The future is here:  everything that can benefit from being connected to the network will be connected. It’s a phenomenon called ‘hyperconnectivity’. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Or does it? hyperconnectivity can be an opportunity or a challenge.

The challenge comes when today’s hyperconnected user has to deal with multiple devices, multiple numbers and passwords, multiple inboxes and multiple security environments. Missed calls, telephone tag and security exposures, not to mention the loss of personal productivity make the promise of hyperconnectivity something to fear rather than embrace.

But there is another side to the coin.

If the hyperconnected user had a single interface through which they could use the phone, email, instant messaging, video or their calendaring application, then the ability to work anytime, anywhere or any device suddenly looks feasible.  And it is – made possible by Unified Communications – and not only does it combine and simplify multiple means of communication, it also allows you to view someone’s ‘presence’ – if they are available to be contacted. This type of capability can transform an enterprise, redefining how work and business processes are organised and accelerated in a business environment, and turning hyperconnectivity into an opportunity to be embraced.

Enterprise transformation: why you should care
Consider the following.

Employee satisfaction
The link between profitability and employee satisfaction has been well established, led by research at the Harvard Business School. One of its alumni, Frederick Reichheld, wrote in his book The Loyalty Effect and Loyalty Rules: “We found that there was a cause-and-effect relationship between the two; that it was impossible to maintain a loyal customer base without a base of loyal employees.” Satisfied employees are motivated employees.

An important employee segment is the one just entering the work force. These so-called ‘Millennials’ have grown up with the internet, and with social networking environments, using tools such as  Facebook, Friendster, Orkut, Meetup, wikis and blogs. Watch them instant messaging and you’ll appreciate immediately that they are multi-taskers supreme. Mark Greenfield of the University of Buffalo appropriately categorises Millennials as having ‘Hypertext minds’.

Millennials take their well-connected lives with them when they enter the workforce, and if a potential employer doesn’t match those expectations, then they may look elsewhere. In fact, Johan Krebbers, the Group IT Architect for Royal Dutch Shell, has said that one driver behind his plans to deploy Unified Communications on a global basis is the need to provide a working environment that meets expectations of new employees.

The virtual workplace
Nemertes Research surveyed IT professionals and found that 90 percent of employees work in locations other than their headquarters. The resulting virtual workplace drives the need for anytime, anywhere communications and a ‘true broadband’ experience over any device and over any network, to speed up decision-making and time-to-market.

In his blog, John Roese, Nortel’s Chief Technology Officer, offers the following on ‘true broadband’: “My definition of broadband communications is more associated with the experience than the technology involved. In a true broadband communications experience, the technology is so effective in delivering a rich experience that you simply forget about the underlying technology and just communicate.”

In the transformed enterprise, Unified Communications enhances group productivity  with rich collaboration capabilities that allow distributed knowledge workers to work together effectively across a highly distributed environment without swopping between different applications.  For example, a user can easily escalate from an IM exchange to a conference call with voice and video from the same application user interface – no new session to initiate.

So how can you get on the road to a transformed enterprise?
Step one: The Nortel Microsoft Innovative Communications Alliance

In 2006, Nortel and Microsoft recognised that the complexity of previous Unified Communications solutions was hindering the industry’s ability to meet customers’ expectation of easy, effective communication; the formation of the Nortel-Microsoft Innovative Communications Alliance resulted from the companies’ shared belief that Unified Communications will change the way businesses communicate.

There are three main pillars in the Alliance:

– Joint Research and Development to provide fastest time to market.

– Joint sales and marketing to leverage the power of Microsoft and Nortel brands and intellectual property.

– Full lifecycle services to help transition customers to advanced, unified communications with confidence.

In January 2007, Nortel CEO Mike Zafirovski and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced a joint road map, stating that Nortel expects to be first in the industry to offer customers software-based ‘native’ interoperability between its IP-PBX portfolio and Office Communications Server 2007.  And in October 2007 Nortel announced the industry’s broadest portfolio of Unified Communications solutions built around Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007.

Through our joint Collaboration Centers, Nortel and Microsoft have hosted over 700 guests representing over 100 companies to provide in-depth understanding of our ICA solution set.  And in just over a year since the alliance was formed, Nortel and Microsoft have collected more than 300 joint wins representing over 900,000 licenses.

Enterprise transformation:  who’s there already?
Customers the world over are already turning the potential challenge of hyperconnectivity into their advantage. Jyske Bank in Denmark was seeking to enhance the customer experience and create efficiencies across its 120 branches. Using Unified Communications solutions from Nortel and Microsoft it has transformed customer service with caféstyle ‘shops’ where customers can chat with staff, view boxed ‘products’ on shelves or just stop for coffee. Presence-enabled unified communications has helped it increase efficiency with colleagues being reached first time using the right communication method. And it’s been significantly easier and less costly to operate thanks to simplified management on a common platform.

As the central IT organisation serving three National Health Service trusts in Worcestershire, England, Worcestershire Health Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Services (WHICTS) adopted unified communications to solve the challenge distance: “We cover a large, remote area, and until now our health professionals have had to spend a considerable amount of time travelling between facilities in order to consult patients and collaborate with colleagues,” says John Thornbury, director of ICT at WHICTS. “The primary impact of unified communications will be seen across the primary care facilities, where the way we operate will become significantly more efficient, while further down the line, telemedicine will make it possible to share applications and information across disparate locations. Our new Nortel and Microsoft solution will significantly reduce the time staff members spend on the road, enabling us to cut travel costs, use time more efficiently and be more environmentally friendly.”

Yes, Unified Communications works.  Gartner Inc, the world’s leading information technology research and advisory company, has positioned Nortel in the Leaders quadrant in the ‘2007 Unified Communications Magic Quadrant’ report. Think about how it could help you transform your enterprise and turn the challenge of Hyperconnectivity into your competitive advantage.