User guides - Mobile Work Force for Dummies

Introduction

Mobile Work Force for Dummies

Introduction

vaya is the recognized leader in mobile enterprise communications. We’ve helped thousands of organizations develop strategies to successfully meet the challenges presented by a rapidly changing work environment. Our enterprise solutions support more than 90 percent of the Fortune 500 companies, as well as organizations of much more modest expanse.

Obviously, Avaya is not the only company that offers solutions for mobile enterprise communications. But Avaya’s position as a worldwide leader in enterprise telephony can offer you benefits that others cannot. Avaya has been ranked among the leaders in the “2004 METAspectrum for Enterprise IP Telephony” report. The Dell’Oro Group confirms that during the third quarter of 2004, Avaya held a solid lead — more than 35 percent — in the worldwide market share of IP PBX.

Gartner Inc., a prestigious research and advisory firm, listed Avaya in the Leaders quadrant in their “2004 Magic Quadrant Report for North American Corporate Telephony.” The report positions vendors into one of four quadrants — Leaders, Challengers, Visionaries, and Niche Players — based on the company’s vision and ability to execute on that vision. According to Gartner, vendors listed in the Leaders quadrant are performing well today, have a clear vision of market direction, and are actively building competencies to sustain their leadership position in the market. Avaya is one of those Leaders.

Our solutions have traditionally been built around the needs of our clients. Over the years, we’ve been handed some pretty big challenges, and we’ve been able to meet or exceed the expectations of organizations of all sizes. We focus on your existing systems (Avaya or non-Avaya) and help you migrate to the solutions you need. Unlike some solutions providers, we seldom propose solutions that require replacing your existing infrastructure.

The bottom line is that Avaya stands ready to help you develop the mobile communications strategy that your organization needs to confidently meet the challenges you face today. You don’t have to do it alone. Our extensive portfolio of professional services and time-tested expertise delivers the results you’re looking for. Visit www.Avaya.com to find out more.

About This Book

Regardless of whether you ultimately take advantage of Avaya’s expertise or not, you can benefit by reading and implementing its suggestions. Your workforce is changing, and you need to come up with a strategy for meeting their communications needs — one that reflects well on your leadership and the competitive posture of your organization.

The fact that you are reading this book indicates that you need solid information to create your own mobile communications strategy — or that you are plain befuddled by all the jargon and hype surrounding mobile technology. Regardless of where you stand, this book can provide the answers you need to make confident decisions, helping to steer your organization through this rapidly changing world of mobile communications. Mobile Workforce For Dummies is a great place to begin your efforts to provide a solid strategy for the future.

This book explains why a mobile communications strategy is in the best interest of your business. By the time you finish Part III, you’ll understand what needs to go into your strategy and understand how you can best put one together. This book doesn’t do the work for you, but it helps you better grasp the work you need to do — and how to do it with the least downside.

You don’t have to read this book from start to finish. If you browse through the table of contents and something catches your eye, feel free to jump right to that page. Don’t worry; the rest of the book will still be here, ready when you are.

Introduction 3

How This Book Is Organized

This book is organized by parts, and each part is designed to walk you through a different aspect of understanding mobile communications strategies. As I mentioned in the preceding section, you can read the parts in order, or you can skip to whatever one strikes your fancy today and read a different part tomorrow.

Part I: The Morphing Workplace

Part I examines ways in which the traditional workplace is changing. Here you discover why mobility is such a hot topic. (Hint: Workers are becoming increasingly mobile.) You’ll uncover different classifications of workers and recognize how you can apply those classifications to your own workforce.

You also get a feel for the different networks, devices, and applications used by the different classifications of workers. Chances are good that many of these elements are already at work in your organization. Using the concepts in this part, you can better understand the key role that these elements play in the successful operation of your own business.

Finally, all the pieces and players are pulled together and examined from the perspective of your clients. You’ll understand that if you don’t meet your clients’ needs, you expose a competitive weakness that can be exploited by others. Any mobility strategy that doesn’t reinforce the perceived benefit to your clients is not a strategy that is in your organization’s long-term best interest.

Part II: Meeting Your Needs

Part II provides a quick overview of the various solutions available to meet the needs of your changing workforce. You’ll discover information about key technologies, products, and services that can expand your communications reach beyond your existing brick-and-mortar boundaries.

Tools as diverse as softphones, speech-enabled systems, and cellular services are discussed in a way that helps you clearly understand how they can benefit your enterprise. You’ll also get some down-to-earth advice on how you can avoid costly mistakes in evaluating technology. As you learn to build your infrastructure on proven technologies and avoid fads, you build also for success in the future.

Part III: Defining Your Own Strategy

With an understanding of how the workplace is changing and a grasp of what solutions are available, you’re ready to dive into creating your own mobile communications strategy. The information in Part III helps you gain the confidence you need to undertake this important step.

Here you’ll find the advantages that a coherent strategy has to offer. You’ll also discover that your strategy must focus on three areas: the client’s experience, issues related to costs, and operational considerations. Each area is discussed in detail, with examples of what to avoid and what is important from a strategic perspective.

In finishing this part, you’ll get clear advice on how to establish a solid business case for your mobile strategy. You find out how to evaluate and choose solutions, and how those solutions can affect your bottom line.

Part IV: Mobile Technologies at Work

When you build your own mobile communications strategy, you aren’t plowing in a virgin field. Thousands of organizations before you have successfully developed their own strategies. In Part IV, you examine several case studies, pulled from successful Avaya clients, with an eye toward the solutions that best fit their needs. These are real-world examples of how meeting a mobile workforce head-on has helped organizations.

Introduction 5

Part V: Top Ten Tips for a Successful Mobility Implementation

All For Dummies books are famous for their Part of Tens at the end of each tome. Here, in traditional For Dummies style, you’ll find ten solid tips for implementing mobility in your organization.

Icons Used in This Book

From time to time in this book, you’ll see an icon amongst all the prose. These were strategically placed to call your attention to something that I, well, thought you needed your attention called to.

This icon means that the associated text represents just the tip of the iceberg, and there is much more to cover. Not really — it means that the text includes a tip that can help you save time, effort, or money.

This icon indicates something interesting primarily to the geeks in the crowd. (Don’t try to hide; I know you’re out there.) If you don’t have a geek-streak running through you, don’t feel embarrassed if you just skip right over these technical items.

You should always remember and never forget. Well, never is a long time, but you will definitely want to remember these items as you are putting together your own mobile communications strategy.

Where to Go from Here

You know your business better than anyone else. You know that the world is changing, and that those who don’t change with it are often left in the dustbin of history. You don’t want your organization to become a relic of yesteryear, so you’re seeking ways that you can adapt and grow.

You’re in good company.

As you read this book, keep an eye out for tidbits of information that can give you the edge you need. However, this book can’t be everything to everybody, so if you can’t find an answer for your unique needs, ask the good folks at Avaya. Visit www.Avaya.com.

I hope the information in this book makes you think about how you can adapt to the world around you. If it does, I’ve accomplished my goal, and you’ll be able to face the future with more knowledge and more confidence in your own success.

Now, flip the page and let the journey begin.