When you do decide the time is right for an upgrade, chances
are, you’ll need systems that work together. Your phone and Internet services
need to work in tandem and be able to serve not just employees at the home
office but your staffers in the field, as well.
“The big topic right now is unified communications,” Fardone
says. “That’s new technology specifically dealing with telephone systems and
desktop applications, merging what your telephone system does with what your
computer system does, so that your customer relationship management systems and
applications are more integrated with your phone system, e-mail and call
center.”
Ultimately, you want to simplify the communications process
and make the systems you install as user-friendly as possible.
“It’s about streamlining and converging,” he says. “Your three
biggest tools that pretty much everyone uses is the telephone, the PC or
laptop, and the PDA. Unified communications takes all three of those and merges
them together so that they can use them seamlessly to better serve their
customers and generate more revenue, to do things better and faster, and
hopefully less expensively.”
But the most important question you can ask yourself about a
communication upgrade is the first question you need to ask yourself as a
business leader: What is your business, and where do you want to take it?
“The first thing I always say is, ‘What are your objectives?’”
Fardone says. “Sometimes people want to upgrades for sake of upgrading, but the
main question is, ‘What are your objectives? What is the plan to achieve the
objectives? How (is) the service provider or vendor or partner going to help
you achieve your business plan? What are the potential risks and challenges?’
You should identify those upfront and identify the ways to mitigate those
challenges upfront.”
How to reach: Evolve IP LLC, (610)
964-8000 or www.evolveip.net
