by Goran Velickovski, Director of Engineering for West IP Communications
When it comes to Unified Communications (UC), costly mistakes are avoidable if an organization is thoroughly prepared prior to embarking on the selection and deployment of this vital business technology. UC can be a powerful tool for any company, but there are significant considerations to be aware of to ensure that any UC rollout runs smoothly. These considerations, if evaluated thoroughly, can result in an effective set of tools that meet employee requirements across an organization.
Some of these considerations include the varied application needs of users, the mobile nature of a business, and the geographic differences that can inhibit the implementation of a comprehensive solution. With so many factors to consider, it is easy to see that costly mistakes can be made when moving forward with unified communications. Don’t let these considerations and mistakes trip you up on the path to your ideal UC solution.
The first consideration should be to have IT evaluate how all UC services – voice, video, instant messaging, collaboration, and mobile – are used in the organization. This requires due diligence and a thorough understanding of the business and its operations. Do you have to support a mobile workforce? What are the geographical demands for the solution – regional, countrywide, global?
One common misstep occurs when organizations try to tackle everything at once, like addressing all communications demands as an all-encompassing project. Trying to deploy every communications tool at the once can create a project that will be very difficult to manage, challenging to deploy and viewed potentially as a failure. The goal for IT and project implementers should be to provide an optimal solution for users while continuing to support the overall business in a well-managed and organized rollout – an orderly migration and expansion of services over time.
Another common mistake sometimes made during TCO/ROI modeling for a UC rollout is undervaluing soft costs. IT and project implementers may project unrealistic scenarios that don’t factor in both hard and soft costs. Hard costs are easy to quantify as they are easy to identify and include hardware, software, vendor implementation and support, PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network), and network charges. Soft costs, on the other hand, are difficult to capture, but they are every bit as real and should be part of every TCO model. Included in those costs are not only things such as productivity, customer satisfaction, and resource management, but also opportunity costs associated with what the business will lose out on without the improvement in communications via the UC deployment.
One of the biggest mistakes made during some UC deployments concerns hosted solutions. During the evaluation process, don’t dismiss UCaaS (Unified Communications as a Service) as unproven, unreliable, or unsecure. In fact, UC hosted solutions should be looked at as a primary option since they require less capital expense, are quicker to implement, provide a better scale, and are easier to financially evaluate. Also, there is a misconception that on-premises and hosted solutions cannot be integrated. Many companies, regardless of their industry, are finding this integration both flexible and cost-effective when combining onsite and hosted UC systems to meet their business’s needs.
The trend toward UCaaS appears only to be growing, as Wainhouse Research predicts that UCaaS revenue will grow 47% from 2011 to 2015. Arecent press release from MarketsandMarkets examined the Unified Communications as-a-service (UCaaS) market. According to the numbers, the industry is expected to grow from $2.52 billion in 2013 to $7.62 billion by 2018. Deploying a completely or partially-hosted solution in an organization is inevitable considering today’s computing environments and the distinct business advantages they offer.
One final potential UC mistake IT organizations are making is evaluating solutions based on features and price, but failing to understand how UC will be delivered and will impact their networks. For organizations pursuing hosted solutions, it is important to understand how they are delivered and supported. Also important is evaluating the actual hosted service provider and making sure you can trust what is said and delivered. Will voice and data be delivered on the same pipe? How will the networks work together – yours and the provider’s? And, what support is there for redundancy? These and other questions are important to address, and a clear understanding of delivery and support is essential to ensure a successful UC rollout.
So what are the key Unified Communications take-aways?
Above all, be fully prepared and conduct due diligence prior to embarking on what could be a massive project:
- Understand and consider all UC services and how the technology will impact the business.
- Be realistic with scenarios and evaluate all costs, not just the hard ones.
- Consider hosted solutions as they offer advantages and can integrate with on-premises solutions, to meet desired objectives.
- Make sure you understand fully the delivery and support associated with the chosen solution.
- Finally, a strong partner relationship is critical to be effective.
When it comes to addressing your unified communications needs, the best approach is to crawl, then walk in small steps, before you run toward your UC implementation. Partnering with a UC industry leader like West IP Communications will help your company avoid costly UC mistakes and provide the correct UC solution to meet your business’s continually evolving communications needs.
Goran Velickovski is Director of Engineering for West IP Communications, a provider of cloud-based communications for enterprise and mid-market companies (www.westipc.com). He can be reached at gvelickovski@westipc.com.