April 1999

Integration Means Bringing It All Together

BY TOM WILLIAMS

These days, companies of all sizes are increasingly aware of their bottom line and are looking for ways to gain function without increasing costs. So it should come as no surprise that, given the value to be found in a unified approach to telephony and data networking, we are witnessing tremendous activity in the rapidly emerging integrated business communications marketplace. The basic concept behind integrated business communications is simple. Think of a PBX, complete with company-wide switching, call management, and voice mail. Now connect the data network to this same system to provide everything from e-mail and peripheral sharing to secure Internet access. Add graphical interfaces that allow easy operation and management by non-technical staff from virtually any local or remote computer, and the result is a solution that settles comfortably in the new frontier of voice and data networking.

Integrated business communications brings together the four basic information building blocks necessary for doing business into the 21st century: voice, data networking, messaging, and Internet access. Traditionally only large corporations with extensive financial and technical resources could utilize this broad base of communications capabilities. Most small and medium-size businesses relied solely upon telephones, fax machines, and "snail mail." This disparity was accepted, and perhaps even preferred, by smaller organizations since they lacked the resources necessary to support complex, traditional networks.

TRICKLING UP
The move toward integrated business communications turns that traditional paradigm upside down. In a world where new technologies typically debut in large organizations and roll downward into smaller ones, integrated business communications is building momentum in companies as small as five people, where the value proposition is most compelling. This phenomenon is driven by several factors, which are discussed below:

Cost benefits: An integrated platform with a variety of functions specifically designed to work together can offer a very strong cost/benefit proposition, especially in environments with tight budgets and small internal support staffs. Smaller organizations usually have little time and money for training employees on new systems. An integrated system can offer the full range of necessary communications capabilities in a cost-effective, easy-to-use manner.

Mature technologies: Integrated business communications can also be built primarily upon well-defined, existing technologies, such as basic telephony, e-mail, voice mail, local-area networking, and the more common forms of Internet access. Mature technologies are generally easier to integrate than cutting edge technologies in which troubleshooting is not yet complete.

Chassis-based systems: In order to preserve the customers' options, however, an effective integration platform must accommodate both an expanding network and new technologies. Chassis-based products with an appropriate assortment of modules are perhaps the best means of achieving this objective. However, in the past, small and medium-sized businesses typically could not adopt new technologies without an expensive forklift upgrade. Price and performance issues have traditionally limited chassis-based products to large enterprise networks, while smaller organizations contented themselves with stackable and standalone devices.

With new technology moving chassis-based products into smaller companies and remote offices, smaller organizations have an unprecedented opportunity to acquire new functionality with the simple addition of an appropriate module. Such versatility enables integrated business communications platforms to be rolled out for smaller and medium-sized companies while substantially contributing to their bottom line.

SATISFYING A NEW MARKETPLACE
This phenomenon offers resellers a vast new marketplace worth millions of dollars, but to meet this market demand, resellers must consider the needs of their customers:

Voice Communications: In the area of voice, the solution must accommodate a wide variety of useful features, including automatic attendant capability, directory lookup, hunt groups, teleconferencing, and caller ID. The system must also be able to work with standard telephone sets in order to eliminate the expense of proprietary phones, which can often cost in excess of $300 each. High reliability is a must.

Data Networking: Data networking capabilities require an integrated Ethernet hub, remote access, and perhaps support for an intranet home page. Customers will want to share files, documents, and peripherals without buying new devices or adding complexity to the network. A legacy port for connections to an existing network is also important, although the integrated device should also be able to stand on its own.

Messaging: Messaging components should include a voice-mail server with personalized greetings and individual multimedia mailboxes for each employee. The integrated e-mail server must be compatible with popular e-mail applications and support standard fax machines.

Internet Access: With regards to Internet access, manufacturers must address issues pertaining to security as well as basic connectivity. An integrated, firewall-enabled router augmented by protocols such as Password Authentication Protocol (PAP) and Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) is therefore necessary. Outside connections must be built upon widely accepted wide area interfaces, such as ISDN, analog lines, and T1.

Administration And Operation: Administrative and operational features should be designed for simplicity. Easy-to-use graphical user interfaces and set-up wizards must be present, in combination with other important elements such as simple interoperability with legacy devices. Non-technical staff members with only minimal training must find it easy to perform such tasks as entering and removing people from the system.

USER CONSIDERATIONS
In deciding whether they need an integrated business communications solution, small and medium-size businesses should consider some straightforward but important points, such as: their strategy for future expansion, the communications demands of their customers, and their overall competitive position.

With various components integrated into these platforms, integrated business communications solutions offer immediate savings over the purchase of separate networking and telephony products. In addition, their operating cost is typically half of what the customer would pay for PBX or Centrex offerings -- even without the data networking features.

RESELLER OPPORTUNITIES
Integrated business communications represents a tremendous opportunity for VARs, integrators, and other resellers. The sales channel has historically been divided between data and telephony resellers. Each group had its own specific area of expertise and rarely ventured onto the other side. Customers typically followed this same model in-house: The responsibilities of the network administrator were usually separate from the telecom manager, for example. In addition, products enabling any real level of local voice and data crossover were virtually nonexistent.

As LANs have become increasingly pervasive in smaller companies, customers are more interested in one-stop shopping for both their data and telephony needs. As that demand grows stronger, the industry is developing new products and services to accommodate it. This trend has spearheaded the emergence of both integrated business communications and computer telephony integration. Resellers who can effectively respond to the shifting paradigm with corresponding products and services will likely remain competitive in the future.

Integrated business communications solutions offer an opportunity for resellers to cross the voice/data line with a straightforward approach that addresses the complexity of integration within the product itself. The reseller only requires training on a single platform that meets a long list of communications objectives. Additionally, since they are designed for small and medium-sized businesses without internal information technology staffs, the solutions tend to emphasize remote management, which makes servicing the account far more efficient for resellers.

CONCLUSION
Integrated business communications will play a key role in the convergence of voice and data, particularly in the small and medium-sized business segment. Resellers who effectively respond to this shifting paradigm with complementary products will outflank competitors who cling to the earlier model, based on an exclusive telephony or data focus. Users, on the other hand, stand to gain the full spectrum of required communications capabilities on a reliable, cost-effective, unified platform that help them do what they do best: serve their own customers.

Tom Williams is president and founder of Praxon, Inc., a Silicon Valley developer of integrated business communications solutions. Praxon's Phone Data eXchange (PDX) integrates voice, data networking, messaging, and high speed Internet access all in one modular chassis. For more information, contact Praxon at 408-871-1600, or visit their Web site at www.praxon.com.

Users can benefit greatly from integrated business communications. Benefits include:

• Comprehensive feature sets.
• Lowered capital equipment and operating costs.
• Scalability.
• No requirement for technical staff.
• Enhanced company image.