magazine - Connect-World

Unified communications
fact that no single person or business ever sits
still. Today’s organizations seldom operate
from a single monolithic location. Rather,
their offices, systems, and information assets
are distributed throughout the world - whether
down the block, or downtown, or across
cities, countries, and continents. In addition,
they increasingly rely on a workforce that can
prove just as widely distributed, if not more so,
with remote teleworkers conducting business
from wherever they happen to be. With so
much distribution to span today, with so much
territory to be efficiently and cost-effectively
covered - both physically and virtually - it’s
little wonder that the rally cry for the last
decade has been “Unified Communications!”
But again, for content to rule as king in
our circles, systems need to be continually
integrated to ensure its non-stop delivery.
UC to the rescue
Now, an enterprise or their trusted system
integrator can certainly deploy a UC solution
that glues together all of the different parts
and pieces of business processes, systems,
and networks - and many have done so using
media gateways, routers, PBX platforms,
session border controllers, and a broad range
of database engines, dialers, call servers, and
workflow management systems. However,
as time and technology continue to march
on, and businesses continue to focus on
serving customers with the effective use of
content, the skills necessary to knit together
a patchwork of disparate elements are
becoming more difficult to find in any one
organization. For many, overarching solutions
that can take the complexity out of deploying
UC will be the key to getting the most out of
the resources and information available.
Over the years the UC solutions developed
by global UC leaders, has given us the
means to deal with the challenges that
bubble to the surface in nearly every
implementation. Even though these
providers sell technology suites and
comprehensive solutions, there is still an
incredible amount of complexity involved
in deploying and implementing them. The
‘out of the box’ experience does not really
lend itself to a ‘set it and forget it’ mindset.
Almost every installation has unique
requirements and ecosystem tie-ins that
require additional pieces that facilitate the
seamless bridging of old and new systems
and networks. It’s these little chinks in the
armor of the total solution that can present
the biggest challenges - and where vendors
can apply what they have learned to hammer
out these final wrinkles.
To put this argument into tangible
perspective, let’s consider for a moment, as
a working example, the latest innovation
in Unified Communications (UC) from
Microsoft - Microsoft Lync. This is a
powerful suite of business process tools and
features that easily combine communications,
common files and databases, real-time
collaboration with the convenience of desktop
sharing, presence management capabilities,
multiple forms of messaging and media
interactions, as well as business processes
such as those typically used in contact centers
and service bureaus just to rattle off a few
scenarios. Now, that’s a great deal of stuff
to pack onto a single platform - a heck of a
lot of content! - and it’s almost never spread
across easy ‘greenfield’ landscapes. In fact,
in most enterprises, a UC solution such as
Lync will have to seamlessly integrate with
multiple disparate platforms and systems
within the business ecosystem, both old and
new, both proven and emerging, and must
likely make multiple and varied network
connections to the outside world. And yet, of
course, we assume all of this heterogeneity
will merge neatly, unify seamlessly, and work
without a hitch, completely transparent to all
who use it. Because if not, what’s the point
The complexity of such an undertaking
was once considered daunting. Today,
such unification is not only doable, and
preferable, but expected. Working on the
front lines of business communications
we see this dynamic manifesting itself in
multiple ways every day. In fact, according
to reports from the global systems integrator
Ingram Micro, small and medium enterprises
see the efficiencies and flexibility offered by
UC as not just a business preference, but,
indeed, a competitive necessity. However,
without large in-house IT staffs, most of
these companies require a solution that can
bridge not only the server and application
environment in the LAN (and sometimes in
the Cloud), but can also unify the different
outside world connections, including SIP
trunking, Internet access and security,
Public Switched Telephone Network
(PSTN) connectivity, and multiple video and
application sharing features.
The good news for many is that, along
with the crush of technological innovation
across the industry, a focus has emerged
from unique market leaders for bridging
these varied and disparate ecosystems in
simple and efficient ways. The Lync Express
appliance from Sangoma is one such all-inone
solution that covers all of the common
integration pain points that can make UC
and Lync a major headache for smaller
companies that are running lean. This
was precisely the case for Euroline AS, a
distributor of telecommunications equipment
and solutions based in Drammen, Norway.
A small enterprise with locations in Norway
and Denmark, Euroline’s management
team was eager to replace a failing PBX
and gain the advantages of UC through
deploying Lync. However, without the correct
internal expertise, they required a simple
and comprehensive solution. According
to technical manager Rune Jacobsen, who
had no previous experience with Lync, the
configuration was quite intuitive and easy
to navigate, and the change was completed
without disruption to everyday business.
Without consistent delivery, content is
inconsequential
What has driven the need for this and so
many other innovative solutions for unifying
communications in the business world The
same hunger we have in our personal worlds:
an ever-constant demand for delivered
content. Think about it. Every professional in
the business world is also an avid consumer
of content in their personal worlds, and
the same expectations that drive them at
home are those that, either consciously or
unconsciously, are also driving them at work.
There exists a constant demand for immediate
access to rich content, delivered in ubiquitous
and unimpeded ways. Granted, this is easily
said, but not so easily done; however, and
at the risk of invoking yet another cliché,
necessity is the mother of invention.
Thus, in markets around the world,
enterprises of all sizes continue exploring
UC-like solutions such as Lync to satisfy
their content-hungry workforce. They want
that familiar unified frontend that accesses
the myriad of applications, networks, and
technologies residing in the backend -
separate, but connected - to deliver the
seamless and consistent content we all so
commonly crave.
The desire and expectation of the business
owner is not just for content, then, but
for continuously connected content, with
dependable distribution and delivery to all
company-related constituents and consumers
- both internal and external - without the
prohibitive costs and complexities associated
with such connectivity. This is why, for my
money, sure, content may be king… but
delivery will always reign! •
12 • EMEA 2013