* Verizon Business offers suggestions on how to build a successful UC&C plan
Verizon Business recently published some suggestions about how build a successful Unified Communications and Collaboration (UC&C) plan, focused on what enterprises need to consider when making the move to unified communications. The tips follow the company’s launch of UC&C in September this year. Verizon Business has both premises-based and hosted solutions, along with professional services that support UC&C with planning, consulting, deployment, and ongoing management.
From a broad perspective, Verizon Business suggests that organizations need to evaluate and measure how UC&C will benefit their organizations, determine whether the enterprise has adequate in-house technical resources, personnel and network capacity; and define how to integrate UC&C into business processes to align the deployment with critical business initiatives.
At a more detailed level, Verizon Business suggested that in preparation for UC&C, enterprises should:
* Invest in advanced IP networks since “UC&C starts with a capabilities-rich IP infrastructure. . . [and] flexible and expansive IP networks serve as the foundation of a successful UC&C deployment.”
* Inventory technology and personnel resources to better understand the technological scope of UC&C deployments and “help identify potential network, equipment and application gaps.” Verizon Business also recommends a skills-assessment of technical staff “to identify possible new hires and individuals requiring additional training.”
* Align technology with business objectives to “make purchasing decisions with a focus on meeting specific business goals.” Any deployment should be designed to maximize the impact of UC&C on business processes. The enterprise should also establish benchmarks for success to better understand its ultimate objectives.
* Create a comprehensive roadmap that is “far reaching and covers areas such as technology and finances, as well as detailed deployment and implementation plans.”
* Tackle security at the onset, with a design that integrates “seamlessly with a business’ current network and leverage existing technology investments.”
* Determine capabilities for ongoing management and decide “whether in-house staff has the skills and time required to effectively manage and troubleshoot performance issues.” As needed, enterprise should “select a managed services provider with the people, tools and processes to help provide consistent performance of UC&C applications.”
* Develop support systems and processes so that the corporate IT staff is prepared to address end-user performance issues and questions.
* Train and educate end users “to help users adopt and embrace these new tools so they can work more efficiently and productively.”
* Measure and modify, with built-in milestones planned that “go beyond reliability and availability measurements to assess the impact of UC&C from a financial, customer service, business process and end-user satisfaction perspective.”
When we spoke with Laurie Shook, Verizon Business’ Portfolio Leader for Managed Unified Communications she said that the advance planning available using Verizon’s “Convergence Financial Analysis” has a very quick ROI since Verizon Business understands both the need of the users and the technology. Customers interested in deploying UC&C run across a wide spectrum of vertical markets with most customers deploying UC&C globally who especially benefit with applications like instant messaging and presence to improve collaboration and communications.
