{"id":2785,"date":"2016-05-26T15:37:00","date_gmt":"2016-05-26T22:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/?p=2785"},"modified":"2016-05-26T15:37:00","modified_gmt":"2016-05-26T22:37:00","slug":"how-to-get-your-small-business-team-off-and-running-with-unified-communications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/how-to-get-your-small-business-team-off-and-running-with-unified-communications\/","title":{"rendered":"How to get your small business team off and running with Unified Communications"},"content":{"rendered":"
This Sunday, May 29, marks the 100th<\/sup> anniversary of the Indianaoplis 500, called <\/a>\u201cThe Greatest Spectacle in Racing.\u201d \u00a0It takes a lot to put together a race of such importance; and not everything happens on the track.\u00a0 At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) headquarters, just outside the track, planning and operations take place for the big event. \u00a0A few years ago, the IMS undertook a\u00a0 telecommunications system upgrade to improve communications and collaboration between its various departments \u2013 legal, sales, accounting, food and a studio production team \u2013 and to aid mobility for team members who need to\u00a0 stay connected as they move between the office and track. IT chose to deploy the Microsoft Lync Unified Communications (UC) platform.<\/p>\n Since the transition involved replacing desk phones with the UC solution that runs over laptops, as well as smartphones and tablets, IMS IT wanted to ensure employees would be comfortable with the change to soft phones and the use of Plantronics UC headsets.<\/a> To bolster acceptance, a week into the trial of the first phase of the rollout, IMS offered employees the option to return to their desk phones if they were not satisfied. Turns out, no one did. The first phase of the rollout took five months. Deemed successful, the rollout to the rest of the organization continued.<\/p>\n Despite the productivity and collaboration benefits of UC , which integrates desk phones, PCs, smartphones and tablets into one integrated data and voice network accessible through the convenience of one interface, some small business employees may be resistant to change. Others may take time to familiarize themselves with all the features of your UC system, which can be many. (See: “Must-have unified communications features for your small business” Part 1<\/a> and Part 2<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
Old habits die hard<\/strong><\/h5>\n