Transcript UC: Seven Pitfalls to Avoid

Patrick Herron
VP – Product Management
Voice &
Telephony
Collaboration
Messaging
Video
Conferencing
Voice &
Telephony
ONE UNIFIED USER
EXPERIENCE ON ANY DEVICE
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Instant
Messaging &
Presence
One identity, multiple devices, for
all services
Flexible configuration options
allows users to control how and
when they can be contacted
PC, Mac, Android and iOS
Instant access to your colleagues
and customers availability
Your own virtual meeting room,
accesible anywhere, anytime
No more wasted time trying to find
people
Simply drag or invite people into
your room to communicate in the
most efficient way, audio, video,
chat and share
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Integrates with traditional
and new ways of working,
from a simple call to sharing
your ideas
“Trying is the first step to failure.” - Homer Simpson
More than 3 in 5 IT projects do not do what they were
supposed do for the expected cost within the expected timeline.
•
•
•
49% overrun budget
47% higher than expected ongoing costs
41% fail to deliver ROI
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4
Phil Simon – Why New Systems Fail
Lack of Vision and Employee Engagement in the Selection
Process
• Answering the question “Why” is very important when changing the
tools and ways in which employees will communicate and perform
their job functions.
• Employees need to understand the reason for the change, and be
given the opportunity to provide input with regard to their needs.
• If decisions are made in isolation without input or review by
employee representatives, then adoption of the UC solution will be
slow or possibly fail.
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Assuming the Existing IT Infrastructure and Network Can Handle UC
• Risks:
• Unplanned costs for additional equipment and broadband
• Initial user expectations are not met; slowing enthusiasm, adoption, and
reducing expected benefits impact
• Tweaking the existing infrastructure to support voice may impact data
traffic, resulting in slower response times, longer downloads or impede
mission critical applications.
• A proper LAN assessment to identify potential issues and preparing
the LAN infrastructure for UC is essential.
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6
Incorrect Phone/Service Selection and Assignment
• Providing a user the wrong phone/service can negatively impact
success of UC implementation.
• Using level, title, or department risks a mismatch.
• Better to evaluate and assign phones/services by matching to the
job attributes of the user.
• Employees at a single location with little cross-departmental
communication
• Employees that are geographically distributed may benefit from
cameras
• Employees that travel to customer meetings or between office
locations may benefit from mobile phones and UC clients.
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7
Feature Overload and Jargon when Discussing UC
• UC solutions can deliver 000s of features and service options.
• Only 20% of the PBX functionality is used by 80% of the users.
• KISS when introducing, training, supporting new UC solutions.
• Focus on those features that are most desired or needed by users
• Basic PBX features such as extension dialing, call forwarding,
simultaneous ringing and conferencing should be well understood.
• Logging into voicemail and the user portal to personalize the service
should also be covered.
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8
Overemphasizing the Benefits of Video Calls and Video
Conferencing
• The adoption of video continues to be problematic in a UC
environment, with more than half of users avoiding it entirely.
• A growing minority of users (24%) find video essential and a key
reason to transition to a UC solution.
• Presence and instant messaging are considered the most valuable
UC features.
• Users value accessibility and connectedness more than seeing the
other party.
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9
Underestimating the Cost and Time Required to Properly Set Up
and Train Users
• UC is a powerful business productivity solution; but can be complex.
• Training is usually a brief “show and tell”.
• Humans learn by doing; nothing replaces hands on experience.
• Focus on the basics, then build:
• How to make, take, and manage calls
• How to set up and use Unified Messaging, IM and presence
• How to install, login and use mobile clients and softphones
• How to set up and use collaboration tools
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No Assigned Evangelist
• Users will accept, adopt, innovate, or reject based on their level of
understanding and trust.
• People trust people.
• One or more evangelists needs to identified and made known to the
organization:
• Promoting the new IM, presence and collaboration tools
• Provide ongoing training
• Embodying management’s vision of the UC implementation
• While a C-level can be an evangelist, better choice is a tenured midlevel manager with the support of the management team.
Confidential and Proprietary. Subject to Non-Disclosure Agreement.
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Confidential and Proprietary. Subject to Non-Disclosure Agreement.
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