The most common goal of a UC strategy is to make people more productive by changing the method and frequency of their communication, notes Chris Rafter, vice president of consulting services at Logicalis (www.logicalis.com), a provider of integrated information and communications technology solutions.

“Unified communications doesn’t tell people how to communicate; it offers choices [and] lets them choose what’s best for that individual, that conversation, even that moment in time,” he says. IT managers should determine whether a UC system would be of benefit or if there’s the possibility that it wouldn’t be used as much six months down the road, which greatly diminishes the solution’s value, adds Rafter.

Another major factor in making the decision is customer need, according to Stephen Brown, vice president of U.S. systems engineering at Mitel (www.mitel.com), specializing in IP communications and business process integration.

“As companies demand more multifaceted ways of connecting with their customers, businesses need to implement more effective ways to provide their services and streamline their business processes,” he says. “By adopting a UC strategy, businesses are recognizing that they have to change how they communicate internally and by extending their communication reach to partners, staff, and customers.”

Avoiding The Stumbling Blocks

As with any type of implementation, there are challenges that enterprises might not anticipate, notes Eric LeBow, vice president of business transformation at Spanlink (www.spanlink.com), a provider of UC and customer interaction solutions that leverage VoIP technology.

He says, “Some companies don’t take the time to fully prepare or understand the unique requirements that the UC applications put on the network. If they don’t prepare accordingly, they can run into issues, causing unreliability.” Conducting a voice readiness assessment could prevent this headache, he adds, and a data center’s technology partner or integrator should be able to do the test.

Training is another issue, says LeBow, who has seen instances in which companies deploy the UC applications but don’t spend enough time training the user community. “As a result, employees don’t use the solutions to their full potential, and ROI is lost,” he notes.

Compliance issues may also come into play, adds Mitel’s Brown. For example, a business in the medical field will need to ensure that HIPAA compliance can be met with any new UC implementation. Security, too, plays a part because personal information will now be accessible from multiple platforms. Brown advises companies to address security issues before, rather than during, any UC implementation.

Finally, UC can create a demand on IT staff, as the benefits and value of these new tools need to be taught and communicated to employees and customers to ensure adoption, Brown notes. This is a challenge that could be particularly daunting for SMEs, he says: “SMEs need to maximize resources, and, often, full-time, dedicated IT staff are not included in the business plan.”

Streamlining Implementation

To create a UC system that’s at maximum effectiveness, it’s imperative to analyze how people work, how they interact, and how they make decisions, says Logicalis’ Rafter: “We usually start with trying to understand how employees are communicating today. Which modes are they using? What does the corporate culture dictate? What is their geographic spread?”

One tip for implementation is to take a phased deployment approach, adds LeBow, which involves adding one UC component at a time and integrating it with an existing infrastructure, as opposed to ripping out old infrastructure and replacing it with all-new components.

“Rolling out your new UC solution in a phased approach will be easier on your company, as well,” says LeBow. “You may consider rolling out the technology to a few groups within your organization first before rolling it out company-wide. Also, be sure that you communicate milestones to employees and clearly demonstrate how to use the new technology.”

The phased approach can also build anticipation among users, who might feel like they’re getting “something new” every two to three months. This method allows for testing and piloting, which are vital for seamless integration.

“Nothing stings as much for users as when they go to use a new communications method and it fails to function as they expect,” says Rafter. “It’s a lot easier to fix something in test than to win back a frustrated user.”

Whether going in phases or a full-scale rollout, bringing in highly experienced engineers is crucial, Rafter adds. Many companies integrate products from multiple vendors, and it’s a common challenge to achieve cohesion, but because UC is becoming more prevalent, there are numerous engineers who have experience in putting together these systems.

Rafter says, “Having the right engineer around who knows exactly which switch to flip can save weeks of head scratching, troubleshooting, and frustration.” 

• Understand what unified communications is as well as the technologies that encompass it.
• Identify the business problem: What are you trying to solve?
• Understand which technology may be able to solve your problem.
• Evaluate multiple solutions; don’t focus on price at the expense of value.
• Evaluate technology partners; find one that understands your problem and is dedicated to solving it, not just implementing new technology.
• Have a plan in place for support.