BT Unified Communications and Collaboration Quick Start Service

Transcription

1 BT Unified Communications and Collaboration Quick Start Service The BT Unified Communications and Collaboration Quick Start Service enables organisations to cut through the confusion that surrounds the subject, and understand how they can exploit new and integrated team working technologies to dramatically improve the effectiveness of their communications. Guiding participants through a consultative, structured process, BT s experts introduce the benefits of unified communications and collaboration, and show where technologies can support participants plans for converged IT and telecommunications.

2 About BT s Unified Communications and Collaboration Quick Start Service Unified Communications and Collaboration As business communications have evolved from telephony through to , and more recently, instant messaging applications, the complexity of the management task has grown significantly. For many organisations, the stovepipe implementation of isolated technology solutions has meant that they have failed to gain maximum benefit from their communications and collaboration tools and infrastructures. Drawbacks of stovepipe approach to communications and collaboration planning: l Reduced productivity l Increased costs l Overburdened infrastructure l Business delays l Barriers to effective working and decision making l Employee stress Unified communications and collaboration (UCC) describes a state in which technology can facilitate almost every type of business communication between almost anyone at any time. Fuelled by the rapid consumer adoption of technologies like instant messaging and VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), UCC is being promoted aggressively by many vendors. The result has been to create confusion for corporate decision-makers seeking to implement scalable UCC solutions over their evolving infrastructures. With unified communications, workers collaborate with colleagues to solve business problems on an immediate basis. Unified communications eliminate technology silos and integrate applications to provide richer functionality for existing desktop and communication applications. Forrester, November 2006 Deployed correctly, UCC can transform productivity and empower a workforce by taking collaboration to a new level. Implementing UCC poorly can saddle an organisation with yet another isolated island of technology. In developing its 21st Century Network (21CN) BT s new, secure and intelligent communications infrastructure BT has faced and overcome the pitfalls of UCC implementation, giving our customers access to a UCC-ready infrastructure and tremendous implementation expertise. Exploiting Unified Communications and Collaboration The broad goal of UCC is to offer users a single communications interface which can include video, voice, instant messaging, presence awareness and collaboration. At its core is the deployment of selected technologies at appropriate points along an organisation s journey towards converged IT and telecommunications. Behind the scenes, networks can be consolidated into a single IP environment, and IT infrastructures migrated and rationalised into a minimal number of instances. This UCC infrastructure can then be employed by real-time communications in an organisation s business processes and workflows. BT s Quick Start Service concentrates on helping organisations to make these timing and technology choices correctly reducing risk and adding significant value to the organisation. Strategically, UCC offers the following compelling benefits: l Unifies teams by breaking down barriers to communication l Expands value by enabling the creation of business networks in real-time l Protects the business by making it easy to access corporate expertise l Maximises impact by allowing the best teams to assemble and perform virtually The BT Unified Communications and Collaboration Quick Start Service is a short and focused introduction to these opportunities. It includes an assessment of your company s readiness for UCC along with a planning exercise to define the scope and shape of the best deployment strategy for your organisation. This may include a number of initial options such as an in-house pilot initiative or a study of the Return on Investment (ROI) that UCC could bring to your business.

3 The process Status checklist Implementing UCC can affect many business functions, and so it is important to get a broad picture of the state of your infrastructure, your organisational awareness of UCC and your forward plans. The Quick Start Service begins with a Status Checklist that gives BT s UCC experts the relevant information to shape our service to your specific needs. From here, we can provide a Quick Start Workshop, a UCC Assessment and a Proof-of-Concept, as well as a comprehensive UCC solution. Level one: Quick Start Workshop When our UCC experts have an initial understanding of your path towards converged IT and telecommunications, BT will host an interactive workshop to highlight how a UCC strategy can align with your plans. This includes a discussion of how existing technologies can combine to provide the benefits of unified communications and collaboration. Topics likely to be discussed include: l Voice l l Video l Audio conferencing l Web conferencing l Instant messaging and presence l Mobility l File and application sharing records management and archiving l Team spaces and workgroup collaboration l Implementation and migration best practice l Security BT s experts will describe realistic scenarios in which UCC technologies can work together to address critical customer business issues: Originator issues: Receiver issues: Mismatch between technology and business Complexity of managing disparate systems The result of the workshop is an engaging and powerful presentation, giving you invaluable feedback on the potential of UCC to transform your organisation s communications capabilities. It will help you gain a better understanding of the practical application of the technologies, align people s expectations of UCC and build a business case for your future communications. l Managing multiple devices l Managing multiple telephone numbers l Disconnected applications l Delays l Rising number of s, instant messages, voic and mobile phone calls l Communications overload l Communications are frequently disconnected from business process applications l Declining productivity l Inability of users to access the right information and people quickly l Need for IP technologies to offer greater flexibility to support agile organisations l Escalating costs l Standardisation, consolidation and rationalisation of investment in existing infrastructure

4 The process Level two: Quick Start Assessment The UCC Quick Start Assessment gives you a detailed understanding of exactly what UCC can deliver and how it can add specific value to your organisation. Armed with insights from the Status Checklist and / or Workshop discussions, BT s experts engage with your decision-makers to assess how UCC will benefit selected business processes and user communities. We interview key stakeholders, identify where UCC technologies will have the greatest impact and carefully consider the potential effects on people, processes and the overall structure of your organisation. Building this roadmap enables us to communicate a strong vision of the benefits that UCC will bring to your business, together with a broad awareness of how to progress it. BT s representatives lead you through the process of building an ROI model that presents the financial case for a UCC programme. This helps to justify and secure budgets for business change, strengthen relationships among stakeholders and foster a better understanding of the issues faced by other parts of the business. The ROI model includes a detailed estimate of the savings that UCC will bring to: l The ICT organisation l UCC end users l Business outputs In each of the above categories, there are opportunities for ROI in hard cost-savings, productivity benefits and business output benefits. For example, UCC may reduce costs in both the ICT budget and the travel budget, and increase productivity for end users and ICT professionals. Where such opportunities make sense in the context of your own organisation, our ROI statement will describe them in detail. This considered approach provides you with the information you need to demonstrate the compelling financial case for change across your business. Additional Professional Services For clients who have established that evolution towards UCC is essential for their business, BT can provide the expertise to implement a Proof-Of-Concept or detailed final solution. The scope of this activity will vary according to the client requirement and can only be assessed after a thorough analysis of the business objectives, such as that delivered as an output of the UCC Quick Start Assessment.

5 The Outcome Business people today sit at the heart of a network of devices and services, many of which they transport from location to location. UCC automatically delivers information about which devices and services are available, which makes the communications landscape much more efficient. By linking voice, mobile and data services with the desktop, users can take part in almost any kind of communication to anyone at any time, wherever they are. BT s Unified Communications and Collaboration Quick Start Service will help you to identify how you can leverage your plans for converged IT and telecommunications to propel your organisation s communications capabilities to an entirely new level. The benefits of these initiatives depend on every customer s specific situation but regularly include: l Simpler collaboration and improved productivity users benefit from a more controlled and manageable communications interface, allowing more effective working and collaboration. Using instant messaging as an occasional alternative to mobile phones can lead to a 30% reduction in costs, a 40% reduction in traffic and a 15% reduction in voice messages (source: Unified Communications Applications: Uses and Benefits, Sage Research, January 2006)(1) l Increased responsiveness converged voice and data facilitates a rapid response to changing business needs and seamless communication of information to all stakeholders l Increased business agility geographically dispersed team members can function more effectively as a group, and benefit from shared resources and information l Reduced cost significant cost savings can be achieved through more effective communications management and reduced travel costs l Increased client-facing time people can increase time spent with customers through more effective communications management l Growth of business ecosystems UCC stimulates the emergence of informal business networks that provide additional opportunities to expand business throughout the value chain l Reduced carbon emissions UCC reduces the need to travel, lowering an organisation s carbon footprint and improving its green credentials After a BT Unified Communications and Collaboration Quick Start you will be able to: l Recognise the strategic benefits UCC can bring to your organisation l Appreciate a range of technology solutions that combine to deliver UCC today, and understand how they can help build a benefits case and drive ROI l Understand how to approach the implementation of UCC over your existing infrastructure l Assess the ROI of proposed UCC initiatives to your organisation l Embark upon a carefully-planned pilot implementation of UCC technologies

6 Status checklist The questions in this document will help BT s experts to assess your organisation s ability to implement UCC with minimum risk and maximum returns. Please tick the relevant box or provide a numeric rating as appropriate, and summarise your replies in the table at the end of the checklist. 1. Organisational awareness Is the phrase unified communications recognised across your organisation? Does a member of your IT organisation specifically own unified communications and/or collaboration? Is there a senior director with specific responsibility for unified communications and/ or collaboration? Does your organisation have a clear and specific policy for the introduction of UCC? Have your employees installed technologies like instant messaging without official sanction from the IT department e.g. Yahoo, MSN or AOL? Does your senior management recognise the potential benefits that UCC could bring to your organisation? Has your organisation ever conducted an official pilot project that employs UCC technologies? Have you ever assembled any cross-functional teams (e.g. legal, HR, security) to identify potential problems/opportunities that might arise from unified communications? 2. Opportunities Does your organisation require ongoing internal and external collaboration? Does your organisation strive for deeper communication and collaboration with customers and partners? Does your organisation engage in close partnerships or affiliations with external organisations? Do you have a distributed workforce? Does your organisation frequently need to train people in multiple locations? Does your organisation employ many people who spend a lot of time on the road? Do you operate in highly-competitive market conditions? Does your organisation give employee productivity and job satisfaction a high priority? 3. IT infrastructure Have you deployed, or are you considering deploying any of the following: Exchange ? Microsoft Live Communications Server instant messaging? Microsoft Office Communications Server? Microsoft SharePoint team collaboration or document management? Microsoft Windows Mobile mobile access to IT applications? Microsoft LiveMeeting? Audio, web and/or video conferencing solutions? Cisco TelePresence? Cisco Unified Communications Manager? Cisco Unified MeetingPlace? Cisco Unified Presence Server? Cisco Unity? IBM Lotus Notes? IBM Lotus QuickPlace? IBM Lotus Sametime? Webex? An MPLS backbone? Any other instant messaging & presence solutions? 4. Telecommunications infrastructure Have you implemented an IP-enabled voice infrastructure? Does your organisation have an ongoing plan to integrate its IT and telecommunications infrastructures?

7 Status checklist 5. Communications channels and collaboration tools used within your organisation, your suppliers, your partners and your customers Please rank how widely each of the tools on the left hand column is used for each audience - 1 being least used and 5 being most used. Instant messaging Mobile voice Fixed line voice Click to call Audio conferencing Web conferencing Video conferencing Application sharing Presence Blogs Podcasts Teamspaces and workgroup collaborations Wikis Your organisation Suppliers Partners Customers 6. Team working in your organisation, your suppliers, your partners and your customers Please check in the appropriate box effortless, moderate or difficult. How easy is it to track down and contact colleagues and clients first time? Your organisation Suppliers Partners Customers Effortless Moderate Difficult How easy is it to find information you share regularly in a team and be confident you have the latest version? Effortless Moderate Difficult Your organisation Suppliers Partners Customers How easy is it to set up and conduct ad-hoc conference calls? Your organisation Suppliers Partners Customers Effortless Moderate Difficult

8 Status checklist 7. Summary 1. Organisational awareness 2. Opportunities 3. IT infrastructure 4. Telecommunications infrastructure Subtotal Subtotal Subtotal 5. Communications channels Top ranked Second ranked Third ranked Your organisation Your suppliers Your partners Your customers 6. Team working # of effortless # of moderate # of difficult responses responses responses Your organisation Your suppliers Your partners Your customers

9 Why BT? BT has a unique understanding of both traditional voice networks and modern digital communications two domains critical for UCC success. Scalable from local networks to global enterprises, BT s solutions enable customers to start on a very small scale and gradually increase their commitment and integration as their experience grows. As we build our 21st Century Network, UCC is beginning to shape the way BT itself actually does business joining up a multitude of communications channels into a single, flexible medium that lets users choose how they interact with it. BT s technologies and expertise can validate a customer s infrastructure across the local and wide areas and into the data centre and IT environments. They can pinpoint issues within that end-to-end infrastructure and deploy fixes to ensure it is UCC-ready. Able to deliver a seamless service across both the IT and telecommunications environments, BT offers guaranteed service levels under the promise of a single service level agreement from the application to the wires. UCC is a unique combination of technologies fixed telephony, mobile infrastructure and information technology. BT is the only company that possesses the right combination of skills, services, experience and infrastructure to deliver a complete, industrial-strength UCC vision. Through its diverse technology heritage, BT s 21st Century Network draws these strands together network infrastructure, mobility and communications and collaboration. Customers everywhere stand to benefit from the realisation of a vision of a converged, multimedia world where customers can access any communications service, from any device, anywhere in the world at broadband speed. IT Services UCC solution Mobility Network infrastructure l Integration of IT, fixed and mobile infrastructure l A network embedded with unified communications applications l Information sharing and collaboration when in and out of the office (1) Source: Unified Communications Applications: Uses and Benefits, Sage Research, January 2006

10 Why BT? BT s track record in the provision of messaging, telephony and conference services extends over a period of 16 years, serving a range of global customers: l BT Manages more than 25 million messages each day, and over 1.5 million customer accounts l BT occupies a leader slot in Gartner s Magic Quadrant for networked IT services l We support over 6,000 audio conferences every day more than two million minutes a day l We support over 1,000 video conferences each week l BT provides messaging technology to over 250 customers for in-house deployment l BT is Europe s largest conferencing business with over 12,000 ports l BT hosts and manages Microsoft s EMEA LiveMeeting Web conferencing platform l BT has key partner relationships with industry-leaders like Microsoft, Cisco, IBM and Nortel l BT is deploying the world-leading 21st century network which is transforming communications across the globe About the BT Quick Start series BT s Quick Starts are concise, service-led engagements focused on key services and technologies that are of critical importance to organisations within the digital networked economy. These services and technologies combine to form a wider infrastructure model, each representing significant advances and long-term efficiency for the organisation deploying them. Quick Starts can be used as an integral part within an organisation s development roadmap. They enable customers to assess, test, plan and establish the validity of each service or technology in manageable parts. Each is formed of defined stages with clear outcomes and will provide the necessary information, not only for the technical aspects of deployment, but also for the commercial justification of infrastructure, network or other changes. What next? We can take you through the benefits and implications that would directly affect your organisation. In addition, we can help to build tangible examples that are more valuable to your business stakeholders. Contact your BT Account Manager to arrange a meeting and discuss collaborative working in more detail.

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12 Offices worldwide The telecommunications services described in this publication are subject to availability and may be modified from time to time. Services and equipment are provided subject to British Telecommunications plc s respective standard conditions of contract. Nothing in this publication forms any part of any contract. British Telecommunications plc 2008 Registered office: 81 Newgate Street, London EC1A 7AJ Registered in England No Designed by Loewy: London PHME 55834