Unified Communications in the Asia Pacific

The communications environment has grown steadily richer in recent years, as workers tap into new methods of communicating such as instant messaging, video conferencing, VOIP, e-mails and text messaging.

The proliferation of mobile devices and laptop computers, while offering greater opportunities, also has the effect of compounding an already complex situation where management, security and compliance are concerned.

The recognition of these issues was what led to the concept of Unified Communications (UC).  UC seeks to combine the disparate blend of delivery technologies and communication mediums into a cohesive, manageable platform.  Ideally, this would involve the automated redirection of incoming communications to the device closest to the intended recipient.

While one might be tempted to dismiss UC as yet another glorified catchphrase with no meaningful applications in business, this cannot be further from the truth.  The evolution of circuit switched to packet switched IP telephony (IPT) communications across the Asia Pacific (AP) is an excellent example of how corporations were quickly convinced and switched after seeing the enormous cost savings that IPT made possible.

At this point however, many Asian companies are either confused, or still adopting a wait-and-see posture over UC.  In a time of economic uncertainty, it is understandable that companies will shy away from transformational ideas and avoid unnecessary infrastructure upgrades unless a path to quantifiable ROI is clear.

"Why move to UC" and "How?" are probably the most common questions asked by these organizations today.  Are the arguments in favor of UC truly compelling in the AP context?  If so, how can businesses effectively harness the technology for maximum ROI?

The case for Unified Communications

Despite the ongoing recession, Peter Bocquet, the director of product and sales support at Tandberg, in May observed that demand for high-end UC system remains high.  With the cost of such systems being the equivalent of just "two international business trips," Bocquet noted that it is not difficult to quantify that the technology will pay for itself ².

Another factor in favour of UC is its pivotal role in telecommuting, especially in view of the current pandemic.  Some countries in the AP adopted a containment strategy for many months, enacting stay-home orders for those in close contact with patients found to have the H1N1 virus.  As such, the ability to continue operating even though staffers are unable to travel could well be a matter of survival for organizations already reeling from the effects of the soft economy.

Hence, it comes as no surprise that a study by IDC on AP enterprises which have already deployed or are pilot-testing UC deployments found that more than 40 percent of the respondents implemented telecommuting policies because of the availability of new UC tools ¹.

Another key benefit of UC would be reaching employees who are highly mobile or simply hard to catch due to their schedules.  On the other end of the scale are workers inundated with communications from multiple channels.  In both scenarios, the promise of UC will go a long way to improve their personal productivity.

Strategies to implement Unified Communications

For an UC implementation to succeed, it must be treated as a core business competency rather than a fringe or standalone project.  This is akin to the deployment of ERP or CRM systems – more so, in fact, given the mission-critical nature of communications in business.

One barrier towards implementing UC is the general low awareness of the available solutions as well as uncertainty about how the disparate systems can be seamlessly synchronized.  Research findings by Springboard Research, in their report titled "Unified Communications in Asia Pacific: Key Trends and Market Insights" concurs (Read that article later in this eZine).  Obviously, a lack of awareness would be detrimental towards a successful business-wide implementation.  As such, it is essential that key executives are well briefed beforehand and any UC rollout should have their unanimous support.

It would also be foolhardy to ignore the interoperability struggles that are holding back the market to some extent.  Even as UC gains mainstream acceptance, it is imperative that companies do their homework and thoroughly evaluate the various options.

Ultimately, corporations must be prepared to discard legacy PBX systems or other equipment that cannot be configured to support a unified approach to communications.  Indeed, a clear implementation and migration strategy should be in place prior to even the first acquisition.  Companies need to decide if they are going for a "rip and replace" strategy, or perform a rolling upgrade of their existing infrastructure.

Conclusion

Corporations are realizing the value of investing into UC.  According to forecasts by IDC, the total AP (Excluding Japan) UC revenue will increase from US$1.9 billion in 2009 to US$4.9 billion in 2013, which represents an impressive compound annual growth rate of 26.5% ¹.  From these figures, it is amply clear that UC is gaining mainstream acceptance.  If you have not looked into it yet, perhaps now would be a good time to take a hard look at potential value Unified Communications could bring your organisation.

Reference
1.    http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=AP207303S
2.    http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/communications/0,39044192,62053755,00.htm
3.    http://www.wirelessdesignasia.com/article-10389-unifiedcommunicationsadoptionfaceshurdlesinasiapacific-Asia.html