With communications enveloped within IP and implemented through Web services and service-oriented architectures, communications is rapidly taking on different forms: It’s no longer about dial tone, but about applications.
For example, unified communications is a portal that unifies access to a wide range of siloed applications, such as instant messaging, e-mail, voice, chat, conferencing and collaboration tools. For users, unified communications simplifies work and increases productivity by reducing delays in accessing and communicating with others. Parallel to unified communications is the development of communications-enabled business processes, which inject communications capabilities into business operations to reduce human and systems delays associated with workflow. Unified communications will be the key user interface for delivering communications-enabled processes to users.
Unified communications can be thought of as a superset of IP-based communications. IP-based tools, such as Web, audio and video conferencing; unified messaging; and IM, have been around for a while. Unified communications is the superset of all these tools in which access to people and information is managed through one interface.
Unified communications is a big deal, but communications-enabled business processes is a bigger deal, because it seeks out and eliminates inefficiency because of the ability to mold, shape and weave communications into a more efficient business process.
Just as the Internet forced a major change to IT organization design, so too will unified communications and communications enablement. Business process will be reviewed and redefined. Siloed applications will be assessed and their access integrated. There will be a need to tightly link business initiatives and objectives to these communications-savvy applications.
These changes will not happen by themselves; they need a high-level IT executive to drive them — a chief communications officer (CCO). The CCO should be tasked with application-architecture development and oversight of unified communication and communications-enabled business process projects. The CCO should be responsible for IT vendor and service provider selection, working with the CIO and CFO during annual budget development. The CCO will need to transform business stakeholders’ IT requirements into projects and assess their total cost of ownership and ROI. In short, the CCO will increase Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization, and streamline business processes and workflow, thanks to this new era in communications.
Lippis publishes the Lippis Report newsletter, a resource for network and IT business decision makers. Get your free subscription at (www.lippis.com). He can be reached at nick@lippis.com.
