Effective communication is the key to business agility, not only in financial services firms, but across all kinds of businesses. Everyone is talking about unified communications (UC) as a more productive means of bringing people together, and the discussion continues to gather momentum. The technologies that make up UC include audio/Web conferencing, presence, high-definition video, instant messaging, IP phones, email and more. Properly configured, these elements can help businesses realize the value of collaboration.

However, it is not only the technologies you use, or how you use them, but why. The increasing competitive pressure of globalization has redefined how partners, suppliers and colleagues need to more effectively collaborate across multiple time zones. The benefits of collaboration include both reduced travel and CO2 emissions, for example. In addition, firms that encourage effective collaboration can realize gains in competitive advantage as well as employee productivity.

Additional issues – aside from the purely technical – must also be considered in a collaborative environment. Following is a list of those issues:

1. ‑IT network teams control the full operational environment of many UC applications - the network, the desktop, and the applications. With collaboration, the user base is not limited to the company employees; it includes group communications with vendors, partners, and customers.

2. ‑Additionally, not all UC applications are controlled by the IT team – users could be on mobile devices or an IP phone at home, which introduces new technical quality issues.

3. ‑Business-to-business collaboration via both external and diverse technologies leads to unique challenges, which may require a specialized help desk.

4. ‑While many UC vendors have built user-friendly features into their technology there remain a number of required activities not included that truly help an organization adopt and more effectively collaborate using multiple technologies. These activities include end user adoption, real-time scheduling support and in-call help desk, dedicated service management and vendor management.

5. ‑Businesses can either manage these services themselves or leverage the economies of scale from third parties, such as managed service providers.

6. ‑Acting quickly is essential in the financial services industry where collaboration is critical. In this environment speed must be balanced by strict regulatory compliance.

7. ‑Being able to record, store and report on your communication activities is critical.

8. ‑Education and communication programs should be delivered to end users to ensure adoption of the technology by encouraging the appropriate behavior. Each firm should determine whether these educational programs should be developed and delivered internally or by a managed service provider.

A managed service provider focused on these unique requirements will help IT organizations drive effective collaboration. With managed services aligned to both your IT team and business needs, there are rich opportunities to drive effective use of UC technologies.

Betsy Boyd is Director of Communications, Channel and Acquisition at BT Conferencing. She can be reached at betsy.boyd@bt.com. For more information, please contact Stephen Slayter, 617-237-4732; email: stephen.slayter@bt.com; web: www.btconferencing.com.