White Paper Desktop Suite. Working environments moving towards the next generation workstation.

Transcription

1 White Paper Desktop Suite. Working environments moving towards the next generation workstation.

2 Contents. 3 Introduction What drives companies Challenges for the workstation and its environment Next generation people Next generation services Next generation technology Next generation workstation Desktop Suite Classic Desktop Services Hardware Resale Software Resale Managed Desktop Services Managed PC Services Managed Office Output Services Managed Mobility Services Dynamic Desktop Advanced Desktop Solutions Paper, Pen & Phone Unified Communications My Access Key Digression: the market situation Summary and way forward Glossary Sources.

3 1. Introduction. For companies, desktop environments are both valuable aids to productivity and investment objects. Nobody can say with 100 % certainty which technologies will enable new ways of working in the future. Nevertheless, the fundamental developments can be defined. Today, as ever, human beings are the most important production factor in many companies. But their working environment is changing all the time. They make increasing use of their constant availability by telephone, and other messaging facilities. In order to gain the maximum benefit from the productivity of employees, the workstation environment must also be perfectly tailored to their needs. This applies both to the place where they work and to the time they spend there. Any company that is quick to provide appropriate facilities using powerful technology can gain a significant competitive advantage. Designs for workstation environments have to meet two main criteria. They must be integrated, with all elements developed from the outset with their interaction in mind. The designs must also be open and adaptable to evolutionary developments. The history of the Desktop Suite shows that T-Systems has conceived the portfolio from the outset with these needs in view. Simple PC services have been expanded over the last few years to become fully managed solutions (Managed Desktop Services). Over time, more and more elements have been added, which themselves constitute part of the evolution. The Desktop Suite thus describes an all-embracing family of solutions with a highly flexible modular structure. It enables step-by-step development towards the workstation for next generation people: the next generation workstation. This in turn is based on the three needs - access, services and (front-end) devices. At the same time, the Desktop Suite is part of Real ICT, which is also made up of other non-desktop elements. Real ICT stands for the ability to provide a comprehensive range of services and solutions related to end-to-end ICT, all over the world and independent of any specific technology. Integrated ICT solutions are supplied in one piece from a single source, with undivided responsibility and no breaks in technology, processes or services. Customers' requirements and expectations are also changing more and more. From a technological standpoint, the focus is increasingly on enhanced support of business processes companies want to request the right processspecific externally managed ICT support, and are now able to do so. 3

4 2. What drives companies. 2.1 Challenges for the workstation and its environment. Where a relatively fixed workstation used to be assigned within the organization, requirements are now changing in the sense that employees are becoming more mobile and want to work when and where they choose, and they should be enabled to do so. Even now, a great variety of working locations have become routine: at desks, on coffee tables, on the plane, in the café or the hotel, on desktops, laptops, cell phones, Blackberries and so on. This variety is a challenge to any workstation developer. Even where they manage to provide a suitable set of equipment, software and services to meet every requirement, the problem of completely unmanageable diver sity remains in the individual terminal devices with their specific features, and in the numbers of desktop workstations with their different technical setup. Only a very small part of it is standardized; diversity is the rule. Before we can tackle the development of future-proof workstation environments in a sensible way, we have to ask ourselves: how can this diversity be brought together? How can companies improve cooperation, enable mobility, safeguard independence, create simplicity, assure security and limit costs? An analysis of these requirements produces the following three parameters for the design of future workstations: The people who use the workstation: next generation people The services that support the users: next generation services The technology that will enable the workstation of the future: next generation technology 2.2 Next generation people. A massive upheaval is currently taking place within companies. The new generation of young employees, the next generation people, are helping to define the working environments of tomorrow. Next generation people are the generation who have grown up with the Internet from childhood and are familiar with it, the digital natives. They have never experienced a time when there was no Internet. This generation brings digital skills and other capabilities to the table, which companies can take advantage of: networking, mobility, flexibility, etc. Conversely, these next generation people demand working conditions that match their digital lifestyle, including maintaining their connection to the web community even during working hours. Companies need to manage these overlaps between the business and private spheres in the future, and make productive use of them. They need to ensure that digital natives and the older generation of digital immigrants do not merely tolerate each other, but get along and work together effectively in a kind of globability, which means being able to work productively anywhere and at any time, individually and all together. The workstation must also be an attractive place, not least to be able to recruit the high-flyers of tomorrow. The workstation of the future can help in this. 4

5 2.3 Next generation services. In the past, information and telecommunications technology both developed at a spectacular rate, but largely in isolation from each other. Each technology used to have its own line-based network, then the mobile network was integrated with this for voice and data transmission. Each technical deliverable was regarded as a point-solution and generally purchased as such. It was therefore logical that every element was covered by a separate Service Level Agreement (SLA) covering the promised availability from LAN, WAN, VoIP and hosting through desktop services, all the way to the applications. Next generation services are Real ICT services. With Real ICT, all the elements of a solution are conceived in an integrated way from the outset, and developed with an eye to the inseparable interaction of IT and telecommunications. It is this fact that enables overall end-to-end responsibility to be assumed for the whole ICT system associated with a business process. This means that the customer has just one SLA for the overall availability from the router through the computing service all the way to the workstation - tailored to his specific requirements. For this, he has just one contract, one contact person and one bill. In this way, business processes are fully supported throughout. The measurement criterion may be the availability of an application at the user s workstation instead of separate availability figures for servers, LAN, WAN and terminal devices. These services are also provided dynamically, and the customer only pays for the capacity and services used. The services provided are designed as modules within a service-oriented architecture (SOA), so the customer company can provide parts of the service itself. Software as a service (SaaS) can be used to provide software (where license conditions permit) on dynamic terms: the customer only pays for the time when the software is used. Open source software may also be deployed, along with the simultaneous use (mashup) of application interfaces from different manufacturers, e. g. Apple and Microsoft. 2.4 Next generation technology. Next generation technology supports the architecture used to deliver these services. Technologically speaking, the workstations of the future will be integration-driven - regardless of organization and location. The skills and technologies required for this are a network-centered infrastructure, virtualization, automation and standardization, integrated voice and data services and RFID. 5

6 2.5 Next generation workstation. The next generation workstation brings the diversity and complexity of all the requirements down to a common denominator. On the workstation of the future, people from all disciplines, companies, generations and locations will be able to work together, and companies will obtain services at the desired level, with no restrictions imposed by the technical interfaces. Back-end and front-end, IT and telecommunications, hardware and software, one device and another will all work smoothly together. In the process of networking together their employees all over the world, companies are becoming more tolerant of Internet use by employees, with all the associated problems for IT management.! New business models are coming in: in contrast to the past, value creation is often split across a number of specialized companies. This phenomenon also demands an increasing exchange of information and data between staff in different companies. These employees form regular little networks. Modern companies need to be able to meet and manage these requirements too. Next generation workstation describes the working environments of the future. Before we can move towards the next generation workstation, we need flexible IT and telecommunications with modular components. These are based on three needs: Access to the ICT infrastructure and services Services to support this access and the operation of the equipment Terminal devices to enable users to work anywhere at any time End-to-end p 3 Server Access Service Device Archive Application Server File Server VoIP Lifecycle Management Incident & Problem Management User Management Change & Release Management Asset Management Configuration Management Service Level & Reporting Utility Management Paper Pattern Pen p 3 Portal Handy, PDA, MDA Service level Figure 1: Components of the next generation workstation These services are produced centrally and so can be made available over the network in a standardized way. They can be used on any device, regardless of time and place. Because every component is standardized, an end-to-end service level can be offered for various combinations of access, service and device. Paper, Pen and Phone, a solution that integrates pen and paper seamlessly into the electronic process, might for example use the following access, service and device elements, linked by an end-to-end service level to enable a very significant reduction in elapsed times for business processes (see also section 3.3.1). 6

7 3. Desktop Suite.! The Desktop Suite helps companies meet the requirements of the desktop environments of today and tomorrow - the next generation workstation. Many companies are in a position where classical and state-of-the-art desktop environments are implemented next door to each other. Every company needs time to review the extent to which modernization makes economic sense and might even help to improve its own business processes. The Desktop Suite is a range of products and solutions from T-Systems distinguished by the fact that it allows the needs of companies and employees to be satisfied equally. It allows the classical environment to be run alongside the transformation to the next generation workstation and its operation. The Desktop Suite is made up of three sets of solutions: Classic Desktop Services, Managed Desktop Services and Advanced Desktop Solutions. These differ in the degree of standardization and automation and in the services provided and the support of business processes. 3.1 Classic Desktop Services Hardware Resale. In classical desktop environments, the handling of the hardware presents a challenge. When an independent hardware reseller like T-Systems equips around 160,000 workstations a year with PCs, notebooks, printers, monitors, scanners, servers and storage systems, there are many benefits to the customer. These range from the optimum combination of products to bulk discounts. It is generally advisable to select uniform models, to safeguard the stability of the platform throughout. The Hardware Resale model covers consultation and procurement and the rollout, for which the hardware is generally delivered pre-configured. The options here include pre-configuration with the necessary software and the IMAC (install, move, add, change) services for subsequent operation. New or relocated employees need to be provided with hardware for their workstation, depending on the service level, and all asset changes need to be entered into a database, to maintain transparency over the inventory at all times. The provision of replacement parts must be assured throughout the lifecycle of the hardware. Repairs will be carried out according to the service level selected by the customer beforehand Software Resale. Dealing with the software is another complex task in classical desktop environments. Independent software resellers can offer companies significant benefits in the procurement and handling of software licenses, because they maintain partnerships with all the well-known software manufacturers. The goldcertified partnership between T-Systems and Microsoft and the status of T-Systems as a large account reseller (LAR) reflect its high level of professional expertise in handling software. This is generally best combined with Hardware Resale, although both are also offered separately. Companies usually obtain their software licenses via the ongoing contracts between the reseller and the software providers. Alternatively, the licenses can also be procured through customer-specific contracts. Particularly complex is the analysis of the current licensing position to identify any possible gaps in coverage or surplus licenses. 7

8 3.2 Managed Desktop Services. Managed Desktop Services are a major part of the Desktop Suite and are based on the principle of standardized service modules. For workstations, printer systems and mobile devices, hardware, software, management and lifecycle services can be combined and customers obtain the required services at an agreed price per user per month. With Managed Desktop Services, the combination of access, service and device described in section 2.5 is implemented in full. Processes relating to the IT workstation that can sensibly be combined are bundled under Managed Desktop Services and managed as a single whole. The development and provision of new ICT services, hardware and software are centralized and automated according to a shared service and operational model. The workstations and their environment are then fitted with standardized hardware and software to match the tasks performed by the employees. On average, well over 80 % of all workstations can be fitted out in this way. Within the Managed Desktop Services product range, there are the following four services: Managed PC Services for desktops and notebooks Managed Office Output Services related to multi-functional devices and printers Managed Mobility Services to connect the mobile world with PDAs and MDAs Dynamic Desktop to provide PC functionality centrally from a server-based computing solution Managed PC Services. Managed PC Services is the most comprehensive product in the Managed Desktop Services range. It includes the provision of standardized service products for desktops and laptops hardware, software, management and lifecycle services. Instead of developing hardware standards (desktop and notebook configurations) with their functionality on a project-by-project basis, Managed PC Services allows companies to use finished products, including all services from engineering through installation and ongoing support to hardware disposal. Managed PC Services aligns the IT lifecycle closely with the user lifecycle. This means providing role-based workstations with exactly the functions needed for work e. g. in Procurement or in the Accounts department. The triggering factor for the process is and remains the company s most valuable asset the employee who uses the technology to increase productivity. With a company-specific online access, employees can call off the required products and services and instigate changes, depending on their user profile. The electronic approval process minimizes the elapsed time and effort. All stocks of hardware and software licenses are administered on the central operating platform, and a shopping cart is provided. The person responsible then knows at all times who is generating what costs, and he can manage accordingly. There are Business and Premium packages, each with a defined service level at a fixed monthly price per workstation. The packages cover provision, changes and service desk support with remote and on-site service. Where required, the basic services can be enhanced with further ICT components such as LAN, messaging and file services Managed Office Output Services. More than two thirds of companies do not know their document costs and can only determine them with difficulty. The reason for this is the large number of output devices deployed, including multi-functional devices, printers, fax machines, copiers and scanners, which are often not used as effectively as they could be. Other reasons are the handling of numerous contracts, different service levels and financing models, and costly logistics for accessories and consumables. 8

9 ! The potential for optimization at this point tends to be underestimated. The ratio of users to devices can be reduced by a factor of more than three: where there used to be three printers, now there is only one. The Managed Office Output Services solution covers the device infrastructure and the working procedures of the staff, the room and building situation and the utilization of the output devices. Managed Office Output Services encompasses the whole supply chain from requirements definition through engineering to procurement and logistics. The ICT service provider carries out the initial installation, operates the equipment with break & fix services, and supports the users. If the need changes, the devices can be swapped out accordingly. Regular replacements, relocations, upgrades and the correct disposal of obsolete devices are also part of Managed Office Output Services. Even the procurement of consumables is automated, with their availability and the current state of the equipment constantly checked via direct access to the output device. Possible failures can then be prevented before they occur, and the company is provided with meaningful reporting on inventories and transactions. Practical example: An international company in the metal working business with locations on four continents will be able to operate in future with 25 % fewer devices and cut costs by 30 %. By capturing their commercial and technical inventory data, they have reduced the number of systems in use and the running costs. Thanks to the high level of transparency offered by Managed Office Output Services, the company has a clear view of its costs and benefits from a standard printing price for all systems. As the central contract partner and point of contact, T-Systems took over all the existing contracts Managed Mobility Services. Employees usually have two separate devices to make telephone calls and to exchange data. Managed Mobility Services (MobiS) make the world simpler: one Smartphone takes care of voice, data and office applications. Synchronization with the office desktop or laptop is transparent to the user. Managed Mobility Services covers the provision of the devices and the management of the contracts with the hardware and software manufacturers and network providers through to the regular replacement of terminal devices with new models and the disposal of the obsolete devices. The service chain from the terminal device via the wireless and landline connection to the back-end system on the internal network which may be international is provided and managed as a complete service. Billing is at a fixed monthly provision charge per device. Reporting on the inventory levels and the usage costs incurred for mobile communications per employee creates transparency and simplifies subsequent calculation. With MobiS, it is also possible to make whole workflows more efficient and achieve quantifiable time and cost savings in processes. For example, it offers service companies an alternative to traditional IT workstations: with MobiS, notebooks can be deployed in the support area to speed up a previously paper-based business process. Here, MobiS provides an end-to-end solution with a managed supply chain from the terminal device to the company headquarters. In the case of the service company, these are the mobile devices, the wireless network, the connection to the fixed network, the customer infrastructure, the synchronization server and the back-end system. 9

10 ! Secure Managed Mobility Services meet the demanding security requirements of the Federal Office for Information Security (in German: BSI). Managed Mobility Services is equipped with a host of security features. Where there used to be a risk of unauthorized access to data when a device was lost, comprehensive encryption and a remote deletion function here provide the necessary security. Practical example: An automotive manufacturer now uses Managed Mobility Services to provide a highly secure, fully managed end-to-end solution from a single source. With T-Systems as contract partner, it now has just one contact worldwide for all processes from the supplier through to the end-user, the employee. The solution is based on a highly standardized device environment and a global service and delivery concept with local billing in each country.! Dynamic Desktop. Dynamic Desktop combines next generation technology and next generation services. It represents a lean, maintenance-free workstation environment for users and companies. The principle of the Dynamic Desktop is based on an infrastructural separation of device, application operation and maintenance. The data and applications reside in the data center, where they are maintained centrally in a standardized way. On the desktop there is only a service-optimized thin client, where access to the virtual application environment is not tied to a particular device. Access may be from any suitable terminal integrated into the virtual or physical corporate network (LAN, WAN or VPN), or from a desktop or mobile device. The Dynamic Desktop is only assigned the functions that employees need to complete their tasks. The user retrieves the necessary functions and the current state of work from the data center and gets started. Dynamic Desktop is ideally suited for use where there is a need for identical, standardized, homogeneous workstation systems with requirements that do not change much, e. g. for administrative tasks. It is also advantageous where different employees use the workstations on a shift system. The centralized approach favors the implementation of standardized company-wide security concepts, allowing rapid and universal change where required. The company can pass the entire responsibility for security over to the data center operator: Centralized operation also allows for effective protection against worms and viruses. 10

11 The Dynamic Desktop does not necessarily have to be a thin client; it may also occur as a more ample fat client, run as a kind of hybrid, part central and part local. secure zero touch virtualized standardized uniform E-2-E-SLA mobile user-specific Managed PC Services + + optional Dynamic Desktop Figure 2: Dynamic Desktop and Managed PC Services complement each other Dynamic Desktop is an ideal complement to Managed PC Services, which are generally based on locally operated systems. It will not be possible to operate all workstation systems centrally in the future either: each model has its strengths and weaknesses. The chart shows the criteria which are (reading from top to bottom) less prominent with Managed PC Services and more so with Dynamic Desktop. With the aid of these criteria, it is possible to assess which operating model and device is best suited to a given requirement. It can be assumed that the market share accounted for by the terminal service concept as against the client-server model will grow over the next few years because of technical advances and the associated coverage of requirements.! 3.3 Advanced Desktop Solutions. Whereas Managed Desktop Services have a pronounced service character, Advanced Desktop Solutions, as the name suggests, are distinguished by their solution character. As Real ICT solutions, both ranges are made up of different mixes of IT, telecommunications and application elements. These give rise to a wide variety of solutions to allow employees to work together in a straightforward way, independent of time and place, or to improve or even replace business processes. Companies are free to decide how much process support they need. These services may relate to single business processes, complete departments or, in the final analysis, to the entire company. The Advanced Desktop Solutions presented here are designed to support or improve individual business processes. 11

12 ! Paper, Pen & Phone. Even in the digital age, forms, contract applications, records, etc. are still filled out or written up by hand. Paper, Pen & Phone allows hand-written documents to be captured, digitized, transmitted and administered. An insurance policy can be imported directly into the company s system immediately after data transfer, then automatically and correctly filed. It triggers an acknowledgement: application accepted; the customer receives a confirmation that a legal contract has been concluded. Paper, Pen & Phone simplifies contract closure and shortens a process that used to take days to seconds. End-to-end p 3 Server Access Service Device Archive Application Server File Server VoIP Lifecycle Management Incident & Problem Management User Management Change & Release Management Asset Management Configuration Management Service Level & Reporting Utility Management Paper Pattern Pen p 3 Portal Handy, PDA, MDA Service level Figure 3: Service components of Paper, Pen & Phone. Paper, Pen & Phone basically consists of a pen and a form. But even this solution is made up of various access, service and device components. For all transactions that provide access to the Paper, Pen & Phone server and handle the processing and archiving of the data. Billing is at an agreed price per user per month. Along with its ball-pen function, the pen contains a micro-camera, processor, memory and Bluetooth transmitter: as the user writes, the pen calculates the coordinates within the paper grid and the speed, supplying data for electronic signatures and text recognition. When the user ticks Send, the pen transfers the data to a cell phone or a PC, which encrypts the data and forwards it to the Paper, Pen & Phone server. The server matches the data received to the correct template. The handwriting is converted into machine code and passed via the interface to the processing systems. These send confirmation of the success of the transaction back to the cell phone. A study by the International Academy of the Free University of Berlin covering over 500 customers and sellers of financial and telecommunications products tested Paper, Pen & Phone and came to the conclusion that it provides very good electronic script samples which also stand up to forensic signature comparisons. Among the technologies tested (Sign Pad, Tablet PC, Paper, Pen & Phone stylus), Paper, Pen & Phone was also the best liked and trusted. 12

13 Practical example - Paper, Pen & Phone in field service The customer has been advised, the final details have been discussed and the signature is on the form but before the customer receives the insurance policy, days and weeks may elapse. This is because the signed document first has to find its way to headquarters: this means preparing it for the mail, posting it, collecting, sorting, scanning and indexing it. To meet the requirement for the written form while getting the documents to headquarters in real time, Advocard Insurance tested Paper, Pen & Phone with 30 agents. The result: elapsed times down from weeks to seconds, enthusiastic customers, more policies sold, and everything archived as required by law. In the District of Freiberg, the pen is also enabling automated administrative processes: the traffic department is using Paper, Pen & Phone for multimedia parking tickets. Offenders are photographed with the camera phone and find their ticket under the windshield wiper as per normal. The electronic copies are processed immediately in the central systems: the city budget saves money, admin costs are reduced, objections are reduced - and all without any training costs Unified communications. Efficient cooperation between employees scattered all over the world is one of the greatest challenges for international companies. Unified communications speed up cooperation and go a long way towards meeting the demands of next generation people for digital working conditions. With intelligent linking of all communication channels, unified communications enable the use of the optimum communication path for any given situation. For example, lots of working time used to be lost in constant switching between PC and telephone. With unified communications, the employee can see immediately if his contact is online and accessible, and if so, he can either reach the person immediately with a written message or click to have the telephone dial the right number automatically. Companies do not just gain access to intrinsic unified communications tools like CTI (computer and telephone integration), instant messaging and conferencing/collaboration; they can also incorporate ERP and CRM systems. End-to-end Access CRM Service Device Computer Telephony Integration ERP Büroanwendungen VoIP Conferencing/Collaboration Unified Messaging SCM Instant Messaging Lifecycle Management Incident & Problem Management ange & Release Management Asset Management Configuration Management Service Level & Reporting Utility Management Desktop, Laptop Deskphone Handy, PDA Webcam Service level Figure 4: Access component The sophisticated integration behind unified communications is also achieved with access, service and device modules. 13

14 PLATON is another example of a unified communications component. PLATON provides a unique blend of process, culture and ICT optimization to enable development projects to coordinate and manage cooperation between different companies. This supports the challenge of driving product development efficiently and reliably within ever more complex project structures across different companies or even internally in different locations. A project-oriented Change Management process with a common glossary leads to fewer misunderstandings. A shared data room secured with My Access Key, and the use of secure data containers to transfer large volumes of data ( >200 MB) facilitates rapid collaboration and shared decisions My Access Key. My Access Key, in USB format, opens the door to a Dynamic Desktop. Remote access to company data over the Internet from any laptop or PC could hardly be easier, and in this case it is secure too. The stick provides mobile access to the workstation environment. In practical terms, insurance brokers for example can access the rate calculators of various providers, without bringing their own computer to a standstill. My Access Key also allows users to identify themselves within the corporate intranet and retrieve their own data. From any terminal device, and without leaving a trace. Once logged in to the intranet, the employee can also use the stick to make phone calls over the Internet (via VoIP). The card, with a personal identification number (PIN), ensures that there is no doubt who is logging in. The user s digital signature is also stored and authenticated on the SmartCard. And by the way - of course the stick also serves as a simple data medium as before. End-to-end Access Service Device USB-Stick Data Center Mail Server File Server Application Server Internet VoIP Intranet Service level Lifecycle Management Incident & Problem Management User Management ange & Release Management Asset Management Configuration Management Service Level & Reporting Utility Management Figure 5: Device component 14

15 4. Digression: the market situation. Economic theory states that a high level of demand also produces high prices with relatively little competitive pressure. Amazingly, this economic rule does not hold in the market for Managed Desktop Services. Although users are buying more and more desktop services, the market is ruled by extreme competition, which is mainly reflected in the price. The high level of demand is explained by the fact that this is a mature market, served by well-established service models. Large and medium-sized companies recognized a while ago that running their own desktops brought very little added-value, and so increasingly outsource this activity. This trend is reinforced by things like Vista roll-outs and client migrations, and the awareness of potential savings to be made from attractive prices from providers. The extreme competitive pressure on prices from providers arises from the fact that desktop services are very largely treated as commodity services, allowing a high degree of comparability across the portfolio. Moreover, a still relatively high number of providers are fighting for every order, with this already almost ruinous price war intensified still further by bundling and cross-subsidizing of products. Then there are costly quality problems, as cost factors dictate that not only sub-contractors but often even sub-sub-sub contractors are brought in. Although the desktop providers come from different backgrounds, e. g. hardware, outsourcing or maintenance, they offer similar portfolios and pricing models. They differ in a number of ways. For example, in industry-specific business, the services may be provided with internal or external resources - field services, mobility, etc. Hardware, software and telecommunication products and services are seldom provided from a single source, as they are with T-Systems. The offerings also differ in their shared service concepts, their offshore/nearshore provision (of user help desk facilities, for example), global availability and other desktop-services such as harmonization projects, architecture consultancy, etc. The general strategic importance of desktop management also varies between provider companies according to the relative weighting of the German market within their global strategy. A number of crucial criteria then emerge for the success of a service provider in the field of managed desktop services: Global presence Extensive division of labor Standardized processes Industrialized production Modular products 15

16 5. Summary and way forward. T-Systems Desktop Suite Classic Desktop Services Managed Desktop Service Advanced Desktop Solutions Hardware Software Managed PC Services Single / bundled services MOOS Single / bundled services MOBIS Single / bundled services Dynamic Desktop Single / bundled services Unified communication My Access Key Paper, Pen & Phone Hardware-related services Managed Services Innovative solutions Individual project activities ITIL Service Desk Portal Asset Mgmt. LAN/WAN Security Reporting Figure 6: T-Systems Desktop Suite The requirements for workstations will continue to change. In this situation, the most important thing for companies is to be prepared, particularly as the change is not restricted to a few areas, such as staff, procurement or industry-specific processes, and it is not limited to production in just one company; rather, all the parameters are changing to a greater or lesser extent, often at the same time. Only by investing in open, modular ICT systems and workstation environments like the solutions within the Desktop Suite can companies end up with a future-proof system. 16

17 6. Glossary. Commodities CRM CTI ERP Globability ICT Instant Messaging IT LAN Real ICT Products sold as bulk goods, which differ from other products mainly in the fact that they are traded on markets and have a defined price. For commodities, product quality and product characteristics are almost identical. Customer Relationship Management. CRM supports communication within the customer process with reliable data, to concentrate attention in relationships with a high customer value and to identify weak points in the dialog with the customer. The goal is long-term customer retention. Computer and telephone integration is the collective name for telephone-based communication systems (workstation solutions), which use a PC to handle telephone calls in a more convenient and rational way. The functions of CTI include e. g. dialing from a database, displaying details of incoming calls and making notes during the call. It is also possible to operate telephone functions such as call forwarding or conference calls directly from the PC. Enterprise Resource Planning covers the planning and management of the whole supply chain, and is designed to assure the efficient use of resources in business processes. This process is supported by specialized ERP software. The ability of employees to work productively anywhere, at any time, individually and all together. Information and communications technology.the combination of the two terms originated in the 1980s, to express the merging of information and communication technology. Messaging is a communication method whereby two or more people converse by way of text messages. The messages reach the recipient directly. Users can enter each other in their contact lists and can see from the status information whether the other person is available for a chat. Information Technology (IT) is an umbrella term for information and data processing and the necessary hardware and software. Local Area Network - comprising cabling and access components. For all practical purposes, since the start of the 21st century, these have been based on Ethernet in accordance with the industry standard IEEE Name given to the convergence of IT and telecommunications technologies. T-Systems is taking Real ICT a step further, providing support for complete business processes with a single end-to-end service level. This means that with Real ICT, IT and TC merge into an end-to-end solution with an end-to-end service level guarantee. 17

18 RFID SLA SaaS SOA TC USB VoIP VPN Radio Frequency Identification is the technology used for contact-free or wireless recognition of information transmitted by radio. An RFID system is made up of a transponder and a receiver/reader. A transponder is a device which receives incoming signals and responds to them automatically. In conjunction with RFID, these transponders are called tags, and there are active and passive variants. The tag is associated with an object on which the stored information can be read via wireless. The object can then be uniquely identified. Service Level Agreement. This formally agreed document, which is usually part of the contract for an ICT service, lays down quantitative (or qualitative) measures which are taken regularly to monitor a service. The SLA also contains all the necessary rules and responsibilities. Typical SLAs describe e.g. operating hours and availability levels. Software as a service. Here, software is used as a hosted service. This is accessible over the Internet. SaaS may cover IIS or Apache or collaboration software, extending to industry-specific applications. Service-Oriented Architecture services. Service Oriented Architecture is designed to create an infrastructure tailored to the desired business processes, and able to react quickly to changes in the business environment. It covers the provision of technical facilities and functions in the form of services that can be called up via standardized interfaces. Telecommunications. In the narrower sense, the term telecommunications is now used to mean the exchange of data by electronic means particularly by telephone. The Universal Serial Bus is a serial bus system used to connect a computer to external devices. Devices fitted with USB devices or storage media (e. g. USB sticks) can be connected together in ongoing operation (hot plugging), and the connected devices and their properties are recognized automatically. Voice over IP is the support for voice and data within a shared infrastructure (the TCP/ IP protocol). It is used to refer to telephony via computer networks, specifically data networks operating under the widely used Internet protocol (IP). VoIP technology uses existing line resources much more efficiently. This reduces call costs, and IT applications and telephony can work better together thanks to the common network infrastructure. Virtual Private Network. A VPN is a communications network that uses a public network to transport private data. The connection via the public network runs through so-called tunnels and is usually encrypted. However, the term "private" does not necessarily mean that the transmission is encrypted. The term VPN is now generally interpreted to mean IP VPNs, in which subscribers are linked via IP tunnels. 18

19 WAN Wide Area Network, designed for voice or data transmission over long distances. The design of such networks is basically determined by the range of services to be carried. For example, the traditional analog telephone network is suitable for telephony, as is ISDN. On the other hand, the public packet-switched networks are designed for data transfer services. 19

20 7. Sources [Forrester] 01/2007: Positioning T-Systems For Convergence Market Leadership [Forrester] 01/2007: IT/Telecom Converged Service Delivery Outsourcing Deals H1/ 2006 [Forrester] 04/2008: [HPI] 12/2006: [PAC] 02/2007: [T-Systems] 02/2007: [T-Systems] 05/2008: For Vendor Strategy Professionals Konvergenz der Medien Zukunft der Netze und Dienste [Convergence of media - the future of networks and services] Customer survey on Real ICT Perception Analysis of ICT MDS competitive analysis for Germany International Academy of the Free University of Berlin Study on Paper, Pen & Phone 20