A Model for Adoption of Unified Communication and Collaboration in Organizations
Date
2014
Authors
Ouko, Joseph Onyango
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Strathmore University
Abstract
In its simplest form, Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC&C) is “Communications integrated to optimize business processes”. The new landscape of business communications and collaboration has necessitated the need to unify all the previously stove piped implementations of communication tools. It is this need to have a solution that can provide users with a single, integrated and consistent experience across all communication tools that informs the strategy adopted by organizations to address Communication. Even with this, organizations are yet to have a standard and effective way to guide them in adopting such capabilities into their business processes.
The purpose of this research was to identify the factors that influence the decision by organizations to adopt UCC Solutions, and what benefits and challenges they face in doing so. By analysing frameworks used by UCC vendors and System Integrators to guide organizations in adopting UCC solutions, and data collected, a model that organizations can use to effectively adopt Unified Communications and Collaboration solutions into their business processes was developed.
The research applied qualitative and quantitative approach. The quantitative approach used an online questionnaire with structured questions to address different variables. This data provided insight into the current state of UCC adoption including the challenges and benefits. The qualitative aspect involved collecting and analysing data form organizations that already have UCC solutions integrated in their business processes mainly in the financial and banking sector.
The results of the research showed that organizations are increasingly adopting UCC into their business processes. It also showed that by using a model that integrated People, technology and Processes, they exponentially increased their chances of success and attaining Communication Enabled Business Process (CEBP).By providing this model, this research sets the stage for future research which would incorporate the technological trends in communication such as BYOD and Mobility so as to provide a more comprehensive approach. In addition further research is required in order to be able to align the model to the new UCC adoption strategies of Software as a Service (SaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) the basis of Cloud Computing.
Description
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Computer Based Information system
Keywords
Unified Communication and Collaboration, ICT, Communication