AV Technology - January 2009 - (Page 24)

THE REAL BENEFITS OF UC USER PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENTS Conferencing Gains: Increase Utilization, Reduced Travel, Setup Communication Efficiency: Avoid call/message waste via IM & Presence Eliminate Delay: Find resources faster via IM & Presence Toll-call Cost Savings (assuming 25% Int’l calls) Administrative TCO: $3,034 $1,137 $1,005 $246 $43 BUSINESS PROCESS TRANSFORMATION Increase Sales: via UC Contact Management Speed Projects: via Collaboration Acceleration Lower Process Cost: via Comm-enabled Job Portal Lower Operational Costs: via Resource ID, Problem Resolution Drive Transactions: via Info to Mobile Devices Source: UniComm Consulting model $115,909 $95,000 $12,880 $11,875 $7,813 ware or a web portal interface, then those applications could be primary. Of course, all of these will occur to some degree in most organizations, and therefore the right answer may be to incorporate a variety of UC applications. However, current systems are just getting around to passing presence information to other environments. The current state of UC is like the email islands that existed several decades ago. Sending email between different systems initially was not possible until gateways were developed, and finally universal standards made email ubiquitous. We are in going through a similar progression in presence interoperability. Progress on integration is being made, but in the meantime, careful planning is required to determine who needs to communicate with whom. Unified Communications can deliver cost savings resulting from individual user productivity, but when implemented as part of a total business process transformation, the benefits can be significantly greater. ten times greater than the benefits from individual user productivity. Moreover, while the UC-U productivity benefits may be available, they are frequently harder to build into a convincing business case. If the benefits are greater, why don’t all enterprises seek business process transformation? Many organizations find it easy to understand the concepts behind in the benefits of individual productivity from UC-U. But transforming business processes through integrated communications requires analysis of business workflows and commitment by management and staff to change processes to achieve the benefits. Process change is always more challenging, even though the benefits are greater. A DYNAMIC MARKETPLACE One of the effects of transforming communications from being vertically integrated to horizontally layered is the appearance of new types of suppliers in the market. In the past, the legacy telephony suppliers dominated the market for “voice communications.” Email brought new suppliers that offered mobility (like RIM, Nokia, etc.) and desktop applications (like IBM and Microsoft, etc.). More recently, applications vendors and portal providers are building communications functionality into their products (such as Salesforce.com and Oracle). As communications capabilities converge, these suppliers are expanding their offers and encroaching on what had been others’ “territory” (see sidebar, “UC Suppliers focus on different segments”). Increasingly, many different kinds of suppliers from many different market sectors are providing a full range of UC functionality through their own development work, through partnerships, or through OEM arrangements. Which supplier should be the focus of your deployment? If phone calls provide the primary means of internal communications, your PBX supplier may provide the best result. Or, if most staff work is focused on computers or mobile devices, then those suppliers may provide the best applications. Alternatively, if key communications are associated with application soft- IS NOW THE RIGHT TIME FOR UC? With the current economic climate, some enterprises are postponing investment and cutting back on new initiatives. While that’s understandable, times like these can be excellent opportunities for strong companies to extend their market share and to transform processes to provide advantages that will pay off for years into the future. In some companies, UC implementation can bring immediate cost-benefits and help conserve cash. One example is by replacing outside conferencing services with UC-powered solutions, a change that, in many cases, can pay for an entire implementation. Other companies can improve customer responsiveness or reduce cycle times through better internal communication and collaboration. UC-B solutions have delivered demonstrable ROI or dramatic differences in first-call resolution and similar measures related to customer loyalty. Companies seeking to extend their reach during a down economy find these kinds of solutions very attractive. Some companies are in a situation in which they have to replace existing systems that are out-of-support or end-of-life. Too often, companies spend millions to swap one telephone set for another and require users to learn new ways to do old tasks — not a prescription for great user acceptance. In these cases, the added functionality through UC capabilities often gives users tangible benefits and a sense of “something new” that help bring users along into the new environment. Perhaps none of these apply to your company. For some enterprises, the immediate reaction to this economic environment has been to conserve cash, and curtail any non-critical capital expenditures. In those cases, the present is the right time to plan for the future. The seismic shift in the nature and role of communications in the future means that companies will be adjusting to different concepts, deploying different infrastructures and systems, and getting business done in new and different ways. Unified communications will be at the heart of some of these changes. Don Van Doren is co-founder and principal of UniComm Consulting. He is also a co-founder of UCStrategies.com, an information portal, and president of Vanguard Communications. www.avtechnologyonline.com 24 | AV TECHNOLOGY | january 2009 http://www.Salesforce.com http://www.UCStrategies.com http://www.avtechnologyonline.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of AV Technology - January 2009

AV Technology - January 2009 Contents Precedent Corporate: Hunkering Down Government: The Great Unifier Education: Technological Self-Sufficiency Integrating Communications into Your Business Process DVI/HDMI Signals over Twisted-Pair Cable AV Helps Explain the Unexplainable AV Enhancements at the Coliseum Product Forum Tech Horizons Product Spotlight New Products Ad Index AV MO

AV Technology - January 2009

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