The verdict is in. Organizations have acknowledged that in order to stay competitive they must deploy Skype for Business (SfB) or similar unified communications platforms. A 2014 Dell-sponsored survey of 200 users indicated that two primary reasons for deploying Lync (now called SfB): improvement of internal communication/collaboration and reduction of costs. Further research shows that businesses are increasingly leveraging SfB to stay in touch with customers and improve customer support. These critical needs are driving a unified communications market that is growing at a 16% annual rate and is expected to reach over $75B by 2020.
A recent survey of 540 IT professionals by No Jitter underscores why Skype for Business is a serious force to be reckoned with in the enterprise. 52% of the survey participants have already adopted SfB and an astounding 90% of those Skype for Business adopters voted that SfB is a better solution than their traditional PBX system. The results indicate that legacy PBX systems will be hard pressed to compete in the future with a solution that can combine email, messaging, and high quality voice and video.
A new Dell Deployment Guide, Reliable Skype for Business Voice with Dell Networking Switches and Wireless, is designed to serve as a high-level guide for customers deploying the voice component of SfB. Since quality of service (QoS) is a key requirement of any voice deployment, this guide provides specific examples of QoS configurations. To enable reliable enterprise voice traffic delivery for the vast majority of deployments, having a well-planned strategy and configuring the network with robust QoS is crucial. This document applies to any SfB deployment regardless of network topology or client.
Dell is a leading Microsoft partner across the globe and provides many products and services that enhance the value of Skype for Business. Our cost-effective solutions address both business and technology needs, enabling organizations to upgrade or replace their current voice and/or video platforms. Our solutions work with SfB to combine email, voicemail, telephony, audio conferencing and video conferencing over an IP network. This makes all five tools accessible over a single unified interface and can result in a dramatic boost to workforce efficiency. At the same time, IT professionals must keep in mind that moving to SfB can be complex and require a well thought-out and balanced approach.
In closing, consider this statistic. According to Business Insider, 79% of U.S. enterprises either already use SfB for voice calls or are planning on adding that feature soon. If your organization is planning to deploy SfB, make sure you read this deployment guide to help prepare your infrastructure for a successful implementation.
