End-user education and acceptance is the key to
realising the full business benefits of converged voice and data
networks.
A growing number of businesses are switching to voice over IP
systems. Who has not been drawn to the potential cost savings of
having a single converged network for voice and data, or felt the
allure of collaborative working?
But the honeymoon is over. There is a challenge to be met in
moving from the technology-driven VoIP roll-outs of the past, to
projects that put user acceptance of new ways of working at their
heart. Although it can function as a normal phone, a VoIP handset
has more to offer.
Replacing existing telephones and PBXs with expensive new boxes
that simply make phone calls, albeit at a cheaper tariff, is not
the best way for an IT director to earn respect in the
business.
They must look beyond the telephony cost savings and investigate
how VoIP can truly add value.
Technology suppliers offer many ways to increase the value of
VoIP through unified communications, and there are few technical
barriers to stop anyone deploying a unified system.
The problem is that users are often reluctant to learn a new
approach to working, particularly when the task is as mundane as
making and receiving phone calls.
Even with a unified system, I question whether they will buy
into the idea of a single inbox for e-mail, voicemail and fax
messages. Logging into a computer to make a phone call and pick up
messages will probably seem long-winded until users are shown how
to use the system to its full potential.
Realising this potential may require further new ways of
working. VoIP features, such as the ability to bring up the contact
details of who is calling in and speed dial, are great when
deployed within a customer relationship management system at a call
centre.
But outside a fully-integrated CRM system, tracking incoming
calls can quickly become an impossible task if end-users have more
than one way to store contact information.
It is common for users to have contact information dispersed
across business cards, mobile phones and e-mail address books. If
they were better organised, the VoIP system could pick all of this
up and provide a neat way to see who is calling and allow them to
speed dial. Clearly, user education is key.
The IT director must also recognise that not everyone will need
to use the functionality offered by VoIP. In many instances, VoIP
is simply a component part of a far-reaching project to understand
the customer better. And not everyone needs to have the same level
of customer information.
There is unlikely to be a business case for installing CRM
throughout the company just because the VoIP system supports it. It
is therefore important to segment your end-users when making the
business case for VoIP.
Demonstrating the added benefits of VoIP to a target group of
power users is easy. Explaining these benefits to the wider user
community and encouraging them to see the bigger picture is far
more difficult.
More information
www.voip-info.org/wiki
www.computerweekly.com/VoIPtoolbox
VoIP special report: Taking VoIP to the next level
VoIP special report: VoIP quality of service monitoring
advice