Although Unified Communications (UC) is a term that's frequently heard these days, finding clear - or even consistent - definitions can be a real challenge. Avaya has created a straightforward yet holistic definition: Unified Communications is the convergence of real-time and non-real-time business communication applications. Learn more today!
WHITE PAPER Maximizing Unified Communications
for Your Business
Guidelines for Success in Deployment and Solution Optimization
October 2008avaya.com
Table of Contents
Section 1: Executive Summary .....................................................................................1
Section 2: Unified Communications from a Business Value Perspective ................1
What Are the Hallmarks of Unified Communications?.............................................2 The First Hallmark of UC: Simplification..............................................................2 The Second Hallmark of UC: Integration ..............................................................2 The Third Hallmark of UC: Control ......................................................................3 The Impact of UC on Business Processes ............................................................3
Section 3: Preparing Your Business for Unified Communications............................4
Common Misconceptions About UC......................................................................4 The Planning Essentials .....................................................................................5 Establish and Empower an Experienced Project Manager........................................5 Conduct a Thorough Needs Assessment................................................................5 Assess the Current State of Business Communications...........................................6 Determine the Optimum UC Approach..................................................................6 Design the Actual UC Solution and Deployment Plan.............................................7
Section 4: Moving On to Deployment - and Beyond..................................................7
A Critical Deployment Checklist...........................................................................7 Validate Readiness.............................................................................................8 Additional Deployment Phase Requirements..........................................................8 Considerations on Assembling the Optimum Team.................................................9avaya.com Section 1: Executive Summary
Although Unified Communications (UC) is a term that's frequently heard these days, finding clear - or even consistent - definitions can be a real challenge. Avaya has created a straightforward yet holistic definition: Unified Communications is the convergence of real-time and non-real-time business communication applications. These applications include voice and video telephony, conferencing, collaboration, voice and video mail, instant messaging, email, calendaring and contacts. Users will access these capabilities using multiple .modalities including voice, data, and speech access; as well as through multiple devices - from mobile phones to PCs. Ultimately, these communications services will be embedded into a wide variety of core .business processes.
While advanced technology is certainly a necessary underpinning for UC, the real significance of Unified Communications is its ability to enhance the quality of the interactive experiences across the entire enter-prise. As the speed and efficiency of communications between employees, clients, partners and suppliers is enhanced, the benefits to the business show up in multiple ways - improved customer experiences, increased productivity, more frequent collaboration, reduced costs, and ultimately, competitive advantage.
As businesses worldwide convert their traditional voice and data communications infrastructures to IP networks, they are eager to leverage the unique capabilities of this technology to improve their operational .performance and market differentiation. Unified Communications represents an extremely powerful set of .converged network applications that can directly enhance a company's market advantage.
For business leaders that are interested in taking advantage of these new applications to gain a competitive edge, this executive brief first discusses the hallmarks and business benefits of Unified Communications, then ends with a set of recommended approaches to help companies ensure smooth and successful UC deployments that optimize application performance according to each business' unique needs.
Section 2: Unified Communications f... [download for more]
