Maximizing collaboration: Five ways to avoid the collaboration "bridge to nowhere" - Sometimes investments in collaboration technology lead ...
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Maximizing collaboration: Five ways to avoid the collaboration “bridge to nowhere” Sometimes investments in collaboration technology lead nowhere, but there are practical steps you can take to keep your collaboration initiatives on track.
Voice conversations. Videoconferencing. Web-based
presentations. Social networking. Technology tools that enable
collaboration within and between organizations have proliferated
in recent years and are being implemented at accelerating rates.
The potential rewards are impressive. Even minor collaboration
projects that are fueled by technology can improve financial
performance by 0.3 to 1 percent of total enterprise costs.1
Yet the road to successful most out of their investments in Aaron, why is it so important that
collaboration is not always a collaboration technology: different collaboration tools “talk”
smooth one. And sometimes that to each other, and what are ways
• Link collaboration systems to make that happen?
road leads to the proverbial bridge
across organizational silos.
to nowhere: You’ve done your due
diligence, you’ve deployed the Interconnected systems enable
• Make sure your communications
technology and you’ve trained your collaboration to achieve its full
vendor has a defined product
employees, and yet no one uses the potential. Yet organizations tend
road map.
solution and the desired benefits to have many siloed systems.
never accrue. The reasons for this • Don’t fall into the “if it ain’t They buy Product A from Vendor
can vary widely — from focusing on broke, don’t fix it” trap. A even though Product A can’t
the wrong parameters for success be easily integrated with phones
• Understand communications’
to depending on the collaboration from Vendor B or video systems
role in nurturing a “learning
technology itself to carry the day. from Vendor C. Internal depart-
organization.”
ments or groups that make their
In this white paper, Aaron Ziebro, a • Consider the potential of own IT purchasing decisions
strategic communications consultant collaboration rather than just often end up in silos. Let’s say the
for Avaya, discusses five proactive the cost of the technology. claims division of your insurance
steps businesses can take to get the company decided to buy a
1
“Social Computing and Communications Adoption Curve,” The Corporate Executive Board, September 7, 2010.
2 | avaya.com
videoconferencing solution for systems it was using. This slowed We’re seeing a lot of consolidation
training. It isn’t compatible with down the time-to-value and in the collaboration software
the videoconferencing solution increased the overall cost of market. Should businesses be
your executive group implemented the deal. wary before they make a
to reduce travel. And neither one purchasing decision?
ties into your phone, e-mail or These challenges are not
calendar systems. This is the insurmountable. Our advice: They absolutely should be
biggest roadblock to nurturing Be vigilant about performing attentive to what’s happening
collaboration and, unfortunately, your due diligence before in the communications industry.
it’s very common. You can’t even purchasing a new collaboration Larger vendors are swallowing
assume that products from a tool and make sure it connects up smaller or weaker players.
single vendor will work together, to other key systems so you Although sometimes the product
much less systems running on achieve optimum performance road map of the acquired company
different platforms. and return on your investment. remains unchanged, frequently
Will you be able to integrate it consolidation translates into major
System silos are often created into your existing e-mail, voice and upheavals for the customer base.
through mergers and acquisitions. data communications systems? Products can be altered so
For example, a financial services dramatically that there’s no
firm made what appeared to be Does it possess any synergies upgrade path. In worst-case
a great acquisition of a midsize with other collaboration systems scenarios, products are
bank. Then, only after the deal you’ve already installed? Does discontinued altogether.
closed, did the company actually it add value across your business, Businesses should be wary
look at the technologies and touch or will the benefits accrue solely of committing to small, niche
points of the acquired business. for a particular department? players that could be considered
It found 15-year-old PBXs and Given the rich feature sets in attractive acquisition targets to
voice mail systems that the the wide array of collaboration avoid being left on a technology
vendor hadn’t supported in years. tools currently available, you island. Make sure your vendor
The acquiring company had to shouldn’t have to settle for limited has a defined product road map.
somehow retrieve the intelligence functionality and/or standalone
out of all those systems and products to reap the advantages
migrate it to the collaboration of collaboration.
Given the rich feature sets in the wide array of collaboration tools currently available,
you shouldn’t have to settle for limited functionality and/or standalone products to
reap the advantages of collaboration.
avaya.com | 3Aaron, given how constrained IT responding to changes in its
budgets are these days, shouldn’t environment. The term was coined
businesses try to get the most out by organizational theorist Russell
of their existing equipment before Ackoff and expanded upon by
investing in new communication consultant and author Peter Senge.
and collaboration tools?
Collaboration is key to transforming
Businesses need to realize that it a business into a learning organiza-
costs something to do nothing. tion. If you have an expert located
Many subscribe to the old adage, in China, putting that person on
“if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” But a plane and flying her across the
a collaboration system isn’t a globe to share that information
lawnmower. If a lawnmower is with a U.S.-based team is difficult.
doing a decent job at cutting Airfares are expensive, travel
the grass, it’s not burning oil delays are common and you
Create an environment
or leaking gasoline, you’re not might also have to navigate visa
that encourages going to monkey with the restrictions. By making it easy
employees to lawnmower. However, for for that expert to collaborate
collaborate, provide businesses the stakes are with her colleagues from a remote
much higher. An electronically location, you can not only save
them with the tools
integrated workforce spurs money, but increase thought
that support that way new ideas, allows people to leadership, boost product inno-
of working, and you share knowledge and ends up vation and improve profitability.
increasing profits. An investment And although technology is
can transform your
in that capability should be a important, the organizational
business into a true
competitive advantage that culture matters as well. Create
learning organization. has both a defined ROI and can an environment that encourages
be linked to revenue growth. employees to collaborate, provide
them with the tools that support
Can you define a “learning that way of working, and you can
organization” and why it’s transform your business into a
something every business true learning organization.
should strive for?
Collaboration is much more about
A learning organization assumes sharing the information. The tools
that its members participate in are only the pipes we use to get
ongoing and continuous learning. information to and from workers.
It values creative processes and
recognizes them as critical to
4 | avaya.comCan you explain why companies Other collaboration tools can deliver Cultural transformation is a big part
shouldn’t focus only on the cost similar returns. Add them all up of this. Part of that transformation
of collaborative tools? and you get the full picture — not is asking “why?” rather than “why
only of total cost of ownership, not?” It’s about transcending
Many organizations don’t budget but also the true returns you are organizational and cultural barriers
for collaborative technology. So getting on the investment. that are preventing collaboration
they tend to be very conscious from happening. And it’s about fully
of the cost of such systems. The future is leveraging the people and processes
They don’t ask how much money almost here that the technology supports so you
they could save if they replaced Collaboration technologies are can tap into the kind of innovations
quarterly face-to-face meetings the enablers of ideas that change and creative synergies that naturally
with virtual meetings that used the world. From ATMs that allow occur when people come together.
video, text, chat or WebEx. They banks to automate most trans-
don’t understand how to accrue actions — and connect consumers About the author
smaller, incremental benefits of to centrally located tellers for Aaron Ziebro is a strategic
collaboration that really add up more value-added services — communications consultant for
to ROI. And that’s where they err. to videoconferencing tools that Avaya Inc. He has been a subject
help nonprofit organizations matter expert in IP telephony and
Individual collaboration technologies make the best use of medical IP contact centers for more than
typically don’t provide a massive professionals’ time in remote a decade, with vertical industry
benefit in terms of revenue growth locations, virtually any process, experience, including banking,
or cost reduction. However, ROI service, idea or activity benefits technology and insurance.
can be achieved as easily as giving from collaboration.
a laptop and USB camera to a car
dealership mechanic. With those In spite of their powerful
tools, he can show the factory capabilities, though, these
exactly what the car looks and technologies go nowhere if
sounds like. He’s no longer just people don’t use them. So
describing problems over the organizations need to consider
phone. If the car manufacturer the big picture as they assess,
didn’t have to send its factory design, deploy, maintain and
rep out to that dealership — paying measure individual collaboration
for gas, drive time, training, and solutions and their entire
wear and tear on a car — then it collaboration portfolio.
gets an absolute cost savings.
avaya.com | 5About Avaya
Avaya is a global leader in
business communications
systems. The company
provides unified
communications, contact
centers, data solutions and
related services directly and
through its channel partners
to leading businesses and
organizations around the
world. Enterprises of all sizes
depend on Avaya for state-
of-the-art communications
that improve efficiency,
collaboration, customer
service and competitiveness.
For more information, please
visit www.avaya.com.
© 2011 Avaya Inc. All rights reserved.
Avaya and the Avaya logo are trademarks of Avaya Inc. and are registered in the United States and other countries.
All trademarks identified by ®, ™ or SM are registered marks, trademarks and service marks, respectively, of
Avaya Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Avaya may also have trademark rights
in other terms used herein. References to Avaya include the Nortel Enterprise business, which was acquired as of
6 | avaya.com December 18, 2009.
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