Process & reliability

How Convergence Improves the Big Picture
By Scott Murphy

New technology means more reliable systems and improved information flow

The two biggest issues that we hear about from management teams are finding ways to improve business systems reliability and ways to improve business processes. Those requirements span all areas of the business and often directly relate to technology. There are very few silver bullets that can provide these benefits to all companies but recent advances in the converging voice and data technologies can help.

For many years in the data world there have been advances in technologies that improve reliability and increase availability at reduced costs. Traditional telephony systems have long been considered reliable. With the convergence of the voice and data technologies in Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone systems, these two worlds are merging and the technologies on both sides are being adopted and adapted. The result has been some improvements in functionality and reliability that can provide real benefits for day-to-day operations as well as when disaster strikes.

When it comes to disaster recovery (DR) plans, businesses have tended to make plans for data systems a priority, with less consideration for voice systems. Voice systems have typically been local. More recently, however, they have become more distributed to allow for working remotely and to allow communication in the event of disaster. These advances in the convergence of voice and data technologies allow businesses to design and implement highly available voice systems with failover to alternate sites similar to data systems. This will allow DR plans to address the entire business and ensure that voice and data systems will support the business and provide the appropriate level of reliability. Examples of these advances include SIP trunks to replace T1 voice circuits, hardware redundancy and clustering of IP PBX systems, and survivable remote phone switches that keep remote sites operational even if the main office is experiencing an outage.

Some of these advances in converging voice and data technologies are also providing opportunities for business process improvement, particularly for remote workers. Since the high level of adoption of cell phones and wireless handhelds like the BlackBerry^®, many people trying to contact remote workers have had difficulty finding the right number to call them. Is it the office number, cell phone, or home office? Convergence has allowed remote workers to choose from a range of options to improve communications and reduce communication costs. Examples of these options are VoIP tele-worker phone sets that can be plugged in on home high-speed Internet connections and act just like the phones in the office, twinning office phone extensions and cell phones so that people only have to call one number; software based VoIP phones that run on laptops, and unified messaging so that you only have one repository for all of your voicemail, email and faxes.

The convergence of voice and data systems is also extending the integration of systems. Technologies that were previously cost-prohibitive to all but higher-end call centres are now becoming cost-effective to small and medium sized businesses. Voice systems can now be easily integrated into existing email systems like Microsoft^® Exchange and with directory systems like Microsoft^® Active Directory to provide a unified view of all information. This provides the right information to employees right when they need it.

Further tools and integration are making it easier to communicate with people inside and outside the organization. Microsoft^® Live Communication Server integrated with a phone system will allow employees to view presence and availability of other employees and provide a single interface to call, instant message, email, fax, or conduct an online meeting. This provides a unique business advantage that allows for skills-based routing and access to information and people. It lets employees know when other employees are available whether they are in the next cubicle or halfway around the world. This means geographically separated teams can work well together with reduced communication and travel costs.

Better reliability, constant connections, faster information and business tool integration are the result of these technology advances. Employees become more efficient, customers get better service, and costs can be reduced. Business reliability and process improvement is entering a new age.

Scott Murphy is a Consultant and VP – Business Development at Data Perceptions. Scott helps companies select best available technologies to meet their business requirements. In his role as Business Development lead, Scott has helped develop Data Perceptions’ extended team and the collaborative consulting model. Data Perceptions has developed and maintains relationships with over 80 independent consultants and 200 partner firms to allow us to meet a larger range of our clients’ and prospects’ requirements.