Combining voice, data, email and video communications into a single interface can help your organisation reduce travel, telephony and other related expenses.
Via real business case studies, this session demonstrates how a unified communications solution can result in faster and better decisions and organisational savings.
2. Agenda Today’s business challenges drive the need for innovative approaches Technology advances create opportunity for changes in business models Unified communications are the foundations for innovative business solutions Roadmap to Unified Communications Client success stories IBM with it’s partners provide organisations with industry leading solutions Why IBM?
11. IBM with its partners is ideally positioned to provide organisations with industry leading solutions IBM Ecosystem of ISV Partners Client solutions IBM Software IBM Research IBM Servers and Storage Product integration Product integration IBM Partners* Cisco AVAYA Nortel networks * Not all inclusive IBM Global Technology Services
Setting the scene… Today’s businesses face unprecedented dynamics in business model changes — in the way enterprises need to operate to respond to these business changes and in the communications required to support and respond to these new environments. For example: The doors to world marketplaces are opening wider each day to everyone as political and trade barriers continuing to fall and consumer buying power increases in previously closed or less developed countries. New businesses are operating with new business models. Businesses that didn’t exist ten years ago, like Google and Amazon, are flourishing—and more businesses are entering the marketplace every day. Existing players are creating competition with resourceful new business models or processes, such as customer self-service capabilities. For example, people can use the Internet to make airline reservations, select seats and print boarding passes before getting to the airport. The workforce is rapidly becoming more mobile. IDC predicts that by 2009, 878 million workers or 27.3 percent of the workforce is expected to be mobile. Virtual organisations can now exist by combining the best talents from around the world; and organisations can form and disband based on the project at hand without being overly concerned about geographic location Suppliers, partners and customers are collaborating in innovative ways—such as how eBay sellers and buyers, UPS and PayPal work together to enable an end-to-end transaction. Companies are increasingly taking advantage of outsourcing and off-shoring to increase cost-effectiveness and focus on their core business. All these dynamics drive the accelerating demand for communications —to reach marketplaces, support customers, enable new levels of collaboration and expand business operations. And this demand shows no signs of slowing. Like never before, clients, employees and partners expect increasing capabilities. Today’s newest employees grew up in the digital age; they’re used to communicating in real time—creating, collecting and sharing digital content with online communities that have similar interests anytime, anywhere. They use advanced web technologies to establish social networks to enhance idea sharing and collaboration. As customers and as employees, they expect this same level of support. Transition: A key enabler for these innovative approaches are the advances and proliferation of communications technologies…
Advances in communications technology and its ubiquitous availability continue to accelerate and provide opportunities for new ways to conduct business and to make companies more flexible and responsive. Today, the Internet has over 1 billion users worldwide—representing a 200% growth in users from 2000 to 2006—increasing the number of opportunities to reach or be reached by prospects, clients, employees and partners. Wireless capabilities, handheld devices and radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies continue to advance and become more cost-effective - yet another indicator of increasing mobility and network reach. Transition: Enterprises everywhere are capitalising on these advances for business innovation, flexibility and responsiveness. And although these innovative new approaches are happening as we speak, they also come with their own set of challenges.
Integrating communications can control costs, improve productivity and collaboration, and enable new business models Technology now allows organisations to cost-effectively run multiple types of network traffic—voice, video and data—over a single physical network. In fact, by consolidating administration and management via network convergence, organisations can potentially reduce costs. Integrated communications is critical. You need a platform that can, over time, allow you to: Communicate with anyone you wish (individuals or groups) Use whatever medium you want (voice, video, text, graphics or any combination) using a stand-alone communications device or function embedded within a business application Use whatever platform you have at your disposal—a computer, a telephone, a PDA, a network appliance or other specialized device. Communicate whenever you wish—in real time or asynchronously, for example via e-mail Creating these types of environments opens the doors to innovative applications… Click-to-call capabilities on the Web—Voice/Web or video/voice/Web combined with self-service content such as account information, bill presentment, service turn on/turn off and outage reporting to encourage Web self-service while offering support from a customer service representative. Multimedia collaboration between creative developers and specialists with real-time white boarding and screen sharing of plans, layouts, advertising copy, audio files, video files, and other files, diagrams and documents. Real-time Web-based collaboration (talking on the telephone with customers while interacting via the Web—sharing Web pages and diagrams, and completing forms) before final order entry to reduce order inaccuracies, minimise delays, reduce costs and increase customer satisfaction. Supply chain applications that integrate voice and data to speed exception/issue resolution and enable collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment. Transition: Converged communications is the foundation for an organisations’ ability to integrated all of these forms of communications. All of this depends on having the right infrastructure to support converged communications.
Why move to converged communications? There are tactical reasons, like getting immediate savings from consolidation of networks and reduced maintenance: Building/upgrading infrastructure or relocating New network infrastructure can be made capable of supporting converged communications Only a single cable plant is required; the same CAT-5 cabling is used for voice or data connections End of lease or support contract on obsolete PBX system Avoid excessive costs of continued maintenance contracts and mandatory software upgrades Discontinued support from manufacturer – Questionable availability of spare parts Lack of expansion capacity for an existing PBX system TDM expansion implies investment in proprietary chassis, line cards and phone-sets IP telephony system can be expanded more easily to accommodate growth resulting in cost savings IP Telephony is displacing TDM based PBXs Vendors have moved from TDM based PBXs to IP PBXs New IP voice shipments exceeded new TDM voice shipments in 2005 * IP solutions will be constitute 97% of all enterprise voice shipments by 2007 * * Source Gartner There are compelling long term operational cost take-out opportunities … Cost controls and containment Typically the Total Cost of Ownership of a converged network as opposed to two or three separate infrastructures is 30% lower Simplified maintenance and support: resulting from a single standards based IP network vs. two or three disparate networks and relevant skills sets Web based management and administration instead of multiple different tools Intuitive web based administration of moves, adds and changes without specialized knowledge of system or command line syntax IT costs including staff can be reduced or redirected to projects that add real value to the core business
The key point to raise here is that we are utilising Sametime across convereged networks Also all the features and functions shown here are out of the box, but it is important to know that we acknowledge that their existing investment in VoIP or Video conferencing is important, so we can integrate with all vendors, allowing for a “unified” experience of all Audio, Video and Collaborative data.
The solution environment, underpinned by IBM Global Technology Services, includes collaboration and synergy between industry leading partners as well as IBM core business and technology units, such as IBM Software, IBM hardware and IBM research competencies. Transition: The expertise, experience and breadth of capability offered by IBM can help your organisation to fully leverage converged communications. This is enhanced through IBM’s extensive partnerships with industry-leading vendors…
IBM has the valuable capability to bring together a diverse team of qualified professionals. We offer: A comprehensive range of services from a single provider—IBM holds key strategic relationships globally with major equipment suppliers, software companies and network service providers, enabling us to offer extensive expertise and capabilities in integrating and managing complex multi-vendor infrastructures. With our strong partner strategy, we have honed our ability to integrate partner products and services in the solutions that we deliver to our clients. And we have increased the value we can provide as an enterprise networking services integrator by offering: A thorough understanding of what is available in the industry Shared delivery processes and methods that allow for efficient services delivery Opportunities for you to participate in new initiatives with IBM and our partners to bring differentiation and enable new business areas. In addition, we can integrate IBM’s network and systems management capabilities with those of key network service providers. These integration capabilities include services that help enable end-to-end IT infrastructure management and the delivery of responsive and high-quality services. Industry-leading knowledge and intellectual capital—IBM can deliver business-focused holistic solutions rather than the cost-focused piece-parts solutions that most other technology companies can deliver. Outstanding service and support Global reach and a proven track record—IBM has more than 110,000 users around the world using more than half a million communications devices over one unified network. Through more than 7,000 skilled networking resources, IBM offers worldwide service and support capabilities in more than 160 countries. Transition: With such extensive capability at our fingertips, you can be assured IBM can help you remain at the forefront of unified communications technologies.