Is VoIP Really Worth It?, Part 2
By: Mark Allen
Increased User and IT Productivity
The savings described in the previous sections are all "hard" costs-quantifiable and easily determined. The savings generated by improvements in productivity for users and IT staff are "soft" costs-less easy to predict.
The Sage Research study found that 86 percent of companies using IPC reported that productivity benefits have grown since initial deployment. For example, some survey respondents reported average time savings of 1.6 hours per move for moves, adds, and changes activity and four hours per week in all communications by each branch-office employee.
An estimate of savings generated by productivity improvements can be made by looking at factors such as those listed in Table 2. Of course, each business should consider the unique set of productivity factors that reflect its goals and operations.
Table 2. Example Factors for Calculating Savings from Improved Productivity (Source: Taken in part from a survey conducted by Sage Research for Cisco Systems, 2005)
| End-User Productivity |
IT Staff Productivity |
Organizational Productivity |
| · Reduced "telephone tag"
· Anytime, anywhere access to telephony features for mobile workers
· More efficient, easier-to-use features for call handling
· Unified messaging
· Ability to integrate communications with core business applications |
· Less travel to remote sites
· Single voice and data network is easier to manage with fewer support calls
· Fewer support staff required, even with network growth
· Reduced training requirements
· Less time managing spare parts |
· Increased call volumes handled by contact centers
· Improved customer satisfaction from better call handling and responsiveness
· Increased agent usage in contact centers through voice calls, e-mail, and interactive Web sessions
· Selected data and applications presented on the phone display, especially for employees with no computer access |
CHOOSING A PRIMARY VENDOR CAN INCREASE ROI
A study and in-depth interviews conducted by Sage Research found that implementing a network with a single, primary vendor gives the customer a substantial opportunity to achieve better ROI than a network built with systems from multiple vendors. A primary vendor supplies the network equipment, telephony systems, IP phones, and associated applications.
The financial benefit found by this study is compelling: the network cost of ownership per endpoint in a primary-vendor network is 26 percent lower than that of a multivendor network. Savings are spread equally across all areas, including network deployment and maintenance, network performance improvements, and benefits for IT and end users.
Sage Research also found that organizations that use a single, primary vendor for IP telephony have a 43 percent lower network cost of ownership than those that do not. The interview participants indicated that these savings come from factors such as 80 percent faster moves, adds, and changes (reported by a manufacturing company), 50 percent less installation time for new sites (cited by a pharmaceutical company), and US$100,000 savings per year by not hiring additional staff (from a government agency).
SCT Product Sales http://www.simplyusedphones.com/voip.html offers the products, services, support, technology expertise, and market leadership that make it a strong choice as a primary vendor. SCT Product Sales customers gain unmatched, comprehensive solutions-backed by expert services throughout the network lifecycle-while preserving their technology investments for the future.
"When you are stepping into new technologies, you have to rely on someone who fully understands them. How else can you ask the right questions? How else can you ensure that you are going in the right direction? I know if we had not gotten that help, we would have wasted a lot of time and energy trying to get to where we are today." -Steve Perkins, manager of systems and networks, Exempla Healthcare
BUSINESS CASE FOR Avaya IP Office SOLUTIONS
Most businesses plan to make a gradual migration from existing systems to new IPC solutions. These deployments will be made as needed, for example, to serve a new office, replace an obsolete PBX, or take advantage of new applications. Each of these scenarios, and each IPC technology, has distinct considerations for determining ROI.
Deployment Scenarios
Table 3 shows the most common scenarios that prompt an organization to deploy an IPC solution. Also shown are the major factors influencing the business case in each scenario.
Table 3. Typical Deployment Scenarios and Business Case Factors for IP Communications
| Scenario |
Business Case Factors |
| Greenfield |
A new telephone system is installed to serve a new or relocating facility. This presents the most compelling business case with the largest number of potential benefits because fewer traditional systems and processes must be accommodated. |
| Centrex Replacement |
The recurring costs of an outsourced service are replaced by an internally owned telephone system. |
| Multisite Centralized Call Processing |
Separate systems are replaced within a company or region with centralized call processing that serves multiple sites. This presents significant potential for reducing costs, consolidating redundant infrastructure, streamlining support, and standardizing network services. |
| Single-site PBX and ACD Replacement |
The need to replace aging or obsolete voice infrastructure often begins the migration to IPC. A PBX that has reached maximum capacity or a system that is no longer supported by the vendor are typical situations for considering IPC. |
|
|