They say the key to running a successful business isn’t building a system that you will use today, but building one you will still be using five to ten years from now. With installation and setup time many systems are outdated by the time you finish installing them. Building a system that will support you for years to come is the only way to keep your business from playing an infinite game of catch up.
Taking advantage of Unified Communications is a great way to take charge of our organization and get the most productivity out of your employees, but you have to make sure you ask the important questions first.
- Will you be allowing BYOD?
- Are your staff already using mobile devices like iPhones and Tablets for work?
- Do you allow staff to telecommute? Why or why not? Could this new system allow for staff to telecommute?
- What cost benefits would you see from the change?
- What is that state of your Phone System? Will you be replacing it with a VoIP system?
- Are you Desktop computers capable of running UC clients?
- Do you have enough IT staff to run the system?
- What network upgrades would need to be down in order to USE UC to the fullest extent?
This seems like a lot of work, but as many organizations have found, the investment is normally worth the effort. Asking these questions is important to finding out what needs to happen before you consider a system upgrade. If you don’t do your due diligence you may find yourself rushing into a project that has setback after setback and ends up severely over budget. UC is all about saving time, and we all know saving time equals saving dollars; but you have to put the work in first.