A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. In business, that
link can be the length of time it takes to return a customer's call
or send a response, internally or externally, to an e-mail.
The problem is exacerbated by the number of ways in which staff
can communicate. Fixed and mobile phones, e-mail and instant
messaging can all increase delays if people cannot be reached at
the right time on the right device.
Unified communications technology can help to solve this problem
by making it possible to contact a member of staff through a single
number or e-mail address, regardless of the device or program being
used.
Unified comms combines routing software and IP hardware to
redirect calls, texts and e-mails to the device closest to the
user, providing "one-number" communication. It also provides
information on a user's location and presence information, which
tells others if the user is contactable or available to speak.
As the use of voice over IP drives communications over a common
IP network, analyst firm Gartner predicts that unified comms will
be the next technology that companies seek to invest in.
"The value for organisations is to reduce human latency within a
process that improves a business's ability to respond to the
customer," said Steve Blood, research vice-president at
Gartner.
The Alzheimer's Society is trialling a unified comms system to
increase productivity. The charity plans to roll out the technology
across its 250 branches and up to 1,400 staff nationwide. It is
trialling Microsoft's Office Communications Server and Live
Meeting, as well as NEC Philips' IP telephony and contact centre
technology.
"Given that we have more than 200 staff in our head office and
numerous regional sites, the ability to find out at a glance which
member of staff is available to take a call is invaluable in
speeding up the decision making process and handling calls," said
Phil Shoesmith, head of IT at the charity.
International legal practice Norton Rose moved to a
collaborative communications environment with a £1.9m IP-based
system that enables its 2,000 employees to access and share
information globally.
The system is based on an MPLS VoIP network, built on Cisco
technology, which extends to Norton Rose's Uxbridge production
datacentre to support operations management.
"Having these collaboration and communication tools at our
fingertips is really helping to speed up our work," said Anthony
Salter, programme manager at Norton Rose. "The unified comms system
integrates a host of features and capabilities that can help our
staff work more effectively, without increasing costs."
Miguel Ferrer, global infrastructure director at Volvo
Construction, has rolled out PC-to-PC telephony for 9,000 users in
several countries. By 2009, he plans to issue mobile devices
offering voice and e-mail to 3,000 employees.
He said IT managers embarking on unified comms projects should
begin by profiling the mobility of employees in their daily
activities.
"Profiling helps to identify the savings that can be made from
removing redundant fixed equipment, such as a desk phone, and it
can be used as part of a business case," said Ferrer.
Implementation challenges
However, Blood said implementing unified comms requires
technological and organisational change. He warned that more than
80% of organisational change, such as procedures, policies and
compensation, will lag behind technological change.
For example, many IT departments will continue to be organised
separately around voice, networking and mobility, and some may not
even have control of the mobile budget.
"Nowhere is the effect of this organisational lag more apparent
than in how the convergence of voice, data and applications is
affecting organisations," said Blood.
In addition, running all communications over an IP network makes
it more vulnerable to a distributed denial-of-service attack.
Earlier this year, Cisco's unified comms management platforms were
affected by security vulnerabilities that could have allowed buffer
overflow attacks and unauthorised access. The vulnerabilities,
which have now been patched, showed how a unified comms system
could be compromised.
Overflow vulnerabilities
Cisco Unified Communications Manager contained two overflow
vulnerabilities that could have allowed a remote unauthenticated
user to cause a denial-of-service condition or execute arbitrary
code.
Cisco's Unified Communications Manager and Unified Presence
Server also contained vulnerabilities that could have allowed an
unauthorised administrator to activate and terminate system
services.
When moving to unified comms, Gartner advises companies to begin
with important but not mission-critical tasks and to assess needs
based on the individual, not solely on job title.
A next-generation voice and communications architecture should
include collaboration and social networking and, in the longer
term, integrate communications with business applications.
Unified comms and business agility >>
Case study: Volvo Construction >>