Simplicity is the Ultimate Sophistication
I didn’t really get the appeal of Apple’s “i” Product line until Mitel’s 2011 Business Partner Conference.
Since the conference was being held in Hollywood, Florida, my wife and I decided to build a family vacation around it. While there, my then 3-year-old son latched onto his older brother’s iPod Touch and quickly “mastered” its usage.
While it’s obvious (IMHO) that he’s a genius, it is also important to note that he can’t read yet, doesn’t have a diploma of any kind, and doesn’t yet tie his own shoes. How could he possibly manage to manipulate this seemingly sophisticated piece of technology so effortlessly?
The answer, quite literally, is simple. The device is simple. The interface is simple. The software is simple. In fact, if it wouldn’t offend a large portion of their target audience, they could use my example as their slogan… “So simple even a three-year-old can use it.”
You can argue the coolness factor, the status symbol, the elitism, the persona or lifestyle it expresses, but when it comes right down to it the devices are so popular because they’re simple.
Simple to operate. They’re intuitive. They’re obvious. They’re fun. The experience is consistent across every device in their product line.
No, they don’t do everything some other devices can do. No, they’re not infallible. No, the iPad can’t truly replace a laptop or desktop (yet?). No, the iPhone doesn’t have the feature set of a business desk phone. But they get the job done much of the time in a way that is acceptable to many people.
I had a meeting with my staff a few weeks ago, and in it I used the iPad as an example of the kind of solutions we need to aspire to deliver to our end-users. Our solutions need to be simple and intuitive for end-users. Since we’re talking about internal business applications, we may not be able to make them truly “fun,” but they also shouldn’t feel like “work” either. The days when a developer could simply create a program and tell a user, “Here you go, now go use it,” are over.
Apple is not the only company who is seeing this change in their users. For the last few years, I’ve witnessed Mitel’s progression from a hardware company to a software company. During that transition, I’ve also seen them drawing similar conclusions about their product lines. From simplifying the Administration console of their systems, to embracing vmWare and virtualization, to creating applications for BlackBerry and other softphones, right down to the little things like the soft labeling of the phone sets themselves, Mitel has shown a commitment to their customers to innovate and simplify their solutions.
As today’s systems become increasingly complicated on the back-end, consumers will continue to request, expect, and eventually insist that the front-facing portions of those solutions be simple in the extreme. Companies like Apple and Mitel continue to lead that charge down the road toward more and more simplified answers to today’s technology needs. Adopters of their technology and that philosophy of simplicity will be right there with them enjoying the benefits of their labors.
My son and his generation will be there. My team and I will be. Will you?
Jason Spainhour
Jason Spainhour is the Director of Information Systems for SkillPath Seminars, headquartered in Mission, KS. SkillPath is the premier provider of business training in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. He also currently serves as vice president of the Mitel User Group. In his spare time, Jason enjoys spending time outdoors and working with his children’s youth sports teams.
Mitel at VMware Partner Exchange (PEX) 2012
The last couple of days at VMware PEX 2012 have been very exciting, lets look at the highlights so far
VMware and Mitel Bring Desktop Virtualization to the Contact Center
It all started Monday with the unveiling of the integration of Mitel’s Contact Center Solution for VMware View™, which can enable contact center managers to deploy and manage agents anywhere in the world, while empowering the center to lower costs. This solution provides contact center agents with cloud-based access to contact center functionality as well as a unified desktop and communications device (soft phone or desk phone) wherever they may be.
In addition, Mitel announced the availability of Mitel’s virtualized Unified Communicator® (UC) Advanced client software for VMware View. Additional information on both solutions can be found at this link: http://www.mitel.com/solutions/virtualization/virtual-desktop-solutions/VirtualDesktop.
Sharing the stage with VMware’s Steve Herrod
VMware CTO, Steve Herrod displays Mitel’s Unified Communicator Advanced (UCA), during Tuesdays general session.
What is a telephone company doing at a VMware event?
Mitel’s VP of Marketing, Stephen Beamish got the opportunity to speak with Christine Dover, Research Manager, Software Channels Research with IDC’s Software Business Solutions Group, and explain Mitel’s transformation to a software company as well as our innovation around virtualized voice as well as the opportunity for software channel folks to sell voice as a complement to their existing portfolio.
Demos
Stephen Beamish and Jim Davies of Mitel had a chance to give a demo to VMware VP of End User Computing Boaz Chalamish
It’s all about the integration
During breakout session #1324, VMware View + Unified Communications, VMware’s Sr. Product Marketing Manager, Sreekanth Kannan holds up Mitel as UC vendor with View media services API integration
Some of the highlights included;
- support for view media services API
- mitel strength in smb
- freedom architecture and virtual appliances – everything is virtualized
- mobility with hardphone / softphone choice.
- joint vmware and mitel study on 400 seat contact center and resulting whitepaper
Andy Pflaum, Sr. Director, Technology Alliances, VMware, discusses How to Acquire New SMB Customers with VMware Zimbra Collaboration Server and vendors with deep integration like Mitel.
Looking to connect on Valentines Day?
Join Mitel at VMware Partner Exchange 2012, VMware’s annual global partner conference, February 13-16 at the magnificent Venetian in Las Vegas, Nevada. VMware Partner Exchange brings together representatives from VMware’s global partner ecosystems that are passionate about virtualization and cloud infrastructure.
Stop by Mitel booth # 602 and the VMware corporate booth to the see the latest in real time virtualized voice solutions for the data center and Mitel’s industry leading integration with VMware View 5. In addition to being available at these booths, we are scheduling one-on-one meetings with Mitel’s channel development team, mitel’s senior virtualization system engineers, and Mitel senior execs.
Click here to schedule a one-on-one meeting in advance.
Mitel’s CTO Jim Davies will also be there and will be hosting a meet and greet, check out the video below and keep your eyes open at the show for more details on this special event.
For the most up to the date information on Mitel at VMware Partner Exchange 2012 be sure to follow us on twitter and/or facebook.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
Free Webinar-Independent Research Finds Total Economic Impact Of Mitel’s Virtualized Voice and UC Applications
Date: Thursday, February 9, 2012
Time: 11:00 AM PT / 2:00 PM ET
Duration: 60 minutes
Register Today
Join Mitel’s Head of Business development and Strategic Alliances, Alan Zurakowski, and Forrester Consulting’s Michelle Bishop for a free webinar this Thursday at 11:00am PT /2:00pm ET, where they will discuss the benefits you’d reap by managing your unified communications and collaboration(UCC) solutions in your virtualized data center.
Forrester conducted a study commissioned by Mitel to evaluate the total cost of ownership, Return on Investment (ROI), and overall benefits of virtualizing voice applications. For this study, Forrester examined one organization’s implementation of Mitel’s Virtual Solutions. Forrester’s analysis found:
- A three-year, risk-adjusted Return-On-Investment (ROI) of 84 percent
- A total payback period of 7.8 months
Michelle will be presenting the results of Forrester’s Total Economic Impact Study of Mitel’s Virtual Solutions. The January 2012 study provides a framework for you to evaluate the costs and benefits of deploying virtual voice and unified communications solutions in your organization. As part of the study, Forrester interviewed an enterprise with 600 employees across multiple sites, to learn about its experience implementing Mitel’s virtualized UCC solution.
In this webinar Michelle will discuss the business benefits of virtualizing voice applications, including:
- Productivity savings with Unified Communications (UC)
- Improved user experience
- Cost savings from SIP trunking
- Failover savings from software-based technology
- Hardware and disaster recovery savings from virtualization infrastructure
- IT administrative savings through faster recovery
- Improved scalability for greater business flexibility and added cost savings
- Lower risk from downtime
- Improved agility to respond to market and business changes
Alan will be providing an overview of Mitel’s Virtual Solutions and explain how together, Mitel and VMware have seamlessly united the worlds of data and voice enabling businesses to run on a single virtualized infrastructure, reaping dramatic cost and resource benefits. Alan will also introduce you to the next wave in virtualization; unified communications at the virtual desktop which will significantly reduce costs through centralized management, and provide greater flexibility for workers of all kinds.
Alan Zurakowski, Director Corporate Business Development and Strategic Alliances, Mitel
Alan Zurakowski brings more than 25 years of technology and marketing experience to his position as Director Corporate Business Development and Strategic Alliances at Mitel. In this role, Alan is responsible for the management and development of Mitel’s strategic alliances including VMware and the company’s shift to virtualizing unified communications and collaboration applications across the globe.Prior to Mitel, Alan was Principal Consultant with Nortel Global Services where he was responsible for business and implementation planning and marketing. Before joining Nortel, Alan was the co-founder and partner for Superna, a Canadian-based business consulting firm.Alan has a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree from Carleton University and is a licensed member of the Professional Engineers Ontario.
Michelle S. Bishop, Senior Consultant, Forrester Research, Total Economic Impact (TEI) practice
Michelle S. Bishop is a senior consultant with Forrester’s Total Economic Impact (TEI) consulting practice. The TEI methodology focuses on measuring and communicating the value of IT and business decisions and solutions as well as providing an ROI business case based on the costs, benefits, risks, and flexibility of investments.
Independent Total Economic Impact Study Finds 84 Percent risk-adjusted ROI for Mitel Virtual Solutions
Forrester conducted a study commissioned by Mitel to evaluate the total cost of ownership, Return on Investment (ROI), and overall benefits of virtualizing voice applications. For this study, Forrester examined one organization’s implementation of Mitel’s Virtual Solutions. Forrester’s analysis found:
- A three-year, risk-adjusted Return-On-Investment (ROI) of 84 percent, and
- A total payback period of 7.8 months.
The January 2012 study provides a framework for you to evaluate the costs and benefits of deploying virtual voice and unified communications solutions in your organization. As part of the study, Forrester interviewed an enterprise with 600 employees across multiple sites, to learn about its experience implementing MitelVirtual Solutions.
Some of the benefits realized by the enterprise studies include:
- Productivity savings with Unified Communications (UC)
- Improved user experience
- Cost savings from SIP trunking
- Failover savings from software-based technology
- Hardware and disaster recovery savings from virtualization infrastructure
- IT administrative savings through faster recovery
- Improved scalability for greater business flexibility and added cost savings
- Lower risk from downtime
- Improved agility to respond to market and business changes
Read a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting, “The Total Economic Impact of Mitel Virtual Solutions”
Why did we choose Mitel? – SkillPath Seminars
The initial purchase of Mitel equipment at SkillPath Seminars was before my time. From its origins as a true “Mom and Pop,” SkillPath quickly experienced exponential growth and maxed out the capabilities of its existing PBX. The first Mitel was purchased primarily because of its affordability. At the same time, it allowed for rapid growth, and had all of the features of the “big name” vendors.
Since I came on-board, we have gone through multiple system upgrades. As each major upgrade (read replacement) drew near, we took a look at whether it made sense to continue down the path of the Mitel product line. We evaluated other systems and continually found them lacking in some area which was key to our business needs. In the worst example, a well-known competitor’s system actually locked up during their demo. When we left, they were still struggling to recover the system.
The single most important factor in our decision to stick with Mitel over the years is simple. With Mitel, you can be sure that call quality is king. Mitel has a proven track record for valuing the call and its quality above everything else. When you pick up a Mitel phone, it just works. This is a very different philosophy from some of their competitors, who look at voice as “just another packet” on the network.
Mitel has also given us options. The 3300 platform gives us the flexibility to manage our calls in as granular a fashion as we want in order to best meet the needs of our customers. We are able to ensure that calls are handled in the most efficient and customer-friendly manner possible. SkillPath recognizes that each call has a very real monetary value to us. We are not willing to trust that customer interaction to a less-experienced telephony vendor, and certainly not to one whose focus is not telephony. So far, our trust in Mitel has proven well-founded.
Mitel’s commitment to a quality product is complemented by its vision of the future. It is reassuring to know that the solution provider we have chosen is at the forefront of communications technology and determining how that technology can be best applied to real-life business situations.
Jason Spainhour
Jason Spainhour is the Director of Information Systems for SkillPath Seminars, headquartered in Mission, KS. SkillPath is the premier provider of business training in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. He also currently serves as vice president of the Mitel User Group. In his spare time, Jason enjoys spending time outdoors and working with his children’s youth sports teams.
Setting the business agenda: The new role of the IT director
The role of IT in business has long been fundamental in facilitating operations, but recent years have witnessed an explosion in new technology and a much wider awareness of the benefits it can bring. This has put the spotlight on IT departments to deliver solutions that meet an ever-increasing range of objectives, transforming IT and communications from a business facility to an integral part of any business strategy.
Far beyond the traditional role of network management, the IT director’s remit now permeates every business department. Such an extent of change means that these are testing times for IT directors as their job roles evolve rapidly on an individual level.
To understand the key challenges that IT directors are facing at this critical time, we commissioned a study consulting UK workers and garnering insight from senior IT decision makers and analysts. Check out the infographic summarizing our findings below, or download the complete report.
We would love to get your feedback, how do you feel the report reflects your current situation?
Moving to unified communications? Here are 5 things your UC solution should have:
The benefits of unified communications (UC) are so clear that it’s not a matter of whether to
move to UC but when and how.
Combining all of your many communications capabilities – voice, presence, messaging,
conferencing, collaboration, mobility, and more – into a unified solution is key to building a
high-performance organization. It turns communications into a strategic asset that drives productivity, reduces costs, and builds competitive advantage.
But choosing the right UC solution isn’t easy. To help, here are five things a solution must have to deliver the benefits you’re after.
#1 An Open Architecture
A good UC solution leverages your existing IT infrastructure and communications technology.
To help you do more with less, a UC solution should be built on an open architecture that lets you leverage what you’ve already got.
Its standards will free you from a “walled garden” dependence on a single vendor. It will accommodate your IT strategy and your hardware, so that you make buying decisions based on cost and best fit for you. And it will be software based, so that everything from email to CRM systems can operate as a single business network.
#2 Virtualization Capabilities
A dollar spent on any technology – including UC – is wasted if it doesn’t move you toward the cloud.
OK, so maybe you haven’t yet gone virtual. But in the twenty-first century it’s just a matter of time. So to future-proof your investment you’ll need a UC solution that can move to the cloud without a forklift upgrade.
A good UC solution lets you manage voice like any other application in your data center, on the same virtualized servers. A great UC solution also puts voice on users’ virtual desktops. The better the virtualization capabilities, the more you can optimize your use of hardware and follow a cost-effective, common management, provisioning, and business continuity model across all your business applications.
#3 Mobility Support
Unified communications must provide an “in office” experience – anywhere, anytime.
The days of everyone being in an office cubicle are long gone. Teleworkers, travelers, corridor warriors, the quickly growing bring-your-own-device (BYOD) crowd – all need to stay in touch.
To deliver a seamless communications experience, your UC solution must provide each of your people with a single identity, phone number, and voice mailbox, so they have the feature-rich communications experience they need at the office, on a home PC, or on the go with a smartphone or other handheld device.
#4 Flexibility
Unified communications must meet the needs of different kinds of users, and any number of users.
When it comes to communication, one size does not fit all. Reception and customer service, IT personnel, on-site support, salespeople, knowledge workers, senior executives – all have very different communications needs.
A UC solution must not only provide each of these users with exactly the capabilities they need, but must scale easily to provide the highest level of service no matter how quickly your organization grows.
#5 Manageability
A UC solution must be easy to manage.
To ensure a low cost of ownership and maximum security and reliability, your UC solution must include simple but powerful web-based management, provisioning, and Microsoft® Active Directory® integration. IT must have the full range of tools it needs to configure, manage, and control all aspects of the solution centrally, via a simple web browser.
Why am I a member of the Mitel User Group?
Welcome to “The Voice of the User Group”, a blog post series here on Mitel‘s Freedom Blog. Throughout this series we will be hearing from various members of the Mitel User Group as they discuss their membership experiences in their own words.
Our first post comes from Jason Spainhour - Director of Information Systems for SkillPath Seminars, and currently serving as vice president of the Mitel User Group.
Why am I a member of the Mitel User Group?
As vice president of the Mitel User Group, I’m often asked, “Why should a Mitel customer join the user group?” I can’t answer for everyone, but I can relate my company’s experiences as one example of what a Mitel customer can expect to get out of group membership.
I have worked for SkillPath Seminars for 14 years in various IT capacities. In that time, we have migrated from a Mitel SX200D PBX to two SX2000 systems, and presently utilize three Mitel 3300s. Over the years, we’ve found the Mitel product line to be a great fit for the way we do business.
We initially joined the user group in order to interact with other similar users, ask questions, and generally get a feel for what other Mitel customers were doing to fill the communication needs of their companies. We also saw the value of having a more direct method of communicating with Mitel R&D regarding our needs and suggestions for product development, etc.
We got our questions answered, and we in turn were able to help other members by explaining the ways in which we used various Mitel products. This interaction was very valuable to us because it helped us to maximize our investment in the products.
Once our initial questions were covered, it became obvious that group membership brought a wealth of information to us about current and upcoming product enhancements. We got to hear how other folks were actually using Mitel solutions in their environments, and we heard and saw product roadmaps from Mitel personnel which allowed us to make plans for our future utilization of that technology.
Our reseller does an excellent job of understanding our business and listening to our needs, but the reality is that he doesn’t live and breathe in our environment. He offers suggestions, of course, but he can’t possibly predict every business use we might have for any given product. There have been numerous times when we have heard about a new product from another customer or from Mitel itself during a user group meeting. This inevitably leads to a phone call to our reseller to find out more about that solution and how it might benefit us.
Another benefit we’ve taken advantage of is end-user training and the documentation available to us on Mitel OnLine. Our IT department has always tried to be as self-sufficient as possible. With respect to Mitel equipment, this means that we want to be able to perform basic administration like moves/add/changes for ourselves, and leave the larger tasks to our reseller partner.
In almost 10 years with the group, I’ve found that people tend to get from it what they put into it. By that, I mean that if they are actively participating in calls and attending meetings, then there is a lot of value to be gained by group membership. There are members I’ve developed strong friendships with over the years, and I continue to look forward to making new contacts, as well.
Jason Spainhour
Jason Spainhour is the Director of Information Systems for SkillPath Seminars, headquartered in Mission, KS. SkillPath is the premier provider of business training in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. He also currently serves as vice president of the Mitel User Group. In his spare time, Jason enjoys spending time outdoors and working with his children’s youth sports teams.
Cornhusker country welcomes Mitel Freedom as the last stop of the tour
A last minute addition to the Freedom tour in Cornhusker country (Lincoln, Nebraska) yesterday marked the end of another successful Mitel roadshow. We were very happy to have the opportunity to meet and reconnect with so many great people to discuss their questions and concerns and provide them live demonstrations on such topics as Mobility solutions, Unified Communications and Collaboration, Contact Center and Mitel Virtual Solutions.
The tour by the numbers
183 days on the road
110 events
90 Cites,
30 States & Provinces
Thanks to all who participated in the Mitel Freedom Bus Tour.
Please stay tuned here or follow us on Facebook for upcoming Mitel announcements
