Customize Your UC Solution for Business Agility

Transcription

1 50 Years of Growth, Innovation and Leadership Customize Your UC Solution for Business Agility Reduce Costs and Drive Efficiencies A Frost & Sullivan Executive Brief www.

2 Frost & Sullivan Unified Communications (UC) is concerned with the integration of communications software (voice, video, and text-based) that can be accessed from a common interface or end point. UC solutions encompass the integration of communications applications with productivity and business software (e.g., desktop office, , calendar, CRM, line of business platforms, back office databases, etc.) to provide users with seamless access to information and to enhance business processes. In the era of UC, enterprise communications solutions have transitioned from proprietary, hardware-centric designs to more open, standards-based software solutions. UC software is now treated much like any IT application on the corporate network, which can help reduce costs, open up new deployment options, and increase the potential for customization. The primary objectives for deploying UC are to improve operational efficiency, enhance business processes, and increase user productivity. However, the full business value of UC is not unlocked by a single technology purchase. Whether deploying UC via forklift upgrade or under a multi-year migration, businesses must invest strategically, deciding what applications need to be unified, and when, for the greatest impact. IP communications bring voice and data applications onto a common IP network. The inherent operational savings from having a single network to manage and maintain are widely recognized and proven. 3 IP communications environments can incorporate TDM technologies as well, with media gateways extending the life of existing assets by enabling interoperability between legacy and IP components, thus sending all traffic across a converged IP network. This capability allows businesses to transition to an IP communications infrastructure with less upfront expense, disruption, and risk. UC enables the convergence of fixed and mobile assets to provide users with anywhere, anytime access to their corporate communications features and business tools. Enterprise mobility and fixed-mobile convergence solutions untether workers, allowing them to stay connected in real-time and to work effectively from any location on or off campus. Integration and convergence of real-time (i.e., voice, video, and instant messaging) with non real-time (i.e., and voic ) applications lays a foundation to drive user productivity. Unified messaging (integrated voice, , and fax messaging), rich presence (offline, busy, availability for phone or IM sessions) and click-to-call (from Microsoft Office applications, s, directories, etc.) are prime examples. Communications-Enabled Business Processes (CEBP) leverage the deep integration of communications and IT software. These solutions embed communications capabilities into tasks and workflows, enabling communications sessions to be launched automatically based on events (i.e. flight delay or shipment notification) when a business user would otherwise manually initiate 2

3 Customize Your UC Solution for Business Agility the communications session. Similarly, communications sessions can become workflow events that enable process automation. Integrating communications and line of business software can drive business enhancements. For example, CRM integration with telephony and/or call center applications gives business users timely access to relevant, in-depth information about customers. Interactive Voice Response (IVR) can empower customers to help themselves by interacting with and retrieving information from business databases via telephone keypad or speech recognition commands. Providing contextual access to information can improve customer satisfaction, increase first-call resolution rates, decrease hold times, and increase the volume of completed interactions. Integrating various IT and communications software components enables employees to be more productive by working smarter, not harder. UC can make applications easier to access and use and can empower users to manage and prioritize their communications activities. By being able to connect at the right time with the right people to share information more effectively, employees can accelerate decision making, increase responsiveness, and improve business agility. UC Empowers End Users to Drive Productivity UC desktop soft clients let workers initiate and control voice, video, and IM chat sessions from a single interface. Users can select the most appropriate mode of communication for their task and circumstances. Personal call-treatment rules help users organize and prioritize their communications. For example, non-essential incoming calls can be sent directly to voic while important calls from the boss or key customers are put through. Rich presence information contributes to productivity by publishing user availability for communications, cutting down on phone tag and voic and allowing users to go into Do Not Disturb mode to get work done. UC mobility features let users divert calls to their preferred device so they can be reached by a single number, have a single messaging inbox for mobile and office lines, and have access to corporate applications such as directories, messaging, and conferencing from their mobile phones. As part of a UC solution, unified messaging and integrated messaging enhance productivity by letting users efficiently view, prioritize, and manipulate voice, , and fax messages from a single inbox. Integrating communications software with business applications gives users information about callers such as name, location, account history, etc., which builds context and makes interactions more effective. 3

4 Frost & Sullivan KEY ELEMENTS FOR YOUR UC DEPLOYMENT Because all businesses are different, not all UC solutions should be created equally. That means UC solutions need to be tailored to satisfy each individual business unique budgetary, vertical, and regional requirements. Successful deployments are characterized by solutions that are flexible, modular, and extensible. Flexible solutions allow companies to migrate to UC at their own pace, roll out applications according to their own priorities, protect and leverage existing assets, and minimize disruption to ongoing operations. Flexible UC solutions also support multivendor interoperability, allowing companies to choose whether best-of-breed or single source solutions are most appropriate for them. Most UC deployments today employ a modular or stepped approach. Not all users need access to all capabilities in the UC applications stack (comprised of telephony, unified/integrated desktop soft client, audio, video and Web conferencing, instant messaging and presence, voice and unified messaging, and mobility features). Modular or stepped solutions allow companies to select applications that best match the requirements of specific types of users (e.g. executives, office workers, or road warriors) and allow tightly integrated capabilities to be easily and cost effectively added in the future. UC solutions must also be open and extensible; offer customization through the integration of communications, IT, and line-of-business software; and embed communications capabilities into workflow processes. Extensible UC solutions fit into and enhance established processes and do not require companies to wholly restructure established operations to accommodate the technology. BLEND AND EXTEND: ADTRAN S UC SOLUTIONS Long a provider of voice and data solutions, ADTRAN became more fully immersed in the UC market with its acquisition of Objectworld in 2009, which armed ADTRAN with the advanced software needed to become an end-to-end enterprise UC solutions provider. Now branded ADTRAN NetVanta UC, the mature Objectworld SIP-based technology was designed from its origins as a modular suite of communications applications a development and marketing strategy that other vendors have only recently adopted. ADTRAN employs a blend and extend solutions approach that can be uniquely tailored to match differing requirements. Investment Protection: ADTRAN NetVanta UC solutions integrate with third-party components to preserve and leverage existing PBXs, voic , , Active Directory, and other applications. NetVanta UC can also be 4

5 Customize Your UC Solution for Business Agility implemented as a software overlay that unifies multi-vendor and multi-site PBX environments to create a unified dial plan and access to a common set of UC services for all users in the network. Deploying NetVanta UC does not require companies to rip and replace existing infrastructure. Customers can leave their third-party components in place, remove or repurpose them over time. Single Point of Contact: ADTRAN NetVanta UC is a comprehensive solution that integrates software-based IP PBX, unified messaging (integrated voice, , and fax messaging), fax server, conference server, overhead paging server, click-to-dial, visual auto-attendant, personal assistants, real-time presence, instant messaging, mobility, IVR database connectivity, and more on a singleserver. Deploying NetVanta UC software on top of ADTRAN converged networking products can extend accountability to a single point of contact for the complete solution. This can help businesses streamline their vendor relationships, simplify routine maintenance tasks such as release management, and lower overall support costs. Best-of-Breed: While NetVanta UC can serve as a single source solution, the modular architecture and licensing structure of the single server platform lets companies choose the pace of their UC migrations and customize their solutions. Companies can activate all applications or select only those that they need while turning on new functionality in the future without bolt-on integration. Support for industry-standard protocols and interfaces enables NetVanta UC software to interoperate with third-party components. This gives companies many options to create best-of-breed solutions that can preserve and leverage existing investments, customize solutions to create competitive advantage, and reduce vendor lock-in to mitigate risk. Importantly, a best-of-breed approach gives companies the opportunity to develop a long-term, strategic roadmap for upgrading the various network components of their communications environment. Business Enhancement: To enhance business processes and reduce human latency, ADTRAN solutions integrate communications applications with IT and line of business software. ADTRAN s Appointment Reminder solution integrates outbound calling with calendars, scheduling management, and database software to create easily customizable solutions that automate high volume, repetitive tasks and reduce inefficiencies associated with missed appointments. ADTRAN solutions can also offload inbound call volume from customer care organizations by integrating NetVanta interactive voice response with directory, CRM, and inventory databases, which allows callers to help themselves when looking for specific product and service information. NetVanta UC integrated fax services enable organizations to better unify and align fax transactions with their business processes. To ensure soft copies of images are received, secured, and stored by the appropriate parties at real estate agencies, finance, and law firms, the organization can utilize fax routing capabilities. 5

6 Frost & Sullivan Productivity: ADTRAN UC offers numerous features to facilitate productivity by putting support staff and users in control. Active Directory integration gives administrators familiar tools for NetVanta UC system set up and performs routine moves, adds, and changes. NetVanta IVR is likewise designed for intuitive configuration with a drag and drop visual service creation environment (no coding required) to quickly set up, customize, and modify inbound and outbound customer facing solutions. ADTRAN also offers the operational advantage of centralized utilities to install/upgrade NetVanta UC client software located anywhere in the network. ADTRAN takes a similar approach for end users: a range of NetVanta UC applications, such as automated attendant, call routing, and presence/im can be personalized by each user via visual desktop interfaces, helping them manage how, when, and with whom they interact. CONCLUSIONS It s important for companies to take a forward-looking approach to communications technologies and to view them as strategic tools that can intelligently drive business efficiency and user productivity. In this approach, IT managers will need to look beyond one-size-fits-all solutions. They should opt for software-centric offerings that are open, flexible, and customizable. Leveraging advanced capabilities to drive business innovation also requires a strategic, longterm relationship between customer and vendor. Companies should seek strong, stable technology partners with a proven commitment to their product lines and a clear roadmap for future development. They should also choose vendors that support a flexible, extensible approach to deploying UC. That will help organizations mitigate risk and disruption while continuing to evolve as market conditions and business needs shift. With these criteria, companies considering unified communications should have ADTRAN NetVanta UC on their short list. 6

7 Silicon Valley 331 E. Evelyn Ave. Suite 100 Mountain View, CA Tel Fax San Antonio 7550 West Interstate 10, Suite 400, San Antonio, Texas Tel Fax London 4, Grosvenor Gardens, London SWIW ODH,UK Tel 44(0) Fax 44(0) GoFrost ABOUT FROST & SULLIVAN Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, partners with clients to accelerate their growth. The company's TEAM Research, Growth Consulting, and Growth Team Membership empower clients to create a growth-focused culture that generates, evaluates, and implements effective growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan employs over 50 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses, and the investment community from more than 40 offices on six continents. For more information about Frost & Sullivan s Growth Partnership Services, visit For information regarding permission, write: Frost & Sullivan 331 E. Evelyn Ave. Suite 100 Mountain View, CA Auckland Dubai Mumbai Sophia Antipolis Bangkok Frankfurt Manhattan Sydney Beijing Hong Kong Oxford Taipei Bengaluru Istanbul Paris Tel Aviv Bogotá Jakarta Rockville Centre Tokyo Buenos Aires Kolkata San Antonio Toronto Cape Town Kuala Lumpur São Paulo Warsaw Chennai London Seoul Washington, DC Colombo Mexico City Shanghai Delhi / NCR Milan Silicon Valley Dhaka Moscow Singapore