There are many things to consider when it’s time to create, upgrade or modify your system. One important strategy to establish is to build the infrastructure to fit the organization and not to build the organization around the telecom solution. Whether your organization has 40 employees or 4000 employees, there is a solution for you!
In the following post, we’re going to cover some of the specifics to know when you’re considering such
an infrastructure change and why it is so important to understand the big picture.
Who Makes the Decisions?
Telecom and communications infrastructure choices often land on the desk of the IT department. This is
not the ideal place to start in many cases, especially when dealing with larger organizations. There is no
one correct answer that fits all. Ensuring that the decision-makers consider the big picture is of vital
importance. This means that input from all stakeholders is absolutely necessary.
Who’s The Communications Leader in Your Organization?
Does your organization have a communications task force? The leader of this task force is responsible
for knowing the organization’s goals and that the outcomes of the communications project are aligned
with those goals. The lead of this team might be the CFO, CIO, or high-level Project Manager. One of the
critical roles of the task force that is often missed is the lack of consideration of all stakeholders.
Who Are the Stakeholders?
Stakeholders will vary for each different scenario. This group could include the CEO who is concerned
about reputational risk and who is responsible for both employee and clientele productivity and
experience. It will typically also include the CFO, who is fiscally responsible for the project as well as the
provision of business intelligence. Other sponsors may include the CIO and CAE, or perhaps the
directorship of the organization. If any of these key stakeholders are passed over, you could be doing the
project a huge disservice.
The Most Common Design Process May Be Missing the Mark.
Design strategies range from an ad hoc plan where only technical considerations are made, to an in-
depth solution crafted from a Risk and Opportunity Assessment. A makeshift plan is rolled out far too
often, and although applicable in some cases, is at higher risk of failure. Ad hoc plans can look like the
following:
- A budget lacking in-depth thought is assigned based on a guess and a few generic quotes. This is
passed on to a technical resource, who may not understand the vast scope of communication
needs of the organization. - The technical resource then approaches some telecom companies for quotes, perhaps via RFP.
- Sales teams from several telecom companies battle it out and present a solution, using sales
techniques that will maximize their profits and satisfy only the basic needs for your organization. - A system is then purchased which will most likely not meet the long-term goals or match the
immediate needs of the organization. - In a few years, when the shortcomings of the solution surface, the cycle is repeated, or an
an additional large investment is required to transform the current system to match changing
needs.
Sound familiar???
What Are You Basing Your Solution On?
Many organizations will base their telecom and communications decisions on a limited number of
factors, namely the cost and features that a solution provides. They may also have a list of cursory needs
that have been identified by an IT team or other party. These are important factors! But they only
scratch the surface of how your solution should be designed.
What Should You Be Basing Your Solution On?
A proper solution suite should be based on a multitude of different factors, starting with understanding
the goals of the company over the next 5-10 years. A proper Risk and Opportunity Assessment should
be initiated. This kind of assessment uncovers many aspects of your organization that may not have
considered or even thought could be related to a telecom and communications infrastructure.
Once completed, the Risk and Opportunity Assessment will identify the foundations that your
infrastructure will need. Some of these may include:
- How to align with organization goals.
- Compliance.
- Cost Optimization and Negotiation.
- Supply Chain Issues.
- Performance Reporting
- Security and Fraud
- Vendor Assessment
- Contract Management
- Asset Management
- Scalability
- Compatibility in Context of Mergers & Acquisitions
- Resilience Planning
- Change Management
- Lessons learned Analysis
This list is only the tip of the iceberg.
Summary:
You will save yourself future hardship if you take all of the factors above into consideration before
leaping into such a project.
Source: PBC Communications, 2022, All Rights Reserved
