Running Head: BUSINESS PLAN TO REPLACE HARD PHONES WITH SOFTPHONES 1
Business Plan to Replace Hard Phones with Softphones for Ascensus for Cost-Effective and
Efficient Communication
Rich Souders
Neumann University
June 26, 2019
BUSINESS PLAN TO REPLACE HARD PHONES WITH SOFT PHONES 2
Table of Contents
Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………3
Chapter 1: Introduction…………………………………………………………………………...5
VoIP Technology………………………………………………………………………….6
The Softphone……………………………………………………………………………..7
Additional Smartphone Capabilities………………………………………………………9
Description of the Problem………………………………………………………………10
Purpose of Business Plan………………………………………………………………...11
Research Questions……………………………………………………………………....12
Chapter 2: Literature Review……………………………………………………………………14
Chapter 3: Research Methodology…………………………………………………………...….17
Chapter 4: Data Analysis and Results…………………………………………………………...18
Chapter 5: Conclusion………………………………………………………………………...…23
Cost Effectiveness………………………………………………………………..………23
Efficiency………………………………………………………………………………...23
Chapter 6: Recommendations……………………………………………………………….…..25
Chapter 7: Reflection……………………………………………………………………………27
References……………………………………………………………………………………..…28
BUSINESS PLAN TO REPLACE HARD PHONES WITH SOFT PHONES 3
Abstract
According to Ascensus (2019), they are a company that “provides the largest independent college savings and retirement services in the United States.” Based in Dresher, PA, Ascensus (2019)
“helps more than 8 million Americans save for retirement, college, and healthcare with premier service and technology.” Ascensus (2019) is currently growing at a rapid pace, averaging 15-17 acquisitions annually of companies within the college savings and retirement services industry.
The company currently has over 52 offices nationwide (soon to be worldwide); in addition,
Ascensus has many remote (work-from-home) employees across the globe. There are numerous tools required to obtain the level of success enjoyed by Ascensus. One of these tools is an efficient communication system. An efficient method of communication is one of, if not the, most important components in an organization’s operations on all levels throughout. In addition to efficiency, it is crucial for Ascensus to utilize the most cost-effective communication method available. To maintain success Ascensus, like most businesses, must generate more capital than is disbursed. For this reason it is vital that Ascensus seek out and utilize the most cost-effective tools available. This is especially true for an organization’s communication system due to its significance in all operations. Ascensus’ current primary method of communication is via a conventional hard phone (hardware-based phone). Ascensus currently ships costly hard phones to its remote employees, in addition to the issuance of a hard phone to each onsite associate.
There is an alternative communication method available that could greatly benefit Ascensus in regards to both cost-savings and communication efficiency. This alternative communication method could potentially increase productivity while simultaneously reducing capital disbursed for hardware, licenses purchases and shipping and handling. This alternative communication method being referred to is known as a softphone (software-based phone). A presentation to the BUSINESS PLAN TO REPLACE HARD PHONES WITH SOFT PHONES 4
Ascensus upper-management team will provide both an in-depth look at the softphone in addition to the potential benefits which may result from company-wide implementation of the softphone.
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Chapter 1: Introduction
Telecommunications (aka Telecom and Telephony) is a method of communication that has become a staple of everyday life in today’s society. Mitel (2019) is a company that provides telecommunications products, solutions and support for businesses. Mitel (2019) defines telecommunications as “the science and technology of communication over a distance.”
Although telecommunications is important for most people in today’s society, it is especially vital in an organization’s business operations. Methods of telecommunications have greatly evolved since the year 1876 when Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone (Mitel, 2019).
It seems nothing short of astounding that today an individual can effortlessly communicate via audio, video or instant messaging with another individual(s) on the other side of the planet via a small handheld wireless device.
Ascensus (2019) is a company based in Dresher, PA. According to Ascensus (2019), they are the largest independent provider of college savings and retirement services in the United
States. The company currently has 51+ offices globally and still growing at a rapid pace.
Ascensus on average has been acquiring 15-17 rival companies annually. Although at times it seems to be overlooked due to it being such a widely and regularly used tool, telecommunications play a vital role in the obtainment and sustainment of success for Ascensus.
As with all companies, especially one growing at the rate of Ascensus, efficient telecommunications methods are critical for the successful execution of operations at all levels.
In addition to efficiency, it is also important to realize how important cost-effectiveness is to a company. All for-profit companies share a common goal of generating a profit. To generate a profit, a company must gain more revenue than what is disbursed. A large part of generating a profit for a company is to make the most cost-effective decisions possible. BUSINESS PLAN TO REPLACE HARD PHONES WITH SOFT PHONES 6
VoIP Technology
Fortunately the Ascensus upper-management team seem to realize the importance of efficient and cost-effective telecommunications. Ascensus took an important proactive approach of implementing effective contemporary telecommunications technology in 2016. Dan Smith
(2019) is an Ascensus Senior Telecommunications Engineer based in the company’s Brainerd,
MN office. According to Smith (2019), in 2016 Ascensus upgraded from a traditional PBX
(Private Branch Exchange) telecommunications system to the later and ubiquitous VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) system. Converting their telecommunications system from a traditional
PBX to a VoIP system was a colossal stride towards achieving Ascensus’ perceived goal of implementing the latest and most effective telecommunications system.
VoIP, as previously stated, is an acronym that stands for Voice over Internet Protocol.
VoIP is a telecommunications system that performs such tasks as placing and receiving phone calls entirely over a company’s computer network. Elizabeth Smith (n.d.), is “a scientific and engineering writer” whose “work has appeared in numerous journals, newspapers and corporate publications.” Smith (n.d.) provides a simple, high-level definition of VoIP as “a recent development that uses the Internet to make calls.” Since telecommunications is thoroughly intertwined with a computer network or Internet, a company’s telecommunication team is generally no longer a group unto themselves. Today’s telecommunication teams are typically part of, or at the very least, work closely with, a company’s network team due to its dependence on the computer network.
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Unlike traditional phone lines that require a fixed electrical connection which ultimately terminates at a phone company facility, VoIP allows a phone to be connected to an Internet
Service Provider’s (ISP) router to place and receive phone calls. VoIP is widely used in many of today’s large corporations for various reasons, one of the most important usually being its cost- effectiveness. Robert Valdes and Dave Roos (2018) are contributing authors for the web site
HowStuffWorks, an educational web site covering various topics such as technology, science and money. According to Roos & Valdes (2018), “VoIP can turn a standard Internet connection into a way to place free phone calls. VoIP is a revolutionary technology that has the potential to completely rework the world's phone systems.”
The Softphone
Jennifer Chen (2014) is part of the marketing team for Telzio, a VoIP system distributer.
Chen’s (2014) role at Telzio is to provide guidance and information pertaining to the optimization of customer service and organizational communications. Chen (2014) defines a softphone as “a software program for making calls through VoIP service using a computer or smart device (phone, tablet, etc.), rather than hardware.” The term softphone is used to describe a software-based phone, versus the traditional hardware-based phone (hard phone). Softphones and VoIP work in unison to provide the end-user many benefits, including the ability to place and receive office-based phone calls from their company phone number through any mobile smart device (device connected to a network).
Softphone technology can perform tasks beneficial to business communications that hard phones are incapable of. Softphones have the capability of creating seamless business communication from any location. Softphone technology enables the end-user to make use of business communication via a computer, laptop, or other smart device. The need for a hard BUSINESS PLAN TO REPLACE HARD PHONES WITH SOFT PHONES 8 phone is no longer necessary for business telecommunications. An end-user has the ability to answer and place calls via their company-assigned business phone number without the restriction of having to use their office desk phone; all business calls are supported directly from a smart device. This technology adds much convenience in today’s mobile business environment; end- users are no longer bound to a desk within the company.
The focus of the business proposal created for Ascensus is directed towards corporate use of softphone technology; however, simpler forms of the soft phone are very much in use today for non-business tasks. The popular Skype app is actually a simpler version of a softphone designed for use by common people. Softphone technology, however, can be especially useful to a business. As previously explained, the softphone provides the ability to allow various forms of remote business communication without displaying personal information. The softphone app allows an end-user to place and receive calls from their office phone remotely from any smart mobile device. This is an attractive trait due to the concealment of the end-user’s personal mobile phone number; the office phone number is displayed.
When an employee places a call via a softphone, the only phone number viewable to the external party is the end-user’s office or business phone number. This feature protects the end- user’s privacy by hiding their personal mobile phone number. This feature also works in the opposite way in which an external party places a call to the end-user’s office or business phone which then rings on the mobile device the app is installed on. The external party is unaware of the end-user’s location, method of communication and private mobile information. Another great feature of the business softphone is that the end-user can place a call to other internal employees within the network by simply dialing an extension (versus a full 10-digit number). BUSINESS PLAN TO REPLACE HARD PHONES WITH SOFT PHONES 9
The called party will see the end-user’s extension displayed on caller ID and not a personal mobile number.
Additional Smartphone Capabilities
Placing and receiving calls are not the only functions a smartphone is capable of. With the simple click of the mouse or touch of the finger (for mobile devices), an end-user can perform tasks such as viewing their company’s Corporate Directory and direct-dialing from it,
Instant Message (IM), and view another end-user’s Presence status. Having a Corporate
Directory feature at an end-user’s fingertips in a mobile platform allows for much more efficient communication. The end-user can simply search for the individual they would like to contact and touch the contact’s name on their smart device to instantly dial that individual.
While most people may be familiar with the popular Instant Message feature, and the
Corporate Directory seems to be self-explanatory, Presence is a feature which may not be familiar to some. OnSIP (2019) is a company that provides and supports VoIP systems for medium-sized businesses. OnSIP (2019) describes the Presence feature a “status indicator that conveys the ability and willingness of a person to communicate.” Before attempting to communicate with another individual, an end-user can view if the other party is on the phone or away from their desk. According to OnSIP (2019), “By allowing calling parties to know the availability status of their communication partners before trying to initiate the conversation, more effective and efficient communication can be attained.”
In addition to the increase in efficiency resulting from the additional benefits and features of the softphone, softphone technology is cost-effective, especially for Ascensus. According to
Smith (2019), the upgraded VoIP system and package Ascensus purchased in 2016 actually includes a softphone app. If Ascensus chose to implement smartphone technology company- BUSINESS PLAN TO REPLACE HARD PHONES WITH SOFT PHONES 10 wide, it is a feature already owned by the company. Additionally, hardware such as the hard phone itself, the required Ethernet cable, and replacement of worn parts will no longer be necessary. An unintended side-benefit is a gain of space on the end-user’s desk or even savings on utilities due to the unnecessary travel to a physical office by the end-user.
Description of the Problem
The current primary method of audio communication Ascensus uses is via a VoIP- capable hard phone (hardware-based phone). The model of hard phone used by the company is an 8845 Cisco IP phone. Ascensus not only distributes these Cisco phones to every desk at every site, but they also ship a Cisco phone to remote employees for home use. In addition,
Ascensus uses Microsoft Lync for their Instant Messaging and Presence (IMP) service. The third-party Microsoft Lync app is not the ideal version of softphone that can be utilized with a
Cisco VoIP system. The Cisco voice system owned by Ascensus includes its own Cisco IMP feature which is not being used.
There appears to be significant issues with the current methods of communication
Ascensus is utilizing. The problem seems to be evidenced by inefficient communication methods resulting in excessive over-spending. Purchasing and distributing hard phones and using third-party IMP applications are not the most cost-effective and efficient methods of communication. It seems Ascensus is spending much more than needed on its communication methods. IT Price (2019) is an online IT price list tool. According to IT Price’s (2019) list, the price of a Cisco 8845 IP phone is $575.00 per phone. According to Smith (2019), there are currently 3,396 Cisco 8845 IP phones distributed company-wide. The amount of phones multiplied by the cost of the phones is equal to $1,952,700 of unnecessary hardware, not counting required licenses and replacement parts. BUSINESS PLAN TO REPLACE HARD PHONES WITH SOFT PHONES 11
Ion Mae (2017) is a Technology Writer and Editor for VoIPReview.org, a site which compares VoIP providers across several metrics such as price, features, reliability and support.
According to VoIPReview.org (2019), Ion Mae (2017) “delivers all the latest updates and useful resources on various business communication solutions to help businesses grow and succeed.
She covers a range of topics including business VoIP, Unified Communications, and more.”
In her article entitled New Mitel Survey Reveals the Cost of Ineffective Communications and
Collaboration, Mae (2017) shows the results of extensive research and calculations performed by a third party regarding the loss of revenue ineffective communications cause. Mae (2017) provides tangible numbers resulting from inefficient communications within a company.
According to Mae (2017), “inefficient methods of communication cost businesses more than
$15,000 per employee per year. Poor communication methods can have negative consequences on employees, managers, and the business as a whole. Not only does it contribute to tension and lower employee morale, it can also lead to overall financial failure.” The wasted resources resulting from inefficient communications could be better invested in employee morale boosting endeavors such as employee education, pay increases and bonuses, which ultimately benefit the business.
Included in the presentation will be analysis results revealing the benefits of converting to a softphone communication solution. The data accumulated from the analysis will assist in persuading upper management this project is worth pursuing. Financial data is usually a high priority in most large projects. Upper management will be provided data which will reflect long term financial savings. The financial values and potential ROI Ascensus will enjoy will be presented to upper management. This data will justify the goal by displaying the value of hard phone to softphone conversion company-wide BUSINESS PLAN TO REPLACE HARD PHONES WITH SOFT PHONES 12
Purpose of Business Plan
As part of this research project, a business plan has been created for Ascensus for the purpose of saving the company a substantial amount of money. Money will be saved by implementing the most cost-effective and efficient softphone solution. Conversion from the hard phone to the softphone will be very rewarding for the company in various ways which this presentation will prove. There are two segments of this business plan. The first segment of the plan is to convince Ascensus’ upper-management, the project-approving party, that this is a worthy project. The second segment is to provide an explanation as to how the phone conversion project should be implemented.
Key Research Questions or Strategic Issues
1. Why is the idea of replacing hard phones with softphones being presented?
2. What are the benefits of converting the primary method of communication to softphone
software (Cisco Jabber)?
3. What are the potential challenges and difficulties of implementing Cisco Jabber?
4. How will the benefits of the softphone technology justify the time and cost it will take
time implement?
In today’s technological society, many items have an available app (an application that provides a functional program or service) associated with it. One can find an app for almost anything, from workouts to TV channels to almost any type of self-help instructional. Most major business phone systems have an app that is capable of completely replacing the desk phone. While most major phone vendors have this software-based technology, the leader in
Networking and Telephony equipment and solutions, as previously discussed, is Cisco. Cisco has created an app named Jabber which has the capability of replacing a desk phone. This BUSINESS PLAN TO REPLACE HARD PHONES WITH SOFT PHONES 13 replacement can ultimately provide both convenience and cost-savings to both the company and the end-user.
Ascensus upper management should have a thorough understanding of the softphone, specifically Jabber, and the benefits which will result from its use. Possessing a thorough understanding of Jabber will make it easier for Ascensus to validate and ultimately approve initial resources which may be necessary to start the phone conversion project. Resources such as an initial monetary investment and time allocated to training may be necessary. Cisco Jabber will provide a healthy ROI. The benefits will ultimately be using fewer resources spent by
Ascensus than what is currently spent. The ultimate goal is to demonstrate to upper management that this hard phone to softphone conversion project is worth undertaking, and to prove the many benefits which will result from the project. Providing thorough answers to the research questions above will give upper management a thorough understanding of the goal and the process by which the goal is obtained.
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Chapter 2: Literature Review
Jennifer Chen (2014) is part of the marketing team for Telzio, a VoIP system distributer.
Chen’s (2014) role at Telzio is to provide guidance and information pertaining to the optimization of customer service and organizational communications. In her online article, Chen
(2014) discusses how softphones increase end-user features in addition to saving revenue and space. Chen (2014) adds that “since softphones do not require a desk phone or a handset, it can save you hundreds of thousands of dollars.” Considering the list price of the Cisco 8845 IP phone used by Ascensus is $575.00 per phone (IT Price, 2019), this statement regarding the enormous monetary savings will be true for Ascensus.
Kevin Bartley (2018) is a Marketing and Publicity Coordinator for OnSIP, a cloud-based business phone system vendor. Bartley (2018) concedes to the above ideas regarding the benefits of the softphone. Bartley has authored numerous articles for regarding communications and telephony technology. In his online article entitled 5 benefits of desktop softphone applications, Bartley (2018) states that softphones “save on hardware costs—instead of a desk phone, a user needs only a headset for optimal call quality.” Bartley (2018) also discusses the tremendous “geographic flexibility” that a softphone allows an end-user.
The term Unified Communications (UC) is used often in today’s Telephony industry.
Mike Valentine (2016) is the author of CCNA Collaboration CICD 210-060. Valentine’s (2016) book is Cisco’s official study guide for the current CCNA Collaboration exam, an exam which entails voice and video related questions and labs. Valentine (2016) defines Unified
Communications as one system in which all communication methods (data, voice and video) are converged (pp. 32). Unified Communication technology “brings together all communication into one seamless framework” (Valentine, 2016, p. 32). The idea of Unified Communications is BUSINESS PLAN TO REPLACE HARD PHONES WITH SOFT PHONES 15 important to understand because UC is the ultimate goal Ascensus should be striving for. An efficient Unified Communication environment will allow all forms of business communication via one easy-to-use smart device.
Robert Lewis (2018) is an Assistant Editor for Encyclopedia Britannica. Lewis (2018) defines Cisco Systems as a worldwide American technology company based in San Jose, CA.
Cisco is best known for its computer and telephony networking solutions. According to Cisco’s
(2018) Web site, founded in 1984, Cisco is a worldwide enterprise with locations in over 115 countries and over 35,000 employees. Lewis (2018) states that the founders of Cisco were
Leonard Bosack and Sandra Lerner. Bosack and Lerner met while students at Stanford
University and were later married (and later divorced). According to Lewis (2018), by the second decade of the 21st century Cisco Systems was one of the largest corporations in the
United States.
Jon Gold (2017) is the Senior Writer for Network World, a resource for information on
Information Technology products and services. Gold (2017) conducted research pertaining to large computer networking distribution companies. Based on his research, Gold (2017) created a list of the top ten large networking companies. Cisco remains the biggest single player in enterprise networking, and it’s not particularly close. According to Gold (2017), “Cisco has
100,000 data center networking customers, compared to 5,000 for Juniper and 3,000 for Arista
(two other large networking companies). Cisco revenue in 2018 hit $49.3 billion, compared to
$4.6 billion for Juniper and $2.15 billion for Arista.”
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Ascensus’ network and telephony platform entails all Cisco equipment. Ascensus uses
Cisco Unified Communication Manager (CUCM), v11.5 as its call processor. This is fortunate for Ascensus because included in the CUCM enterprise package purchased by Ascensus is the
Cisco Jabber software, Cisco’s softphone application. Cisco Systems (2017) defines Jabber as
“a suite of Unified Communications applications that allow seamless interaction with your contacts from anywhere. Cisco Jabber offers IM (Instant Messaging), presence, audio and video calling, voicemail and conferencing” (p. 1).
A portion of this business proposal will also address potential challenges. One of the potential challenges is that some end-users may be resistant to the change from hard phones to a softphone. End-users have had a physical hard phone on their desk, resulting in familiarity to the hard phone. To take an item a person is familiar with and replace it with something foreign to them may cause alarm for some. It will be important to clearly communicate to the end-users the benefits listed above. Effective communication will be a very important component in the softphone implementation. Ralph Heibutzki (2018), an author for Chron, a Houston, TX based news outlet, supports this statement by saying that “effective communication and problem- solving skills go hand in hand.”
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Chapter 3: Methodology
The research methodology used in this Capstone project is primarily quantitative research. SkillsYouNeed (2017) is an educational Web site located at https://www.skillsyouneed.com/learn/quantitative-and-qualitative.html. The Web site provides information focused on skills such as learning, writing, presentation and leadership. According to their site, quantitative research is based on numerical data. The hard phone to softphone presentation will display important numerical data related to business communications. Metrics such as minutes per day communicating and percentages of end-user ease regarding the softphone will be revealed. The advantages and disadvantages of the softphone will be both discussed and displayed via percentages in a graphical format.
The softphone to hard phone presentation will also provide data regarding the potential financial savings and long-term Return on Investment (ROI) for Ascensus. The amount of quantitative data available is fortunately plentiful as softphones are no longer in their infancy.
Data on ROI resulting from softphone conversion will be collected by reviewing results from similar companies. The data collected will be analyzed to provide a cost-effective and user- friendly solution. Much of the data was collected via polling of end-users familiar with the softphone. The results will be both discussed and displayed in a graphical format.
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Chapter 4: Data Analysis and Results
Mae (2017) emphasizes the importance of effective communication in her article entitled
New Mitel Survey Reveals the Cost of Ineffective Communications and Collaboration. Mae
(2017) states that “strong communication builds trust and strong relationships, increases productivity, and ensures the best business outcomes. Conversely, poor communications can have negative consequences on employees, managers, and the business as a whole. Not only does it contribute to tension and lower employee morale, it can also lead to overall financial failure.” An example of poor communication provided by Mae (2017) is using email as a means of IM. Email is not the most efficient means of communication of IM given there is a specific app for that feature. Inefficient communication cost a company valuable resources.
Mae (2017) displayed the results of extensive research and calculations performed by a third party regarding the loss of revenue ineffective communications cause. Mae (2017) provides the tangible numbers resulting from inefficient communications within a company.
The study was based on responses “from 906 business professionals across four sample groups from the U.S., U.K., France, and Germany,” Mae (2017) was able to provide tangible numbers resulting from inefficient communications within a company. Analysis consisted of metrics of various methods of communication and time consumed by employees utilizing these methods.
Based on the results of the research, $15,000 per employee is lost annually on inefficient communication. The below graph is the result from the research which displays “minutes per day spent on communication tasks.”
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As can be seen in the above graph, much of an employee’s average day is spent communicating electronically. An employee is using several different methods of communication, some of which require the employee to be in a static office setting. With utilization of a smart phone, all of the above functions can take place from a smart device at any location, providing greater mobility and more efficient communication.
As with any major business change or decision, it is important to have a thorough understanding of what is being gained or lost in the process. There are concessions to consider in implementation of the conversion to softphone project; however, the results will prove the reward is greater than the risk. Mathew DeCarlo (2019) is the Technology Editor for GetVoIP, a provider of telecommunications solutions to companies. DeCarlo (2019) discusses the differences between the hard phone and softphone and compares the two in his article
Hardphones vs. Softphones – Everything You Need to Know. DeCarlo states that “while the BUSINESS PLAN TO REPLACE HARD PHONES WITH SOFT PHONES 20 overall features available on both hardphones and softphones are similar and maybe even identical in some cases, there are many functional differences between each configuration that are worth taking into consideration.” Below is a quick comparison of a hard phone and softphone that DeCarlo (2019) provides.
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Although the above comparisons do mention a few potential challenges regarding the softphone, there are methods of redundancy available in the event of a system failure (which will be explained later in the presentation).
Daniel Harris (2015) is a Market Research Associate for Software Advice, Inc., a company that provides user reviews and research on software applications. According to Harris
(2015), Software Advice ran a survey across employees who are familiar and experienced with softphones. The survey was created to determine the business value of the softphone. There were several metrics surveyed, including the comfort level of the hard phone versus the softphone and the distinct advantages of the softphone. Below are the results from the hard phone versus softphone survey.
Comfort Level Using Physical Phone vs. Software for Voice Calling
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As shown in the pie chart, it was found the majority of employees familiar with the softphone stated the comfort level of using the hard phone equates to the comfort level of the softphone.
The portion of employees that do show a preference who favored the softphone (19%) was greater than the employees who favored the hard phone (8%). The next metric was a comparison of the advantages of the softphone over the hard phone.
Advantages of Softphones over Desk Phones
As shown above in the graph, the most significant advantage of the softphone is the “ease of working remotely” (Harris, 2015). Although the ability to easily work remotely is the most significant, as can be seen, there was many other features enjoyed by use of the smartphone as well.
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Chapter 5: Conclusion
Cost-Effectiveness
Softphone technology could be the solution to Ascensus’ current spending and communication issues. A softphone will provide communications in a more cost-effective and efficient way than the traditional hard phone. Russell Roysden (2009) is an author who wrote several articles for CORE Scholar, an institutional repository sponsored by Wright State
University Libraries. According to Roysden (2009), softphones not only reduce dependency on expensive hardware but also provide the end-user a great deal of flexibility. Besides actual phone hardware, softphone technology will also save Ascensus on other costs as well, such as shipping and handling. With the softphone, Ascensus will no longer be required to send costly hardware to its many remote employees. The cost of a phone to be shipped out is nominally
$20.00 a phone via UPS ground, and the amount of remote phones sent out per year equals roughly 100, that’s a savings of $2,000 per year on shipping. Softphone technology is a much more efficient and cost-effective method to communicate, and it is software Ascensus already owns; there will be no requirement for the purchase of additional software from Cisco.
According to Mae (2017), Steven Taylor, founder and CEO of Webtorials, states that “for a company with over 500 employees, as an example, the typical cost of inefficient communications is well over $5 million (USD) per year.”
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Efficiency
In addition to cost-savings, utilization of a standardized softphone app will provide greater communication efficiency. As previously stated, Ascensus is currently using Microsoft
Lync as it Instant Message and Presence (IMP) application. Ascensus associates use a hard phone on their desk for audio communication. Ascensus’ Application Support team both installs and supports the Microsoft Lync app. The use of Microsoft Lync costs money and resources in the form of licensing and time spent installing and supporting the application. Meanwhile, there is an available IMP solution Ascensus already owns which was included in the Cisco Voice system package purchased by Cisco in 2016. Known as Cisco Jabber. Cisco Jabber is Cisco’s version of the softphone, video, and IMP solution in an all-in-one application.
Cisco Jabber allows for collaboration of all communication methods in one simple application. After a company-wide implementation of Cisco Jabber, Microsoft Lync can be discontinued as it would no longer be necessary. Discontinuing Microsoft Lync will allow valuable resources to be spent elsewhere. In addition, instead of an Ascensus associate using three to four separate devices for communication (mobile device, hard phone and Microsoft
Lync), the associate can now communicate via their mobile device for everything (business line, instant messaging and presence).
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Chapter 6: Recommendations
The first phase of the softphone conversion project is to acquire a knowledgeable telephony consultant. According to Smith (2019), Ascensus has an already established relationship with ePlus. ePlus is a technology consulting firm and the vendor that assisted
Ascensus with the conversion from the traditional PBX to the Cisco VoIP system currently in use. The consultant will assist in the initial setup of Cisco Jabber. The tasks for the consultant will include creation of the Cisco Jabber supporting servers, configuration of the Cisco Jabber client in the Cisco Unified Communication Manager (CUCM), which is the call processor, and knowledge transfer to the Ascensus telecom team.
The consultant’s first task will be to create two dedicated application servers which will support the Cisco Jabber application. A simple definition of an application server is a device that hosts an application and its related features and services. Margaret Rouse (2019) “writes for and manages WhatIs.com, TechTarget’s IT encyclopedia and learning center. She is responsible for building content that helps IT professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. Rouse (2019) defines an application server as a “device that provides a service to another computer program and its user, also known as the client. In a data center, the physical computer that a server program runs on is also frequently referred to as a server.” The consultant will create two servers for the Cisco Jabber application. The first server the consultant will create is the main server providing the service; the second server is for redundancy. In case of any type of outage to the primary server, the Cisco Jabber app will seamlessly failover to the secondary server, preventing disruption of service.
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After the servers are created and the Cisco Jabber application is configured in the Cisco call processor (CUCM), the next phase is knowledge transfer. The knowledge transfer phase of the project is significant; the Ascensus telecom team will assume the installation and support responsibilities once the consultant completes their training. It will also be expected of the telecom team to document what they learn via their Jabber training. The documentation will be uploaded to the company’s Intranet for future reference. Documentation is important so that knowledge does not begin and end with one or a few individuals.
Training of the Ascensus telecom team will conclude the consultant’s onsite responsibilities; of course, the consultant will be remotely available if needed. The third phase of this project is for the telecom team to install and use Cisco Jabber app for their own use. The
Cisco Jabber application is perfectly compatible with the hard phones and will not require addition steps in its use to communicate to the rest of the company. The third phase will provide the telecom team with experience from both a technical and end-user perspective. After installing and using the Jabber app for themselves, the telecom team will be ready to answer any questions an end-user may have in regards to use of the Jabber application.
The fourth and final phase of the project is the implementation of the Cisco Jabber software to the company’s remaining end-users. The implementation phase will be performed in segments versus all end-users at once. The end-users will be separated into groups based on either their department or office location. The remaining teams in the Information Technology department will be the first to convert to the softphone. The IT team as a whole will later be able to assist the telecom team in any questions or concerns as needed.
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Chapter 7: Reflections
Neumann University’s Organizational and Strategic Leadership (OSL) master’s degree program was very informative and educational. Throughout the OSL courses students were forced to reflect upon their own values and principles. Ethics and examples thereof were provided to clearly illustrate the conduct a professional should strive for. According to Neumann
University’s (2019) URL, the Franciscan tradition entails “respect for individuals, concern for the environment and social responsibility.” These are good traits for an individual to possess regardless of their career or role. Since these traits are positive, humanitarian qualities they contain much value in any scenario. For this reason it is effortless to relate these principles to strategic learning and a learning organization.
Alexander Zeeman (2017) is a Content Manager at ToolsHero, a URL designed to assist the viewer to “explore, apply and share management theories and methods.” Zeeman (2017) utilizes Peter “Senge’s Five Disciplines of Learning Organizations” to describe the basics of
“powerful management and learning organization philosophy.” Zeeman (2017) discusses the idea of “building a shared vision.” Zeeman (2017) quotes Peter Senge as saying that long-term survival of tomorrow’s companies will require the company to allow people to nurture new and expansive methods of thinking. This idea would require a respect for people and their ideas.
This is in direct relation to the Franciscan principle of “respect for individuals” (Neumann,
2019).
According to Zeeman (2017), team learning is another element discussed by Peter Senge.
While discussing team learning, an important element provided by Zeeman (2017) is that “the working environment should be safe where honest mistakes are forgiven.” The idea of a safe environment can be associated with the Franciscan principle of “concern for the environment” BUSINESS PLAN TO REPLACE HARD PHONES WITH SOFT PHONES 28
(Neumann, 2019). Forgiving honest mistakes is also an important part of humanitarianism. All too often people are quick to critique and judge another individual based on a mistake(s) they may have made. There are some who view mistakes as an important part of the learning process in the human experience; mistakes and adversity promote individual growth.
Social responsibility is another element listed as a Franciscan principle on Neumann
University’s (2019) URL. While the term social responsibility was not directly used by Senge, it can be said that an underlying theme of social responsibility is present in Senge’s lessons.
Pachamama Alliance (2019) is a global community whose goal is to both learn and educate others in subjects pertaining to social responsibility. According to Pachamama Alliance (2019), they are an organization seeking “to instill social responsibility in the industrialized or “modern” world.” Pachamama Alliance (2019) state that “social responsibility is an ethical theory, in which individuals are accountable for fulfilling their civic duty.” This theory entails the duty of individuals to fulfill their civic duties resulting in a benefit to society. Zeeman (2017) describes
Senge’s strategic learning principle largely involve collaboration my many to complete a goal.
Each individual should be encouraged to share their ideas and a level of trust and respect should be demanded by all.
BUSINESS PLAN TO REPLACE HARD PHONES WITH SOFT PHONES 29
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