower people through technology that works together, not in isolation.
That is digital transformation done right – deliberate, integrated and human by design.
Peter Rodgers is president of Continuant
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