Updated 11:00 am E.S.T. We wrapped up another engaging Twitter chat on Unified Communications and the drive for collaboration. Channel experts from Rogers and Cisco joined us in examining the power of collaboration and importance of connectivity solutions for businesses. The conclusion? It seems the participants of the chat all agreed that in today’s fast-moving world, effective communication means collaborating beyond your organization with easy-to-use tools. Legacy software restricts work styles, but also drives unsecured sharing and storage of corporate data. After all, security is everything and collaboration moves at the speed of trust.
A special thanks to our guest experts and community participants for an insightful discussion!
Unified Communications drive collaboration which in turn has the power to ignite innovation and increase employee and customer engagement.  Have you implemented unified communications technologies or provided technology-enabled collaboration workspaces?  Join us on December 10 between 12 and 1 pm EST, share your experiences by tweeting answers to the questions below or pose a few questions of your own.  Participate in the conversation and see what others have to say about this pivotal suite of services that are altering workplaces in fundamental ways. You can ask us questions or chip in using the #ConnectivitySolutions hashtag.
Participating as guest experts are:Â
Obaid Shah – Product Manager, Unified Communications, Enterprise Wireless Solutions, Rogers  (@obaidshah_)
Steven Hong – Product Manager, Unified Communications, Enterprise Wireless Solutions, Rogers (@StevenatRogers)
Rani Pendse – Product Manager, Access/Data Centres & Cloud, Rogers (@ranipendse)
Dean La Riviere – General Manager, Collaboration at Cisco. (@DeanLaRiviere)
New to Twitter chats? Take a look at this video which explains how to participate and gain value from it.
Welcome to the Unified Communications Twitter Chat! You can ask us questions or chip in using the #ConnectivitySolutions hashtag.
— IT Business Canada (@itbusinessca) December 10, 2015
Our experts are @obaidshah_ @StevenatRogers @ranipendse @DeanLaRiviere. Please introduce yourselves! #ConnectivitySolutions
— IT Business Canada (@itbusinessca) December 10, 2015
Welcome to our participants! If you are joining the #ConnectivitySolutions chat today, please introduce yourself and say hello!
— IT Business Canada (@itbusinessca) December 10, 2015
Q1Â What is the difference between UC and UCC? #ConnectivitySolutions
A1. #UCC is about a modern workplace. That includes unified collab technology + a modern approach to agile working #ConnectivitySolutions
— Dean La Riviere (@deanlariviere) December 10, 2015
A1. UC harmonizes multiple communications whereas UCC goes a step further and adds collaboration to the mix. #connectivitysolutions
— Wolston Lobo (@WolstonL) December 10, 2015
A1. UC is about telephony and voice services. UCC includes collaboration which means IM, Meetings,Sharing Desktops. #connectivitysolutions
— Obaid Shah (@obaidshah_) December 10, 2015
Q2 What additional hardware/software and upgrades can CIOs expect to make by investing in UCC? #ConnectivitySolutions
https://twitter.com/ranipendse/status/674999777734578181
IDG predicts 61% organizations will adopt UCC in the next 3 years. #ConnectivitySolutions https://t.co/06yy37XqbX
— Wolston Lobo (@WolstonL) December 10, 2015
Q3Â How can UCC power a collaborative and innovative organization? #ConnectivitySolutions
A3. In today’s agile organization, effective communication means collaborating beyond your organization. #ConnectivitySolutions (1/3)
— Dean La Riviere (@deanlariviere) December 10, 2015
A3. Enabling these interactions w/ simple, easy-2-use tools like #CiscoSpark & @WebEx assure clarity, security. #ConnectivitySolutions (3/3)
— Dean La Riviere (@deanlariviere) December 10, 2015
A3. Enables innovative & collaborative organizations with all the tools required to foster creativity & productivity. #ConnectivitySolutions
— Obaid Shah (@obaidshah_) December 10, 2015
Q4Â How does legacy software hinder collaboration? #ConnectivitySolutions
https://twitter.com/ranipendse/status/675002608478744576
https://twitter.com/ranipendse/status/675002750871216129
Legacy software is a silo. That is one thing I have experienced. Agility is simply not there. #connectivitysolutions
— Fawn Annan, MBA (@fawnannan) December 10, 2015
In the long term dragging along with legacy software will prove to be more expensive than adopting UCC. #ConnectivitySolutions
— Wolston Lobo (@WolstonL) December 10, 2015
Q5 How does UCC enable a productive and collaborative work environment and why is that important for businesses? #ConnectivitySolutions
https://twitter.com/ranipendse/status/675004917585694720
A5: Provides the agility to work anywhere, anytime & share/collaborate through video conferencing/Desktop sharing #ConnectivitySolutions
— Obaid Shah (@obaidshah_) December 10, 2015
A5. Bottom line: Customers expect near real-time service, #UCC solutions make that possible (if done right). #ConnectivitySolutions (5/5)
— Dean La Riviere (@deanlariviere) December 10, 2015
Q6Â What do CIOs need to consider before going totally mobile? #ConnectivitySolutions
https://twitter.com/ranipendse/status/675006207812378625
A6. I think #security would be a top priority. Another one would be integration with existing infrastructure. #connectivitysolutions
— Wolston Lobo (@WolstonL) December 10, 2015
A6. …making decisions. Most companies will live in a hybrid world of on-prem & mobile devices for yrs to come. #ConnectivitySolutions (2/4)
— Dean La Riviere (@deanlariviere) December 10, 2015
Q7 What is the link between UCC and driving productivity and innovation? #ConnectivitySolutions
https://twitter.com/ranipendse/status/675007139853766656
https://twitter.com/ranipendse/status/675007259299225600
A7 Security is everything – collaboration moves at the speed of trust. #connectivitysolutions
— Jim Love (@CIOJimLove) December 10, 2015
Q8 Which ROI measures have you or would you use in a business case for UCC? How has UCC delivered against these? #ConnectivitySolutions
A8: #UCC has qual & quan benefits. 1: Real-time collab reduces email traffic = productivity & time savings. #ConnectivitySolutions (1/3)
— Dean La Riviere (@deanlariviere) December 10, 2015
A8:3: Ability to work virtually reduces OpEx (office space, HVAC). 4: 1, 2 & 3 = happier, more loyal employees. #ConnectivitySolutions (3/3)
— Dean La Riviere (@deanlariviere) December 10, 2015
A8. (1/2) Reducing the costs/ burden to manage on prem infrastructure by migrating to a cloud infrastructure #ConnectivitySolutions
— Obaid Shah (@obaidshah_) December 10, 2015
A8 (2/2) Reducing the number of fixed voice subscriptions by 'Cutting the Cord' and use one number for communications #ConnectivitySolutions
— Obaid Shah (@obaidshah_) December 10, 2015
https://twitter.com/B2Bspecialist/status/675011870240165891
Q9Â What makes implementation & adoption of UCC streamlined? How did you get leadership & employees on board? #ConnectivitySolutions
https://twitter.com/ranipendse/status/675009790305828864
https://twitter.com/ranipendse/status/675010153322831872
A9 Execs and leaders love stories. Engineer early success and tell the story. #connectivitysolutions
— Jim Love (@CIOJimLove) December 10, 2015
A9. Keep your focus on the why. Outcomes over technology. That will drive adoption of UCC #connectivitysolutions
— Jim Love (@CIOJimLove) December 10, 2015
Q10 How do organizations go beyond providing the tools to engaging stakeholders and fostering innovation? #ConnectivitySolutions
https://twitter.com/ranipendse/status/675010976056504320
https://twitter.com/ranipendse/status/675011073565720576
A10. Create culture of "fail safely".Encourage employees and stakeholders to participate freely.Reward participation.#ConnectivitySolutions
— Italia Corigliano (@ibcorigliano) December 10, 2015
A10. …to deploy an effective, 'all-way' collab solution. Innovation = allowing ppl to collaborate, create. #ConnectivitySolutions (2/2)
— Dean La Riviere (@deanlariviere) December 10, 2015
A10. You can never provide too much training if it's just in time and bite sized. #connectivitysolutions
— Jim Love (@CIOJimLove) December 10, 2015
A10.(1/2) Act as a trusted adviser for customers and sell a successful solution rather than individual products #connectivitysolutions
— Obaid Shah (@obaidshah_) December 10, 2015
A10 (2/2). Help their employees/train them on how to use the tools to be succesful in their daily work #connectivitysolutions
— Obaid Shah (@obaidshah_) December 10, 2015
Closing remarks
And that’s a wrap! What a great chat – we certainly learned a couple of things today and hope you did too! #ConnectivitySolutions
— IT Business Canada (@itbusinessca) December 10, 2015
Thank you to our experts @obaidshah_ @StevenatRogers @ranipendse @DeanLaRiviere #ConnectivitySolutions
— IT Business Canada (@itbusinessca) December 10, 2015
Thank you to everyone who participated in today’s #ConnectivitySolutions chat on Unified Communications!
— IT Business Canada (@itbusinessca) December 10, 2015
