Dispelling UC Myths & Misunderstandings

Many companies, including resellers and end-users, still are struggling with the challenge of articulating why a unified communications solution makes sense. It’s safe to say that there are some broad misunderstandings about UC in general, and it’s safe to assume that selling a UC solution would be much easier if some of these misunderstandings were dispelled.

In this article we will explore some of the myths and misunderstandings associated with UC. These myths, which are based on erroneous yet well-socialized perceptions, have very little if any factual grounding yet have the potential to become a sore spot over the course of the sales process.

1. UC is a new technology. Sometimes it’s easy to treat natural technology evolutions as “new events.” The fact is, UC is simply the confluence of other technologies that have existed for a long, long time. Voice traffic was initially handled over circuit switched PSTN and now an ever-increasing amount of this traffic has moved over to the Internet. Today, thanks to advances in digitization, packet switching and other technologies, voice is virtually indistinguishable from other communications transported across the network. As a result, it becomes relatively simple to treat communications like any other application on the network.
2. UC requires a “rip and replace” approach. Not true. UC solutions can play nicely with existing PBX and IP infrastructure. As mentioned above, we’re talking about a natural evolution here, so many of the investments that have been made along the way still have an entirely valid place in your wiring closet. The important thing to remember here is that UC — in addition to being able to handle voice — interfaces for a variety of non-voice desktop applications making these existing investments many times more useful than they were in the past.
3. UC is more expensive than maintaining a TDM communications system. While there is always an investment needed to upgrade technology, there are many tangible returns when considering UC. For example, companies can significantly reduce their travel costs by realizing more effective communication capabilities across the network. Additionally, team members around the world can leverage and benefit from shared resources over the network rather than dedicated TDMs. UC also enables companies to save as much as a 30 percent reduction in phone bills (by using instant messaging), a 40 percent reduction in e-mails and a 15 percent reduction in voice mails. Greater efficiency equals cost savings — what TDM system offers these kinds of efficiencies?