UC Lost by Bad Management

Doug Mohney — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 19:58:27 -0400

The promise of unified communications can be ruined by bad management practices. Employees are starting to push back on the model of always on/always reachable.

Promised productivity gains are infringing upon worker family time and at-work concentration to critical tasks. Some companies, such as Intel, have begun to institute "communications free" time where email, IM, and phones are turned off in response to work complaints about being constantly interrupted and unable to find quiet time for work.

UC proponents say the answer is not mandatory communications blackout periods, but better user control and training of employees to set boundaries of when they can and can't be interrupted. They also suggest some old fashioned training on time management rather than blaming UC and setting up rule sets so they don't get calls after 6 p.m. or at home.

For more
- SearchUnifiedCommunications.com piece on UC ruined by bad management

Related articles:
Carriers can clarify UC confusion
UC Confuses SMBs
Marketing mudding VoIP and UC; getting creative

UC Confuses SMBs

Doug Mohney — Sat, 31 May 2008 20:46:53 -0400

According to a study released by bMighty.com, small and midsized companies really aren't getting "it" when it comes to unified communications; some two thirds of the SMB world doesn't understand the term "unified communications."

Once you provide a definition of what UC is, the integration of voice e-mail, IM, and so forth, nearly three-quarters understand what's going on--but still aren't hungry to buy. Two thirds of SMBs say UC is more expensive than traditional telecom options while a slight majority said it's too early for small companies to implement UC. Integration and complexity are concerns and there's not a clear way to calculate the return on investment when the benefits are spread throughout the company.

Only 16 percent see UC as a way to gain competitive advantage. Even a highly touted feature like single-number access ends up winning favor with around 55 percent of the 628 small and medium-sized businesses interviewed. Traditional features like voicemail (82 percent) and email (81 percent) are the winners.

For more:
- The bMighty.com Unified Communications survey slide show.

Related articles:
Marketing mudding VoIP and UC; getting creative
Unified communications coming to SMB