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Kate Gerwig, Editorial Director
We've packaged the Q&As from the discussion. If you missed the event, here's your chance to find out what your peers are talking about. Learn what you need to know about the tangible benefits of unified communications (UC) and how best to translate business needs into communications applications and building blocks of UC that can actually save you money over the short and long term.
Question: Should we integrate social networks, like LinkedIn, etc., as part of our UC strategy?
Answer: That's a great question, and it's one that many companies are discussing/debating right now. On the downside, security and compliance are issues. Is the company responsible for erroneous information employees posted using the corporate resources? What if employees give away sensitive or damaging information about the company? And will this just be a huge time-waster, effectively eliminating all the productivity gains you expected with UC?
On the positive side, social networks can help promote the company and its activities. They can create a buzz around the organization, groups within it, and specific employees -- raising the visibility of an organization. Sites such as LinkedIn can help managers find prospective employees or get referrals. Generally, we see companies including this in the discussion of UC. Whether they integrate social networks depends on the type of company, legal/compliance issues, and whether there truly is a benefit for the company in doing so.
I've seen examples in companies where it's worked quite well, and a few where it has drained network resources and employee productivity.
Question: What has been done to lower the bandwidth when using IP for video transport?
Answer: Compression techniques (such as H.264 and
MPEG-4) are improving performance, resulting in lower bandwidth requirements. Also, companies are using optimization devices (from companies such as Blue Coat, Cisco, Riverbed, etc.) to make the network more efficient using compression, application acceleration, etc., making more room for video. But bandwidth requirements remain an issue, particularly for telepresence.
Question: How would unified communications be for budget-conscious nonprofits? How is security of the networks maintained?
Answer: Regarding nonprofits, I have some great case studies from nonprofits that have demonstrated business value from UC. First, in many cases, nonprofits can get equipment at deeply discounted prices, which certainly helps the business case. It depends on the type of nonprofit, of course, but if you have field workers whom you can equip with wireless devices so they don't have to come back to the office, one person can handle a larger caseload. I don't see security handled any differently with nonprofits than with other companies, but I would need to know more about your organization to provide specific details.
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Answer: You really do need to track organizational processes to justify the expense. That's one of the big benefits of unified communications. We see companies justifying the projects in so many ways, and often they are specific to that company. For example, some companies have justified a VoIP rollout just by MAC savings -- those that are spending, say, $400 per MAC and have many of them. Others justify unified messaging or mobility by having fewer people handle more things.
We found in our spring benchmark that VoIP and UC projects were cited at the top of the list for projects that would be totally safe, and those that would not slow down because of the recession. Those who planned to slow their projects did not do a business case. There was a huge correlation in the data. We have done cost models that detail the savings.
Nemertes Research has built several ROI calculators for various areas of unified communication -- VoIP, video, telepresence, unified messaging and UC dashboards.
About the speaker
Robin Gareiss is executive vice president and senior founding partner for Nemertes Research, where she oversees research projects and direction, conducts strategic seminars, develops cost models, and advises leading enterprises, vendors and carriers. She currently serves as chief financial officer, as well.
For the past 17 years, Robin Gareiss has worked closely with hundreds of senior IT executives, analyzing their use of technology and capturing best practices. Ms. Gareiss is a widely recognized expert in Voice over IP, convergence, collaboration, carrier services, IP networking, and branch-office technologies. She is a sought-after speaker at conferences and trade shows, including Interop, where she serves as chairperson for the Branch Offices track, VoiceCon, Mobile Business Expo, Supercomm, Telecom, and CeBit America. She also writes the Branch Offices Best Practices column for Network World.