“It just works.” Three Simple Words and Microsoft Lync

CloudCow Contributed Article.  Author: Connie West, Dell Software

These days, no matter what size organization you work for, it is commonplace to work as part of a geographically dispersed team. Workers are located in business and home offices, and rely on solutions to collaborate with their remote colleagues. Technology cannot solve all the challenges that distance introduces, but it provides the foundation that can greatly reduce those challenges. We’ve all been on conference calls where people have been dropped, we all go to music hold, and/or the echo or static on the line is all you hear. And, most of us have been involved in videoconferencing, which seems to take a long time to set up (unexpected technical issues inevitably occur) and the meeting start time gets delayed.

In the last 10 years, we have seen development and further enhancement of technology that helps us more effectively communicate, and we’ve seen those tools used by both dispersed and co-located teams. Over that time period, most people adapted to the technology because it improved their way of working, as compared to other methods. I was struck by comments made by Tony Bates, president of the Skype Division of Microsoft, in the Lync 2013 Conference keynote address. He noted that the needs of people should come first, and the technology will follow, and that we need to re-humanize communications. I applaud that view.
 

I recently read Jason Perlow’s post, “Why I Love Lync 2013: A telecommuter’s dream come true,” and while he notes that he could certainly get his work done using traditional tools, now that he has Lync, he wouldn’t go back “because it makes conferencing and communicating via voice and instant messaging effortless…it turns any PC into a powerful corporate desk and video IP phone which has access to our entire company directory via Exchange…and the audio quality is excellent.” And, most importantly, he said, “It just works.”
 

As part of the Dell staff at the Lync 2013 Conference, I spoke with people who were considering the use of Lync in their organizations, in the midst of a Lync installation, or nearing completion. Their question was simple: “After we’ve completed our installation and rolled it out, how can we ensure that people are using it?” They know they will save money in holding Lync meetings versus travelling to face-to-face meetings ─ that’s easy. But will more collaboration take place? With presence capabilities available, will it be easier to reach out to knowledge experts? Will the cost of communications and other related costs be reduced?  So, if you build it, will they come? And, how will you know if they do? 
 

But, for today, I’m going to hold on to “It just works.” It’s amazing what you can do when you’re not struggling with the technology.

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Connie West is a senior product advisor for Dell Software. She has a 25-year history in the software industry, focusing on knowledge management, collaboration and unified communications. The product portfolio in which she currently specializes includes archiving, regulatory compliance, e-discovery and recovery, and unified communications analysis and reporting.   She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the Ohio State University, and is a co-inventor of the Systems and Methods for Collaboration patent issued in 2010.