Unified Communications Myths

An Industry Insight feature with Peter Anderholm, Alcatel-Lucent

Peter Anderholm, Director of Product Line Management for Alcatel-Lucent Unified Communication and Collaboration, explains the common UC myths and how to overcome the barriers to adoption.

“Unified communications (UC) offers great tools that make knowledge workers more productive while saving companies money. Focusing on hard ROI as a starting point and taking a phased approach can be the best strategy to ensure success.”
-Peter Anderholm, Director of Product Line Management for Alcatel-Lucent

Unified communications represent a step forward in the day of the life of the corporate knowledge worker. Knowing when and how to contact the people you need saves time, reduces dependence on expensive third-party services and enables you to think about the things that matter most. UC – presence-aware instant messaging coupled with telephones and real-time media – offers a way to do more with less and represents a change in the way knowledge workers do their jobs. The $45 billion market promise of UC has attracted investment from telecommunications stalwarts and desktop software giants, but myths overstated and perpetuated by industry analysts and media create barriers to widespread adoption.

Myth 1: UC is too hard to define, let alone deploy

What is UC? Can I leverage my current equipment? Is UC another headache waiting to happen? Are the promised savings real? These questions force IT decision makers into analysis paralysis – afraid of buying the wrong solution and being left with a technology boat anchor. The truth: the definition doesn’t matter. The UC toolset saves time and money, increasing employee productivity and innovation while reducing ongoing expenses. The UC toolset can complement existing telephone equipment and IT infrastructure and be phased in over time. This is not an all or nothing, now or never set of applications. There are products that bridge old and new, enabling focus on the UC applications that offer a hard ROI such as audio conferencing, web collaboration and mobility. These applications immediately increase shareholder value, clearing the path for applications offering softer ROI, such as IM and unified messaging. Once properly setup, UC applications require little more daily support than an email server.

Myth 2: UC is replacing dial-tone

Well-known desktop software publishers, armed with billion-dollar marketing campaigns and unparalleled means of distribution, have injected doubt and uncertainty into the market. Their message causes CIOs to pause, effectively minimizing widespread deployment until they build the telephony feature set required for everyday use. IM is a convenient, effective way of communicating, and presence is an absolute requirement, but these do not replace dial-tone. Most business continues to be conducted over the phone, and while the software publishers produce feature-rich business software, 100 years of telephony experience cannot be supplanted overnight. IT decision makers should trust and rely on their experience and look for tightly integrated solutions that offer the best of both worlds, telecommunications and desktop software. IT decision makers should work with the business stakeholders to identify and deploy a UC solution that supports the core business.

Myth 3: Cost models for UC are too complex

Premises-based, hosted, managed services, pay as you go, operating expense versus capital expense – the myriad of purchasing alternatives again forces decision makers into analysis paralysis. The key to overcoming this barrier is to focus on a first win that will achieve results. Due diligence is important, but some basics should remain in focus. Owning your UC platform means not having to pay for audio and web conferencing services, and corporate assets remain secure and private within your network. The ROI breakeven point is typically realized in months, and the savings can be applied to other facilities that improve productivity. Regardless of the delivery method, saving money and ensuring privacy and security remain the top priorities. Buy what you need for day-to-day use and use your service provider for large-scale, ad-hoc events. Small businesses benefit from flexible pricing and deployment options thus enjoying the same productivity gains as large companies.

Unified communications (UC) offers great tools that make knowledge workers more productive while saving companies money. Having been in the market for several years, it has been my experience that UC applications are stable and easy to manage and use. Focusing on hard ROI as a starting point and taking a phased approach can be the best strategy to ensure success.