UC+C Insights Part II of II

Insight on Cisco UC+C

Cisco has some challenges that need to be acknowledged:

- They have grown their UC+C portfolio through acquisition which has led to cross-platform integration challenges.

- Cisco’s messaging is still very network- and IP phone-centric - illustrative of an underlying reliance on hardware. However, consider the fact that a large percentage of high value work within an enterprise takes place off-net.

- Though Cisco now refers to everything UC as “Collaboration” they still tie all their value back to IP phone (as is evident in press releases and case studies). But how often do you use your desk phone to communicate today vs. 3 years ago?

These types of challenges impact Cisco’s ability to innovate and slows time-to-value for customers to realize the benefits. As an example, Cisco has been doing some work to integrate their own variable bit rate codec (similar to Microsoft RT Audio) into their UC and VoIP products. However, because of the reliance on hardware, most customers will have to replace their Cisco IP phones to be able to support this codec.

Cisco’s UC+C strategy is based on Communications Manager at the core – focusing on VoIP as the foundation for UC+C. This can be considered the fatal flaw in their story. If UC+C is dependent on a customer running VoIP for corporate telephony that means that all users must first be migrated to Cisco Unified Communications Manager. But Cisco VoIP can be considered expensive and complex. Consider the following:

- According to industry market research firms, Cisco VoIP has very low penetration (single digits) in companies with over 1,000 users and low double digit penetration in companies overall.

- The vast majority of Cisco’s VoIP customer base is still on Call Manager 4.x which was generally available in 2004.

- During a multi-city voice roadshow earlier this year, attendees were asked two questions:

1. How many of you have deployed some form of VoIP in your enterprise? Consistently, >80% of attendees or more would raise their hands.

2. How many of you have deployed VoIP throughout your entire enterprise? In all 10 cities around the world every single person lowered their hand when asked this follow up question.

For customers that choose to standardize on Cisco VoIP, they risk paying a lot for technology that has a track record of never being fully deployed. They also risk decoupling the UC+C platform and associated value and telephony will continue to live outside of collaboration and remain a communications commodity.

In fact, Cisco has become a technology laggard for the first time in their history being out-developed (but not out marketed) by Microsoft’s UC+C platform. Consider the actions Cisco has taken since becoming a competitor with Microsoft:

- Acquired Webex to accelerate their move to a software-based solution and compete in the Software + Services (S+S) market. They previously acquired Metrios to create a software development environment to attract developers but it never took off. Webex Connect is being positioned as the new development platform to compete with Microsoft’s UC+C development environment.

- Hired Cordell Ratliff from Apple to lead the redesign of their user interface

- Acquired PostPath to compete with Microsoft Exchange

- Acquired Jabber to compete with Microsoft OCS

- In March 2009, Cisco introduced “Cisco UC Integration for Microsoft Office Communicator,” or CUCiMOC. Cisco implies that the plug-in is the result of collaboration between Cisco and Microsoft; however, this is not the case. When using Office Communicator with CUCiMOC, users take advantage of the Office Communicator interface for IM and Presence, but must learn and use a separate Cisco designed interface for other communications functions. Cisco provides a 41 page user guide to explain their multiple interface approach and some of the behaviors which may not be intuitive to users.

- Introduced Cisco Unified Workspace Licensing (CUWL) as a direct response to Microsoft’s software suite model.

UC+C Insights Part I of II

Insight on Microsoft UC+C

Microsoft has some challenges that need to be acknowledged:

- Had a lot of start/stop messaging around corporate telephony and enterprise voice. Customers and their own field resources folks have heard a lot of varying messages – OCS is a PBX replacement, OCS is a compliment to existing PBX’s, etc.

- Enterprise Voice is new to their account teams and is intimidating for them as shown in the lack of confidence in much of the customer facing messaging and conversations

- They has been challenged to effectively articulate the differences and technical value in how they are approaching telephony, especially within traditional IT and Telecom

However, all of these challenges relate to the cultural rather than the technology. Those cultural challenges will continue to lessen as the organization becomes more comfortable with enterprise voice and telephony and how it fits into the Unified Communications and Collaboration (UC+C) platform.

Innovative Technology
Microsoft makes really innovative software and technology, especially as part of the UC+C platform. Some examples:

1. Enterprise Voice/VoIP Telephony
The use of Real Time Audio (RT Audio) in Office Communication Server is a great example of technology innovation. RT Audio has been used extensively in delivering VoIP in the consumer market as part of Windows Live Messenger and Xbox Live, logging over 2 billion minutes per month. It’s designed to be a variable bit rate codec that can adjust to fluctuating network conditions on-the-fly during a conversation.

Cisco’s first reaction to Microsoft’s use of RT Audio in OCS was extremely hostile and negative but once they understood the value and innovation of that technology they moved quickly to introduce their own version of a variable codec – a clear testament to Microsoft’s leadership and innovative thinking.

2. Communication-Enabling SharePoint Workflows (CEBP)
Customers can use SharePoint to create business process workflows. A simple example is a workflow for on-boarding new employees. As part of that, SharePoint can provide reports about the workflow that can be used to identify bottlenecks and latency (i.e. it took security 10 days to provide RAS access).

Organizations can use the analysis data and map it to UC capabilities to "communication-enable" the process (i.e. route the RAS request to security based on presence, if the request with security is unresolved for more than 2 days then escalate a communication to a manager, etc.)

You could then go back and re-run the process and reports to measure the improvements. This could be easily repeated across the different LoB’s.

As a software platform, Microsoft UC+C is uniquely positioned to deliver CEBP capabilities. Hardware vendors like Cisco (CUAE) and Avaya (CPM) have made attempts to do the same thing with very limited success.

Microsoft Voice – A PBX Replacement Today
Microsoft has been doing voice in the enterprise (via OCS) for two years and is already recognized as a top 5 voice player in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Corporate Telephony. Gartner also noted that Microsoft is positioned as a “Visionary” reflecting Gartner’s view that telephony, which should be viewed in the context of a broader unified communications decision, is increasingly moving from hardware to software.

Microsoft has also been recognized as the leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications for the past three years.

The Future of UC+C

I finally got around to writing a white paper on the future of unified communications and collaboration. It took almost 2 years to get around to formalizing it but I am happy with the end result. Please feel free to download a copy. It has a Microsoft UC slant to it but has a lot of industry perspective as well.

Here's the executive summary of the white paper:

Executive Summary
The trend toward enterprise globalization, the infiltration of consumer technology into the workplace, and the growing complexity of networking with suppliers and partners is creating a dramatically increased need for collaboration and communication across lines of business, distributed operations and their external communities. Despite the challenges, Microsoft® and its community of customers and partners have the opportunity to take advantage of the untapped business value associated with unified communications and collaboration. This white paper explores how organizations can respond to these trends and challenges and take advantage of the opportunities they create.

Who Should Read this White Paper
This white paper is intended for Line of Business executives, Information Technology (IT) executives, and managers who are concerned with planning for IT, managing IT, or delivering IT value. Other business decision makers and managers who influence or are directly accountable for IT investments can also benefit from reading this white paper.

Topics Covered in this White Paper
In this white paper, you will find an analysis of the trends shaping the future of enterprise communications. Additionally, it provides insight into how you can respond to these trends by leveraging the opportunities created by unified communications and collaboration. Sections in this white paper include:

• Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities This section presents a broad overview of the trends, challenges, and opportunities that enterprise communications face as organizations struggle to realize measurable and sustainable business value from their investments.

• Universal Collaboration: The Evolution of Unified Communications This section uncovers the opportunity to create new business value by combining two strategic technology groups: unified communications and Web 2.0.

• The Rise of Consumer-Driven IT This section evaluates the impact that consumer-driven technologies are having on enterprise IT and how organizations can embrace this trend to drive innovation by harnessing the collective intelligence of “the consumer as the employee” model.

• Customer Service as an Business Process This section provides an informative business scenario that illustrates the benefits and stages of transforming core processes such as customer service.

• Microsoft Unified Communications as a Web 2.0 Platform This section discusses how to position Microsoft Unified Communications as a Web 2.0 platform that provides horizontal value as a productivity workspace, a platform for creating enterprise mash ups, and a development platform for transforming processes and workflows.

• Cloud Computing: Beyond SaaS to Software+Services This section discusses the flexibility of incorporating cloud computing delivery models, Software as a Service (SaaS) and Software+Services, to maximize investment return and accelerate time to value.

Conclusion
With the Microsoft Unified Communications platform, organizations can easily create a foundation that serves multiple business needs efficiently and cost effectively. By leveraging integrated unified communications and collaboration capabilities, the platform can be utilized to create competitive advantage and improve operational efficiency.

7 Habits of Highly Effective UC Vendors

Here are seven things Microsoft and its partners (or anyone for that matter) can do to build field credibility and grow their UC sales success.

1. Evolve the Language
"VoIP" was a popular term used in the early 2000's but it eventually faded from vocabulary. Then it was resurrected by Microsoft in 2007…why? Consider revising VoIP to "Voice" or "Telephony" as alternative terms when talking about UC.

Referring to things within Microsoft UC stack as "features" undermines the value of the platform. It directs the conversation towards comparing the hundreds of Cisco or Avaya features to dozens of Microsoft features. The Microsoft UC platform is made up of "capabilities" that create business value...not features.

Finally, Cisco is a master of marketing and they do a good job of twisting their competitors marketing messages to use it against them. Such is the case when Microsoft talks about the "desktop". The perception has been created that the desktop is just one of many environments users will work from; suggesting that Microsoft is out-of-date and lacking relevancy in UC. Terms like "workspace" better represent the flexibility of Microsoft UC.

2. Assume Customers Don't Know Anything About OCS
When asked, many prospective customers will tell you they have at least a general understanding of the capabilities of the Microsoft UC platform. The reality is that very few customers have a clear understanding...especially with respect to the Microsoft voice capabilities and strategy. The lesson in this is to assume that NOBODY knows enough about the Microsoft UC story.

3. Voice Pilots are Sales Tools
Voice pilots are important in helping seed the Microsoft UC solution into the market. However, the challenge is that there can be too much focus on selling the voice pilot rather than the solution. The voice pilot has a key role in the sales process - as a tool, not as the final state.

4. Interop is Not a Strategy
Microsoft and Cisco are not UC partners. Both want as much of the $45B UC market as they can get. Interoperability, especially PBX interoperability, is a short term method for introducing Microsoft UC into an existing environment with the ultimate goal of replacing the PBX. Interoperability is the first step towards that end. Customers need to know that Microsoft has no intention of being positioned as a "feature server" add-on to an existing telephony environment.

5. Familiar User Experience = Adoption
Users spend hours each day interacting with Microsoft applications. There is a unique opportunity to accelerate the adoption of Microsoft UC by leveraging the familiar user interface.

6. Microsoft has Greater Business Relevancy and Visibility
Don't over estimate Cisco's relevance with both users and line of business leadership. Cisco dominates the network and IP Telephony but both are often considered commodities. Microsoft has more visibility and business relevance outside of core IT.

7. Surround The Solution to Win
Extend the core Microsoft UC story to include strategic partners like Tandberg, Genesys (with GETS), Aspect and LG/Nortel. Doing so strengthens the competitive position against Cisco and gives implementation partners the opportunity to make more money on both services, software and hardware.

When a Phone Is Not a Phone

I got an email from my corporate IT guy last week with the subject "OCS Phones". I thought - cool, IT is going to send me one of those Microsoft USB phones to use in my home office. Now I consider myself a pretty progressive guy when it comes to UC technology but I was surprised by what I saw when I opened the email (or perhaps more surprised by my own expectation).

There were no phones to choose from...just headsets to connect to the PC - a bluetooth one and a corded one.

I should have known better. I, of all people, immediately assumed he meant "phone" as in dialpad, handset, craddle, buttons. Old habbits die hard I guess but it got me to thinking...

People have a strange relationship with their desk phone; this love-hate thing that's been going on for years. On one hand, I hear people always complaining about the phone on their desk. It doesn't matter if it's an IP phone or digital or even analog. On the other hand, people can't seem to live without them.

The hate part I can understand. Trust me, in my day I've seen some pretty nasty phones, like the Rolm "deadwood" for example. It had dialtone that sounded like finger nails on a chalkboard! In general, the deskphone takes up extra space; it's corded to the wall; it has an annoying ring; a menacing, flashing light that never seems to stop; it's hard to use any of the features on it (even tranferring a call is brutal). If you're an IT or Telecom professional it's even worse. I can't tell you how many times a budget request for a telephone system upgrade has been denied by a CFO because of the phones...

"Well, do the phones work" asks the CFO.
"Yes, of course they do." answers th IT professional.
"Then what do you need more money for?" retorts the CFO.

Damn those phones!

Then there's the love story - for whatever reason people love their phones. There is some sort of emotional connection that exists. People love the fact that every time they pick up the receiver they hear dial tone; that there is always a voice mail behind the red flashing light; that the phone will always be there for them...even after a nuclear holocaust!

But wait, perhaps I have mistaken love for addiction or fear. Maybe people don't really love their desk telephones...maybe they are just so used to having them that they can't imagine making a call without them! That would explain why, as soon as you suggest that they don't need a physical phone any more, people wig out. "You'll have to pry it from my cold, dead hand" is often the reaction you will hear from such a purpostorous suggestion.

The point to all of this is that Microsoft has a unique story here (in this case, being new to voice is a good thing). For those users that are progressive and want to use the familiar Microsoft interface to make phone calls they can do so easily from their mobile device or PC. For those that still need the comfort of a physical phone to hold on to, there is the USB phone (no power over ethernet required). And for the hard core folks that want a phone corded to the wall Microsoft has the more traditional IP phone.

Me, I am going to let go today. My new phone isn't going to be a phone at all.

Solving the Voice Conundrum

The Voice Conundrum: elevating the value of voice (and UC) in the enterprise; from commodity to strategic business asset.

Telephony has been around a long time; over 130 years in fact. The interesting thing is that it initially transformed the way people worked and communicated. I remember back in 1927 (no, I wasn't actually around then) the big news was that you could make a 3 minute call from NY to London, UK for $75. That was a huge event back then even though the submarine cable could literally only handle one call at a time. Unfortunately, not much has changed since then...

Even VoIP turned out to be just another transport conversation - i.e. a less expensive way for people to call between NY and London - but it's never been able to demonstrate sustainable business value.

A little story that epitomizes the “status” of telephony and voice in the enterprise: I was at a hospital for an IP telephony meeting a few years back. It was a crowded day for meetings so we were in a conference room in the lower level of the hospital. During one of the breaks the phone guy wanted to show us the “phone room”. Reluctantly, we obliged and as we headed down the hall we walked past the morgue. The very next door was the phone room. This sent a chill down my spine, so I commented that this was the oddest place I had ever seen a phone room...to which the voice guy replied “You don’t know the half of it son. Sometimes I’ll be in here punching down cables in the bix block and I can hear the bone saw going in the next room.”

Right then and there I realized voice/telephony was at the bottom of the barrel and could never drive business value on its own. Now let's fast forward a few years to the age of unified communications...

So here we are talking about UC and I accused many vendors of commoditizing UC in the same way telephony has been commoditized. The problem, as pointed out in the blog "Presence, not VoIP is the Foundation of Unified Communications" by Zeus Kerravala, The Yankee Group, is that most vendors have been approaching UC as an evolution of voice. As Zeus points out, "it hinders deployments of UC. If, as an industry, we promote UC as a set of tools to be built on VoIP then only companies that have finished their VoIP deployments will really be in a position to deploy UC". Now, considering that the average Cisco VoIP deployment is less than 350 phones, it's going to take them a long time to get to UC (if at all).

Microsoft, was one of the vendors I chastised for commoditizing UC back in my blog in May but I think they may have turned a corner. Thankfully the term VoIP is fading from their vocabulary and they've embraced Zeus' revelation that presence is the foundation for UC...dare I say this is the start of a movement to UC 2.0 (universal collaboration)!

So here is my spin on how I think Microsoft can approach the voice conundrum when talking about their UC vision:

Microsoft Unified Communications approaches voice as one of the many capabilities inherent with UC. They elevate the value of voice/telephony by surrounding it with communications software (like email, IM, presence, web and video conferencing) and drawing it into the workflow and embedding it into business processes.

Admittedly, Microsoft has some ground to make up in providing enterprise-class telephony capabilities (like e911 and branch survivability to PSTN) but that shouldn't stop them from transforming the industry and leading the charge into the next phase of Unified Communications.

A Lot Can Change In 5 Months

After a long break, I am back! it's been 5 months since I last blogged and much has transpired in the world of UC. Cisco bought Jabber and PostPath as well as announced UC System 7 and Webex Connect. Microsoft announced R2 of OCS to close the voice gap on their mission to replace the PBX and grab their share of the estimated $45B UC market.

My last blog was "A Good Buy For Microsoft" in which I suggested that "they could buy Avaya by the end of the summer". Obviously that hasn't happened which further illustrates the flux of the industry at present. I am not so confident that it's going to happen...perhaps because of the economy or because Microsoft decided to do a $40B stock buy back instead of an M&A deal or maybe they don't want the legacy technology.

Regardless, now that Charlie Giancarlo is "filling in" as CEO Avaya one could expect that this is the start of some exciting times over there...if for no other reason than to make themselves more appeaing to prospective buyers. No question TPG and Silverlake still want to sell the company...or at least parts of it so what are we going to see from them in the coming months?

The fact that Charlie is the keynote at VoiceCon in San Francisco next month should tip you off that somethings coming - even without Jim Grubb to help him demo telepresence! What could they be developing that's news worthy? Maybe some announcement around their Ubiquity acquisition from two years ago, but that'd be it. Perhaps its around a partnership with someone like IBM or even RIM (yes, RIM…if you recall RIM acquired Ascendent in 2006 and in a Gartner research document from March/2006 Bern Elliot, Ken Dulaney, and Phillip Redman stated, “Ascendent's software will enable Research in Motion's BlackBerry to connect with PBXs and work like a business phone. This could enable its entry into the mobile unified communications market”). Maybe even a merger announcement - there have been rumors of a private equity buyout of Tandberg by TPG/Silverlake that could result in a merger bween Avaya and Tandberg. If that were the case Charlie could do another telepresence demo - this time with the MOC client and an Avaya PBX backend! Don’t scoff, Cisco even discussed a possible merger between the two during their UC System 7 Launch Webinar in September!

The real question out of all of this is: Does anyone care? I think most people have written Avaya off and look at the $45B UC market as a three horse race between Microsoft, IBM, and Cisco. However, I don't think Avaya is out of it yet. Giancarlo is a great leader and visionary...Avaya still has some of the best products around...and they have a huge customer base. In some way, shape or form Avaya is still going to play a big part in the future of UC - even if it's under someone else's logo.