It is highly recommended that you have a professional company install and support your unified communications system. Integrating a large number of disparate devices can be extremely complex and therefore, unless you are technically competent, it is advisable to use a specialist company. Failure to do so could impact upon your organisation’s ability to communicate.
- Make sure that the organisation has a security policy in place. This is most important as personnel need to be aware of what they can or can not use the unified communications system for, plus it must be encapsulated by the current security applications already in place, e.g. anti-virus software, firewalls etc. Multiple devices (such as PDA’s) may be used to potentially introduce security weaknesses into the network that could be exploited by third parties.
- Do not be tempted to purchase the system according to the lowest price. It is important to be completely objective and purchase what best meets your current and future needs. Remember that communications systems whether email, phone, mobiles etc. are the ‘life blood’ of the organisation and any failure will impact people’s ability to communicate both internally and externally, potentially resulting in loss of revenue.
- Legislation. You must take into consideration any legislation that your company needs to comply with, for example, financial service companies that need to have all trading records recorded for audit purposes. Failure to do so could lead to major fines or even criminal prosecution.
- Vendors and manufacturers are offering differing systems that may not be compatible. It also means that there are a number of different approached to solve the unified communications issue. This needs to be taken into consideration when making a decision, especially as there will no doubt be further developments in both unified communications systems and ways of communicating.
- Training. Make sure that all users whom the unified communications system effect, are confident how to use and maximise its capabilities. Failure to do so can result in frustration, confusion and the system will not be used to its full potential.