Tempe, Ariz. (Apr. 23, 2008)—Unified Communications is no longer a "nice to have" say CIOs, according to leading IT infrastructure firm, Ensynch <http://www.ensynch.com/> . This is a recurring theme among mid-size and enterprise organizations in Arizona and Southern California as seen by consultants and executives at Ensynch, a top provider of IT infrastructure services, IT staffing and managed hosting services.
“CIOs are telling us that business productivity sees tangible increases within three months and strong ROI after one year, and that’s why we have seen a 50 percent increase in Unified Communications opportunities in the last six months,” Gene Holmquist, President and CEO <http://ensynch.com/co_executive_team.aspx> . “Unified Communications is the top conversation among Ensynch’s prospects and customers.”
CIOs that Ensynch works with cite benefits of Unified Communications that include:
- Much quicker response to sales opportunities and customer service needs
- Increased productivity through real time interaction
- Increased productivity through employee mobility
- Drives increases in collaboration and idea-sharing
- Provides a more streamlined sales process
"We’ve rolled out Microsoft’s Unified Communications at Rockford Fosgate for a number of reasons, primarily to better enable our mobile workforce,” said Mark Swisher, Director of IT for Rockford Fosgate. “We see the business case for Unified Communication and what it can mean to our employees in enhancing productivity and boosting efficiency. Plus, the Microsoft solution is deeply embedded and integrated with all the rest of our enterprise software, which we see as an advantage."
“When 60 percent of business phone calls go to voicemail, and the average information worker gets 51 messages a day in up to seven different places, you know its time to consolidate and improve this glaring inefficiency,” said Holmquist. “Even just 12 months ago, there was no common understanding among companies we work with of where Unified Communications was headed. But Microsoft’s vision has become a reality among our customers and now we’re hearing strong feedback about immediate business impact.”
According to Nora Freedman, a senior research analyst at IDC, the promise of Unified Communications is truly about bringing technologies together. "Unified communications solutions allow enterprises to leverage the vertical communications applications they're already using, such as desktop phones, mobile phones and messaging systems, but which can't talk to each other. Unified communications is designed to bring all of these disparate technologies into an environment that reduces time and effort," said Freedman.
A top driver in the demand is integration with existing infrastructure. Microsoft’s Unified Communications technologies, based on Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007, generally work with a company’s existing IP phones and hardware, which means it doesn’t require a “rip and replace” treatment. Companies that have large investments in existing VoIP phone systems and PBX servers can add new critical business capabilities on top of those investments, by simply making better use of Microsoft software, much of which they may already own.
More information on Ensynch’s service offering around Unified Communications can be found online at www.ensynch.com/uc <http://www.ensynch.com/uc> , or for business value whitepapers visit www.ensynch.com/uc_wp.
About Ensynch
Ensynch is an award-winning provider of IT infrastructure services <http://www.ensynch.com/so_packaged_services.aspx> , IT staffing <http://www.ensynch.com/so_technical_staffing_solutions.aspx> and managed hosted services <http://www.ensynch.com/so_EnDemand_Data_Center_solutions.aspx> . Founded in 2000, Ensynch provides a full range of secure, manageable, and cost-effective technology solutions that help growing businesses operate more efficiently, with greater security and increased agility. Ensynch serves mid-market to enterprise-level commercial and public sector customers. The company’s business technology offerings include IT strategy, assessments, implementation, staffing and data center solutions ranging from colocation toremote monitoring to fully-outsourced IT management. Ensynch has earned consecutive spots on the Inc 500 and numerous Microsoft distinctions including Worldwide Partner Excellence Awards. Ensynch is headquartered in Tempe, Ariz., serving the Southwest and select clients in Europe. The company also has offices in Southern California in San Diego, Irvine and Los Angeles. For more information visit www.ensynch.com
