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.

I want my ____ at work!

I want my ____ at work!
Fill in the blank with my: iPad, my Android phone, or my Galaxy Tab…
Every morning, when my kids lived here, I would call them downstairs for breakfast. My youngest (a.k.a. Mr. Charming) would try his luck daily. “But, Dad, I NEED COCOA PUFFS”. “No, son”, the prematurely curmudgeon (a.k.a me), “you need breakfast”. It seems like the same thing is happening today in the workplace. Everyone – and based on the lines outside the Apple stores recently, that can’t be much of an exaggeration- wants to bring their iPad (or iPad2) to work, use their iPhone or Droid instead of the company issued phones, not to mention a Mac. The Motorola Xoom is a hybrid that maybe even defies categorization – and I am sure that if you own one, you want to bring it to work. This creates a number of headaches. I would strongly suggest you consider the following issues:
1. Data security- when an employee can access data from your company, is that data going to be secure on his device? Can someone else breach his security on that device and access your data?
2. Are you paying for needless surfing? With the new AT&T pricing plan for Internet access, using the iPhone or Droid can cost you a premium if you exceed the total amount of data usage on your plan. If your employee wants to use a smart phone and you are paying for the mobile plans, make sure your plan matches the increased usage that comes with a smart phone – before you agree!
3. Is that Droid safe? Can it compromise your network? There have been malware cases reported by users whose smart phones use the Droid operating system. If you let the phone on your office network- is your network secure?
4. Are the new toys/devices going to increase productivity or increase distraction? Last year the mantra was reducing costs. Now, the new mantra is improving productivity.
5. If one of your top people- C level – brings their device to work, are you going to have the infrastructure in place to meet their expectations? Do you have enough wireless access points? Enough bandwidth?
6. Continuation of above. If one of your top people brings their device to work, are you (and your staff) going to have to contort your systems to enable the device(s) to work on it and meet their expectations? Case in point- if they get a smart phone, does your voice messaging client work with their device? Are there apps for that device that require additional (unplanned) expense?
7. Are the devices that are coming to work going to be (today’s) influencers in your upcoming (tomorrow’s) IT decisions? If “John” in sales brings his iPad and the VP of marketing decides that everyone needs one, will your budget get blindsided?
8. If you are using SaaS applications – do you have enough licenses?
9. Is your staff going to have to support devices that they are unfamiliar with- and be made to look “less than”?
I don’t have answers for you – but I think that there is no “one size fits all” solution. However, you should consider these nine issues before the barrage of devices hits you!