Articles on the ICT Industry in South Africa

Extract from original artile by Chadwick Martin Bailey

The many benefits of deploying an IP Communications (IPC) system are, by now, well-known and well- documented. However, once the basic IPC foundation is set, there are many additional applications that can leverage this converged IP network even more fully. Quantifying the real productivity gains and out-of pocket cost savings of these relatively new value-added Unified Communications applications can be challenging for most organizations. Yet if armed with such information, potential adopters could make a far more comprehensive ROI justification for their planned deployments. One source of such information is benchmarks frm current users.

Based on a survey of 244 small, medium, and large organizations in the United States, presently using or planning to deploy Unified Communications applications, this paper outlines both the challenges that those applications address and the actual benefits that current adopters experience. This paper presents very specific results that quantify both staff-time and out-of-pocket savings that users have experienced by implementing Unified Communications applications, thus giving decision-makers a real-world reference for evaluating the technology.

Throughout the findings presented in this white paper, three general themes that characterize the results are highlighted:

• Unified Communications applications lead to more effective communication. Beyond replacing a traditional channel for contacting employees, Unified Communications applications also enable smarter communication. Employees can consult the best method for reaching coworkers before even initiating contact, thereby improving the efficiency in their interactions with others.
• Unified Communications application benefits include both time savings and cost savings.  Real-world users’ experiences clearly indicate that these applications provide both employee productivity benefits and direct monetary savings. As a result, the ROI case for Unified Communications applications is fairly comprehensive.
• The level of Unified Communications application benefits increases as the number of different applications available increases. Simply put, the more Unified Communications applications an organization deploys, the greater the overall return in terms of both time and cost savings benefits. While this finding is somewhat intuitive, the actual size of this deployment effect is rather pronounced.

See the full white paper here...

Contact KSS Technologies and explore how your organisation can benefit from Unified Communication applications.