January 27, 2009, 5:45 PM — We are entering into a new era of communications. Now, through the innovation of software-powered voice and unified communications technology, you can customize communication systems to fit the specific business needs of your organization, instead of only offering voice and unified communications applications and devices.
The business opportunity is simple. Don't change your business to fit the needs of your communications systems, use a communications platform that fits the needs of your organization and leverages the business processes that you have defined as a company that makes you unique.
As an example, my organization has developed applications on top of Microsoft's Unified Communications platform that allow doctors to collaborate on patient records via the web with video, presence, Instant Messaging, and sharing of data so that all can see from the comfort of their offices or homes. Each session can be recorded and stored for later retrieval. That's great for doctors who need an outside opinion. It's also great for patients. Instead of driving to another doctor's office, we can securely collaborate using the same technology to see our diagnosis via shared X-Rays, test results, etc.
We have developed similar applications for retail. I, as a consumer, can browse a website for a product, chat with a rep online using not only web chat, but also see and hear the rep to truly answer any questions I have. This chat can then route my inquiry to a store that is local to me based on the area code I entered during the session. The routed call leverages SmartSIP and SmartVoIP so that a long-distance charge isn't incurred. The incoming call to the store contains data that displays on the handset device at the store to the person manning the register. The data shows that there is an incoming call from a customer who is interested in a particular product and shows that the store has 2 available. This provides a better customer service experience and saves the retailer money.
These two examples show how retail and healthcare organizations or any company with branch/remote offices and a website can benefit from this technology. For other industry scenarios, feel free to visit www.evangelyze.net to see how we are addressing federal, state & local government, education, financial services, legal, manufacturing, defense, and other line-of-business processes.
3 Classic mistakes:
- Not choosing a partner that understands how to build a solution around your unique business processes. There are a ton of Microsoft partners out there that are Gold Certified, but there are only a handful that know how to create this kind of unique voice and unified communications solution for your organization.
- Shelling out money too soon. Don't pay yet! This is new technology, it has to be proven. Microsoft and key partners are offering free consultation and pilots so take advantage of it. If you like what you see, you can then budget a production deployment that will pay for itself within 6 months based on the amount of hard and soft cost savings.
- Not getting business people involved. Business managers need to be involved so that you can see a clear distinction between what is just technology and what is going to support your unique business process.
4 rules for success:
