Making IT real

So you've converged your data networks, implemented unified communications technologies, and life is good, right?

Well, maybe. Are your users actually using the technology the way it was designed to be used? Do they ignore presence functionality that tells them the best way to annoy the tea lady is to e-mail her, when she'd rather be called on her cell? Does your UC integrate with things that matter - like your business processes?

Says T-Systems' Dean Young: “People tend to do things a specific way due to the functions they have on their desktop. To move to UC and get the benefits means changing the user's behaviour. Hot-desking is another thing. UC plays a big role because your desktop is with you the whole time, on your laptop, mobile device, PDA. All your features are with you the whole time, which means you don't have to have a desk, or permanent office location. This is changing how people work.

“People tend to adopt technology quite quickly,” he adds. “When cellphones came out, a lot of people said they didn't want one. Now no one can do without one. It's to do with how you train people to use the technology. We tend to give them a device plus features but don't teach them to use it properly.

“The youth are different, though,” he comments. “Give them a device and they'll go experiment because of the mindset they have. Older people won't. And it makes a difference to how people use UC as a collaboration medium.”

“We find it really boosts productivity,” says Vodacom Business' Ermano Quartero. “You don't get up and walk to go see someone in the next building or office. You just boot up a call.

“The real benefit comes when the guys are mobile. The bandwidth is here, and is slightly ahead of the curve because with 3G, you can get reasonable quality. We see a lot more productivity with mobile workers as a result. For example, a salesperson, before a meeting, can have two or three video calls while they're waiting, then go into the meeting better equipped. They can also turn the meeting into a conference - plug into a proxima and call in subject matter experts via Webex, etc.”

UC has also ceased to be techie mumbo-jumbo, he notes.

“UC has progressed to a stage where you don't need to be a boffin. You need the latest Microsoft, fire it up and you can see who's available. Lots of cameras and mics are built into machines these days too. I think in the next 18 months, a lot of people will take UC for granted. Where 12 months ago it was still a bit of a dark science, now it's becoming everyday use.”

“We're seeing everyone saying UC will drive productivity and improve efficiencies,” says Accenture's Warwick Talbot, “but right now, the way it's being implemented is just technology. So you can dial directly out of Outlook and save a few seconds, but we're not seeing real efficiency, and the vendors haven't really explained it.

“Unless you are using it in your business processes, it's never going to happen,” he states. “You need to embed UC into your business processes so it reduces cycle times. Instead of treating ERP or CRM as separate to your communications structure, you need to integrate it. So if a call centre agent is looking for a subject-matter expert to escalate a problem to, it should be a single click to find, and a click to connect to the person. That's where it reduces time and increases productivity.

To move to UC and get the benefits means changing the user's behaviour.

Dean Young, head of telecommunications presales, T-Systems

“Most of what people are doing now is struggling to find people, then sending e-mails or phoning until they find them. Integrating presence into a system so the agent can pick from a list of experts in an area and click to dial whichever one is available could reduce business process cycle times by five or six times.

“If you start progressing that down to being able to see people available on mobiles, use smartphone interfaces to indicate presence, and so on, it is far more business impactful than having an IP-phone on the desk.

“We are seeing companies implementing IP telephony systems but not really changing user behaviour,” he notes. “They have all the tools and carry on doing business the same way they used to. Having it integrated into business processes is rare and in the few companies that have integrated it, they haven't changed the business process to get any benefit out of it. You need to teach people to use the technologies and change the way they do business to make it worthwhile.”

Like many technology decisions, getting real benefit from UC is dependent on getting buy-in from the people involved, something that still seems to be forgotten.

As the South African unified communications (UC) market remains at an early growth stage, it presents profitable opportunities for telecommunications service providers in the country. So said research house Frost & Sullivan, in a recently released statement.

Opportunities for service providers include offering individual UC components/applications as well as fully integrated UC solutions, the company says.

“However, the challenge for vendors and system integrators is to demonstrate to customers the benefits of UC and its return on investment, as there is a lack of industry standards on its applications and solutions as well as successful case studies. Hosted UC solutions and cloud computing will help in overcoming the bottleneck of service adoption as they minimise the capital expenditure on UC infrastructure and IT spend,” the statement notes.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, 'South African unified communications market', finds that vendors in this market earned revenues of $60 million in 2009 and estimates this to reach $409.7 million in 2016, it says.

“Outsourced contact centre services are driving the adoption of UC,” notes Frost & Sullivan ICT research analyst Jiaqi Sun. “The demand for hosted UC applications will attract SMEs and SOHO users.”

Outsourced contact centres are major areas for UC applications, the company continues. “They are focus areas for improving the quality of customer support services, which is increasingly considered as a key value-added service for telecommunications service providers. At the same time, hosted UC solutions are poised to drive market growth as SME and SOHO customers boost their spending on UC solutions in the near future.”

Frost & Sullivan says the lack of skilled labour looms as a major challenge to market development, however. “The requirement of intensive on-the-job training is considered a major bottleneck for UC market growth, as the implementation and maintenance of UC systems require high levels of ICT expertise,” the company comments.

UC has progressed to a stage where you don't need to be a boffin.

Ermano Quartero, managing executive of converged sales, Vodacom Business

Legacy customer premise equipment also threatens market prospects by restraining system integration, it says.

“Legacy infrastructure on customers' premises prevents businesses from deploying and integrating advanced and cost-effective UC applications,” explains Sun. “This is due to the fact that some organisations will not benefit from improved voice and data communications as these businesses are small in scale.”

Interoperability of different applications and systems poses yet another challenge for UC adoption, according to Frost & Sullivan. “Although vendors have been seeking industry standards to align their hardware and software, system integration remains an issue when products of different vendors are connected on-site,” it states.

“The skills shortage in the South African ICT sector requires the government's engagement on continuous education,” states Sun. “Such initiatives started a decade ago and are set to yield positive results in the near future.”

Equally promisingly, legacy equipment is anticipated to gradually be replaced in educational institutions, the company explains, and distance learning is becoming an effective tool to extend training to people who are otherwise constrained by their location.

“The government at all levels is migrating to the next generation IP telephony system, thereby reducing the issue of system integration related to legacy equipment,” concludes Sun. “Moreover, the inconsistent standards of UC products are expected to change, as vendors demonstrate greater willingness to form partnerships with each other to bundle their competitive strengths.”