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What are integrated business communications solutions?
You may have heard of IP telephony, unified communications, Voice over IP (VoIP), network convergence or any number of similar solutions. Many of these focus heavily on the replacement of existing phone systems with IP-based technology. At IBM, we see expanded possibilities using these solutions. We see the ability to create an integrated business communications infrastructure that allows you to connect, communicate and collaborate in new ways.
The shift to converged networks
Typically, these infrastructures were built in siloed environments, reflecting business divisions that may no longer exist, and they most likely have undergone independent modifications, customizations and upgrades. They represent a jumble of different voice, video and data technologies that were never intended to work together, but which, out of necessity, have been made to do so.
Compounding the problem are the changes that today's organizations are undergoing in their structures and compositions: Businesses are becoming increasingly distributed, with employees, customers and partners around the globe. And they have increasingly mobile workforces that are dependent on new communications devices with voice, video and data capabilities.
Beyond cost-cutting - changing the way you do business
Over the past few years, many organizations have started pilot programs to assess the value of implementing integrated business communications solutions. The problem is that, generally speaking, these assessments are being made based on the solutions' ability to help cut spending on telecommunications. And while implementing, as an example, a converged communications
They are creating an opportunity to change the way their organizations customer service. interact with customers, partners and suppliers, providing themselves with a chance to create differentiation from the competition by employing unique business processes and delivering superior customer service.
Companies that understand the full potential of integrated business communications solutions don't see them simply as a replacement for aging PBX (private branch exchange) systems or as a means of reducing the cost of doing business. They see an integrated business communications infrastructure as an investment they can leverage to enhance organizational dynamics and accommodate organizational change, to streamline their call centers and improve customer service, to boost employee productivity, to offer new types of services and products or to better work with their business partners. They see a converged network as an important component of the flexible and responsive infrastructure platform upon which they are building and growing their businesses.
A customer browses the Web site of a leading financial services company. The customer has an existing brokerage account with the company, but is visiting the Web site because he is interested in opening a retirement account. Confused by his options, he calls the company's customer service number and is forced to navigate a series of telephone menus before finally talking to a call center representative - who then has to determine what types of accounts the customer is interested in and route him to a product specialist.
Healthcare
A hospital in a rural area implements an integrated business communications infrastructure. It is able to equip its nurses with PDAs they can use to view patient test results and charts, send messages to doctors or other nurse stations, send inquiries to other departments or order supplies. The result is increased productivity within the hospital. But with the infrastructure in place, hospital administrators decide they want to expand their capabilities even further to attract new physicians and improve service to patients.
They adopt a video conferencing system that allows doctors at their hospital to see and diagnose patients at health facilities hundreds of miles away. In turn, doctors at the geographically remote hospitals can consult with specialists at other hospitals. In the future, they plan to roll out new services for their patients, including the distribution of tablet PCs that patients can use to order meals from a menu, browse a TV guide, play games, join a chat session, watch educational videos about their specific conditions or even review their bills.
With the flexible integrated business communications infrastructure in place, the possibilities for future innovation are almost limitless.
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