4 Technical and Business Assessments to Make Before a Unified Communications Migration

Taking the time to perform a thorough assessment of your organization’s current telecommunication assets and resources is an important step towards structuring a successful UC migration plan. The assessment should consider several elements of your business communication system including the risk of system failure, the business value of the current system, and considerations related to the readiness of the organization to accept and benefit from a new UC system.

In the complex and intimidating world of unified communications, and when considering the investment required and years for an acceptable Return on Investment to be realized, it is imperative that this decision be the right one for your business. After all, your business is unique.

It is wise for corporate executives to seek and find a trusted partner that will be able to navigate these difficult waters with your company’s best interest in mind, not an arbitrary sales quota met at your expense. The right trusted partner will work with you to assess the communication needs and business drivers in your company, as well as the organizational readiness needed to successfully design, deploy, and utilize an effective UC program.

4 Technical and Business Assessments to Make Before a Unified Communications Migration

 1. Risk of System Failure Analysis

The goal for this element of the assessment is to establish the risk to your current system – does it have a clean bill of health or are there areas of significant risk that must be quickly addressed?  This process includes assessment of several key characteristics that will be unique to every business, but the common ones are:

• Hardware failure rate – how often does hardware need replaced?
• Software failure rate – how often does software require patches, upgrades, or contracted support?
• Ability to perform – do employees get their job done despite of the technology, or supported by the technology?

 2. Business Value Analysis

The goal for this element is to establish how the currently installed system supports your business.  That will points to the business drivers that dominated your business at the time of that technology decision. Today, your business drivers may have radically changed in importance. Mobility may be the driver of sales in the company, or video collaboration may be a key win theme that is propelling your sales forward.  You will define what characteristics are important to your organization, but here are a few examples:

• Contribution to profit/loss – have you measured how your current system affects sales and processes that contribute to overall profitability?
• Level of usage – how much of your team uses the system? Is it used to its full potential?
• Ability to meet business objectives – does the system support the organization’s goals?
• Level of customer satisfaction – does the system ever have a negative impact on the customer experience?

 3.  Organizational Analysis

The goal for this element is to establish whether the organization has sufficient understanding of the business requirements as set forth by all key stakeholders, and adequate resources for both maintenance of the existing communication system as well as the planned UC upgrade. This analysis will seek to identify:

• Key business requirements
• Key stakeholders
• Level of staff resources and skillsets
• Budget level

 4.  Business Drivers Analysis

Let your business objectives drive the technology solution—not the other way around. Technology is the tool to help you to achieve your business goals. Keeping this in mind will help you to come up with a migration plan that is justifiable from a business, technological and organizational perspective.  A few sample business drivers include:

• Lower costs – mobility can lower the cost of building/facility and travel expenses, while virtualization and applications can lower hardware costs.
• Increase customer satisfaction – contact centers engage customer in a whole new way, via voice calls, email, chat, text, and more.
• Grow your workforce – with mobility, recruit and integrate experts in remote locations into your workforce.
• Increase sales – through collaboration and a social media integrated marketing strategy, your sales team can flourish.

The outcome of this process will set the stage for a tailored and customized UC roadmap that is specific to your business objectives, budget cycle and time frame.

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