Key Trends Defining Unified Communications and how SNET Defines Communications

Key Trends Defining Unified Communications and How SNET Defines Communications!
Defining Unified Communications (UC) has always been a bit of a moving target. And that’s made many people wonder if they really need it.
In the beginning, UC often meant things like being able to see your voicemail and e-mail together on a PC.  Or having software you could put on your PC to control your phone and directory. The operative initials were as much PC as UC.
Now Unified Communications is being redefined. Mobile devices are a big part of what’s bringing about the change. Collaboration technologies are part of it. And so are improvements in the underlying communications infrastructure—IP, SIP, 4G and more.
At SNET Communications, we have just completed work on our SNET Communicator- which allows you to have a client running on whatever device you use- Droid, iPhone, Tablet or iPad- and see the status of your office phones, chat and even have a video call. Of course, you can still click to dial, have voice mail messages appear as email messages and all of the usual benefits of screen pops!
IP and SIP: The “unified” part of UC has always been primarily about getting your phone and computer to work together using the Internet-based IP and SIP protocols. This made it possible to have your PC and your phone on one network. But the bigger benefit was that a phone call itself was now able to be handled as a digital file (i.e., like an e-mail.) Just as you can easily have one e-mail go to multiple addresses, you can have calls go to multiple devices and numbers: business phone, mobile and home phone. Just as you can have dozens of people on an e-mail chain, you can have dozens of people on a conference call—without having to use a conferencing service. Just as you can easily manage different e-mail accounts, you can have multiple incoming lines for different segments of your business—a key way to create a better customer experience.  The benefits are substantial. That’s why sales of IP-based business systems grow in the double digits every year and are a driving force behind the UC revolution.
UC Apps: Everyone loves their mobile phone, in part thanks to all of the mobile apps that are now available. You can use your mobile to check the weather, do your banking, find a movie, etc. Now you can also get a UC app. SNET has one .It lets you tightly integrate you mobile phone and your office system: Manage your office directory. Set up conference calls. Make a call directly from a text. Getting the right app to marry your mobile phone to your office communications system is a major step forward for UC.
Collaboration: This is one of the hottest buzz words in business today. In fact, the terms “unified communications” and “mobile collaboration” are often used interchangeably. They are both all about bringing the right people together with the right information in the right context. “Presence” is a big part of this.  Having presence capabilities let you see at a glance who in your organization is available and how to reach them quickly.
Video: Today, anyone with an Internet-enabled device, a webcam and free software can make a video call to almost anyone else in the world. It’s estimated that more than a third of Skype-to-Skype calls now include video, with peaks as high as 50 percent during the holidays. This rapid spread of video calls in the personal, consumer market is driving the growth of video in business. Also, the SIP standard provides capabilities that simplify how video integrates and connects, opening the way to regular use of video with the same ease as voice and messaging communications. Businesses are also discovering that the smart use of video conferencing can give you new levels of flexibility in partnering, assembling teams and competing for top, full-time talent. For all of these reasons, video is becoming a larger part of the UC equation.
SNET Communications (www.snetconnect.com)  has a wide range of resources on our website that look at all aspects of UC—where it is today, and where’s it’s going.

Are you ready to go from Management 1.0 to 2.0?

In the current issue of Selling Power Magazine (April/May/June 2012), there is an interesting article with management guru Gary Hamel. He is thought to be one of the most influential management thinkers today.

Hamel describes two types of management- Management 1.0 and Management 2.0. Management 1.0 is the management style that we all have been taught for the past 100 years- standardization, specialization, hierarchy, alignment, control and the use of extrinsic controls.

On the other hand, Management 2.0 is based on developing adaptive, innovative and engaging places to work. The allows companies to meet the increase in competitive intensity worldwide. It allows companies to outgrow competitors or the economy by encouraging innovation and making it a systemic capability across a company's processes.

Hamel makes some predictions:

• We are moving to a world where everything in configurable by the ultimate consumer.
• As our economy becomes more of a service economy, value gets created in the interaction between employee and customer.
• In order to make organizations more innovative we need new practices and new principles.
• The most efficient companies will be the most democratic.

Okay. So what does this have to do with technology? Basically, everything.

You will need to set up processes that are extremely customizable and that involves a lot of flexibility. Let me give you an example- as the population ages, more and more of your employees may have a parent or spouse to care for. You will need to adapt your infrastructure and work practices to accommodate employees who, for obvious family issues, will have to work from home. Your communications infrastructure will have to adapt to this, your connectivity will have to adapt- your space and energy requirements will change - and so too will your corporate policies on security.

As interactions between customers (a.k.a clients, patients, guests,patrons etc...) become more important, you will have to adapt and perfect the art of customer interaction. You will need tools to measure performance, evaluate employee interaction, and standardize the customer experience to ensure that it creates value.

With a more distributed workforce, you will need to ensure internal communication to make sure that there is a cohesive esprit de corps. Mobile workers, tele-workers, remote offices need to be part of the total corporate body- not far flung fiefdoms or domestic exile. Remember, discipline from goofing off is a Management 1.0 principle. Management 2.0 companies rely on peers as motivators. The logic is simple- if what you do is transparent to your peers, they can see whether or not you are adding value.

The whole area of the technology cloud is an enabler for transforming your company from a Management 1.0 to a Management 2.0 company. Hosted PBX allows your remote employees to communicate freely, easily and cohesively. Hosted Call Center gives you the tools to enhance customer employee interactions and monitor performance. Managed wide area networks and managed cloud security give you the ability to connect your remote locations securely.

See how our clients have evolved from Management 1.0 to Management 2.0