Extending
Higher
Education’s
Reach
and
Impact
-‐
through
“unified
communications”
(UC)
Contact: Steve Lynott, 1901Group, LLC
[email protected]
©
All
Rights
Reserved
-‐
1901
Group,
LLC
–
Market
Innovators
in
Unified
Communications
Extending
Higher
Education’s
Reach
and
Impact
Through
Unified
Communications
Introduction
Higher
Education
Institutions,
as
well
as
other
organizations,
are
in
the
midst
of
a
communications
revolution
forcing
them
to
expand
their
investments
in
the
areas
of
collaboration
at
an
accelerated
pace…
Similarly
to
the
early
days
of
the
industrial
revolution,
education
is
in
the
midst
of
substantial
change
–
new
business
models,
new
technologies,
and
a
continuous
stream
of
innovation
impact
the
faculty,
the
students,
the
administration,
alumni,
and
the
local
community.
For
example,
email
–
a
revolution
in
itself
25
years
ago
-‐
is
now
being
supplanted
by
texting,
chat,
and
social
media.
Cell
phones
are
only
used
45%
of
the
time
for
voice,
and
video
traffic
in
communications
is
projected
to
grow
by
40x
over
the
next
four
years.
As
a
result
of
this
revolution,
students
have
come
to
expect
a
new
college
experience
that
is
heavily
online.
In
addition
to
the
traditions
of
great
classes,
sports
and
food,
they
don’t
even
think
to
ask
if
a
school
will
have
one
on
one
conferencing
with
advisors,
collaboration
in
study
groups
and
clubs,
instant
messaging,
rich
media
support
and
boundless
amounts
of
bandwidth
–
they
just
assume
this
is
part
of
the
college
experience.
In
addition,
academic
research
is
more
a
“virtual
research
lab”
than
purely
campus
centric.
Virtual
collaboration
among
engineers
from
industry,
academics,
and
policy
makers
is
critically
important
in
so
many
dimensions
of
research
and
development
(R&D),
as
they
work
together
on
new
research
in
energy,
materials,
robotics,
health
care
and
bio-‐informatics.
The
field
of
research
will
continue
to
be
defined
more
by
the
speed
to
connect
and
the
efficiency
of
collaboration
than
by
work
performed
by
individuals
alone.
Today’s
college
experience
has
teams
as
the
norm
for
schoolwork:
on-‐line
tutors
and
on-‐line
parents
helping
with
various
stages
of
projects
or
homework
augment
professors.
Classmates
are
in
constant
connection
with
each
other
and
reaching
out
to
other
teams
and
resources.
Administrators
working
across
functional
boundaries
and
leveraging
partners
for
a
great
deal
of
the
operations
also
require
flexibility
in
communications
and
collaboration.
The
term
“Unified
Communications”
(UC)
is
widely
used
today
as
an
umbrella
for
the
collection
of
voice,
video,
and
data
communication
tools.
UC
is
also
used
as
a
term
for
describing
the
designing,
integrating,
and
managing
of
Figure
1
–
CDW-‐G's
-‐
2010
UC
Tracking
Poll
enterprise-‐wide
communications
at
multiple
levels.
UC
is
supplanting
traditional
voice
communications
by
incorporating
all
the
means
for
making
connections,
facilitating
collaboration
and
improving
communications.
As
a
proof
point,
CDW’s
recent
polling
of
a
broad
range
of
organizations
shows
a
great
deal
of
interest,
specifically
in
the
Higher
Education
market
for
these
innovative
technologies
and
not
only
their
technical
capabilities
but
also
the
potential
for
reducing
infrastructure
costs
for
the
Higher
Education
Institution.
©
All
Rights
Reserved
-‐
1901Group,
LLC
–
Market
Innovators
in
Unified
Communications
2
Extending
Higher
Education’s
Reach
and
Impact
Through
Unified
Communications
In
his
book,
America’s
Calling,
University
of
California
Press
1992,
author
Claude
Fisher
(Professor
of
Sociology
at
Stanford)
conducted
a
sociological
study
of
the
impact
of
the
Telephone
(and
automobile)
on
society.
One
story
from
this
book,
that
is
appropriate
today
given
the
parallels
in
the
magnitude
of
changes
taking
place
then
and
now,
was
how
the
early
marketing
executives
thought
about
the
application
of
the
telephone
and
how
they
thought
it
would
be
used.
As
Fisher
chronicles
in
his
book
-‐
at
the
turn
of
the
century,
AT&T
was
convinced
that
males
in
big
business
in
big
cities
would
be
the
dominant
early
adopters.
They
were
so
certain
that
they
not
only
poured
the
majority
of
their
marketing
budget
behind
this
strategy,
but
they
also
set
out
to
make
it
difficult
for
rural
subscribers
to
gain
access
as
they
were
convinced
that
they
would
be
a
very
expensive
segment
to
serve.
As
it
turns
out,
in
the
first
40
years
of
the
telephone,
the
dominant
users
were
Farmers
(up
to
35%
of
the
market)
and
housewives
calling
other
housewives
down
Figure
2
-‐
Source
-‐
"America's
Calling",
University
of
California
Press,
1992,
Fisher
the
street
to
talk.
What
AT&T
missed
was
the
critical
value
both
segments
found
in
the
telephone
–
rural
farmers
stayed
connected
to
discuss
weather
and
prices,
while
housewives
found
a
very
important
social
connection.
Higher
Education
Institutions
face
the
same
dilemma
of
having
to
predict
future
utilization
of
technology
when
deciding
on
how
to
design
and
implement
their
next
round
of
communications
investments,
now
focused
on
“unified
communications”
(UC).
The
shear
speed
of
continuous
technological
change
or
(to
use
a
sports
term)
“audibles”
has
lead
1901
Group
to
develop
a
flexible
framework
for
delivering
unified
communications
services.
This
framework
enables
any
institution
to
be
prudently
positioned
in
order
to
meet
today’s
UC
needs
while
also
being
tactically
flexible
enough
to
effectively
respond
to
new
ideas,
new
innovations
and
their
respective
new
students
who
have
been
raised
in
a
world
of
fluid,
adaptive
communications.
Our
service
delivery
framework
provides
a
structured
approach
for
connections,
collaboration,
24/7
support
and
on-‐demand
services,
a
unique
staffing
model
and
the
most
flexible
approach
to
meeting
an
institution’s
UC
needs.
Needs
that
are
necessary
to
satisfy
their
new
students,
new
staff,
and
even
new
faculty,
all
of
whom
have
come
to
expect
these
communications
capabilities
this
in
their
homes,
schools,
and
social
interactions
with
friends
and
family.
The
Higher
Education
market
–
like
others
–
is
changing
in
fundamental
ways
that
are
difficult
to
predict
ten
or
even
five
years
out,
and
as
a
result
we
believe
that
agility
in
service
delivery,
flexibility
in
cost
and
turnaround
times,
and
the
reliability
of
the
service
is
now
paramount.
©
All
Rights
Reserved
-‐
1901Group,
LLC
–
Market
Innovators
in
Unified
Communications
3
Extending
Higher
Education’s
Reach
and
Impact
Through
Unified
Communications
What
is
Unified
Communications?
Much
like
‘cloud’
computing,
‘client
server’
and
‘ERP’,
there
are
many
definitions
of
Unified
Communications
(UC).
Given
that
UC
is
still
evolving,
the
industry
took
the
following
approach
to
outlining
the
specific
categories
that
make
up
unified
communications,
as
follows:
• Voice
and
telephony
–
This
area
includes
fixed,
mobile
and
soft
telephony,
as
well
as,
the
evolution
of
PBXs
and
Internet
Protocol
(IP)-‐PBXs.
This
also
includes
live
communications,
such
as
video
telephony.
• Conferencing
–
This
area
includes
separate
voice,
videoconferencing
and
Web
conferencing
capabilities,
as
well
as,
converged
unified
conferencing
capabilities.
• Messaging
–
This
area
includes
e-‐mail,
voice
mail
and
unified
messaging
in
various
forms.
• Presence
and
Instant
Messaging
(IM)
–
These
will
play
an
increasingly
central
role
in
the
next
generation
of
communications.
Presence
services,
in
particular,
are
expanding
to
enable
aggregation
and
publication
of
presence
and
location
information
from
and
to
multiple
sources.
This
enhanced
functionality
is
sometimes
called
“rich
presence”.
• Clients
–
Unified
clients
enable
access
to
multiple
communication
functions
from
a
consistent
interface.
These
may
have
different
forms,
including
thick
desktop
clients,
thin-‐ browser
clients
and
mobile
PDA
clients.
• Communication
applications
–
Key
application
areas
include
consolidated
administration
tools,
collaboration
applications,
contact
center
applications
and
notification
applications.
“The
capability,
versatility
and
In
essence,
unified
communications
delivers
today
the
value
of
our
overall
network
will
elimination
of
boundaries
and
barriers
created
by
the
jump
very
quickly
because
there’s
Internet,
broadband,
and
mobile
technologies
which
will
little
additional
physical
continue
to
drive
demand
for
expanded
services
for
infrastructure
we
will
have
to
connection
and
communication.
For
example:
Teachers
manage.
We’re
optimistic
this
reaching
out
to
more
students,
field
officers
connecting
in
innovative,
fully
managed
battle,
business
teams
reaching
across
geography,
approach
will
allow
us
to
deliver
organization
and
teaming
partners,
banks
leveraging
better
voice
and
data
to
and
from
experts
across
their
branches;
and
much
more.
our
classrooms,
laboratories
and
dormitories.”
-‐
A
University
CTO
©
All
Rights
Reserved
-‐
1901Group,
LLC
–
Market
Innovators
in
Unified
Communications
4
Extending
Higher
Education’s
Reach
and
Impact
Through
Unified
Communications
Expanded
Services
Like
many
technologies
Unified
Communications
(UC)
offers
Higher
Education
a
wide
spectrum
of
opportunities
for
improving
productivity,
recognizing
efficiencies
and
reducing
costs.
However,
UC
also
offers
great
potential
in
enabling
institutions
to
create
a
whole
new
set
of
service
offerings
from
simplifying
connections
to
local
vendors,
to
building
a
regional
or
national
on-‐line
collaboratoryi
–
connecting
researchers
across
the
country.
Following
are
vignettes
describing
just
a
few
examples
of
the
possibilities
created
by
adopting
our
adaptive
service
delivery
framework
for
Unified
Communications.
Virtual
Office
Hours
A
PC
based
UC
service
that
allows
Faculty
to
inform
Students
of
time
available
for
discussions
and
guidance.
The
Faculty
can
list
times
available
and
allow
students
to
sign
up
for
specific
online
voice
and
video
communications.
Quote
on
Virtual
Office
Hours:
“Being
able
to
offer
my
students
time
when
I
am
away
from
my
University
office
would
allow
me
to
give
them
more
of
my
energy
and
in
a
manner
which
also
helps
me
balance
time
at
school
and
at
home.
I
would
pay
more
for
this
kind
of
service”.
Virginia
Tech
Professor
of
Engineering
©
All
Rights
Reserved
-‐
1901Group,
LLC
–
Market
Innovators
in
Unified
Communications
5
Extending
Higher
Education’s
Reach
and
Impact
Through
Unified
Communications
Virtual
Teachers
Assistant
(TA)
A
PC
based
UC
service
that
allows
part-‐time
TA’s
to
inform
Students
of
time
available
for
discussions
and
guidance.
The
TA
can
list
times
available
and
allow
students
to
sign
up
for
specific
online
voice
and
video
communications.
Quote
on
Virtual
TA:
“My
schedule
is
so
jumbled
having
to
balance
work,
school,
and
life.
I’d
really
like
to
be
able
to
chat
with
my
class
when
it
is
convenient
for
me
and
convenient
for
them.
Sometimes
an
hour
or
two
opens
up
for
me
later
at
night
and
that
often
work
for
my
students
too”.
-‐
Teacher’s
Assistant
(part-‐time)
Virtual
Advisory
–
a
mobility
based
capability
designed
for
the
mobile
device
that
leverages
an
Advisor’s
UC
presence
status
and
connects
him/her
via
voice
whether
on
an
office
line,
cell
phone
or
transitioning
from
one
to
the
other.
Quote
for
the
Virtual
Advisor:
“I
sometimes
get
upset
when
I
cannot
reach
my
advisor.
I
would
really
appreciate
being
able
to
see
if
he
was
busy
or
free.
It
would
be
great
if
my
phone
gave
me
some
sort
of
status
so
I
could
call
or
text
him
when
his
schedule
opens
up.”
-‐
Student
©
All
Rights
Reserved
-‐
1901Group,
LLC
–
Market
Innovators
in
Unified
Communications
6
Extending
Higher
Education’s
Reach
and
Impact
Through
Unified
Communications
Virtual
Research
Leveraging
the
industry’s
lead
UC
technology,
Virtual
Research
is
the
next
generation
of
collaboration
technology
comprised
of
an
integrated
online:
i)
Content
and
Document
Management;
ii)
UC
of
Voice/Video/Data,
iii)
Open
Standards
&
API’s
to
integrate
business
systems,
and
iv)
social
networking.
Quote
for
the
Virtual
Research:
“My
subject
area
has
me
working
routinely
with
peers
in
California,
so
having
the
ability
to
collaborate
online
at
a
reasonable
cost
would
be
a
win:win
for
us
all.”
-‐
Senior
Faculty
Summary
We
are
at
an
unprecedented
time
of
change
in
the
history
of
education;
the
phrase
'Education
Innovation'
produces
over
500,000
hits
in
Google
search
in
comparison
to
180,000
for
'Energy
Innovation'.
Unified
Communications
is
the
platform
to
help
Institutions
connect
the
dots
(faculty,
students,
administrators,
partners
and
the
community),
deliver
new
services
and
extend
the
reach
and
range
of
their
increasingly
important
virtual
learning
programs.
©
All
Rights
Reserved
-‐
1901Group,
LLC
–
Market
Innovators
in
Unified
Communications
7
Extending
Higher
Education’s
Reach
and
Impact
Through
Unified
Communications
About
1901Group
We
are
a
next
generation
information
technology
service
management
(ITSM)
company.
Our
engineers
are
experts
in
the
design
and
integration
of
all
dimensions
of
Unified
Communications,
in
the
form
of
Voice
over
IP,
Messaging,
Conferencing,
as
well
as
others.
We
provide
the
lowest
price
performance
on
the
market
as
we
employ
a
rural
sourcing
model
built
on
structured,
repeatable
processes
and
methods
similar
to
what
the
manufacturing
industry
has
been
doing
for
100
years
(we
refer
to
our
IT
operations
center
as
our
“IT
Factory”).
1901Group
has
led
the
way
in
terms
of
helping
Higher
Education
design
and
integrate
robust
UC
solutions.
Higher
Education
is
one
of
our
early
adopters
of
the
1901
Group’s
Adaptive
Service
Delivery
Framework
(ASDF)
–
which
we
attribute
to
the
very
nature
of
the
business:
connecting
people
in
meaningful
ways
to
advance
learning
excellence.
In
fact,
our
first
“IT
Factory”
or
operations
center
is
located
on
a
University’s
Corporate
Research
Center,
and
a
critical
component
of
our
employee
recruiting
and
retention
rests
on
leveraging
the
human
capital
talent
surrounding
institutions
of
higher
education.
Organizations
are
typically
in
one
of
three
phases
in
relation
to
their
posture
on
Unified
Communications:
“Traditional
Communications”
using
PBX
systems
in
connection
with
disparate
tools
for
collaboration,
email,
voicemail,
and
conferencing,
“Basic
IP
Telephony
(IPT)”
with
much
of
their
traditional
voice
and
messaging
being
deployed
through
Voice
of
Internet
Protocol
(VoIP),
or
the
early
stages
of
“Unified
Communications”
where
institutions
have
incorporated
voice,
messaging,
email
/
vmail,
conferencing
and
collaboration
tools
as
coordinated
part
of
a
comprehensive
communications
platform.
The
chart
below
details
some
of
the
challenges
at
each
stage
of
maturity
and
how
1901
Group
is
helping
Institutions
with
moving
to
the
next
level.
Traditional
Voice
Basic
IPT
Investigating
UC
Deploying
UC
Cost
of
equipment,
maintenance
and
upgrades.
Inability
to
support
the
Universities
expanding
virtual
teams,
programs
and
stakeholders
Voice
over
IP
has
provided
great
cost
advantages,
but
it
is
not
fully
integrated
into
enterprise
email,
vmail,
conferencing
and
support
costs
are
increasing
• Understanding
the
breadth
of
options
• Designing
a
more
robust
platform
is
expensive
and
confusing
• Identifying
the
appropriate
tools
•
• Staffing
is
expensive
• Software
tools
are
expensive
• Too
much
demand
with
tool
little
resource
Challenges
1901
Group
Services
• • • • Unified
Communication
design
Unified
Communications
implementation
planning
Unified
Communications
managed
services
–
24/7
provisioning
and
monitoring
Unified
Communications
–
dashboard
and
reports
to
measure
economic
impact,
process
improvements,
performance
and
capacity
and
security
i
The
term
“collaborator”
was
used
by
IBM
to
describe
their
pursuit
of
a
global
R&D
partnership.
©
All
Rights
Reserved
-‐
1901Group,
LLC
–
Market
Innovators
in
Unified
Communications
8