News
Verizon Business Offers Tips to Building a Successful Unified Communications and Collaboration Plan
November 2008 by Marc Jacob
Unified communications and collaboration (UC&C) – the
use of Internet protocol networks to integrate various systems, media, devices and applications –
offers many benefits to businesses and government agencies. UC&C can help streamline
business processes, accelerate decision-making, enhance the customer experience and improve
the bottom line.
However, for many organizations the challenge of migrating to an enterprisewide UC&C
approach can be daunting.
Organizations need to address a range of issues including evaluating and measuring how
UC&C will benefit their organizations; determining whether adequate in-house technical
resources, personnel and network capacity are available; and integrating UC&C into everyday
business processes and aligning its deployment with critical business initiatives.
Industry experts advise enterprises to select a global strategic provider that offers the
right mix of professional-consulting-services expertise, broad Internet protocol (IP) capabilities
and comprehensive business tools. A global strategic provider should demonstrate a proven
ability to understand complex business issues and processes to help organizations identify what
needs to be changed to realize the full potential of UC&C and guide them along their UC&C
path.
(NOTE: An audio podcast explaining UC&C and how it can help enterprises
enhance employee productivity and transform operations is available here.)
To further help organizations, Verizon Business offers the following tips:
Invest in advanced IP networks. UC&C starts with a capabilities-rich IP infrastructure.
Flexible and expansive IP networks serve as the foundation of a successful UC&C
deployment. Networks should be equipped to accommodate increased traffic loads and
support a high-quality, consistent end-user experience.
Inventory technology and personnel resources. Understand the scope of current
technology deployments as it relates to UC&C to help identify potential network,
equipment and application gaps. Perform skills-based assessments of technical staff to
identify possible new hires and individuals requiring additional training.
Align technology with business objectives. Make purchasing decisions with a focus on
meeting specific business goals. Verify that vendor platforms meet an organization’s
unique technical and financial requirements. Carefully evaluate network, hardware and
software options to validate ability to meet current and future enterprise objectives.
Partner with a service provider that can integrate multiple technology platforms for best
success.
Establish a benchmark for success. Know the ultimate objectives for a UC&C
deployment. Survey corporate end users to understand their needs and willingness to
embrace change. How is business conducted today and how can UC&C help empower employees and streamline business processes? Understand end-user requirements and develop profiles covering key functional areas. Determine current and future
requirements and plan accordingly.
Create a comprehensive roadmap. Planning is critical to the success of a UC&C
deployment. Develop a roadmap that’s far reaching and covers areas such as technology
and finances, as well as detailed deployment and implementation plans. Develop a multiphased
plan, focusing on a single key critical-business process or function that will
benefit from UC&C. A measured approach helps minimize disruptions and provides the
opportunity to apply lessons learned on future initiatives.
Maximize impact of UC&C on business processes. The integration of presence and
automation capabilities inherent in UC&C offers a powerful opportunity to enhance
enterprisewide business processes to help improve employee productivity and accelerate
decision making. In addition, UC&C can serve as the catalyst to enhance and streamline a
wide range of activities, including the delivery of customer service, product development
and human resources.
Tackle security at the onset. The design of a UC&C platform should integrate
seamlessly with a business’ current network and leverage existing technology
investments. A network should offer quality-of-service capabilities and sound security
measures. Proper design and testing of a UC&C deployment helps ensure a smooth
transition.
Determine capabilities for ongoing management. The decision to self-manage versus
out-task is critical. Understand the complexities involved in day-to-day management of
UC&C platforms. Determine whether in-house staff has the skills and time required to
effectively manage and troubleshoot performance issues. Select a managed services
provider with the people, tools and processes to help provide consistent performance of
UC&C applications.
Develop support systems and processes. Due to the real-time nature of UC&C
applications, corporate help-desk staff must be prepared to address end-user performance
issues and questions. Development of automated processes to support password resets
and other day-to-day maintenance activities can help reduce demands on help-desk
personnel and improve response times and end-user satisfaction.
Train and educate end users. This is not a case of “deploy it and they will come.”
Corporate end-users should be educated about new UC&C tools and capabilities.
Develop online training modules to help users adopt and embrace these new tools so they
can work more efficiently and productively.
Measure and modify. Build success milestones into the UC&C plan. Employ a combination of industry best practices and internal benchmarking to identify realistic performance-measurement objectives. Go beyond reliability and availability measurements to assess the impact of UC&C from a financial, customer service, business
process and end-user satisfaction perspective.
“Employing UC&C requires both a technological and cultural shift,” said Kerry Bailey,
vice president of global services for Verizon Business. “Verizon Business offers the right
combination of network, services, tools and people to help enterprises address growing business
requirements for teleworking, eco-responsibility initiatives and business process re-engineering.
