What does "Your business. Your communications. Your way." Really mean to the Enterprise?

Advertising tag (News - Alert) line or real solution?

You may have seen or heard “Your business. Your communications. Your way.” — the tag line that Nokia’s (News - Alert) Rapport™ communication and collaboration (C&C) solution uses in their marketing. Rapport is a private cloud-based C&C solution providing many features all enterprises can benefit from. But what does the tag line really mean?

Exactly what it says.

Challenges with existing UC solutions

In today’s world, many enterprises are not actually in control of their own information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure when it comes to providing C&C solutions to their employees. This may occur because the enterprise does not have the expertise to develop and deploy their own C&C services, the resources to support them, or the ability to integrate disparate technologies, just to name a few challenges.

Instead, they call a unified communication (UC) provider who tells them what type of communication and collaboration services are available based on what they can provide. While that “solution” often seems to be a good one, the enterprise has effectively locked itself into a proprietary relationship with that one vendor and their technology solution. Instead of the enterprise being able to determine what C&C features and capabilities they need for their business, the provider now decides for them, based on the technology they have sold to the enterprise. The enterprise can no longer react or adapt quickly to changes.

While in the short term this approach may seem to provide an answer for the enterprise, in the long run the shortfalls become obvious:

• Surrendering control to a provider who decides what C&C services are best suited for the business.
• Inability to integrate technologies outside the one provided by the vendor
• Cannot take a dev-ops or best-in-class approach in choosing which C&C services work best for the business.

These are just a few of the problems many enterprises overlook in their quest for a communication and collaboration solution.

In addition, when an enterprise allows a UC provider to take over and manage their C&C services, it also gives up the ability to rapidly respond to changes in their business climate, developing and rolling out new communication services to employees, partners or customers, or reacting to new business opportunities that may arise. The enterprise is now at the mercy of the UC vendor.

When changes are required, the enterprise must meet with the vendor, explain what they need, and then wait for the vendor to decide if the change(s) can be done or will work within the existing solution. If so, the vendor then bids the project and presents that bid back to the enterprise, which evaluates it and decides if it is cost effective and reasonable.

If the bid is accepted, the vendor then enters a project into their development queue (which may take a significant period of time to complete). Once developed, the requested change must then be tested before it can finally be deployed and implemented within the enterprise. All of these steps require significant amounts of time that directly impacts the enterprise’s ability to respond in a timely manner.

While enterprises need to provide communication and collaboration services, they also need the flexibility to make changes and respond as business conditions dictate. However, most enterprise ICT infrastructures are built around specific technology silos for various communication functions (e.g. one for desk phones, one for mobile communications, one for conferencing). These individual silos include technologies that may not scale or interoperate, which is why many enterprises do not manage the C&C services themselves.

Is there a way to change that paradigm? Does a C&C solution exist that allows enterprises to take back control from the vendors? That will provide them with the flexibility to make changes as needed? A solution they can use to develop and roll out their own C&C services, all while helping to reduce costs and eliminate additional vendors?

Enterprises ask these questions on a daily basis, not realizing there are other options. Fortunately, there is a solution that does all that and more.

Your business. Your communications. Your way.

Rapport is Nokia’s private cloud-based communication and collaboration solution that helps enterprises break free of technology silos and vendor lock-in. Rapport allows enterprises to replace their existing hardware-based or other type of solution (such as PBXs, audio conferencing equipment, soft clients, etc.) with a private cloud-based software solution that it manages.

With proven integration of leading, open enterprise soft clients, desk phones and apps, Rapport provides full telecom network capabilities (including global routing and session management) through one communications backend. Enterprises can now manage their own ICT infrastructure and use their own IP trunking to deliver the C&C services their employees need.

Application developers are also able to access a rich set of APIs and SDKs, allowing enterprises to take a dev-ops approach and quickly and easily develop and deploy C&C services, or integrate best-in-class, third-party apps. This flexibility allows enterprises to deliver innovative communication features to apps, websites and other connected objects, or enhance them with a communications-enabled, contextual communications experience

With Rapport, the network becomes a platform for innovation, enabling the creation of new communication and collaboration services. “Rapport liberates enterprises from the communications technology silos and proprietary vendor offerings that IT departments contend with,” according to Bhaskar Gorti, President of Nokia’s IP Platforms business. Rapport allows enterprises to develop and deploy the C&C services they need, when, where and as they need them.

Summary

Rapport provides flexibility, adaptability and control, allowing enterprises to regain control of their ICT infrastructure. Communications and collaboration services are now delivered in the way that is most useful to them – their way. Rapport is what enterprises have been waiting for – a private cloud-based solution that lets them control the features and functions their employees receive.

For more information on Rapport and how it can help your business, please visit the Nokia Rapport website or contact your local Nokia sales office.

About the Author

Richard Hatheway, Director, Applications and Analytics Enterprise Product Marketing at Nokia, is responsible for the development and execution of the go-to-market strategy and plan, branding and messaging for private-cloud collaboration and DDI (DNS, DHCP, IPAM) solutions.