Siemens Adds Integrations to OpenScape Office

Siemens Enterprise Communications (SEN) just reported sales of its OpenScape Office increased 75% globally in FY 2012, following on from a 67% year-over-year (YoY) growth in SMB business performance recorded last year. A substantial portion of this growth is attributed by them to attentively listening and responding to the voices of their SMB customers and SMB-facing partners. 

Prior to initiating development on its recently released OpenScape Office V3 Release 3 (OSO V3R3), a worldwide survey of its SMB-facing partner community and 250 SMB customers was initiated. In all five mega trends were uncovered which are driving current communications needs:

Seamless Mobility: The most critical need of users was the ability to access information and communication services from anywhere, at any time, on any device. This is nothing new. BYOD is an undeniable trend affecting organizations of all sizes. These devices and their apps have become foundational tools for today’s workforce and a major influence on the use and direction of UCC.  

User Experience: A common user experience is also demanded given the number of devices users now carry with them. 

Social Collaboration: There is a difference between the SMB and the large enterprise here. In the SMB collaboration is more often externally focused because of the nature and size of the business. That is, SMBs collaborate with their customers. This is often P2P collaboration. In the larger enterprises, where teams are spread across various sites and even countries there is more internally focused collaboration. The same software is required, but there is a different need being met.

On the business side of things, the influx of so many new devices is driving concerns for reliability and security and the consequent need for flexible deployment options in order to keep Capex and Opex in check. Mobile Device Management (MDM) and Mobile Application Management (MAM) solutions would certainly be a plus here.

OpenScape Office V3 Release 3 Enhancements

Background

OSO V3R3 covers all three models – MX, LX and HX. The target market runs from 11 to 250 users. User concentrations are seen in the neighborhood of 35 users and 70 – 100 users, but OSO systems can go up to 500 users. Key competitors are Avaya and Cisco, with Cisco seen primarily in the above 100 market. NEC is seen in Asia and Alcatel Lucent in Europe.

All three OSO models contain all software required for voice, video, IM/presence, conferencing, web collaboration, messaging, fax, and contact center (CC requires additional licenses).

• The MX is an all-in-one UC appliance supporting up to 150 users, though the average MX system serves about 40 users. It’s an IP rack-mountable system with both SIP trunking and TDM capability. It is, however, pure IP on the line-side.
• The LX is a pure software solution supporting up to 500 users. It can be installed on any industry standard server. It can also run in a VMware virtualized environment. Here SIP trunking is the trunking of choice. Nevertheless, it is usually possible to connect gateways to that support TDM connectivity.
• Whereas both the OSO MX and LX are IP systems for new installs, the OSO HX is a server-based UC or virtualized complementary product to the HiPath 3000, which enables UC for that installed base. The HX supports up to 500 users.

Voice and UCC networking between MX, LX and OpenScape Office HX / HiPath 3000 V9 was enabled through implementation of the Extended UC Domain with OpenScape Office V3R2 announced November, 2011. In general, with the Extended UC Domain capability in a distributed environment, the UC domain at each site is extended to the UC domains of the other sites so that they are networked together into one large extended UC domain. In this case, four digit dialing form one site to another is possible. And presence information is shared across the sites. Failover, however, form site to site is not a standard feature, though the networking can be engineered if desired.

Full business continuity including failover and branch connectivity to the PSTN in cases of IP/WAN failure is usually met by adding an additional small OSO system at each branch connected to a PSTN gateway. An alternative is via connection to the OpenScape public cloud or alternative competitive offerings.

Mac OS Support and Mobility Enhancements

The consumerization of IT is driving the Mac OS into the SMB market. As a result, customers are demanding its support. In response, the OSO UC client, myPortal for Desktop, becomes a single desktop app used by office workers with their favorite OS (Windows & MAC). In addition, there are five flexible UI skins which allow users to customize the UC client look and feel on either OS based on their current working behaviors and the specific needs. MyPortal clients for Mobile and Tablet support iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile, Blackberry and Nokia OSs. The open browser-based approach for the smartphones and tablets doesn’t require the installation of any dedicated app on either the smartphone or tablet device. Furthermore, in response to SMB needs, there are also “style modes” for mobile devices that allow the UC client to be configured based on the current calling rates to come up with the lowest call charges.

IT integration capabilities

Integration capabilities consist of three components:

• VMware Zimbra integration: In last year’s market research customers were asked what functionalities they considered part of UC. The ones named most frequently were telephony, email and mobility. Given this interest, SEN is offering UC and UI Integration into VMware’s Zimbra Collaboration Server (ZCS) as an alternative to Microsoft, believing this option would interest both SMB customers and partners. ZCS is an open source server containing email, group calendar, document sharing and over-the-air sync to smartphones (iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, and Window’s Mobile). Access to Zimbra via a mobile web browser is available on all versions of Zimbra Collaboration Server. There is one caution to be raised here, however. Security researchers from Vulnerability Lab have just identified a number of web vulnerabilities in Zimbra Collaboration Server V7.2. VMware has promised to address these issues with the launch of the next ZCS update.
• Open Directory Service: ODS is an embedded solution within OSO to provide connectivity through an SQL/ODBC connection to external customer databases making all available contact information within the company easily accessible. With this feature myPortal web and mobile clients will search for a name in CRM databases as well as in personal and corporate address books. This is particularly helpful in contact centers.
• Application Launcher: This is a client application that allows the launch of 3^rd-party business applications, such as CRM apps, based on caller identification (CLI code), to improve customer service. Take a helpdesk, for example. Based on the CLI code, the system could launch the helpdesk agent’s ticketing system and provide her with a display of all open tickets for that caller.  
• Microsoft Office 365 support: Whereas Zimbra coupled with OSO LX offers a full on-prem communications solution including UC, telephony, email and calendaring on one VMware-based system, integration with Office 365 provides customers with a hybrid option – UC and telephony on-prem and hosted Exchange and Office apps in the cloud.
• Contact Center: Customer service upgrades target improvements in first contact resolution with some integration capabilities – there’s an enhanced CC UI for the CC agent, enhanced call routing options and expanded reporting capabilities as well with some new reporting templates including fax, email, CLI customer identification.

What This Means to You

To Customers: There is no question that OpenScape Office offers a competitive UC solution. But so do others. What’s best for any particular customer depends on their unique circumstances. Clearly, a good solution should:

• Lower total operating costs
• Enhance business agility and end-user productivity
• Improve IT organization efficiency, and
• Reinforce market differentiation and brand image

An even-handed assessment of solution alternatives should be based on response to an RFP. Items to consider in the evaluation of competing vendor solutions are:

1. Business continuity: In a distributed system is there failover from branch office to branch office? And what about PSTN access in the event of an IP/WAN failure?
2. Multi-vendor interoperability: Be certain that you can use your existing network equipment with the new solution, and make sure that when you add new gear, you can do so without needing to split hairs over the UC system in place.
3. Full suite of communications features and business-enabling applications: Cost savings are not solely a result of toll charge avoidance from SIP trunking. Most cost savings come from the additional features that you get with a UC system. These features need to align with current business requirements while allowing compatibility with future business expectations.
4. Ease of implementation/management/maintenance: UC systems should make life easier for the IT team, not more difficult. Management of the UC solution should be straightforward and intuitive.
5. Overall end-user experience: Companies need to drive UC realtime applications to work properly so that their users get maximum benefit from them with maximum user satisfaction. In order to do so both network QoS and UC application quality of experience must be adequately established, monitored and managed to deliver maximum end user satisfaction across both fixed and mobile domains.
6. Favorable overall cost and discounted payback period: The total cost of ownership (TCO) by vendor solution should be calculated including costs for: licenses, additional hardware, network QoS, implementation, maintenance and training costs.

To Partners: The OSO V3R3 GA will continue OpenScape Office momentum with SEN’s SMB partner channel – their go to market (G2M) vehicle. In particular, the availability of expanded IT integration capabilities will enable partners to offer additional pro services supporting SMBs in integrating communications with business processes to improve productivity and business agility.

The core components of SENs G2M strategy focus on partner enablement programs and promotions:

• Simplified Ordering and Configuration: Allows partners to choose among deployment models – hybrid, appliance or standard server, choose a UCC base license bundle and add additional licenses required for the targeted solution. Partners also have the flexibility to offer free 30 and 90 day evaluations for Voice and UCC.
• Demos, Internet and Partner Portal: This portal houses the available tools, whitepapers, case studies and other collateral for self-education and sales support. Demo packages also reside here. An OSO LX DVD was just added to the collection.
• Training: Free training and certification via the web is available for sales. SEN is in the process of aligning training and certification for technical services, as well. Partners have expressed a strong desire for more in country, in language training, documentation and support. This is currently a work in progress.
• Promotions: Two promos were in play during FY 2012. There was a Trade Up to UCC promo for the MX and LX including the drag and drop conferencing, mobility components and fax. Customers were able to trade up at no additional cost. In addition, there was the Voice to UCC for Free promo which is just concluding. This allowed HiPath 3000 V8 customers free upgrade licenses to HiPath 3000 V9 when they transitioned to UCC with OSO HX.

1 Responses to "Siemens Adds Integrations to OpenScape Office" - Add Yours

Art Rosenberg 6/19/2012 5:32:39 PM

I am surprised that increased use of self-service applications via mobile apps was not mentioned. Not only does that improve customer satisfaction and reduce labor costs, but can now benefit from mobile UC-enabled devices.