I was so glad to read on Blair Pleasant’s Enterprise Connect blog; Enterprise Connect 2011 What a Show! that the energy and crowds were back. I had been to ITExpo in the fall, and whereas it was better attended than recent shows during the downturn, and had new content, including social media in contact centers, still didn’t quite have the buzz of the shows we used to attend in the past when “telecom” was hopping. So I’m happy. I wish I could have been there, but Florida was too far this month.

I agreed with Blair on her assessment of cloud. We have been hearing it from every vendor from UC vendors to the contact center vendors, and cloud was tweeted to death during the show. However, it won’t happen overnight. Even if cloud shows up in every customer presentation, there is still a lot of investment in on-premise equipment and solutions that companies won’t just throw away. The key now is that everyone is thinking about it, so now they can plan for it, and it will move faster as — Blair said, with a hybrid approach, and with further offerings. Along those lines, Verizon’s announcement of the company’s Unified Communication & Collaboration-as-a-Service (UCCaaS) which they announced at the show, is being trialed now, will be available as a hybrid offering for enterprises later this year.

Siemens Enterprise Communications had another cloud winner (to use Blair’s analogy of the Oscars) with OpenScape Cloud Solutions; that build on and offers the capabilities of OpenScape Voice, OpenScape UC and OpenScape Web Collaboration, as cloud deployments. The solutions include a standard set of defined packages and options, to make it easy for a company to deploy and expand. The goal as with the other Siemens announcements I blogged about in December, is simplicity, cost effectiveness and reliability. These solutions will be hosted in third-party data centers and available through resellers.

An intriguing part of the announcement was OpenScape Mobile UC Client for Android, which featured new OpenScape Communication Gestures that will support the innovative Call Swipe Gesture (interesting name), the intent of which is to seamlessly transfer calls-in-progress to other devices with intuitive hand gestures on a touch screen interface.

Lastly, Siemens Enterprise announced OpenScape Fusion for Google Apps which delivers integration plug-ins for the Google Apps suite, enabling unified communications capabilities such as click to call from within Google cloud-based applications.

Other cloud announcements included Global Crossing introducing the company’s Communication-as-a-Service (CaaS) service. It combines the company’s IP VPN, SIP trunking capabilities and audio conferencing in the first release. Later releases will cover more UC capabilities.

I was also pleased to hear that interoperability was a winner. We talk about this all the time at UCStrategies in blogs, our podcasts and our calls, and although it seems like true interoperability will always be a moving target, all steps will help.  One announcement along these lines was Zeacom’s announcement that the Zeacom Communications Center (ZCC) will interoperate (see there is that word again) with Microsoft Lync 2010 is a further proof point of the blending of UC with the contact center.

Once again, I wish I could have been there. So if there was that much buzz, Eric and Fred, please, please, bring a west coast show back to San Francisco!!!.

Tags: Collaboration, Contact Center, Mobile UC, Unified Communications by Nancy Jamison
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During this election season, I try to do what I can to help the candidates I’d like to see win, and the propositions I’d like to see pass or not pass (I live in California where we have about a dozen propositions to vote on). I decided to make phone calls to undecided voters for my presidential candidate and one of the propositions, and I got to experience what outbound call center agents/telemarketers get to experience every working day. And they have my deepest respect!

My two experiences were very different, as are various call centers, depending on their level of technological adoption. The phone calling system for the presidential candidate was pretty sophisticated, and via the Internet, it provided me with a list of key voters to contact in battleground states, a script to use in my conversations, and an easy interface to report back my contacts. Because it was web based, I was able to make calls from the comfort of my home. The script was simple to follow, and I clicked on the various options to report on the contact (eg, not home, refused to talk, non-English speaker, etc.), as well as which candidate they were voting for or leaning toward. It was a well-run operation that made it simple to make calls. There were links to sites providing background information, FAQs, etc. in case I wanted to read up on the candidate’s platform and policies before making calls. The system automatically kept track of how many calls I made, the outcome of the call, and any additional notes or comments I added.

My experience with the phone calls for one of the propositions was totally different. It was not computerized, and I had to go to the phone bank to make the calls instead of calling from my home. The script was printed on several sheets of paper, and was very complex to follow (eg, if the person answers yes to question 1, go to question 3, which was 2 pages away). The names and numbers of people to call were provided to us on paper, and we had to keep track of the calls and responses on two different pieces of paper, which made it very confusing. At the end of the night we had to manually add up how many calls we made, how many wrong numbers we reached, how many people refused to talk to us, didn’t speak English, etc.

Making calls for the proposition was a very manual process, and not at all easy to navigate through, while calling on behalf of the candidate was all computerized and online, making it much simpler and more user friendly. It was much easier to stick to the script using the computerized process rather than the manual process, so I assume I was more effective while speaking to voters since I didn’t have to shuffle through different pages to follow the script. And because I had to manually record my progress and the results of the calls on two different forms, it was more likely I made mistakes and left out information.

While I didn’t come in contact with overtly hostile voters, not everyone was willing to talk or listen to my spiel (not that I blame them - like everyone else, I don’t like it when I get these kinds of calls). For the most part the people I contacted were cordial, but there were certainly a few who were pretty rude - even when they supported the candidate on whose behalf I was calling. Again, I hate receiving these calls, and I can’t blame anyone who is less than overwhelmed to chat about their political leanings.

What are the lessons learned from this experience? First, provide the right tools for your contact center agents (inbound or outbound). We’ve had CTI for years, but how many contact center actually have CTI implemented? Way too few.  Good tools can make all the difference. Also, make the process as simple and easy to use as possible for the agents - it will make them more effective and productive. A good user interface is important for both agent efficiency and accuracy in terms of reporting and tracking results.

And lastly, respect and value your contact center agents - they have a very difficult job that requires interfacing with people who aren’t always friendly or courteous. Give your agents a big pat on the back - they deserve it.

Tags: Unified Communications, Unified Communications Information by Blair Pleasant
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Building on a relationship that began over a year ago, Nortel and IBM announced a new UC solution for SMBs that leverages IBM’s new “Power System” and Nortel’s UC software to create the new Nortel Software Communication Server (SCS). IBM has brought together its I-series and P-series servers into one family, called Power System, and introduced three servers as part of the family: the IBM Power 520 Express, the IBM Power 550 Express and the IBM BladeCenter JS12. IBM’s Business Systems Group is breaking the mold in how it goes to market, and no longer goes to market by product line but instead by customer set. The group can talk to customers about solutions and determine what the customers’ needs are and match them with platform that best meets these needs. And of course one of the leading solutions today is unified communications.

Nortel’s Software Communication Server is an open, SIP-based UC solution for SMBs that provides VoIP and UC capabilities on a single platform. Designed jointly by Nortel and IBM, SCS runs on IBM’s new Power Systems products and was purpose built for SMBs with under 1000 users. The two companies can provide an all-in-one solution providing embedded instant messaging, presence capabilities, basic telephony capabilities, basic contact center functionality, Ad hoc/ Meet Me audio conferencing, basic videoconferencing, and more.

Lori McClean of Nortel describes the Software Communication Server as being “dead simple,” meaning it meets the needs of SMBs for simplicity, including ease of installation, maintenance, and use. The system can be up and running in 10-20 minutes for 120 users.

In terms of features, SCS provides traditional PBX feature set, integrated ACD, auto attendant, click to talk, click to conference, call management, and PC desktop integration with Microsoft or IBM. Basic IM and presence capabilities are included as part of the Nortel software, and customers who want more extensive UC capabilities can purchase and integrate IBM Sametime (most SMB customers would likely opt for the Sametime Entry or Standard editions).

Following the simplicity theme, pricing is based on a per user license basis. MSRP is $200 per seat, including the Nortel telephony UC software and feature set, and softphone all preloaded and preconfigured. Customers that do not already have the IBM server would also need to purchase the System i server, which generally costs around $8,000-$9,000.

The product is currently in controlled release with some initial trials. SCS on System i will go GA April 17, followed by the rest of the IBM Power Systems shortly after.

The two companies will work together to market the solution, which will be sold by certified resellers. While there are only 20 certified resellers today, these are very large, national organizations. IBM partners will be primary and initial route to market, and partners need to be certified on both IBM and Nortel solutions, with expertise on both Nortel SCS and IBM Power Systems required.

Both companies agree that customers demand choice, and stated that this is not an exclusive agreement - Nortel is offering similar software to other partners and IBM will work with other partners as well. However, Nortel was quick to point out that the IBM solution is unique and that the IBM platform is the first platform to leverage the Nortel software, and it is the only multi-application platform. The companies noted that what is unique about this relationship is the breadth of the relationship - Nortel is currently the only vendor to support all of the platforms that IBM brings to market.

SMBs have different needs than their larger counterparts, and to date there have been just a handful of UC solutions aimed at this segment. While SMBs haven’t been banging down the doors yet for a full-featured UC solution (then again, neither have large enterprises), it is just a matter of time, and having more options is always a good thing. SCS helps Nortel to fill out its UC product portfolio, providing a compelling offering for SMBs. IBM will need to get additional resellers certified and capable of selling this solution which will take time, but IBM resellers that also resell Nortel solutions and also serve the SMB market should be more than willing to add SCS to their portfolio.

Tags: Unified Communications Information by Blair Pleasant
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I had to contact a company’s customer service and technical support departments the other day – I won’t say the company’s name, but it rhymes with Pemantic. This was an extremely grueling experience, especially since I know that there’s better technology available, and that the technology used was implemented very poorly. [Read more →]

Tags: Unified Communications Information by Blair Pleasant
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