CDW PARTNER REVIEW GUIDE COLLABORATION

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1 CDW PARTNER REVIEW GUIDE COLLABORATION

2 REROUTING EXPECTATIONS FOR COLLABORATION If you ve tweeted, posted or friended lately, you know that the rise of social media has made on-demand, real-time communication and sharing a commodity. Have you realized that remote and mobile employees are becoming the norm? About twothirds of the labor force in North America works remotely or through mobile devices, at least occasionally 1 demanding support for offsite collaboration. And Forrester reports that teams are struggling to perform at high levels because of this mobility and the globalization of teams and expanding business ecosystems and supply chains. 2 As a result, IT organizations are expected by the business and employees to help users be more nimble, productive and even innovative. Collaboration initiatives may be largely driven by employees, but they are also the key to solving some of the mysteries of organizational excellence. Namely, how do you balance cost containment and revenue growth? And how can you address increasing client expectations, while improving business efficiencies? Better collaboration could be the answer: Reduces travel expenditures With web conferencing and telepresence solutions, face time doesn t have to mean travel time. Improves corporate communications Collaboration tools help organizations gain instant access to customer feedback and hold real-time meetings with colleagues near and far to foster innovative thinking. Enhances project management By streamlining document repositories and improving team communication, project managers stay informed about the real-time status of their projects. Accelerates problem resolution Instant messaging, presence and now social enterprise applications speed information sharing and provide instant access to experts anywhere in the organization, at practically any time, so there s always someone available to answer the what, how or why.

3 NAVIGATING THE NEW COLLABORATION LANDSCAPE WITH THE RIGHT PARTNER To realize promising benefits, many organizations are ready to make changes in their collaboration tools and approaches. Whether they are looking at new mobility initiatives to serve remote employees or supporting bring your own device (BYOD) practices, organizations must identify new solution providers, as well as take a look at the infrastructure that supports new collaboration tools and initiatives. A holistic review of the end-toend collaboration infrastructure is key to positively affecting the bottom line and achieving corporate growth. From the newest innovations down to the supporting hardware and network architectures, CDW understands collaboration and can simplify your mission, as well as customize a comprehensive, integrated collaboration approach that meets your needs. We can help you navigate the depth and breadth of available products, assess how well they can fit in your environment, and ultimately build a right-fit collaboration solution based on offerings from one or many of our partners. CHOOSING A PATH TO THE IDEAL COLLABORATION SOLUTION The key to a right-fit solution, regardless of which vendor or vendors you select, is to deeply integrate the components, which can include presence, instant messaging (IM), social media, video and other collaboration tools hosted onsite or in the cloud. An integrated solution provides employees and customers with access to collaboration tools that enable them to reach out, find answers, share information and resolve issues on their own. For employees, this increases their flexibility and streamlines processes, and, for customers, this improves customer satisfaction and loyalty. CDW works with many partners that offer unique collaboration approaches and product sets. Although we encourage evaluation of all solutions and products in the collaboration market, so you can truly create a right-fit solution, there are a few major players leading the charge for collaboration initiatives. Cisco, Microsoft and IBM are innovators in the collaboration space, offering on-premises and cloud-based solutions to address a broad range of customer needs.

4 Cisco also received a Champion ranking in the report. With interoperable IP [Internet protocol] telephony, UC [unified communications], video conference, mobility and collaboration solutions, Cisco is noted as having the most comprehensive strategy for enterprise communications. 3 Cisco s offerings are designed to provide users with access to the people and information they need anytime, anywhere and on any device. This partner can provide the systems, software and services to address customers collaboration goals and expectations. Or if the right infrastructure is in place and only components of a total solution are needed, its robust tool set features open architectures that can more easily integrate with existing infrastructure and help accelerate deployment times. CISCO COLLABORATION PRODUCT OFFERINGS The Cisco Quad collaboration platform includes social, mobile, visual and virtual tools designed to support collaboration initiatives. It is a robust tool made for today s complex and changing workforce. Cisco WebEx Meeting software allows users to meet online and to share and collaborate quickly and easily. It is designed for businesses of all sizes that want to collaborate online. The Cisco Jabber collaboration interface allows users to access their communications applications including IM, voice, voice messages, sharing and conferencing from a wide range of computing devices. It is designed to offer a unified experience from computers, tablets or smartphones, making it a promising solution for the remote worker. Cisco SocialMiner software enables organizations to proactively manage their social media presence while leveraging detailed reporting and monitoring capabilities.

5 Microsoft Lync 2010 is a resilient, scalable, feature-rich Unified Communications System. [It] should be in the short list of top three to consider for enterprises communications infrastructure upgrades. 4 Microsoft has a rich software suite designed for flexibility and choice, offering both licensed software as well as cloud-based software as a service. Customers that choose the cloud environment reduce needed hardware capacity and can decrease costs in teleconferencing, IT support and more. MICROSOFT COLLABORATION PRODUCT OFFERINGS Microsoft Lync enables IM; audio, video and web conferencing; VoIP and presence awareness all through the Lync interface, which is built to fully integrate with Microsoft Office software. Microsoft Lync Online is the cloud-based version of this offering. Microsoft Exchange provides clients with , calendars and content. Microsoft Exchange Online is the cloud version of the tried and true service, allowing users to make voice calls via the cloud and to share presentations or whiteboards with team members. Microsoft SharePoint is the document sharing tool that enables users to create, keep and share information with teams in a secure way. Microsoft SharePoint Online is the cloud-based version of this offering. Lync Online, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and other services are packaged into the Microsoft Office 365 cloud-based product suite. These cloud services are designed to reduce hardware capacity requirements, teleconferencing costs, IT support costs and more.

6 Only a few social enterprise vendors have standard integrations to existing enterprise communications infrastructure. One example is IBM, which has been putting social tools in the hands of Lotus users since 2007 via IBM Lotus Sametime Connect and providing open, reusable access to voice communications services via Sametime Unified Telephony. 5 Maturity is one of the most valuable assets that IBM brings to the table. For years, IBM has been developing innovative solutions designed to meet its customers collaboration requirements and now provides expertise and a robust solution set that can work in many environments. This partner can provide a comprehensive collaboration solution or individual software and services that meet specific needs and interoperate with other vendors products. IBM COLLABORATION PRODUCT OFFERINGS IBM Sametime software delivers unified, real-time communication and collaboration services, including enterprise instant messaging, online meetings, telephony and video conferencing. It is designed to let users connect, collaborate and innovate, while optimizing the way they work. It integrates well with existing PBX and almost any IP telephony infrastructures. IBM Connections social software for business offers communities, wikis, file sharing, status updates, project activities, shared bookmarks, moderation capabilities, ideation blogs and a media gallery. It is designed to help users create business value by embracing and engaging networks of people and by working in transparent and nimble ways. Organizations can elect for on-premises software or a cloud solution via IBM SmartCloud. IBM Lotus Notes and Domino messaging and collaboration software provides a platform for the development and deployment of collaborative and workflow-driven business applications. It is designed to help organizations evolve their critical business processes and collaboration workflows in a secure environment.

7 MAPPING A WAY FOR SUCCESS TODAY AND TOMORROW With CDW as your collaboration partner, you re provided with access to the latest technologies from across all of our partners to help you with your collaboration needs. Our consultative account managers and collaboration solution architects can reduce both the cost and the inefficiencies of your current collaboration technology by helping you select the best components whether from one partner or many for your unique needs. But you get more than just the right products. At CDW, we consider ourselves people who get IT. We can support you with the people, knowledge and skills you need to turn products into real solutions. We have certified solution architects and dedicated partner specialists who have collectively planned and implemented thousands of collaboration solutions. You can engage us for an end-to-end services engagement or just a little extra help when you re short of hands or time. We work with you to help assess, plan, design and implement solutions. Plus, we offer extensive ongoing service and support. Learn more: Please contact your account manager or visit CDW.com/collaboration 1 The Forrester Wave : Enterprise Social Platforms, Q3 2011, Forrester, August Social Enterprise Apps Redefine Collaboration An Information Workplace Report, Forrester, November Rise in BYOD Adoption Drives Innovation in Unified Communications Market, PRWeb.com, May Lab Testing Detailed Report DR101117B Microsoft Lync 2010, Miercom, January Social Enterprise Apps Redefine Collaboration An Information Workplace Report, Forrester, November The terms and conditions of product sales are limited to those contained on CDW s website at CDW.com; notice of objection to and rejection of any additional or different terms in any form delivered by customer is hereby given; CDW, CDW G and PEOPLE WHO GET IT TM are trademarks of CDW LLC; all other trademarks and registered trademarks are the sole property of their respective owners CDW LLC