With concerns about the economic climate as well as the warming global climate, companies are taking a hard look at costs and the environmental impact of their operations. Globalisation is expanding operations and the need to coordinate supply chains and service customers in markets around the world.
Galdon Data CEO Garry Ackerman says it has become imperative that employees coordinate and collaborate with colleagues and partners in multiple time zones, often incurring the high cost of travel to operating budgets and the environment.
“Many companies are finding that with Microsoft Unified Communications, a healthy global business and a healthy planet go hand in hand.
“By allowing workers to meet, connect, and collaborate without having to be physically in the same place, Unified Communications helps reduce the costs and carbon impact not only of business travel and commuting, but enterprise telephony and office space as well. The results are positive for the bottom line - and the planet.”
A landmark study of CIOs and IT directors of Fortune 1000 companies found travel reduction is a top-line initiative. Approximately 53% of Fortune 1000 organisations surveyed have a policy in place to reduce employee travel, and another 30% plan to put one in place in the next 12 months. Top reasons cited for travel reduction were to reduce expense, increase employee retention, improve work/life balance, save time, boost productivity, and reduce carbon emissions and environmental impact.
The study found that 86% of executives stated that it was “important” or “very important” that geographically dispersed workers be able to collaborate. More than 56% have policies in place to reduce carbon emissions, and another 23% plan to implement a policy within the next year. Of these companies, 94% are using collaboration tools such as Web/video conferencing, or are planning to use them for travel and carbon reduction in the next 12 months.
Ackerman says Unified Communications allows geographically distributed teams, mobile workers, and teleworkers to communicate and collaborate effectively anytime, from anywhere. “It gives them the flexibility to access the people and information they need, whether they're on the other side of town, the country, or the world. Unified Communications integrates key business communication solutions into a single easy-to-use interface.”
This includes secure mobile e-mail, calendaring, voicemail, instant messaging (IM), voice communications (coice over IP, which can be integrated with the organisation's PBX), Web conferencing, video conferencing, audio conferencing and presence availability. Workers can quickly and easily find the right person and click to communicate from within everyday software applications and business processes.
He says the nature of the workplace, and of work itself, is fundamentally changing as enterprises free their employees to be productive from anywhere, anytime. “Those that capitalise on the New World of Work build better work environments for their employees, while slashing carbon footprints and the expenses that come with unnecessary resource use.”
Microsoft Unified Communications delivers bottom line savings and boosts overall business performance while reducing the environmental impact of global operations. By eliminating the time lag associated with travel and allowing geographically dispersed teams to connect instantly, Microsoft Unified Communications promotes better, faster decision-making.
Web conferencing capability allows workers to convene meetings on-the-fly via a real-time Web conferencing link, with audio and video capabilities that replicate much of the rich interactivity and visual cues of face-to-face encounters. Any number of employees can participate in these conferences from anywhere, using nothing more than a laptop PC for Web conferences plus a simple webcam for video conferencing. Now there is no longer a need for dedicated rooms with systems that are high-priced, overly complicated, and underused.
Presence capability allows each individual to view a co-worker's availability, and to choose the most appropriate communication method for the task at hand. This increases productivity and reduces the “time-to-decision”. Employees can also switch seamlessly between communication modes as circumstances dictate, for example, upgrading an asynchronous text-messaging exchange to a real-time video conference.
With integrated communications embedded in familiar business applications, Microsoft Unified Communications offers a seamless and intuitive experience. Users may start an IM, schedule a meeting, or place calls right from within Microsoft Office Outlook, Microsoft Office Excel, and Microsoft Office Word. Since there is only one client to learn and use, this delivers a solution that users are much more likely to embrace compared to one trick systems and piecemeal approaches.
By having insight into a co-worker's “presence,” users can easily view his/her availability, and choose the most appropriate communication method for the situation. In a study of 15 early adopters of unified communications, Forrester Research calculated that organisations could reduce travel 10% initially, and up to 30% when Microsoft Unified Communications is widely deployed. The study calculated that a 23% reduction in travel for a 4 000-employee firm could save approximately R12 million over three years. These estimates do not include the indirect savings, eg reducing the lost productivity from time spent in transit between appointments; recovery from jetlag; waiting in airport security lines; or running the gauntlet of flight delays.
Of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” as listed by Fortune magazine, 82 provide telecommuting opportunities. By enabling flexible working arrangements that reduce time spent commuting, Microsoft Unified Communications is one of a firm's most potent means for improving employee satisfaction and retention.
“Knowledge workers desire a proper work-life balance yet are expected to be available for more hours of the day. Work-from-home options enabled through Unified Communications optimise individual schedules outside of the traditional eight-hour workday. They connect distributed workforces for off-hour meetings that span time zones or oceans, giving global businesses 24/7 coverage without overburdening workers,” he explains.
More importantly, companies offering teleworkers shared office spaces eliminate the need for permanent offices. This has a substantial impact on “brick and mortar” real estate investments, with a corresponding reduction in energy, operational and maintenance costs, and in the organisation's carbon footprint.
Collaborative technologies allow employees to work from anywhere for more flexible space planning. Companies also save the costs and environmental impacts of heating and cooling, land use, and construction, providing parking spaces, and the air quality issues associated with filling those spaces.
“Microsoft Unified Communications applies a software-centric approach that simplifies the communications infrastructure. It harnesses existing PBX systems through a VOIP/PBX gateway, sparing companies from having to radically overhaul existing infrastructures, while providing a path to a comprehensive system on a single platform and network,” he adds.
Communication devices are standard commodity hardware (multimedia-enabled personal computers, IP-based desk phones, USB plug-in headsets, webcams, and other voice and video devices), which generally consume far less power than conventional phones and dedicated devices.
“With Microsoft Unified Communications, you can join the ranks of companies that have recognised that improving global competitiveness, boosting business performance, and reducing carbon output are one and the same,” he concludes.
For more information, contact Galdon Data on (011) 805 4420 or e-mail sales@galdon.co.za.
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