Beating Circuits into Packets: How to Approach Unified Communications Implementations
Here’s a recent article I wrote for CDW…
Now it’s the phone’s turn.
Once the only way to initiate and conduct a spontaneous, real-time interaction with a remote person, telephony has become just one method among many for initiating and conducting a dialog. And, when compared to the other, mostly data and web-based methods, it is not always the best, and certainly not the most manageable.
As use of email, instant messaging, text messaging, web conferencing and collaborative portals expands, many companies are bringing the phone up to date by unifying communications across the enterprise. But, like anything worth doing right, it takes work to realize the promise of Unified Communications.
In fact, according to CDW’s 2009 Unified Communications Tracking Poll, top concerns among organizations planning for UC implementations are network security (45 percent of responders), equipment and capital costs (44 percent) and operating costs (42 percent).
IP-based platforms can be just as reliable as circuit -switched networks. However, the right implementation and architectural foundation are critical and depend on a well-conceived implementation plan. The best solutions address the people and technical readiness of the organization.
Integrated work needs integrated communications.
The bedrock people principle underlying unified communication is the idea that “work” crosses traditional boundaries and therefore unified communication is the most reliable way to manage an entire suite of technologies and practices that aim at seamless functional integration of voice, video and other data regardless of device or media used.
The good technical news is that existing IP networks already form the backbone of protocols and practices that underlie web-based technologies (websites, instant-messaging, streaming, point-casting, multi-casting, etc) and unified communications adds the various aspects of telephony into that mix.
So what is unified communications? Depending on who you ask, there are a number of definitions. UC combines IP-based platforms with web, audio and video conferencing as well as instant messaging and other presence applications under a single control panel so that end-users can manage preferences for their mobile and desktop “presence.”
Research firm Gartner Inc., takes it a step further and defines UC as “a direct result of the convergence of communications and applications through the integration of products that facilitate the use of multiple enterprise communication methods, including equipment, software and services.”
The key word in Gartner’s definition is ‘enterprise.’ Because UC adoptions are enterprise wide and usually involve stakeholders from networking, messaging, data and telecom, UC requires careful pre-rollout analysis and a clear understanding that not all networks are created equal, says Sarwar Raza, 3Com’s product line manager for IP telephony.
Not all networks are created equal because some networks grow organically while others grow through mergers and acquisitions. The landscape is further complicated by the network itself as some networks evolve from traditional PBX platforms, others evolve from traditional data-switch platforms and a third group is designed from the ground up for IP-based communications. No matter what scenario, the complexity of the deployment and the architecture that supports the implementation should be carefully evaluated.
Look before you leap
“Before you do anything, identify network bottlenecks. A successful migration to unified communications requires a comprehensive evaluation of the amount and type of voice traffic carried over the network. Conduct detailed network assessments (the more granular – by floor or department for example, the better), and end user surveys that capture current pain points as well as determine what currently available features users can’t live without. You never know where your traffic is coming from unless you look,” said Raza.
Raza advises organizations to conduct traffic simulations based on applications they plan to deploy.
“Factor in the nature of your business and how critical your new solutions are to accomplishing your mission, how your users will accomplish their missions, the age of your infrastructure and applications, and the availability of talent (in-house or external) and funding needed to ensure your business keeps ticking,” said Raza.
The planning and discussion is worth it. Unified communications represent a big IT win due simply to operating cost reductions and consolidation of infrastructure. The ROI story is even stronger when the additional benefits of improved reliability, better utilization and support for remote workers, reduced travel expenses, improved communications reliability and better collaboration among distributed workgroups are factored in.
“Making life easy for someone in the executive-suite should not translate to adding several steps to a commonly performed task elsewhere in the organization. Account for everyone’s needs before making a decision. Coordinate rollout timing with slow times and anticipate and plan for a little down time and end-user training/ramp-up,” adds 3Com’s Raza.
In addition, user demand drives “rogue” adoption of IP-based tools such as instant messaging and personal mobile devices. UC minimizes the arrival of “rogue” services on the corporate network and the exposure of confidential corporate information to “after hours” work on unauthorized platforms further reducing corporate liability in the event of breach
Although the benefits are easy to see, in recessionary times, making UC a priority and getting executive buy-in requires a compelling ROI argument.
Build a business case to reduce latency
Irwin Lazar, VP of Communications Research for Nemertes Research advises IT execs to focus on areas where a key performance metric is customer response time. UC naturally speeds customer response and helps departments such as sales and customer service provide answers to customers faster.
After all, the intent of UC is instant communication beyond traditional phone and e-mail with voice, video, IM, and wireless.
“You can’t sell soft productivity improvements in today’s economic climate,” said Lazar. “You need hard numbers. One area for fast ROI comes from a reduction in human latency – situations where you answer a customer faster or respond to a customer support request in less time. UC naturally lends itself to situations where speed matters.”
Building the business case usually starts with a line of business manager. Lazar stresses the importance of building a cross functional team represented by governance, voice, messaging, desktop and security roles. Power users of the current and new systems should be part of the pilot program (in addition to the IT staff helping with the decision) and should be required to present detailed use cases of key everyday tasks.
“We recommend getting all these people talking to each other early in the process. We’ve heard stories where line of business teams get half-way through their vendor selection and only then do they bring in, for example, people from compliance,” said Lazar. “You don’t want to find out half way through the project that the retention policy for email may be different from the voice mail retention policy. The last thing you want to do is go back to the drawing board.”
Security
Getting security involved early in the process makes sense. In fact, adds, Kevin Johnson, security product manager at Avaya, “You already have a security policy in place. If you are comfortable with your existing policy, adjust it to accommodate the specific UC functionality. There is no need to start from scratch because many UC products run on a standard operating system (often RedHat) and you already have security policies in place for the common operating systems. Leverage the existing policies and add in the UC specific requirements.”
It is also important to factor the impact of various government regulations such as HIPAA, GLBA, SOX, Basel II and PCI when it comes to setting your UC security policy.
“Thankfully, if you look at your existing security policies, most of these regulations have already been considered. For the UC specific functionality, continue to use common sense. Just because the device exists on your network doesn’t mean you should assume that it is trusted and secure, use strong authentication, lock down all ports and encrypt the signaling / media communications. This translates into minimizing opportunities for a breach to occur from outside or inside of your network,” said Johnson.
Budgets drive architecture decisions
Kevin Gavin, VP of Marketing for ShoreTel, a Sunnyvale, CA based provider of unified communications systems, says that operating environments and budgets will determine whether previous investments in technology will be incorporated in the rollout or discarded in place of more fully featured UC platforms.
“As a buyer, it makes sense to look at the architectural approach that the various vendors are using. Different approaches can have a huge impact on reliability, scalability and total cost. Look hard at what it does and how does it does it. Ask yourself what are the implications for me as a buyer? What happens if for some reason a piece part fails? How quickly can we recover? And, make sure you ask how much it will cost you to implement, administer and operate?”
Gavin recommends the following:
* Bring at least three vendors to the table and evaluate their architectural approaches. Ask vendors and their customers to explain and demonstrate the associated advantages/disadvantages.
* See the real working system with your own eyes. Ask the supplier for a demonstration of capabilities so that you can see the system working first hand.
* Conduct a thorough TCO evaluation keeping in mind that the upfront cost is not the total cost of the solution. The upfront represents about 30% of the total lifetime cost. The biggest expenses are maintenance expenses. Capture all their costs and various cost components, do a proper financial analysis. Simple solutions are the least costly over time
* Get references. Make sure you ask for references that are similar to your company in terms of size and architecture. Ask the tough questions and listen hard to their responses. If the references aren’t raving fans, you haven’t found the right vendor.
For any IT organization, the promise of UC is realized when the voice silo disappears and telephony becomes a seamless part of the total technology stack.
Anticipating future requirements
It is impossible to predict the future.
“But,” said Jeff Rodman, co-founder and CTO of Polycom’s voice division, “the ideal UC infrastructure has everyone playing the same game, with the same strategy and the same rules. Early in the evolution of UC, we saw end users and suppliers building their own ad hoc UC capabilities. They stuck half a dozen tools together in a way that did a basic job but none of the parts worked well with the other parts,” said Rodman. “Thankfully, the industry has moved toward standards and we are evolving very nicely toward a world where UC components can communicate across functions and across companies. Many of the major vendors are playing by the same rules now.”
For companies concerned about the cost of major infrastructure upgrades to support major UC rollouts, this is good news because most UC systems now openly communicate. Rodman advises IT buyers to make sure any new investment decisions keep an eye to the future.
“Keep your options open. Every IT manager should look for systems that use common standards for interchange. Your current vendor may not be the vendor that provides the best functionality for a given function. When your systems communicate with open standards, that gives you the most flexibility in evaluating future vendors.”
And finally, advises 3Com’s Sarwa Raza, “just because it is web based doesn’t always mean it’s trivial to configure and manage. Make sure administrators take full advantage of training/certification options, and service and support contracts, and that they have the correct tools at their disposal to be able to manage and troubleshoot performance issues (almost always network related) and day to day tasks (moves, add, changes etc.)”
PITFALLS
UC can drive major organizational cost savings and improve collaboration. According to Sarwar Raza, Product Line Manager for 3Com’s IP Telephony solutions, it is important to understand the following implementation pitfalls upfront to avoid making costly mistakes.
* Don’t make the assumption that all equipment and applications can be ‘ported’ as is from existing systems.
* Make sure any new investment decisions keep an eye to the future: pick UC vendors that support industry standards, and can interoperate with other vendors’ products and applications.
* Avoid rushing the discovery phase to avoid surprises during roll-out.
* Ensure that all aspects of the rollout have been planned and budgeted for.
* Conduct detailed network assessments (the more granular – by floor or department for example, the better), and end user surveys that capture current pain points as well as determine what available features on the system being replaced or upgraded users can’t live without.
* Involve business stakeholders in all phases: discovery, planning and implementation
* Coordinate rollout timing with known slow times for the business and anticipate and plan for a little down time and end-user training/ramp-up.
* Buying decisions should account for realistic and likely growth – in various forms. Not all organizations will grow in the same location or at a predictable pace.
* Pick platforms and vendors that are proven to play well with other systems and vendors, and insist on open standards instead of vendor specific protocols and technologies for assured investment protection.
* Web based does not equal trivial: Just because it’s web based doesn’t always mean it’s trivial to configure and manage.
TAKE AWAYS AND LESSONS LEARNED
These “take aways” and more are available in the CDW Unified Communications Poll, available at http://www.cdw.com/uctrackingpoll.
* UC will only function as well as the infrastructure it is built upon. If that infrastructure is not robust enough to handle the increase in network traffic, you will not get the results you are hoping for.
* Review your current business and network environments, assess current and future needs, and incorporate all three into the Scope of Work for design and implementation.
* For most, UC is a phased approach leading to an end goal that meets your business/organizational communication goals – it is not a one-size-fits-all, packaged solution. Enlist a trusted advisor to help determine which approach and component technologies are best for you at each step.
* Organization or facility changes and infrastructure updates are an opportunity to implement component technologies and lay the foundation for UC.
* Identify key drivers and stakeholders; the organization drives overall telecommunications, while operating units drive application integration.
* Be clear on what are requirements vs. nice to have; involve end users.
* Use strong project and schedule management methodology throughout the process.
* In most organizations, dedicated technical resources work best, and leads should be given responsibility to own a portion of the project.
* The challenge doesn’t end with cutover; Day 2 support needs to be part of the design.
* Training plans are critical for administrators, end users, and call center agents alike. Begin preparation during installation and configuration.
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