Bring together voice, video, and data into a single IP network to simplify management and support effective communications.
A converged architectural approach uses a single enterprise-class communications platform to support today's network demands as well as new cloud-based services, devices, and applications. Consolidating your communications infrastructure can:
- Simplify management
- Integrate separate networks
- Lower IT costs
Benefits
- Reduce total cost of IT ownership with a single infrastructure and simplified management
- Adapt quickly and flexibly to company changes and increase responsiveness by blending deployment models
- Improve access and user experience by supporting mobile work styles and device choices
- Substantially reduce operational overhead by using a single call-control architecture for voice, video, and conferencing while still accommodating time-division multiplexing (TDM) or Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)-based systems as needed
- Take advantage of flexible deployment models, whether on premises, cloud based, or a hybrid approach
- Virtual desktops and simplified scalability, security, and manageability at lower costs
Proof Points
- According to IDC, 61 percent of enterprise organizations cite increased productivity as a benefit of consolidating unified communications and collaboration technologies.
- The Cisco architectural approach delivers a 13 percent lower TCO compared to competitors' solutions.
- Forrester shows that more than half of IT professionals can make a business case for unified communications based on cost savings and productivity gains such as improved collaboration and faster problem resolution.
By moving from Centrex to unified communications, Stanford Federal Credit Union reduced overall telecom costs by 60 percent. Operational improvements include the ability to add new users in a matter of minutes.
It takes the JW Marriott Marquis far less staff time to manage a converged network than hotels with multiple networks. As a result, the IT team can spend more time assisting guests. The single-vendor solution simplifies support.
"Cisco collaboration tools were instrumental in helping us complete 36 IT integration projects on time and under budget to save $190 million through synergies. We exceeded our savings goal by $40 million." —Doug Saunders, Republic Services
Education
- Application Deployment Guide: Cisco Notifi-ED Solution for School Safety and Security
This guide describes the benefits and features of the Cisco Notifi-ED solution, and implementation details for a typical school-district architecture.
Government and Public Sectors
- Bahrain Enhances Government Efficiency and Productivity (PDF - 216 KB)
Bahrain has an ambitious national economic development master plan designed to improve the standard of living through increased productivity and high-wage jobs.
Manufacturing
- Coke's New Take on Voice (PDF - 526 KB)
Coca-Cola implemented IP-based voice technology to revitalize its distribution processes and help 3000 warehouse associates in 100 facilities.
- Evaluating Unified Communications Solutions
With the convergence of voice, video, and data around a shared IP-based infrastructure, users can easily make a call, send a message, or join an audio or video conference. This is benefiting businesses of every size, industry, and geography.
- Transform Work with Collaboration (Video - 3:11 min)
Unite communications across Windows, Apple, and Android devices. - Unify Communications Across Platforms and Devices (Video - 4:53 min)
Cisco Jabber gives your teams the tools to see, hear, and think together, on any device, at any time.
- Unified Communications Total Cost of Ownership Tool
Estimate potential savings implementing Cisco IP-based voice and unified communications solutions. Simply enter information about your current communications system or adjust default industry benchmarks to quantify potential TCO reduction.
Design Guides
- Solution Reference Network Design: Cisco Unified Communications System 9.x
Deliver fully integrated communications to transmit data, voice, and video over a single network infrastructure using standards-based IP. - Deploying IPv6 in Unified Communications Networks
Learn about Cisco implementation of IPv6 for Cisco Unified Communications products and how to design unified communications networks to use IPv6 in a dual-stack (IPv4 and IPv6) environment. - Smart Business Architecture for Collaboration
Cisco Smart Business Architecture (SBA) is a series of prescriptive guides, network designs, and deployment best practices for organizations with up to 10,000 connected users. - Smart Business Architecture: Collaboration Design Overview (PDF - 1.6 MB)
Cisco SBA Collaboration is a design incorporating unified communications, video collaboration, and web conferencing.
Cisco Collaboration Services
Improve team and customer experiences with services from Cisco and its partners. Align your IT objectives with business goals, mitigate risk with faster time to value, and better serve your customers.
- Collaboration Services Overview (PDF - 500 KB)
- IDC White Paper: Key Questions to Ask When Considering Collaboration Solutions (PDF - 60 KB)
- Transforming Collaboration Through Strategy and Architecture (PDF - 3.3 MB)