Getting Rid of Your PBX Can Be Liberating
Author: Jamie Ryan, CIO at AspectWhen I tell people that Aspect is the in the midst of a Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 rollout, they often ask me if we are really able to live without our PBX’s. Believe it or not, many times they look wistful when they ask the question. It’s almost like they equate PBXs with an old friend who is moving to a far off land and will be sorely missed. My answer is always the same. I’m actually happy to be rid of my PBXs. We had too many – from too many different vendors. They were not integrated. And, they were expensive to manage. Plus, technology has come so far in recent years – why would I stay with the old, when the new is here and better?
Don’t get me wrong. PBXs have historically been a vital part of Aspect’s telephony landscape, and they have served their purpose. I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t tell you that I was very comfortable with our PBXs and with how things were working. I was also a bit frightened by the concept of doing away with our PBXs because that required taking a big leap into the world of “communicating” vs. just calling– trusting that there was another way to efficiently route calls, but also streamline processes, improve communications, and cut costs. I’m not afraid anymore. Office Communications Server is doing all of that for Aspect, and it is proving to be every bit as robust and reliable as our previous legacy PBX environments.
What is equally as exciting is that my internal clients are reaching out to me on a regular basis to tell me how much they like the technology we’ve implemented. I can’t honestly remember the last time that happened (everyone knows that the IT guys usually receive more complaints than praise). Employees are telling me that new capabilities, such as presence awareness, and click to communicate are making their jobs much easier. Here are a few examples:
- If an Aspect employee wants to speak with a co-worker, they check their address book to instantly see if that co-worker is available. When available, they can click on the co-worker’s name to place a call (no telephone look-up or manual dialing required – Office Communications Server automatically does both of those things) or initiate a chat discussion. If an employee wants to convert an online discussion into a voice discussion, they just click on their computer screen to initiate the call.
- Each time one of our executive assistants answers an incoming call they can tell the exact state of the Aspect executive the caller is trying to reach. If they are available, in a meeting or on a call. If the executive is not available the assistant can notify the caller and transfer them directly into voicemail. If an Aspect executive is on another call, the assistant can quickly send an instant message to them to tell them a particular person is calling, ensuring that important calls are not missed and expediting the time it takes to transfer the call. The assistant can then click on their instant messaging window to transfer the call.
- When employees are traveling, their presence can be viewed and they are reachable as though they are sitting at their desk. When I was recently traveling in the United Kingdom and India, employees were clicking to call or IM me as they normally do, and I was receiving these communications via OCS on my laptop. They could find me anytime, anywhere.
I really don’t think one can really compare PBXs and Office Communications Server. PBXs are about providing basic but essential call features. Office Communications Server is about the future and changing the way that people communicate.
Author: Aspect
Catergories: Unified Communications
(5 votes, average: 3.40 out of 5)
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