plantemoran.com Understanding & Applying Unified Communications
Confusion in the Market UC means different things Many products with Unified in the name UC is often sold as a thing you buy Integrated VM Chat applications File sharing IP communications Webinar Teleconferencing Speech recognition Business process integration
Today s Discussion Define UC Identify major UC applications ( tools ) 3 primary ways UC can be purchased / rolled out
UC Unified Communications
What is Unified Communications? Unified Communications is the integration of communication functions into business processes Editor CIO Magazine Communications integrated to optimize business processes www.ucstrategies.com Technology that connects communication and collaboration applications on a common platform Forrester Research
The UC Continuum
Three Stages of Unification U-Infrastructure U-Applications U-Processes IP Telephony Conferencing Mobility Presence/IM Third Party Call Control Attendance notification Embedded Communications
The UC Continuum At its lowest level, UC serves to join multiple types of communications to: Consolidate infrastructure
Separate Networks Phone Network Data Network
Combined Networks Data and Voice
Implications Lowest levels of UC is an IT project focused on voice and data infrastructure Consolidate Voice/Data Cabling Vendors Merge Voice and data staff Collapse Voice onto the LAN Voice onto the data WAN Better potential voice integration via IP and SIP
The UC Continuum At a moderate level, UC serves to join communication applications to: Enhance Personal Productivity Enhance Workgroup Productivity Jessica Young
Implications Moderate levels of UC is typically focused on deploying user productivity tools: Presence IM/Chat Unified Messaging (voice/email/fax) Click to call / Click to conference Find Me / Follow me Conferencing (Meet Me audio bridge, video and web conferencing)
The UC Continuum At its highest level, UC incorporates functionality to: Build communication methods directly into business processes Communications Enabled Business Processes (CEBP)
Implications High levels of UC are often concerned with integrating some form of communications input/output in response to a business process This require deep knowledge of: The enterprise business Who is communicating with who How they are communicating What are the critical paths
Implications At the highest levels, vendors are not in a good position to address this UC functionality They lack access to the customer organization They lack compensation for their time to figure this out This is where internal expertise or outside assistance is required Customization may be required
The UC Continuum Thus, all the confusion Vendors/Media often over simplify UC as a thing you buy rather than a set of tools to be figured out and applied to optimize business communications Vendors/Media often present IP telephony, Unified Messaging, and Unified Communications as synonymous Vendors/Media often imply that UC capabilities are contingent upon implementing IP telephony
The UC Continuum Thus, all the confusion Vendor s naming conventions often build Unified into their product names Multiple vendors / New vendors to buy from Many vendors are still learning and evolving
What is Driving UC?
Communication Overload
What is driving UC? As telephone systems come up for replacement, UC capabilities are the newest feature sets to be considered Available Features? Needed Features Presence Web Conferencing Click to Call Federation Kitchen Sink Click to Conference IM Video Conferencing Search Directory Tag Presence IM Click to Call Search Directory
What is driving UC? Organizations are trying to figure out How to solve communication problems Bottlenecks Difficulty reaching the right person quickly How to optimize business processes Single Number Reach Speed up communication flows Better collaboration
UC Toolsets
Main Categories of UC Toolsets Contact Management & Directory Services Messaging Conferencing & Collaboration Mobility & Remote Office
UC Toolsets Contact Management & Directory Services Presence IM/Chat Click to Call Enterprise Phonebook Enterprise dialing Call routing/screening rules Single User Identity Email, phone, cell
UC Toolsets Presence Real time status who is on-line and available? The dial tone of the future Today: Presence focused within the enterprise and ability to have an IM session Tomorrow: Presence servers gathering information from various sources/platforms from in/out of the enterprise (requires federation) Basic Presence: On-line, level of activity Rich Presence: Location, type of device being used, its OS, local time, outside-of-enterprise
UC Toolsets Instant Messaging Enterprise-grade/Enterprise-wide Instant Messaging Security and Privacy Quick exchanges Multi-tasking / Ability to reach those that are busy
UC Toolsets Third-Party Call Control Activation of telephone features by point/click Click to Call Click to Conference The office telephone becomes a handset
UC Toolsets Synchronized Directory Single user identity to tie together Email address Office telephone number Mobile telephone number
UC Toolsets Conferencing & Collaboration Integrated audio conferencing Integrated web conferencing Integrated video conferencing
UC Toolsets Conferencing & Collaboration Tools Audio conferencing (including call in bridge service) Video conferencing Web conferencing Collaborative capabilities Shared workspaces White boarding File / Document sharing Enterprise-wide Instant Messaging
UC Toolsets Unified Messaging Live reply/call return of VM messages Messaging
UC Toolsets Unified Messaging One in-box for email, voice mail even fax Unified message notification for all message types Ability to access any messages from any device Ability to forward voice mail messages as email attachments Ability to work with voice mail messages from PC
UC Toolsets Advanced Call & Message Management Desktop call screening (rules for screening inbound calls) Find Me/Follow Me Live Reply/Call Return of a VM message
UC Toolsets Mobility & Remote Office Single number service Voice commands Seamlessly swap calls from cell to desk phone (and vice versa) Soft phone VPN to corporate network
UC Toolsets Mobility Tools Single Number Service Office Number routes to hidden cell number Voice mail messages pulled back to enterprise VM server Outbound calls from cell show Office Number CLID Voice commands
UC Toolsets Speech Access & Personal Assistant Voice Recognition / Natural Speech commands Speech commands to control personal assistants Access inbox Access calendar Access directory / contacts Set up outbound dialing
UC Toolsets Remote Telephony Access Soft Phone (Laptop/PC with headset/microphone) VPN over Broadband Internet Connection Remote workers can receive calls to their business number Remote workers can place calls over the corporate trunks
UC Toolsets What appears to be readily adopted? Instant Messaging Presence Click to Call Search Directory
UC Toolsets Presence IM Click to Call Search Directory Tag Click to Conference Web Conferencing Video Conferencing Federation 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Blair Pleasant and Nancy Jamison June 2008
UC in Action
Communication Grid High Phone Intrusion Low IM Email Immediate Time Delayed
Process Optimizations Speed up the process of reaching someone Speed up and simplify the process of joining multiple parties Simplify and enhance the process of collaborating with disparate parties Enhance the ability of mobile users to be reached and function with the tools available within their office Set up triggers to automatically provide notification at a critical point
Contact Management Presence shows who is available IM allows for instant access even if they are engaged in another task One-Number / Find Me-Follow Me allows the system to manage multiple venues relieving the caller from trying different numbers Directory Dialing and Click to Call simplifies the process of identifying and contacting someone
Mobility One-Number / Find Me-Follow Me allows the system to work through multiple venues not the caller Unified Messaging allows voice mail, email, and fax to available through a single interface (Smartphone user) Text-to-Speech allows access to email from standard cell phones Natural Speech allows for easier interaction
Collaboration Audio conferencing ( Meet Me ) Video Conferencing (PC to PC up to telepresence) Web Conferencing Rapid virtual meetings Share documents and files Calendar and project timeline Presence
Communications-Enabled Portal Integrate Presence/IM with operating system software Software identifies an event where assistance is required Software identified individuals that could assist IM/Chat window is opened to communicate with selected individuals Click to Call can be selected
3 Ways to UC
3 Ways to UC Telecom solutions Desktop solutions Application solutions
3 Ways to UC UC via Telecom Provider solutions Avaya (Nortel) Cisco Siemens Mitel NEC
3 Ways to UC UC via Desktop Provider solutions Microsoft IBM Webex Google
3 Ways to UC UC via Application Provider solutions SAP Salesforce
Ted Mallires Plante & Moran 248.223.3340 ted.mallires@plantemoran.com