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IT Planner: 5 Steps to Unified Communications

<<<... Likewise, a project champion will help keep the project on target, not losing sight of the business-goal forest through the technology trees. "Customers get enamored with techno-babble," Thompson said. "If they believe they can create this glitzy application that everyone will use, it is almost always a nonstarter." Bellinger agreed: "Unified communications is complex, but you could wind up with something complex to the end user that doesnt meet business needs.

 Fit the tech to meet your business needs, not the other way round." Read here Bill Gates thoughts on how far we have to go on the communications front. C-level stewardship is also vital to later bridging the divide between the IT silos ultimately responsible for implementing and maintaining the project. UC implementations are massively complex, with technologies reaching into many distinct areas of IT.

In a fully realized deployment, UC will touch the network, directory services, core messaging infrastructure, and desktops and mobile devices. And as the project develops, UC will also have implications for applications and their development teams.

Marshaling all the disparate IT factions responsible for these technologies and resolving arguments over ownership of elements of the project may seem daunting, but with the right leadership—espousing a business plan with tangible objectives and clearly defined areas where cooperation is vital—it can work.

In the end, it boils down to many new applications over IP, and everyone on the team just needs to recognize that. Lastly, senior leadership in terms of adoption of the technology will set the example for the rank and file. "Get the executives and senior people on board, and they will drive adoption down," said Bellinger. more >>>