Conferencing solutions, such as audio, video and web, are a key component to a successful communications environment. For many companies, the ongoing costs to sustain and manage these systems are outweighing the benefits. It is critical that these companies partner with a services provider that can take control of the technical aspects while allowing customers to focus their resources on their core business activities.

There are many components of this "managed services" solution and different service providers will deliver different definitions of how it should be implemented. The key to a successful solution by any provider, however, is built around a remote-centric approach; an approach driven by remote monitoring systems that can plug in to the customer's network and provide a complete view of their infrastructure. This will allow the service provider to continuously monitor the conferencing network to pinpoint and remedy potential problems or bottlenecks before they become critical. This remote approach frees the customer from the burden of having to continuously monitor their system for availability; they can just schedule and launch their call.

The most successful managed services providers will create each solution based on individual customer needs. For this approach, a host of additional services to complement the base offer is often presented. For instance, a customer may choose specialized help desk support and on-site staff to complement the remote management capabilities. Another customer may forego the on-site staff and choose a network design offer as well as "high-touch" conferencing services for large events. This modular approach ensures that the solution can scale along with the customer's needs, allowing for a continued return on investment even if the base solution grows more complex then its initial incarnation. In any case, the customer is offered a choice to build their managed services solution in a manner that best meets their needs.

A successful managed services solution will be driven by a complex back-office system that is transparent to the users. These systems are hooked directly in to the conferencing network and allow help desk technicians, professional service consultants and scheduling professionals to monitor the health of active and inactive devices on the network, view a total layout of the customer's infrastructure and have complete scheduling information at hand for each location. For those customers that choose a self-service approach, web-based tools are typically available that can interface with this back-office database, allowing the user to also monitor the health of the system and to schedule their own calls. This back-office system, combined with the core set of services available, guarantees a deeper level of management not available if the customer manages the system on their own.

Conferencing is a key component to communications in the changing business community. Successful companies that implement conferencing solutions now have the option to partner with service providers that can take control of the management aspects of their conferencing environment. These successful managed services providers deliver the infrastructure necessary for customers to defocus from their technology and refocus on their business.

Chris Cheadle is Response Manager at Wire One Communications, Inc., 937-259-5834; mobile: 937-371-4082; email: chris.cheadle@wireone.com; web: www.wireone.com.