How to avoid the pitfalls of UC

Communications News, August, 2008

With a technology as complex as unified communications (UC), looking for shorter-term solutions is tempting, says Forrester Research consultant Elizabeth Herrell. These short-term solutions only consider some of the components, however, and could lead to more difficulties when managing disparate applications. "The reality is that most solutions do not interoperate well with other vendor's platforms," she adds. To avoid the pitfalls, she suggests:

Shorten your list of vendors. Focus on those that support your current investments. Consider partnerships among providers for supporting an end-to-end solution. Evaluate what services you want each vendor to provide based on the relative merits of each application. Determine which vendor's product best meets end-users' needs.

Consider application integration and interoperability. UC will extend to support multiple applications and, in some cases, be embedded within the application. These capabilities are still in their early stages but could affect product choices.

Choose your service integrator with care. Services can represent a major cost factor for UC upgrades. Look for a service integrator with a firm track record with the vendor you are considering and evaluate its skills in voice, data and UC support. Leading service integrators have reference accounts; contact them for feedback.

Talk to security and risk colleagues regarding security requirements. Most organizations will need to fortify their current security measures to protect against unwanted intrusions on an integrated software platform. Approach the CISO and security and risk managers for an internal audit.

Get early users to adopt new behaviors. UC capabilities are usually well received, but users need to change some communication patterns to gain UC's advantages. Training new users goes a long way toward promoting adoption.