Definitions, Benefits & ROI

Ovum - UC to go!

Much has been said about unified communications (UC) initiatives in terms of platforms, software collaboration and integration with IP telephony systems. However, mobility seems to be the missing link in most discussions about UC, which always seem to ...

Strategic Path - Far-reaching communications in the far north

Building a major communications network is always challenging, but it’s doubly difficult when you’re trying to do it in the remote reaches of far north Queensland. Angus Kidman looks at how the Cape York Digital Network overcame its technic...

SIP Forum - SIPconnect and the rationale for widespread adoption of SIP trunking

Making the most of VoIP IP PBXs are starting to dominate the enterprise equipment market. But TDM trunking remains the norm, unnecessarily limiting the advantages business customers can realise from IP voice in both capabilities and cost. The answer...

UniComm - The Emerging impact of Unified Communications

Making the most of your ‘people power’ By Don Van Doren, Principal, UniComm Consulting and Co-Founder, UCStrategies.com Unified communications (UC) is widely recognised as the ‘next big thing’ in communications capabiliti...

IBRS - Unified Communications: Justifications and predictions

Looking to the future Building a business case for unified communications is currently more of an art than a science. Traditional return on investment (ROI) models are now inapplicable unless arbitrary values are placed on intangible benefits. However...

UniComm - Leveraging VAR and SI Talent

For unified communications success The best approach for your business By Marty Parker, Principal, UniComm Consulting, Co-founder UCStrategies.com Unified communications (UC) is now a proven business tool. Since the Strategic Path articles in ...

SIP Forum - Standardising SIP

Strategic Path talks to Marc Robins, President of SIP Forum LLC SP: Can you describe briefly the role of the SI P Forum and your position within it? MR: The SIP Forum was founded eight years ago as a non-profit IP communications industry associat...

Strategic Path - Unifying your phone systems: the Challenges for Management

Integrating and updating its communications systems for greater mobility provided major benefits for Wellington City Council, but also posed some unexpected challenges when it came to training, management and product lifecycles. What went well and what...

UniComm - Getting started in Unified Communications - Easily and Economically

The four steps to successful UC By Marty Parker, Principal, UniComm Consulting LLC Unified communications is truly gaining traction. The number of positive UC reference cases continues to grow rapidly. These reference cases report specific, high-RO...

Take your voice on the road: Making the most of the wireless LAN by David Braue.

If you’ve ever driven through a mobile network blackspot while talking on your phone, you know how frustrating an inadequate wireless network design can be. Transfer that problem into the halls of your own company, however – where users kno...

SIP Forum - SIP Trunking: A New Way VoIP Can Benefit Your Business

SIP Trunking: A New Way VoIP Can Benefit Your Business SIP trunking – using SIP to set up communications between an enterprise IP-PBX and service provider – offers SMEs an easy, cost-effective opportunity to access converged communicati...

Strategic Path - Closing the collaboration loop

Closing the collaboration loop Quick quiz: Do your employees work better when they’re emailing each other, calling each other, instant messaging each other, or working together in an online document sharing system? If your company is like ...

Strategic Path - IP Telephony for SMEs - Made Easy

IP Telephony for SMEs - Made Easy LG-Nortel’s Chris Karagiannis outlines the key IP issues for SMEs: including the importance of building converged platforms on a properly provisioned LAN, with an easy upgrade path. At what point is the A...

Strategic Path - Voice Integration on a Money Saving Spiral

Voice Integration on a Money Saving Spiral The integration of voice with enterprise information systems is nearing its tipping point; expected within two years to be a giveaway with most enterprise applications. The challenge for companies won't s...

CIO Institute - CIOs Harnessing the Hype

CIOs Harnessing the Hype CIOs can rise above the avalanche of misinformation in today's market by working out where their organisation stands on the path to IT maturity. Anyone who has encountered IT vendors' more hyped claims – such as, f...

Forrester Research - Unified Communcations merges with IP Telephony

Unified Communications merges with IP Telephony in 2007 IP communications has evolved from a replacement technology for business telephone systems into unified communication (UC) applications that improve worker productivity and reduce delays in bu...

Strategic Path - CIO Panel on the reality of IP telephony

The Strategic Path CIO Panel on the reality of IP telephony Moderator: Jim Berry, Publisher, Strategic Path to Converging Communications Panelist: Mark Jones, Infrastructure Manager for Corporate Express Panelist: Marcus Moufarrige, Chief Inf...

SIP Forum - SIP coming soon to a device near you

SIP coming soon to a device near you The Session Initiation Protocol, SIP, has been quietly becoming part of IP telephony and communications systems. Before SIP is declared the standard protocol for human communications of the future, it's time to...

Strategic Path - Beyond the Dialtone

Beyond the dialtone What leads organisations to adopt VoIP or unified communications, and what business benefits actually accrue as a result? Although vendors are keen to push the functionality of IP telephony and unified communications, potenti...

Telsyte - Who is influencing your telephony budget today?

Who is influencing your telephony budget today? Telephony vendors have spent countless dollars in identifying and building bridges to their prospects’ most influential executives. Some, for instance, have restructured their sales channels i...

Strategic Path - Q&A with Garry Whatley, CIO Corporate Express

Movin’ on up! Q&A with Garry Whatley Chief Information Officer, Corporate Express Australia Motivation for upgrading The keys to successful migration Business benefits of advanced IP telephony Q: You are currently i...

Strategic Path - Convergence - Show me the money!

Convergence: Show me the money! How Spotlight Stores, Accent Blinds, West Coast Eagles and Abigroup reaped IP telephony rewards By Dylan Law, Strategic Path writer Cutting through the latest VoIP hype Real-world case studies M...

SIP Forum - Why we all need a little SIP

Why we all need a little SIP Cullen Jennings gives Strategic Path writer Adam Baggs an insight into the world of SIP and its benefits. SIP or Session Initiation Protocol is becoming more and more fundamental to the way we all do business. As co...

Forrester Research - UC Merges With IP Telephony

Unified Communications Merges With IP Telephony In 2007 by Elizabeth Herrell with Simon Yates and Christine E. Atwood Executive Summary IP communications has evolved from a replacement technology for business telephone systems into unified co...

Nortel - Do UC what I see?

Philip Goldie, Director, Enterprise Product Marketing, Nortel, Asia answers our questions SP: A lot of terms are now being brought to market – and with them some confusion – does Nortel see a difference between unified communications a...

Nortel - The Hyperconnected - here they come! A white paper by IDC

A Global Look at the Exploding ‘Culture of Connectivity’ and Its Impact on the Enterprise Romina Aducci Pim Bilderbeek Holly Brown Seana Dowling Nora Freedman John Gantz Abner Germanow Takashi Manabe Alex Manfrediz Shalini Verma...

CISCO - Case Study #3: Single System, multiple benefits

Integrating its communications systems onto a single platform has enabled pay TV provider Austar to reduce its call centre costs while also improving service levels to customers. How did it achieve that feat and what lessons have been learned? Over ...

IBM - Let's Get Together

Strategic Path talks UC with IBM’s Craig Campbell SP: the UC pitch has evolved beyond ‘personal productivity’ to ‘integrating UC into the business process’. Can you explain what this actually is, and how it is done, for t...

IBM - Case Study: Streamlined communications and desktop video an easy sell for Westfield

Challenge Westfield’s old PABX system was out-of-date and running out of capacity. The company wanted to install a telecommunications system that would streamline communications across the business, including remote offices and employees on th...

NSC Group - IP Telephony Network Delivers Financial Benefits for ANU

The Australian National University (ANU) is ranked among the top 50 universities in the world - higher than any other Australian university. To further advance the course of learning and research, the university recognised the need to enrich its commun...

NSC Group - Event Driven Architectures in the Responsive Enterprise

Section 1: Introduction To be competitive in today’s real-time world requires greater business agility than ever before. Organizations and their people are working faster, and have to respond ever more quickly and effectively to real-time busi...

IBM - Beyond converged networks: driving user productivity through Unified Communications and Collaboration

Executive summary Unified communications and collaboration strategies can help organizations deliver a user experience that brings together communications and collaboration silos across and beyond traditional business boundaries. By providing users ...

NSC Group - Maximizing Unified Communications for Your Business

Guidelines for Success in Deployment and Solution Optimization Section 1: Executive Summary Although Unified Communications (UC) is a term that’s frequently heard these days, finding clear – or even consistent – definitions can...

3Com - Safeguarding the Environment While Advancing Networked Communications

SAFEGUARDING THE ENVIRONMENT WHILE ADVANCING NETWORKED COMMUNICATIONS FASTER AND SMARTER COMMUNICATIONS Reducing energy consumption while increasing network functionality is a significant challenge, but typical of the complex issues that 3Com res...

3Com - Power over Ethernet: A PRIMER FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESSES

Power over Ethernet: A PRIMER FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESSES OVERVIEW WHAT IS POWER OVER ETHERNET? Power over Ethernet (PoE) provides the ability to power Ethernetenabled peripheral devices over the Ethernet cable itself, eliminating the n...

Verint - Customer Service Analytics New Strategy for Customer-centric Enterprises

Customer Service Analytics: A New Strategy for Customer-centric Enterprises Preface This paper profiles customer service analytics, an essential part of an enterprise strategy for delivering customer service in today’s volatile global marke...

3Com - 3Com(R) Open Services Networking - Freedom to Innovate

3Com® Open Services Networking - Freedom to Innovate INTRODUCTION Imagine an open and customizable network infrastructure that delivers the freedom to innovate, differentiate services and simplify operations—a network that can reduce co...

NEC - 360-Degree Communications in a 24/7 Business World

Role-based communications – the future of communications technology By Dr Steven Stenton, NEC Australia Business today is faster, more complex and more demanding than ever. Shareholders have increased pressure on the C-suite to drive revenue ...

3Com - Unified Communications for the SMB. Interview with Peter Chai, VP Asia for 3Com

Small, but Perfectly Formed: Strategic Path puts the pertinent questions to 3Com’s Peter Chai SP: With your new offering you are targeting organisations with 30 to 250 phone users. What particular pressures and problems do SMBs face that don&r...

Ericsson - Delivering Mobile Unified Communications

Delivering Mobile Unified Communications Mobile unified communications promises to transform today’s complicated corporate mobile, voice and data systems. It will forge them into a new platform that bridges the gap between people and busine...

Dimension Data - Cairns City Council Case Study 2007

Cairns City Council Builds Unified Communications Infrastructure Dimension Data Deploys Unified Communications Infrastructure to Support Regional City Council’s Strategic Plan Executive Summary Cairns City Council (the ‘Council&r...

Dimension Data - Cairns City Council Builds Unified Communications Infrastructure

CAIRNS CITY COUNCIL BUILDS UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE Dimension Data Deploys Microsoft and Cisco Infrastructure to Support Regional City Council’s Strategic Plan Sydney, Australia, October 18, 2007 – Dimension Data today ...

3D Networks - 3D Networks Pharmaceutical Case Study

A VoIP enrichment of an existing PABX slashes costs. Tasmanian Alkaloids’ traditional telephone network was prohibitively expensive to expand, and maintenance time and costs were an increasing problem. 3D Networks upgraded the existing PABX...

Integ - Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley beds down converged network and IP communications

Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley beds down converged network and IP communications Part of the worldwide InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG), the Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley boasts 150 rooms, 72 two-bedroom villas and conference facilities for up to 560 ...

Gibson Quai - Good advice makes the convergence journey a walk in the park

Good advice makes the convergence journey a walk in the park Gibson Quai-AAS Consulting’s research arm Telsyte has just surveyed more than 900 Australian business decision makers on telecommunications technology adoption. The survey has confi...

NEC - Convergence in Telecoms

Convergence in Telecoms VoIP has finally broken free from its early image as a platform for cheap calls, judging by a growing number of customers – such as the City of Greater Bendigo – crediting it with making a significant difference ...

Excelcom - Streamlining your IP solution

Streamlining your IP solution Eliminating the falsehoods and streamlining the solution: interview with Jason Swaffield, GM, Excelcom The first commitment of an ICT integrator is to understand the needs of a business considering an investment in...

Internode - Internode Business Solutions: Royal Flying Doctor Service

Internode Business Solutions: Royal Flying Doctor Service “The speed of access now delivered by Internode has really enhanced information flows and overall efficiency.” - Royal Flying Doctor Service IT Administrator Mark Abraham C...

BTAS - On the road to IP

On the road to IP Gavin Jones, CEO of BTAS talks to Strategic Path SP: Why do IP deployments run into trouble? What new stresses does VoIP place on the network? GJ: Firstly, in my opinion an IP deployment should not run into trouble – p...

Eaton - Power quality in the IT infrastructure (Converging Communications)

If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it – power quality in the IT infrastructure By Ciaran Bolton, Product Manager, Software & Connectivity, Eaton Root causes of power irregularity Guaranteeing computer-grad...

Emerson - Power to the people

Power to the people Why cooling just got hotter Ensuring business-critical continuity Emerson’s developments Emerson Network Power Australia recently appointed David Scott, an Emerson veteran of 30 years, to the positio...

NEC - Looking at collaboration with Mark Tatham-Thompson

One on one executive insight Looking at collaboration with Mark Tatham-Thompson SP: All enterprise desktops today have a phone and a computer. Three to five years from now, which device do you think knowledge workers will reach for when they go...

CA - Managing Voice over IP for Successful Convergence

Managing Voice over IP for Successful Convergence Optimizing IT Services to Drive Business Success Susan Andersen, Director Product Marketing January 2006 For the full document with associated graphs, please download the PDF. Executive ...

CA - Developing your strategy for converged network management

Developing your strategy for converged network management By Simon Barnier Why do I need a management strategy? What are the key phases of managing a converged network deployment? Assessing the network Why do I need a manage...

LG-Nortel - Straight to the point

Straight to the point Point to Point Technology case study by LG-Nortel systems How LG Nortel solved PTP’s comms problems Planning the move Coming up with solutions Adding up the ROI The challenge Point to Poi...

NEC - Tech-savvy city goes to the next level with NEC

Tech-savvy city goes to the next level with NEC A case study Challenges of administration in the modern age The benefits of a VoIP solution A success story The customer The City of Burnsville, a suburb of Minneapolis and S...

Excelcom - The Application Revolution

The Application Revolution By Excelcom Commercial and consumer demands The importance of application integration The centralised model of the ERP system It is no longer what’s ‘behind’ the application scen...

Internode - Business Solution Report: National Pharmacies

Internode Business Solution Report: National Pharmacies Client: National Pharmacies Industry: Retail The Company: National Pharmacies operates more than 50 pharmacies and optical outlets in metropolitan and regional South Australia, Victori...