Networks Should Be 'Fit For Purpose'

Biztech2.com catches up with Sanjay Gupta, Dir. - Enterprise, Avaya, as he discusses the CIO challenges in the enterprise communication space. He further delves into how Unified Communications (UC) is going to evolve, and in the light of rowing interest in cloud, what are going to be the key considerations for UC application deployment on cloud.

What trends do you foresee in enterprise communication?

We are moving away from traditionally voice based communication to multi-modal communication, which apart from voice includes video and data. This, in turn, leads to collaboration. If you look at the usage pattern of consumers, be it the Generation-Y or the enterprise users, especially the new users joining the enterprise, they are equipped with devices having these multi-modal features.

More and more people are acquiring devices like iPhones, iPads, BlackBerrys, etc. They are getting connected using these devices on to social networking platforms. The users want to be equally existent on all devices and platforms and do what they desire using all these devices based on the comfort level.

Which are the current CIO challenges when it comes to UC?

Today’s enterprise networks are traditionally designed to handle the current business applications. They are not ready to accommodate the smart devices into the network because the nature of the network doesn’t allow that. Moreover, these are all multi-modal critical applications which remain in public domain and how do you really integrate them after addressing concerns around security and associated risks. This is really the challenge for the CIO today.

How can these challenges be resolved by the CIOs?

Companies need to define an evolving network. It should be ‘fit for purpose’ to suit the requirements of the organisation. The purpose has changed from traditional business applications to the new generation applications that include collaboration, integration with several social networking platforms, etc. Companies need to evolve their network. This will ensure availability at all times as the applications are becoming more complex and demanding. Further, the network should be more efficient so that it can deliver more with less.

What factors should be considered while deploying UC applications on cloud?

Stages of deployment’ and cost should be thought of well before designing a network using cloud or any other technology. As far as cost is concerned, it’s the entire TCO that needs to looked at and correspondingly what is the value that the application will deliver.

On the cloud side, it depends on the application that you are looking to hook onto the cloud. It differs from enterprise to enterprise. For example, certain applications that are real time, collaborative applications can save almost 25% time for a manufacturing organisation to deliver a product ahead of time from the competitors. This can result in giving a leading edge to the organisation by evolving such a network.

Similarly, in the healthcare environment, superior service can be delivered to patients in terms of not just efficient check-in and check-out process but also bringing the right set of health experts to the right patients by using the collaborative suite.

In the financial industry, customers can not only be served at the branch but also through other mediums like Internet, where customer requests to communicate with a service rep. on Skype or any kind of video conferencing could also be dealt with and integrated into the network. Hence, companies can enhance their base and serve more customers. This will improve the brand image and justify the investment on the evolving network.