Seamless UC: Which User Interface Will You Choose? Allan Sulkin President, teqconsult.com 1
Introduction Unified Communications (UC) solutions are quickly emerging as necessary tools for enterprises to enhance real time communications efforts to remain competitive in an intensive market environment by: Improving workflow efficiency to boost personal and workgroup productivity Reducing a variety of business expenses, e.g. communications, personnel, real estate, utilities, travel No one vendor dominates the UC market space as solution components span across a variety of communications media (voice, data, text, messaging, video) and a wide range of desktop software applications 2
Concept of Seamless UC Surveys indicate many customers prefer to have a single GUI for all UC processes, but at the present time this is not a viable option A seamless UC solution leverages the best capabilities of each GUI to optimize a single or mixed media experience Today s optimal UC solution would be one that supports: Seamless access and operations among all system subscriber endpoint devices and GUI screens Multiple server resources with intelligent signaling links 3
The Seamless UC Experience A seamless UC experience is a start-to-finish communications process that is defined by the following conditions: Use of one or more communications devices Access to multiple GUI screens from the same or different providers Consistency of screen data/information throughout the communications process Recognition by the device and screen of the current status of the active communications process System subcriber location independence: workplace (desktop, corridor), home/satellite office, road (hotel, car, client/supplier facility, et al) 4
Foundation for Seamless UC No single vendor offers a comprehensive fullfeatured UC solution totally independent of other vendor elements Two (2) fundamental system processes required to implement a seamless UC experience in a multi-vendor environment are: Intelligent interfacing among all UC servers and user clients regardless of element provider Data and information flow among all UC servers and clients for synchronization of all GUI screens for all communications process feature and functions 5
UC Ecosystem Elements Documents (Text, Tables, Graphics) Calendar Presence/IM Collaboration Tools Desktop Applications Software Desktop Telephone Instruments PC Clients (Desktop, Notebook) WLAN Handsets Smart Mobile Devices User Interfaces IP Telephony Unified Messaging Contact Center IVR/ Voice Portal Conferencing Directory Multimedia Feature/Application Servers 6
Examples of Seamless UC Processes Presence (status/availability/location) Instant Messaging (IM) Basic Telephony (calling processes & features) Videoconferencing Unified Messaging (voice, text, fax) Conferencing & Collaboration (single or mixed media) Mobile Communications (WLAN, Cellular) Directory Services Calendar Services 7
Some Key Business Processes Benefiting from Seamless UC Contact Center Teleworking Business Continuity (Disaster Prevention & Recovery) Business Process Integration 8
Seamless UC in Action: Office Communicator client to control multiple endpoints Quicker, more intelligent access to colleagues / greater efficiency Rich presence Multiple contact modes Click to call, hold, transfer, etc. Ad hoc audio, video, and web conferencing Can control Microsoft OCS clients, Avaya, and others 9
Seamless UC in Action: Microsoft Communicator integration within Desktop Applications Access to presence, voice mail, conference bridge scheduling, and other communications directly from Outlook and other desktop applications 10
Microsoft Office Communicator Supported by Avaya one-x Call Control (one-x Communicator or Portal Source: Avaya 11
Office Communicator Supported by one-x Managing/Joining Multiple Calls with one-x Communicator/Portal Source: Avaya 12
Office Communicator Supported by one-x Access to Full Feature Set with one-x Communicator Source: Avaya 13
Office Communicator Supported by one-x Access to Modular Messaging with one-x Communicator Source: Avaya 14
Seamless UC in Action: Ad-hoc audio, video, and web conferencing Collaborate in real-time by sharing desktop view and control, with single click from the same Communicator GUI 15
Avaya & Microsoft Applications Optimized for Specific Purposes Source: Avaya 16
Seamless UC Operation: Click to Call Source: Avaya 17
Seamless UC Operation: Click to Email Source: Avaya 18
Seamless UC Operation: Click to IM Source: Avaya 19
Mobility Solutions for Remote Workers Avaya one-x Mobile + Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile Avaya one-x Mobile Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile Device Level Unification Source: Avaya 20
Voice Portal: Access to Single or Multivendor Media Processes Source: Avaya 21
Seamless Multivendor Presence Source: Avaya 22
Remote Work Options Call Control Multi Media Call Control Anywhere Access Office, Home, Road No VPN required OCS VoIP Voice Avaya Microsoft Maintain enterprise identity/presence for all inbound/outbound calls 23
User Benefits of Seamless UC The advantage of a seamless UC experience is to provide system subscribers the flexibility of selecting the best or most desirable communications device and/or embedded GUI screen during a communications process System subcribers have the ability to: Seamlessly switch between devices and/or GUI screens during an active communications process Access and view current communications process data/information with recognition of the call or contact state 24
Panel Discussion Time 25