Are you considering incorporating Cloud services into your organization’s technology plan? With Cloud deployment making its way into businesses in a variety of industries, moving to the Cloud can certainly leverage your existing technology. It’s ease of use and cost effectiveness are just some of the ways Cloud services are helping businesses manage not only customer relationships, but also billing, expenses and more. We are pretty sure you have some concerns before you deploy, so we compiled a list addressing some things to consider before selecting a service provider:

• Security: Regardless of how Cloud computing fits into your organization, you likely handle sensitive data, and therefore need a provider that can guarantee the security protection you need. Whether you are a hospital that needs to protect patient records, or a university ensuring student data and personal information is secure, it is important when selecting a provider to find one who will meet and exceed your industry’s standards so both you and your customers can have peace of mind. 

• Service Level Agreements (SLAs): Your SLA is particularly important because your service provider has some sort of control over your software functionality. Make sure you go with a provider that can spell out how your business is affected if there are middle-of-the-day service outages. Regardless of whether the outage is planned or unplanned, you can minimize your risk by looking for published SLAs that outline service guarantees and protect your business in the case of an outage.

• Deployment Flexibility: Sure, the benefits of Cloud computing are numerous, but are all of your needs addressed with its deployment? Are you a business that needs the flexibility of more than one solution or perhaps must meet requirements that can only be met through an on-premise solution? If the Cloud option doesn’t meet all of your business, bandwidth or security needs, consider this when researching providers: there are service providers out there that will give you the option of Cloud, on-premise or hybrid deployments; this flexibility may be the best choice for your business.

• Pricing: Wouldn’t you like to only pay for services that are beneficial to your organization’s needs? A Cloud-based approach enables you to only pay for what you need. Check out this pricing model and be sure that you select a provider who also supports this capability and only charges you for the services and applications your business uses. Now you’re free to think about what you will do with the capital you’ve saved by taking this approach.

• (Support/Customer Service): Your business can’t function without its data, right? So you will want to choose a provider that can give you support when you need it as well as data protection in the unforeseen event that your server is destroyed or your network infrastructure is affected. Whatever Cloud solution you favor, it is critical to select a service provider with the capability to not only backup your data, but recover it quickly in the event of disaster so that your business experiences little to no downtime. 

Regardless of where these considerations fall on your priority list, hopefully we provided insight to make your service provider decision a bit easier. There are several service providers out there, and you have the power to choose. To see how NEC measures up against the bunch in delivering you a service and supporting our customers, click below. 

According to a recent survey 36 percent of you have deployed or are in the process of deploying some element of Unified Communications (UC). If not, you’re likely in the evaluation process now, and surely you’ve seen the slew of reports touting the benefits of cloud computing.

Although the implementation and delivery of UC services continues to evolve, we remain familiar with the general benefits: increased productivity, efficiency, collaboration, connecting mobile workers, integrating communications into business processes and applications... The list goes on. Among that list is the “marriage” of UC with cloud services, which has resulted in Unified Communications as a Service, or UCaaS.

So, why consider UCaaS? The main drivers in your decision are likely to fall into one of the following categories:

• Eliminate front-loaded capital costs: You likely understand the economic benefits of cloud computing; we’d all like to reduce, and if possible, eliminate hardware costs altogether but still receive all the features and benefits of our applications. With the clear services expectations of UCaaS, you have a simplified business case to present to your CIO and CFO. For example, UCaaS provides clear per-user costs, which simplifies the service you offer your organization, and the consistent and predictable costs of UCaaS reduces repeated trips to the CFO’s office in search of additional budget for capital intensive projects.

• Standard suite of UC offerings: With UCaaS, standard UC features are offered on a per-seat basis. The monthly seat cost includes all hardware needed to support the UC functions. These software offerings typically have varying functionality (basic, standard, or premium), and include anything from IP telephony to unified messaging, audio and video conferencing, web collaboration, mobility, presence and IM, all the way to full featured contact centers. While UCaaS typically consist of a standard set of offerings, you should look for an offering that doesn’t require all users to be at the same level. The lobby phone shouldn’t cost the same as the applications delivered to the CEO. This flexibility, along with the ability to add on additional features to meet specific needs, ensures that you’re delivering a service that’s valued by the organization.

• Availability of hybrid models: This model blends Cloud and on-premise approaches to deliver a customized solution for your organization. UCaaS offerings that allow you to blend both on and off-premise components offer the most flexibility and often satisfy cloud critic’s concerns about resiliency and reliability. For organizations that want the peace of mind of a Disaster Recovery strategy, a hybrid solution could offer cloud services as a primary and a DR instance on-premise. Also, under the right circumstances, a hybrid approach could also allow you to leverage existing hardware, thus extending the life of previous investments.

• Broad service offerings: When researching your decision to implement UCaaS, you will notice the long list of providers who support UC services. The provider you choose will be critical, as they will play an active role in deployment and support of your system. Most IT organizations are looking to enhance the services they offer and extend the ability of the existing IT team. So when it comes to support, the provider you choose should offer local assistance that is available to you for installation and ongoing onsite support. The following are additional components to keep in mind to ensure the true value of UC is delivered: additional consulting and managed services, a broad range of UC offerings, in addition to the ability to integrate business applications and processes with communications infrastructure.

We hope this provides some additional insight on things to consider when looking at Unified Communications as a Service. To learn more and see how NEC delivers UCaaS click below.

Ever-developing technologies are causing business communications for today’s organizations to undergo rapid transformations. Developing an understanding of the basis of this shift can provide you with key insight into how to effectively leverage new technologies and build a business case for deploying Unified Communications & Collaboration (UC&C) within your organization. UC&C has evolved over the last five years, with many manufacturers offering different solutions and delivery methods. From this evolution three main options have arisen: a fully hosted solution, an adjunct attachment to an existing PBX or IP PBX and a fully integrated all-in-one premise based solution.

So how do you view UC&C? Keep in mind that it should not be recognized as a specific product, but more as an integration of services and or an ongoing modular strategy that can be implemented or phased in over a defined period of time. The evolution of Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) has evolved from basic features such as Unified Messaging, Presence and IM to an ever expanding set of new capabilities. UC&C provides many distinct functions and services, and thus should not be viewed as a single capital expense, but as an operational investment over time. In this case, consider your Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) rather than your Return on Investment (ROI), as you would with other purchases.

A complete UC&C solution consists of a number of elements that provide users with a truly unified experience, enabling them to communicate in a timely and productive manner specific to their roles in the organization. These elements are generally categorized into 3 main categories. Let’s identify and describe these categories to determine which makes the better business case for your organization’s needs:

• Core Foundational Elements: This category includes a Multi-Service Network, VoIP, and Pervasive Presence
• Traditional UC Elements: This includes Unified Messaging/Voicemail/Fax, Text Chat/IM, Audio/Web Collaboration, and Video Conferencing
• Emerging Elements: Communications Enabled Business Processes (CEBP), Mobility (Fixed Mobile Convergence), Mass Notification, and Social Media/Federation

Which category suits your organization’s needs? Do you fit strictly into one, or an overlap of multiple? In the next post we will further examine and focus on a current emerging trend in UC&C, which is to provide all of the above mentioned elements in a completely integrated software-based solution approach, thus allowing UC&C to be deployed in a more flexible and modular manner. This deployment will in turn give organizations more control in determining which solution elements they want to utilize across their company to best suit their needs.

Are you considering relocating your data center? Or maybe you’re thinking about moving your entire organization. Either way, we know moving can be an extremely stressful (and expensive) process, and one you’d prefer not to repeat often, so we’ve gathered some helpful tips to help you address, and consequently avoid, common oversights when moving. Whether you’re moving for business or technology reasons, remember that, when moving day comes, it is important to establish and maintain focus. It is likely that everything will not go exactly according to plan. Focus, combined with a well-developed plan, will help you overcome the speed bumps, and before you know it you will be settled in your new location and back in the flow of day-to-day business.

1. Think ahead – It is never too early to begin planning for your move. Moving a company is a huge project, and it is always beneficial to develop a well thought-out game plan.  Moving is a good opportunity to take inventory, so to speak.  Are you planning to move your communication system as a whole, or use the move as an opportunity to upgrade?  Perhaps you’re considering moving to Unified Communications as a service (UCaaS). Regardless of where you stand, don’t just plan for today. Assess the needs and analyze the growth of your business up to ten years ahead, that way you get the most out of your move.

2. Location, location, location – Aside from moving to a location that is convenient for your customers, it is important to look at a low-risk location in terms of natural disaster. Also in terms of safety, avoid locations near major highways as part of risk mitigation. Conduct an analysis to determine whether the intended site is suitable to house your data center. Aside from geography, other factors to consider include power availability and budget.

3. Power – When you are moving it is important to consider what your current and future power needs will be. Some questions to consider are: Is power abundant? (This is perhaps the most important question to ask), where are you on the power grid? Are there at least two sub stations providing power to the building? Does the building have a backup generator? According to a Transitional Data Services report, in 2010 data centers consumed about 2 percent of all electricity generated in the U.S., and the same report projected that power consumption would continue a rapid growth. Any site under consideration should have easy access to abundant power from multiple sources of electricity, taking advantage of low cost providers whenever possible. When assessing your power needs, also consider the following:

• Fiber - Be sure to research how many and which fiber providers connect to the building. 
• HVAC – does the AC run only during the week? This is often overlooked but it is important to keep your server room cool during the weekends too.

4. Budget - While it is difficult to estimate a fixed budget for a project as complex as a move, you can alleviate some stress in this area by taking an in-depth look at what hardware and software your company is using. That old PBX that you’ve been using for the past 10 years might not be worth moving, so why pay to have it moved?

5. Enlist your employees - Before you begin the moving process, it is important to note which employees will be involved in the move and keep them informed every step of the way. Once you know who will be involved, determine how your manpower will be allocated: What will employees be responsible for? Be sure to announce what the company will and will not transfer with the move.

6. Data backup – Just as the IT staff should perform data backups prior to the move, you should also remind your employees to back up their personal work computers before the move as well. This will help to limit downtime once the move is complete.

7. Communications - We may be mentioning this tip last, but that doesn’t mean it should be taken lightly. If your move is communicated poorly, it could result in customer resentment and consequently a loss of business for you. Be sure to give advance notice, not just a last minute e-mail. MARKET, MARKET, MARKET: tell your customers you are moving and how your new facilities will better accommodate their needs.

Proper planning can help you avoid prolonged downtime and business disruption, as well as the need to move more often than necessary. These tips are a good start to help you prepare for your move. As the economy continues to change, an increasing number of organizations are relocating their data centers and offices as a whole. Good luck with your move!

The internal debate on hosted versus on-premises might continue, which means, you’re still faced with the challenge of how you will acquire a unified communications solution without breaking your budget. In our last post we introduced financing, now let’s take a deeper look at your options and the best ways to apply them.

Leverage your financing options

OpEx financing models allow many organizations to leverage all the benefits of predictable monthly payments traditionally found in hosted solutions in an on-premises solution. For many, this can be the best of both worlds: a service-oriented model found with a hosted solution with none of the concerns some organizations may have with security and availability of a hosted service. What’s more, a $25,000 on-premises collaboration and audio conferencing solution may be a difficult solution to get approved, however, an on-premises solution with all of the capabilities of hosted for less than $400.00 per month can be a powerful internal conversation. Are you more comfortable paying out a lump sum or breaking payments down into a monthly scale? Regardless of where your preference lies, there is a financing option for you.

You don’t always have to spend money to make money. Sound too good to be true? Take a look at the following example:
ABC Company has identified that upgrading their current infrastructure provides an opportunity for significant cost savings. But there’s one problem: with no funds left in this year’s budget, their IT Department will pay more for their existing inefficient infrastructure until funds are available; not to mention the risks associated with operating an outdated system.

With financing, there’s another way.

Financing companies in the technology industry work to solve this common customer problem by offering plans that reduce up-front acquisition costs. The plans and programs come in the form of OpEx or CapEx with deferred payments (90-120 days is typical although longer deferments are available), step payments (increase or decrease over time) or seasonal payments (payments due during times of increased revenue for the customer). Bottom line, leverage a technology financing partner who offers the most accommodating (and cost reducing) structure for you.

 
So wherever you are in the process, you have options in choosing a solution that can be tailored to your specific needs without waiting until the approved budget kicks in. If you leverage the tools available to improve the communications services you deliver, you’ll reduce the risks associated with continuing to operate an outdated system. Just remember that with financing, you have options – the key in obtaining maximum value from these options is in how you leverage them.

When it comes to system upgrades, several IT funding initiatives are shifting their focus to cloud technology; what will you do when you need to upgrade your existing system, but don’t have the funds available in this year’s (or even next year’s) budget?  This is an opportune moment to examine your organization’s budget in regard to capital expenses (CapEx) versus operational expenses (OpEx), as implementing new technology will likely require you to switch a majority of your spending from CapEx to OpEx. Where does your primary focus lie? Respondents to an InformationWeek Analytics IT Budget Survey report that they are increasingly focused on calculating per-transaction service costs and implementing charge backs.

What you have vs. what you need
 
Are you paying monthly audio/web conferencing costs plus licensing fees for each user on your staff? If you answered yes, and that works best for your existing budget, then you might favor a hosted system versus a premises-based solution. A Frost & Sullivan report via TMCnews, notes that budget pressure and increased adoption of unified communications are driving demand for integrated web conferencing. While some look to hosted providers, the report also noted that as functional needs grow, organizations are expected to move to on-premises deployments. So who is best suited for a hosted system? If your organization can gain from the following benefits, then a hosted system may be right for you:

• low up-front costs (made possible through monthly billing) 
• standard software on a per-seat basis
• greater ability to free up internal support staff

Additionally, the move from CapEx- to OpEx budget focus has driven cloud-based UC offerings and workplace virtualization. We have evolved to replacing stationary desk phones with virtual, mobile alternatives such as soft phones, instant messaging (IM) and video features. Still in all, this move isn’t feasible for everyone. Economic downturn has forced organizations to reduce overhead, thereby increasing mobile working and the need for consistently evolving UC solutions.
 
What are your options?

There are pros and cons for both hosted/cloud based approaches as well as on-premises solutions. The shift from CapEx to OpEx funding is driving demand for hosted solutions, but IT departments accustomed to on-premises technology sometimes point to security and availability concerns as part of their reluctance to transition completely to a cloud alternative.

We’ve touched on the pros and cons, and for some, the consistent service delivery, on-demand scalability, and standard suite of UC options available with a hosted solution is most beneficial, while others will look to hybrid models as a compromise.

The good news is there’s still another way to get all the benefits of an OpEx acquisition and an on-premises solution without breaking your budget. We’ve got one word for you: financing. In the next post we’ll look at the different options that are available.  To learn more about your options, check out the video below.

We’ve all become attached to on-prem computing when it comes to our individual and business needs, so the abundance of skepticism around the cloud computing concept is understandable. The premise behind cloud computing is to “rent” space, and only pay for what you need, keeping cost and energy consumption at bay. Cloud offers benefits for both the individual and the organization, so is switching to cloud the right move for your organization? Of course, you’ll determine which of the following is top priority based on your business, but check this list out for a few things to consider when making your decision:

1) Demand & Growth: Is your organization’s growth sporadic or predictable? Assess your organization’s need before moving to cloud. Cloud favors scalable and on-demand deployments

The Harvard Business review cites research from by Gartner Vice President Mark McDonald, noting that the percentage of CIOs interested in cloud computing has grown considerably, from 5% in 2009 to 37% in early 2011. Management in larger companies have been more likely to name cloud as a “top five” IT priority. Assess your business needs and then supplement with technology to make your business the best it can be.

2) Data Privacy & Security: Is your organization one with rigid security requirements? Clouds were initially designed for individual or small group use, not larger organizations. Whether you need a system that will keep “intruders” out, or one that will control who has access within your company, Cloud computing vendors have taken this into consideration and implemented technologies to better protect devices. Bottom line: evaluate your organization’s security requirements when considering how cloud will accommodate you best.

3) Reliability and Bandwidth: Arguments have been raised questioning reliability of the cloud infrastructure versus an on-prem infrastructure. Regardless of which Cloud technology you choose to adopt, no connectivity makes cloud as useful as not having it at all.

4) Users base (Localized vs. Globally Dispersed):
Cloud enables collaboration between mobile users with ease, more so than on-prem computing. But if the majority of your users are localized, is moving to cloud the best decision for your organization?

5) Performance: While some of the greatest accomplishments achieved through Cloud technology is a result of its collaboration capabilities, look up-front at the important pieces that contribute to the performance for your organization. Will switching to cloud directly support your business operation? Will it enable your business to effectively generate revenue? Keep in mind that Cloud is just one component; application use and availability, along with bandwidth should be taken into consideration for your deployment.

Cloud computing gives you the opportunity to continue to compete effectively without owning all of the technology you use, and while the concept is nothing new, it forces the difficult consideration of consolidating your entire business framework in order to move applications like email, CRM, or storage to the cloud. It certainly merits a deeper look into the considerations above, particularly when you consider the added possibility of moving real-time applications like voice and unified communications to the cloud. Now that’s “food for thought.”

With all the talk of cloud computing and software as a service of late, many IT organizations are wondering how communications can be deployed realistically in these models.  This discussion inevitably leads to the topic of virtualization.

Among the highest-impact issues in IT today, virtualization allows multiple applications to run on virtual machines within one or more physical host servers. A hypervisor – from vendors such as VMware, Microsoft or others – allocates server resources for all virtual machines running on it. Virtualization has long been used in data centers to consolidate the number of physical servers, better utilize existing hardware, and improve application availability.

Centralizing applications in data centers and leveraging virtualization technology to minimize associated costs and complexities has for several years been a trend among IT departments of both enterprises and mid-sized organizations. Adding communications to virtualized environments brings complexity and special requirements that not every enterprise communications provider can deliver today.

NEC has verified that UNIVERGE Sphericall, the pure software-based communications platform, runs in both VMware® ESXi and Microsoft® Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 virtualized environments to deliver voice and unified communications services in various cloud and hosted scenarios.

Some potential use cases for software-based communications in virtualization include:

• Customers with virtualization initiatives to reduce data center costs and server “sprawl”
• Disaster recovery scenarios running virtualized instances in carrier hosted environment, or private cloud infrastructure.
• Implementing additional media service resources such as voicemail, auto attendant, music-on-hold and/or call recording using Sphericall virtualization
• Hosted provider scaling a single, large server with multiple instances of Sphericall where each instance is tied to a particular customer site  
• Small or remote offices desiring to hosted multiple applications on a single machine