Partner Article

Myths of unified communications unravelled

The unified communications sector is tipped for top growth spot in the global IT market. Garry Sheriff, Managing Director of Gateshead-based business solutions experts ITPS (www.it-ps.com), dispels some of the myths holding businesses back.

Most businesses operate in a complex communications landscape, balancing the needs of staff - many of whom are mobile workers and expected to be able to work anytime, anywhere - plus multiple IT infrastructures and telephone systems.

A piecemeal approach to deploying various communications channels over the years, and using different technologies and vendors, often results in expensive communications silos, containing duplicate or similar functionalities.

Unified Communications (UC) breaks down the barriers between media and communications channels, giving people instant access to integrated voice, images, and data streams all converged on a shared, IP-based infrastructure. Users can opt simply for integrated phone, calendar and call handling; or take advantage of features such as built in instant messaging, video calling and call agent logging in and out of workgroups.

One central information store means staff have seamless access via any device, from anywhere. And by using WAN (wide area network) technology the business only pays local call charges. Presence management tools allow users to dictate how information and messages are handled, with UC intelligently tracking them and providing access to all the information they need, where and when it’s needed.

Clients don’t need to know whether you are at your desk or on the golf course – they only need to know you are available. And with your information mirrored across smart devices such as ipads, mobiles, deskphones and laptops, it puts an end to islands of information and frustrating games of telephone tag.

Around a third of businesses are thought to have adopted or be planning to adopt UC, and the market is set to see annual growth of 23% over the next five years.

The big advantage is better collaboration and productivity, with anecdotal evidence showing a boost of over 20% in some cases. Add to that the immediate and very visible benefit of slashed operational costs such as travel and telephone, and UC becomes a very attractive proposition.

So what’s holding businesses back from implementing UC?

Lack of understanding is often cited as the biggest barrier. IT managers generally take the lead in driving UC but they need to be prepared to demonstrate cost versus benefit to the board, and have a sound strategy if they want to get senior level backing. The strategy should be constructed from the ground up, looking at the collaboration needs of the people and the business, and building a framework that meets those needs.

Fears over having to invest heavily in new technology also feature in the list of concerns. But there is no need to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Infrastructure optimisation and upgraded security should form part of the UC strategy. Existing technologies can be easily integrated and a typical business will need fewer hardware and applications, not more. You should only need to upgrade or add to the infrastructure to fill communications or technology gaps.

Integration is often viewed as potentially disruptive and even dangerous to the business, but if done correctly it need not be. Integration of business critical communications systems should be done incrementally, to minimise any risk and assess each stage before moving to the next.

Lack of user adoption can also hamper the project. People who do not understand the benefits of the new system or are not trained in how to use it to best effect will slip back into the old ways of getting things done. By the end of a project the end users are often the people who drive even greater adoption of UC, as they realise its effect on helping them perform more efficiently.

UC is set to lead the way in transforming the way we communicate, helping us in the search for ever-smarter ways to work, and driving productivity up and costs down.

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This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Garry Sheriff .