OCS on the iPad? You'd Be Missing Something
Filed under: Conferencing, Instant Messaging (IM), OCS 2007, OCS 2007 R2, Voice over IP
I'm not a huge Apple fan. But I've played with a couple iPads friends have bought in recent months. I sat down to write today's post and my thoughts trailed toward the iPad.
I thought, “Since OCS' Communicator will run on the iPhone, would it work on the iPad too?”
On the surface there's no reason why not. The iPad is larger. Better screen. It has a microphone and speaker built-in. Just about everything in Communicator DOES work on iPad - IM, VoIP, audio conferencing.
Except for one thing - video conferencing.
Why? The iPad doesn't have a webcam.
With a tablet, you'd expect the ability to do video calls. Sure, you could watch the other person talking to you if THEY had a webcam. But they couldn't see you - not without a webcam plugged in (somehow). Only hear you. And that's at best a clunky solution for an otherwise-slick mobile platform.
Why Consider OCS on the iPad/Tablets?
The iPad has kicked off a big interest in tablet PCs. At least some of the 3 million iPads sold are used by businesses already. (I saw a bunch used as slideshow displays at the Web 2.0 Expo.) With Dell, Samsung and other companies rushing for the tablet market, it's practically a given that tablets will be used as PC replacements in force.
When we get there though, will OCS be viable for communications on them? That's the question.
Conferencing/VoIP on Tablets - A Future Possibility
At this point it's largely a matter of speculation. Even on the current fast-track, companies probably won't embrace tablets for mobile communications soon. (Not while laptops & smartphones do the job.) I'm sure Microsoft will make OCS apps for tablets. But they may not see widespread VoIP or conferencing use, even if tablets go mainstream in business.
At least, until Apple puts a camera in the iPad.
What do you think? Are iPads (or other tablets) slipping into your workplace? Do you think they'd be viable communications devices, for everything from IM to Conferencing?
Is Lack of User Adoption Hampering Your UC Plans?
Filed under: Conferencing, Instant Messaging (IM), OCS 2007, Unified Communications, Voice over IP
How familiar is this little IM scenario to you?
Bob's IM: Hey Frank, do you have the project specs ready yet?
Frank's IM: yeah, busy right now can I send it later?
Bob's IM: Sorry Frank, your Presence didn't say you were busy. Later's fine.
Frank's IM: ok
(Frank's Presence status doesn't change at all for the next week. Bob gets his specs the next day.)
What's the problem here? User adoption. Or lack thereof. In this case, lack of adoption of OCS' Presence tool.
One of the biggest hurdles in Unified Communications is getting users to start using it. People “don't have time” or “aren't used to it” (how are you supposed to get used to something if you never use it?).
Why We're Nervous About Switching to Unified Communications
There's a simple reason why people don't want to switch to new technology like UC - we're afraid.
Oh, not of UC itself. It doesn't bite. It's just another manifestation of the human fear of change.
Nothing wrong with that. (Fear of change evolved for very good reasons at the time!) But it does get in the way of adopting newer technologies like Office Communicator or Exchange 2010.
Unified Communications contains new ways for users to communicate among themselves (and with customers). Disrupting the long-standing order of Phone and Email? People are bound to hesitate.
Someone will have to push the office to switch.
If you're the sysadmin or IT manager…that's you. (Sorry.)
Two Ways to Spur Adoption
Make it Dead Simple
Offer a training course. Mandatory.
Provide reference material. (The Unified Communications Strategies blog has solid UC material.)
Indicate what aspects of Unified Communications should be used for which activities. For example, all internal phone calls will be done through Office Communicator. Any non-critical project discussions should use IMs. And so on. Write up the complete list and post it someplace everyone will see it.
Remove Alternatives
Schedule the “old system” for deactivation at some point in the future (say 30-60 days from UC implementation). Now this may not always work - in some cases, the “old system” is the phone!
If adoption is the goal however, you may not have a choice. You'll have to make it difficult for people to use anything except the UC channels.
Remove any old phones. Make a big announcement that everyone will use Unified Communications channels from now on. Change company cellphone plans if necessary.
People will grumble and complain about it for a few days, maybe weeks. But they'll adapt.
I think I'll go into more detail on these next week. In the meantime, how have you spurred user adoption of a new product or technology? Share your story in the comments.
Introducing New Employees to OCS 2007: 4 General Rules on How to Use It
Filed under: Instant Messaging (IM), OCS 2007, OCS 2007 R2, OCS 2010, Unified Communications, Voice over IP
We brought a new network engineer on board this week. I didn't give him “the tour,” but apparently he breezed through all of it and got to work right away.
Then he had a question about OCS.
He just wanted to know who to add to Office Communicator's contact list. Easy answer. But this pointed out something important regarding new employees. He already knew how OCS worked technically; he just wanted to know our policies around it.
What are the Rules for Using OCS Around Here?
That sparked a little discussion (and this blog post). Do we have any rules in place for how we use OCS? If so, what are they? How did they come about?
Turns out we did have several rules in place. They came into existence by the whim of a nutty systems administrator who journeyed to the Forbidden Server Room–
Okay, we just used common sense when it comes to business communication.
4 General Rules for OCS Use
These are 4 of the rules we came up with. I included questions our newest employee asked.
Who Do I Add to My Contact List? Why?
Add everyone you'll communicate with regularly. Use Contact List Groups or Access Levels to group people by priority and/or proximity to you. My first group is “Team,” direct co-workers in the same department. Another group is “Company,” which holds people I don't regularly talk to, but who need to talk to me now & then.
How Often Should I Update My Status (Presence)?
Rule of thumb for us: Update Presence once a day or when you change projects, whichever is more frequent. Above all, keep it up-to-date. Avoid what happens when you don't change your Presence status.
When Is it Okay to IM People?
Depends on the severity and length of the request you have. If you have a problem that can be answered quickly, then go for IM. If the problem is more extensive, and you may need input from more than one person, then use email.
Should I Use OCS to Answer the Phone?
Yes. Our phone system runs through OCS first and cellphones second (OCS is set to auto-forward). So we answer phones via OCS whenever possible. That's what the VoIP is there for, after all.
Does your company use OCS 2007? What are your rules concerning office use? Do you have different rules than ours? Let us know in the comments.
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