UnifiedCommunications

Unified Simplified Team Members & Collaboration Tools

Sally Loies Jeff Newton Haidar A. AlMubarak Grzegorz Walukanis

Presentation Summary

What is Unified CommunicationsWhat are the major issues with Unified CommunicationsActivities / DimensionsPresentation of Use Cases & recommended softwareQuestions

What is Unified Communications

Unified communications (UC) is the integration of real-time communication services such as instant messaging (chat), presence information, IP telephony, video conferencing, call control and speech recognition with non real-time communication services such as unified messaging (integrated voicemail, e-mail, SMS and fax)

UC is not a single product, but a set of products that provides a consistent unified user interface and user experience across multiple devices and media types

-Wikipedia.org

Unified Communication Products

Unified Messaging: The handling of voice, fax, and text messages in a single mailbox that a user can access either with e-mail phone

Presence Technology: A status indicator that conveys ability and willingness of a potential communication partner

Unified Conferencing: Ability to collaborate remotely with colleagues and customers using audio, video, and Web conferencing

IP Telephony: Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) which is a technology used for delivery of voice communications over the internet

Unified Communication Vendors

Issues With Unified Communications

CostSupport Network Performance No one solution fits all – not a single product Lack of integration planning with existing applications

  

Activity  Dimensions

Unified Massaging: Provide ability to access voice, e-mail, and fax messages with single device and single interface

Security: Protect against unintended interceptionFlexibility: supports wide range of device typesMobility: accessible from most anywhere anytimeFinancial: consolidation of previously separate systems and services will results in maintenance & service cost savings Reduce Environmental Impact: Replace multiple devices with single device reduces device consumption and wasteImprove staff efficiency: reduction in number of devices and interfaces staff needs to be trained on will increase efficiency

Presence technology: Enable staff to reach one another on the first try - reduces having to use multiple methods to contact coworkers

Applications: mobile unified communications knowing best way to reach coworkerFinancial: Reaching coworkers on first try can result in decreased time for decision making which improves customer service turnaround time which can increase revenueResourceful: Devices can be included in the map of what's available so we know what things are being used on the network

Improve Business Productivity: Ability to respond to customer service requests on a real time basis by having access to always on channel communication and decreasing decision making time.

Flexibility: support for flexible work arrangements while maintaining productivityImprove staff efficiency: Anywhere access keeps employees more productiveFinancial: Shorter sales cycle, avoidance of missed customer calls can result in increased revenueScalability: Can grow and adapt to new technology as the business needsEfficiency: Improve and simplify meeting initiation process

Dimensions

Dimensions

Unified Conferencing: Collaborate remotely with colleagues and customers using audio, video, and Web conferencing.

Financial: reduces cost for travelReduce Environmental impact: Replacing travel with Web conferencing reduces fossil fuel consumptionSimplicity: Allows colleagues use different conferencing software, whichever might be preferred by the userManagement: Single management tool to manage all the users, regardless of the medium they use to join the conferenceFlexibility: Conference can be done at any time and at any place

Improve Operational Efficiency: Work more efficiently and deliver more services at lower overall cost while ensuring reliability

Financial: consolidation of previously separate systems and services will results in maintenance & service cost savings Improve efficiency: Manage security, compliance, and archiving policies for messaging and telephony systems with common toolsReliability: Provide failover, redundancy, and scalabilitySecurity: Protect information from unauthorized access, use, and disruptionScalability: New services added with little overall cost or maintenance to application Support: One help desk handles all technologies instead of one help desk per technology

Continuity Operations: Ability to sustain all business operations throughout all levels of corporate disaster modes

Applications: Can be hosted in un-manned datacenter as it may provide medium for all day-to-day primary corporate communications in the event the headquarters is unavailableFinancial: Application maintenance cost is minimal providing for quick software upgrade cyclesSecurity: Full remote admin capability for all facets of applicationReliability: Level of disaster recovery within system (i.e. conferencing feature of UC application is run on conferencing carrier's network so it will be available in the event of a hardware or software failure to UC application)

Use Case 1 – Right VoiceCompany: Right VoiceEmployee: Ryan SmithPosition: VP of OperationsLocation: Tamarac, FLCompany Size: >150 full time employees.Objectives:

Implement disaster recovery mode 30% faster – measured by time to be at 80% capacity in alternate location(s)

Reduce operational spending by 15%Increase sales by 10% - measured by incremental revenue gained

post implementation

US-based call center providing in/outbound dialing services to companies that do not have their own call center

Two FL locations in vulnerable area, have experienced weather-related service interruptions

Poor/non-existent business continuity planTwo locations do not work well together, one location

does not back up the other

Company Background

Requirements

To enable the Clewiston employees to field calls in tandem with the employees in Tamarac

To allow employees to better connect to the center for call answering and one another when one or both offices are unavailable

Business continuity is shored up and all users will have full access to systems and applications in the office or at home

Simple, straightforward application(s) that can be implemented quickly and used easily

Nice-to-Haves

Video ConferencingMobile access to UC featuresManaged hosting offering whereas critical

applications are hosted off-site

Potential Solutions

Verizon BusinessMitelBroadsoftMicrosoft

Selected Solution

Verizon BusinessAudio ConferencingVideo ConferencingWeb ConferencingCall CenterMessagingMobile PBX

Hosted E-mailVoIPHosted IPWirelessMobile/Cellular

Company: Basic PetroChemEmployee: Alex FaolPosition: VP of ProductionLocation: Around the GlobeCompany Size: >10000 full time employees.Objectives:

Reduce the time taken to get materials from the warehouses to the production line plants.

Reduce international calling costs to sales offices.Reduce traveling cost for the monthly and quarterly meeting between

line managers and senior management.

Use Case 2 – Basic PetroChem

Multiple warehouses and factories, warehouse staff are not always on the PC or near the phone

Long distance and international calls cost for remote offices and customers

Monthly and quarterly meeting; teleconference is not always sufficient or available resulting in increased travel expenses

Company Background

Presence statusEasy implementation with little upgrade to current

infrastructureLeverage current data network between offices for long

distance and international callsRich meeting and conferencing capabilitiesLow learning curve on software

Requirements

Meeting recordingRecorded meeting transcriptionIntegration with the Line of Business application “ERP,

CRM …. “, with less effort and timeRepository to save files related to meeting and projects

“Meeting spaces” for ongoing project meetings

Nice-to-Haves

CiscoMicrosoftNEC

Potential Solutions

MicrosoftPresence managementAudio, video, and Web

conferencing.Meeting recordingInstant messaging.Unified messaging solution.Web Client.Mobility (Client for mobile

devices).Manage compliance, and

archiving policies for messaging and telephony systems

Integrate with LOB application using APIs.

Will not require major changes in the infrastructure.

Selected Solution

PresenceWeb ClientMeeting

Demo

Questions…