The document discusses various aspects of unified communications (UC) in business settings, emphasizing the need for tailored solutions that meet specific organizational needs. It highlights the long-term importance of careful planning, including cost assessments and technology compatibility, when implementing UC systems. Additionally, the piece mentions Panasonic's entry into the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) market, reflecting trends in telecommunications and connectivity.

1. infotelecom.ca 13 March 2015
F E A T U R E S
T H I S I S S U E
Opinion
Back to the Future Part IPv6
From the Field
VoIP Call Quality – More Than Just the Bandwidth Involved
Collaboration
UC: One Size Does Not Fit All!
Telecom 2015 Preview
Ottawa and the Canadian Wireless
Telephony Market
Canada Is More Than Oil
What Is Your Plan in Case of Power Outage?
W I T H I N
News & Views
p. 2
Editorial
p. 3
Telecom 2015 Preview
p. 18
VoIP Call Quality –
More Than Just the
Bandwidth Involved
p. 4
p. 7
UC: One Size
Does Not Fit All!
What Is Your Plan in
Case of Power Outage?
p. 10
Back to the Future
Part IPv6
p. 12
Ottawa and the
Canadian Wireless
Telephony Market
p. 16
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2. MARCH 2015 7
COLLABORATION
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UC: ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL!
Maurice Duchesne has been working in
telecommunications since 1987, and has presented at
numerous conferences on the advantages of IP telephony
for enterprises. Since 2008, he has helped organizations
implement real-time communications into the unified
communication (UC) arena. Maurice is a member of the Community
of Telecommunications Consultants (CTC) and can be reached at
(514) 317-9391 or mduchesne@UCconsult.ca.
MAURICE DUCHESNE
the long term is not only important; it is, according to my
experience, crucial and even unavoidable!
I already stressed in a previous article (Communications… Unified or
Not?, InfoTelecom #9, March 2014) that it is easy to lose one’s
bearings, to get lost in this technology world that is evolving so
fast. Indeed, I recently read in a specialized magazine that people
spend more time trying to define the concept of “unified
communications” (UC) than elaborating concrete UC solutions!
However, while experts do not agree, I will use a clear and simple
definition of UC in this article:
“UC is the integration of real-time and non-real-time
communications with business processes.”
Real-Time and Non-Real-Time Communications
In general, real-time communications include the good old
traditional telephone system, because voice is and will remain, I
hope, our main means of communication. However, today we
also need to include presence information, videoconferencing,
and point-to-point communications by computer through a web
browser under this type of real-time communications.
n communications as in life, no single size or model fits
all. It is important to consider different solutions and to
find the best fit, depending on the needs.
Before taking any decision, as is often necessary in large-scale
projects, it is beneficial to thoroughly analyze the total cost of
ownership (TCO) and the return on investment (ROI) of the
project.
However, only after a complete assessment of available
applications that are necessary to reach your company’s goals will
you be able to accurately determine if, for example, cloud
computing is indeed the best solution for your company. The
preparation of a telecommunications master plan for the short or
I
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3. COLLABORATION
8 MARCH 2015
Panasonic to
Launch MVNO
In a surprising
development,
Panasonic
Corporation, the
Japanese multinational
electronics
corporation, has
announced it will
soon offer mobile
virtual network
operator (MVNO)
services. Granted,
Panasonic has long
offered a wide range
of telecom products.
But it will be a newbie
among telecom
service providers.
Partnering with
Vodafone, Panasonic
says it will offer
connectivity to their
customers in over 40
countries for one flat
tariff.This will ensure
all their devices which
would benefit from
being connected to
the web, are doing so.
Think ‘Internet of
Things’.Yoshiyuki
Miyabe, President of
Panasonic’s AVC
Networks division,
says:“I commit to you
we will start to
implement
connectivity across all
our suitable product
ranges. So we serve
our customers
wherever they are,
whatever they’re
doing.”
The first non-real-time type of communications
that comes to mind is obviously the ever-popular
email, but this type also includes all instant and
unified messaging functions, CRM, ERP, the
Internet and fax.
Here is the most important question to answer:
which unified communications platform best
meets your company’s present or future needs? In
other words, which would be the most useful and
the most efficient for people who will concretely
use it the most in your company?
Which Solution Should Your Company
Turn to?
In the article that was published last March, I
mentioned that each equipment manufacturer has
developed – or tries to develop – its own solution,
as unique and original as possible, whether it is a
voice (telephone), videoconferencing or email
platform, or even a platform that is integrated to a
CRM system.
However, the great diversity of attractive, high-
tech, simple or complex, and affordable or
expensive products on the market results in the
emergence of multiple underlying questions that
need to be addressed during the planning and the
elaboration of a serious communications master
plan. The ultimate goal is to determine, once
again, the solution that is most appropriate for
your company at the lowest possible cost. The
planning must also be done in such a way as to
avoid bad surprises.
Sooner or later, you will need to address the
elements listed below in your assessment and
your evaluation.
Some of the Important Questions
Your computer network: is it adapted to and can it
support the solution you will choose? If necessary,
how much would it cost to upgrade it? What
quality and service levels do your administrators
want or need? Do you have the required qualified
personnel at your disposal internally to support
the solution you will choose?
The industry’s major trends: who are the major
players you would have to collaborate with and
from what platform type: IP-PBX, CRM, cloud
computing or web browser?
The technology’s users: what are the end-user
profiles within your organization? It is important
to remember that each employee also has a
personal life and a social network. We also observe a
generalized tendency to try to avoid using multiple
interfaces on multiple devices!
And what about cloud computing? Of course, it is a
noteworthy innovation, but to whom is it truly useful
within your company? Besides, are you willing to
sacrifice certain past technology investments
acquired with hard-earned budgets?
That Investment That You Would Like
to Protect
Firstly, your current telephone system: does it run on
an IP system? Or is it still digital (TDM)? A hybrid,
maybe? Do you only use voice messaging? What
about voice recognition? What about united
messaging with fax and email servers? What
technology do you currently use for your emails,
videoconferences and mobile devices? Do you use a
CRM system? An ERP system? Are your
infrastructures up-to-date or do they need a major
upgrade?
What Are Your Current UC Needs and What
Will They Be in 5 years?
Are you looking to expand your telephone system or
to replace it? How will your system be deployed?
Internally, in the cloud, or both? What are your
collaboration needs, including multi-site
videoconferencing and web collaboration? What
about mobility? How many user will use mobile
clients and BYOD functionalities? How many
employees in your contact centre will need UC
functionalities?
Let’s Not Forget About Networking
What fraction of the future UC users require a
network upgrade before accessing both real-time
voice and video on IP? As my colleague Martin
Trépanier wrote in his InfoTelecom #11 article of
September 2014:
“Your UC project must not hang by a thread!”
You will quickly realize that in the world of
communications, compatibility of the different
technological components is often not necessarily a
technological challenge, but a financial one.
Devising, Analyzing and Conciliating All the Services’
Needs
A client recently asked me to recommend the best
solution to group 15 plants operating in autonomous
and independent manners in a single homogeneous
system.
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4. These plants all belonged to the same organization and each
plant theoretically had the same needs and reported to the
same corporate headquarters. In such a context, I knew from
experience that the implementation of a unified
communications system is not straightforward. It is not
enough to walk through all the services and take notes to
understand their specific needs. In reality, we quickly realize
we are dealing with 15 managers, each one of them wanting
to control his own production… in his own way!
It is important for senior management to understand that
subtlety. It must recognize the necessity to focus its efforts on
dialogue and to refocus its teams on the consortium’s global
common goals.
Otherwise, these managers’ will to collaborate to perfect the
headquarters’ master plan, to accept the new technological
project, to foster collaboration and to quickly train their team
members will be affected and will delay the success and the
profitability of your investment. When it comes to
communications, collaboration has to starts with the users
that will ultimately use the system!
Have You Ever Thought About Implementing a UC
Strategy in Your Company?
According to Mike Sapien, Ovum’s leading analyst, a study
titled The Future of Unified Communication & Collaboration,
using data from 1,300 companies across the world,
demonstrated that 80% of those companies plan on
implementing unified communications and collaboration in
the next two years.
What about your company? Are you equipped to develop
your own strategy?
Conclusion
Here is a quote that I particularly like from world-renowned
American-Canadian architect Frank Gehry:
“The past was about choosing solutions; the future is about
generating options.”
Every question that I brought up has an answer that is unique
to your business. However, finding the right questions to ask
is important to identify the challenges that will arise in
response to the implementation of a new unified
communications system. That system should meet specific,
concrete needs to bring together people that are
geographically far from one another and to significantly
increase the efficiency of their collaboration. The goal is
ideally to eventually increase your company’s profits.
However, it is obvious that a single solution is not ideal for
every situation, because there are as many options as there
are types of businesses. Therefore, it is crucial to ponder
carefully and to rigorously plan your project while consulting
with your future users to avoid getting lost… in the clouds!
COLLABORATION
MARCH 2015 9
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