Understanding
Unified Communications
The rising demand for UC and
the 5 essential benefits that have
businesses talking
W HITE PA PE R
SPONSORED BY

Unified Communications (UC)
Introduction
communications being integrated in order to
Companies of all sizes are increasingly optimize business processes
being challenged to beat tight operational
schedules and meet customer demands - all
while walking that tightrope of diminishing
IT budgets and limited staffing resources. As
much as technology has advanced in the last
few decades, there are still only 24 hours in a
day. That’s where Unified Communications (UC)
comes into play.
Businesses are discovering the appeal of a
communications solution that extends the
power of their business phone system far
beyond dial tone. UC can be a competitive What is Unified Communications?
advantage for businesses that need a single
system to manage multiple tools and platforms, When considering the definition of Unified communications (UC),
making their business more productive and industry leaders typically describe it as communications being
helping smaller companies take advantage of integrated in order to optimize business processes. This means that
features that make them appear larger and an organization is able to seamlessly integrate, or unify, its typical
more competitive. Think of it as the Swiss Army business processes with both real-time communications (such as
knife of communications. But, more than being instant messaging/chat, presence information, telephony/VoIP, call
all things to all people, there are five essential control, and video conferencing) and non real-time communications
benefits that are driving a healthy adoption (such as unified messaging - integrated voicemail, e-mail, SMS and fax).
rate of UC by businesses, today.
It is often assumed that UC is a single product. UC is actually made up
This white paper includes an overview of of a set of products that provides a consistent, unified user interface
Unified Communications, answering the and user experience across multiple devices and media types. In
question, “What is Unified Communications?” its broadest sense UC can encompass all forms of communications
and it offers a high-level look at mission-critical that are exchanged via the TCP/IP network. Note: for the purpose of
features of UC driving demand by small and discussing UC as a way to replace a traditional business phone system,
medium sized businesses (SMBs). an analog or key system, the singular term “UC solution” is used.
It’s important to remember that any UC solution involves multiple
elements within the solution.
In reality, organizations are often already using the various,
independent elements of a UC solution, such as VoIP (Voice over IP)
or specific features like find me/follow me. Each of these elements
help contribute to the efficiency of an organization. By combining a
broader range of communications and features into a more complete
UC solution and integrating it with other business processes, an
organization is able to substantially increase its effectiveness – and
cost savings.
These tangible benefits certainly contribute to the rise of UC solutions
being adopted by organizations.
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In fact, interest in UC strategies continues to rise. Results from the Second Annual
Unified Communications Market Trends study, from CompTIA, showed that “four out of
five businesses perceive additional value in the proposition of Unified Communications.
Large and medium sized companies and those with a higher proportion of telecommuting
workers are most bullish.” Similarly, 85 percent of those surveyed indicated that UC, or
communications and collaboration solutions, are getting equal, if not more, dollars from
annual IT budgets compared to other technology priorities. Seth Robinson, director,
technology analysis, CompTIA summarized the findings:
“Organizations have a clear vision of what they expect to gain from unified
communications - greater employee productivity, reduced costs and a means
to improve customer engagement.”
Robinson further noted that even with UC being valued, there are still “significant barriers
(that) must be overcome.” He cites some of the specific challenges as: being able to integrate
new UC tools with existing technologies; calculating return on investment; and incorporating
social networking, collaboration and video conferencing.
There are solutions in the marketplace today that are already successfully addressing these
challenges - and at a cost that is particularly appealing to the budgets of
SMBs, schools and governments, and Not for Profit organizations. Industry analyst,
Frost & Sullivan, named Digium’s UC solution, Switchvox, as the Best Value in Unified
Communications for SMBs. The solution is based on Asterisk, the world’s leading open
It is anticipated that by source telecommunications platform, and is used by both Fortune 1000 companies and very
mid-2013, according to small businesses. Currently, Asterisk is deployed in more than 107 countries. As noted in UC
a report from Info-Tech research from Frost & Sullivan:
Research Group, 35
“Digium designs its solutions for sophisticated functionality without complex
percent of the workforce ownership responsibilities. Switchvox is designed to be cost-effective over the
will use personal lifecycle of the system, including ongoing support and maintenance costs as
devices for work-related well as upgrades.”
tasks, and 89 percent of Analysts are tracking other trends in the workplace that are prompting the increased need
organizations will allow for UC. Especially considering that having a nimble UC solution makes integration and ease
the use of personal of use possible for SMBs to manage trends that were once considered to only apply to larger
organizations. Specifically, the two most recent trends driving UC adoptions include:
device for email.
Mobility – the requirement for a communications system to more seamlessly integrate a
corporate office with its mobile or remote workers; and
BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) – the need for an organization’s communications
system to work with employees’ personal devices that are being used with or in place
of standard, IT-approved, corporate devices (smart phones and tablets being the most
common devices).
It is anticipated that by mid-2013, according to a report from Info-Tech Research
Group, 35 percent of the workforce will use personal devices for work-related tasks,
and 89 percent of organizations will allow the use of personal device for email. For
that reason, Info-Tech Research Group’s analysts say that BYOD programs and the general rise
in mobile device usage are driving the need for UC vendors to support a variety of devices.
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What SMBs Expect
To better understand the specific role of UC within
any organization, but in particular that of an SMB,
consider this list of “must-haves” for most business
owners seeking a new telecommunications
solution. A telephony solution must:
Be reliable Satisfy a basic set of flexible and
customizable priorities. These will vary
Accommodate current, unalterable means from business to business, but some of
of operation, i.e. it should integrate with the more popular requests include:
and support current software packages and
Enable implementation of a mobile strategy
workflow processes to complement or make than includes seamless UC using mobile
easier, not hinder, current operations devices, tablets, IM, VM, social media, follow-
me technology, and email
Save money in the long-term
Provide programmable call routing, call
queues, and ring groups so calls can be
Provide seamless, worldwide unified directed to designated departments or call
communications throughout the company centers rather than bombarding a busy
regardless of industry type, company size, receptionist
and number of locations Accommodate a live operator during business
hours, but utilizing an auto-attendant after
Support x-number of users currently, and hours and on holidays
be expandable in terms of company growth
Support video conferencing and/or
potential teleconferencing
Provide reporting functionality for call
efficiency
Save money on long distance calling
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While there is a succinct list of features and benefits that
organizations seek from any advanced telephony solution, there
is also a fear among SMBs of sacrificing the status quo for a more
sophisticated UC solution. “Every company, no matter what type or
size of your business, is reluctant to change or lose a capability,” says
Dan Ribar, CIO of 1st Guard Corporation, a specialty truck insurer
based out of Venice, Florida.
Like many SMBs, Ribar expected everything from substantial
downtime during the transition to increased training costs for both
the IT department and the end users of a new system. He sums up
the concerns he had while searching for a new telecommunications
solution:
“You just expect when you turn something as centralized as your telephony system on its
head, you are going to lose something, or something is going to change so drastically, you
will be looking at a huge learning curve.”
In contrast, there is a significant upside to an organization when
implementing a UC solution, and most of the common fears
are unrealized when identifying the right solution. If executed
properly, the primary benefits of implementing UC as a total
telecommunications solution include improved efficiency, reduced
costs, increased revenue, and better customer service.
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Five essential benefits driving UC adoption by SMBs
There are critical advantages that
Ability to do more with less - with a solution that is
SMBs can (and should) expect
when implementing the right easily managed
UC solution – and these five key
benefits are helping drive the Incorporating mobility to connect the growing
strong adoption rate of UC by mobile and remote workforce
businesses, today.
Savings money on overall operating costs
Gaining uplift in customer service capabilities
Moving beyond basic functionality
Keep reading to learn more about these essential benefits.
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Ability to do more with less -
with a solution that is easily managed.
Particularly important to smaller businesses is the ability to implement
any technology that provides enhanced functionality while also being
both affordable and relatively simple to manage. As expected, smaller
organizations typically have fewer or more limited resources, from
budgets to staffing, and a technology, as is the case with a UC solution,
is especially appealing if it enables the organization to operate as
a bigger business, but without the same costs. UC is increasingly
recognized as a technology that allows SMBs to take advantage of
proven increases in productivity and functionality while realizing
significant savings. As industry analyst, Gartner points out in its Gartner,
Marketescope Report: Magic Quadrant for Corporate Telephony,
“SMB buyers require simplicity and intuitive use in their UC solutions. Simplicity requirements extend
through multiple stages (or touchpoints) of the UC acquisition — from initial consideration through
ongoing maintenance and management of the UC environment. SMBs will favor working with providers
(typically via their channel partners) that can demonstrate the solutions’ ease of use early on in the sales
cycle. Full-featured UC functionality can be positioned, but solutions that require complex integrations
will be less favored than solutions that can easily be deployed with a minimal cutover time.”*
*Gartner, Marketscope Report Magic Quadrant for Corporate Telephony, 9/15/11
Written by: Jay Lassman, Steve Blood, Geoff Johnson
Digium, ShoreTel and Microsoft are positioned in the Visionaries Quadrant of Gartner, Inc.’s 2011 Magic Quadrant for Corporate Telephony report.)
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Incorporating mobility to connect the
growing mobile and remote workforce
An office is just about anywhere you need it to be, today, and it is
increasingly important for remote and mobile workers to access the same
phone system features, whether working form a desktop or a mobile
device. By implementing a UC solution, it makes it easy to stay connected
to customers and prospects, from any location, from any device. It also
provides flexibility in managing off-site employees, using features like
presence and conferencing, and having additional monitoring capabilities.
Important elements of a mobility feature in a UC solution include:
fixed mobile convergence and find me/follow me call capabilities
mobile applications for iPhone, Blackberry and Android
By implementing a UC
having access to company directories from any device
solution, it makes it easy
the ability to make calls from your mobile device
to stay connected to as if it is from your office extension
customers and prospects, the capability to transfer and record calls from your
mobile phone to another number or extension too.
from any location, from
any device. Look for UC solutions that offer this as an included basic feature;
you should not have to pay extra for the capability.
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Saving money on overall operating costs.
One of the greatest benefits of implementing the right UC Avoid getting locked into using a
solution is taking advantage of the cost savings it provides. This specific vendor solution; check for true
includes both savings on the initial cost of the system, as well interoperability of the UC solution
as savings on the long-term costs that leads to a good Return
Confirm which features are included in the base cost
on Investment (ROI). To achieve the greatest opportunities for
of the system without additional fees or licenses
savings, it’s important to understand how to accurately compare
vendor quotes. It’s easy to look at multiple quotes from UC Look for solutions with low maintenance costs,
vendors and assume that the final cost quoted includes the particularly when updates are software-based;
same parameters. But not all UC solutions are created equal, always ask vendor for details about maintenance
and not all UC vendors can offer the same cost savings. contracts and how updates are handled –
especially if the updates require new hardware.
To get a true “apples-to-apples” comparison of vendor quotes,
SMBs need to be aware of key differences in quotes that Calculate not only initial savings, but long-
can add thousands of dollars to the cost of implementing term ROI; productivity and staffing savings
UC solutions – both in near-term and long-term costs, and in can add up to thousands of dollars, annually.
both hard and soft costs. For example, many vendors offer A vendor should be able to show how to
a quote for base features, but the business-critical features calculate these savings and provide examples
that an SMB needs, and the the features that make UC so of common savings from the UC solution
useful – like mobility and third-party integration, require an
Beyond IT budgets, consider how the savings
additional fee. Licensing fees also often drive up costs, as well
extends across departments, in areas such as admin,
as maintenance and upgrade costs, down the road. To avoid
sales, and marketing. Ask the vendor to provide
these expensive add-ons, compare across vendors for biggest
specific case studies or customer testimonials
savings potential on overall operating costs in these key areas:
that provide examples of each of these.
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Gaining uplift in customer service capabilities
The right UC solution should be more than a phone Specifically, when a call from a priority customer comes
system, it should be a better communications system through the switchboard, JPW wanted that call promptly
that provides improved operational efficiency. A routed to a select customer service representative, taking
quality UC solution allows SMBs to serve customers precedence over lower priority calls circulating through
more effectively using features such as call queues the system. The UC solution that JPW selected offered
and IVRs, for example. SMBs should be able to use a intuitive, user-friendly web interface that allows the
UC solution to know more about every incoming call, operator to drag-and-drop calls while chatting online
in order to route each call appropriately, ensuring with co-workers, conferring over calls, reciprocating
there are no more missed calls or lack of visibility. requests, and assigning instructions. Several phonebooks,
a Salesforce panel, Google news and maps, a “parking
For example, Jobbers Warehouse Supply (JPW) is a leader lot” for on-hold calls, and access to proprietary
in the automotive aftermarket, selling engine parts to software are also available to the administrator.
machine shops and parts stores all across the U.S. and
Canada. This established SMB selected a UC solution with Furthermore, JPW was able to get an integrated
the intent of providing a higher level of customer service customizable database software using SugarCRM, with
for their best customers. To do so, they needed a system two inbound call queues. SugarCRM offers a fast, flexible
that would allow them to prioritize incoming calls from and feature-rich customer service application. The
their customer base. According to Tom Marks, CEO of JPW: customer service agent simply clicks a selection box next
to the customer name in SugarCRM to set a “preferred”,
“At JPW, 80 percent of our “general”, or “new customer” status, which determines
into which of the queues the calls are routed. General
revenues come from 20 callers move into the non-priority cue and remain on
percent of our clients, and we hold while preferred status callers move into the priority
cue and take precedence. This level of detailed and
required a solution that would customized flexibility has helped the company exceed
facilitate priority treatment its original goals of managing their priority customers,
and choosing the right UC solution made it possible.
for that reigning minority.”
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Moving beyond basic functionality
Too often, SMBs evaluate new technologies As an example, Pathways is an Ohio-based organization that
based on whether or not the system can meet manages a community crisis hotline. Due to the critical nature
the organization’s current needs - in reference to of their services, they required customization to the UC solution
both basic features included with the technology they selected. Fortunately, they chose a solution that was flexible
and in reference to the current size and structure enough to meet their needs (without additional costs) and were
of the business. That type of decision can cost an able to easily add a Google Maps Application Programming
SMB thousands of dollars in future upgrade costs Interface (API) so that from the moment a call comes into the
when choosing a business phone system. When crisis center, the system can search a database to identify the
considering “future expansion,” that term may location of the caller, even if they are calling from a cellular
not mean something as extensive as expanding phone. In the event that the person calling needs emergency
physical locations; it could be as simple as assistance, or the counselor feels the need for police backup, the
adding or moving an employee. The right UC mapping feature pinpoints the cellular signal so they can find
solution allows SMBs to opt for a flexible system them. From a landline, the call is cross-referenced with phone
that provides extended functionality and that number, address, and area code to identify the location. Google
will grow with the business. When evaluating Maps uses GPS to locate pings from cellular phone towers.
UC solutions, consider systems that can: According to Mark Bregy, Pathways MIS & Facility Manager:
Easily accommodate future growth/
“The work we do in mental health at Pathways
operations needs of the business, is very important to the community. A difficult
without an additional, heavy but compassionate business, and obviously
investment down the road communications are essential to doing it well.”
Systems that include detailed reporting
Pathways team members can also use their UC solution to identify
options that provide business-
calls and which extensions they are routed to; record calls for
critical information about business
quality purposes; watch for excessive callers and how they are
operations and customer needs
being handled; and customize reports for training purposes.
Ability to integrate with third-party These are all features included with their system, at no additional
business applications, such as CRM, charge. The system’s the additional reporting functionality has
for a better user experience proven to be a useful tool in providing a detailed view into
whether or not their business communications is successfully
supporting the organization’s operational requirements.
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Conclusion
The adoption of UC solutions by SMBs is being driven by far more than a current trend in
the marketplace. UC is a business communications solution that meets critical business
needs for organizations of all sizes. As illustrated in the examples in this white paper,
UC can be a competitive advantage for businesses that need a single system to manage
multiple tools and platforms. UC allows businesses to be more productive, enhance
customer service capabilities, and offer substantial near- and long-term cost savings.
Digium’s Powerful UC Solution
In an effort to provide a similar solution accessible to everyone, Digium offers
Switchvox — a full Unified Communications (UC) solution, built on the power of
Asterisk. Switchvox is a business phone system specifically developed for small and
mid-sized businesses and organizations that want the power of the open source
Asterisk solution, but without the need for custom development skills for installation.
The advanced features, ease-of-use, and simple out-of-the-box setup make Switchvox
an ideal solution for organizations with limited technical staff.
A full-featured UC solution, fueled by the innovation of open source technology
and open standards, Switchvox allows users to integrate their phone system with their
existing networks and get all of the advanced features they need at a price they can
afford. Most importantly, by using Asterisk open source software as the foundation
for Switchvox, Digium is able to provide a communications system with superior
capabilities for a fraction of the cost of proprietary systems.
We’re changing the way the world communicates. Again.
Switchvox UC Solution:
Digium Headquarters:
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