Unified Communications go Online
.
Wikipedia defines unified communications as follows:-
UC is "an industry term used to describe all forms of call and multimedia/cross-media message-management functions controlled by an individual user for both business and social purposes". This potentially includes the integration of fixed and mobile voice, e-mail, instant messaging, desktop and advanced business applications, Internet Protocol (IP)-PBX, voice over IP (VoIP), presence, voice-mail, fax, audio video and web conferencing, unified messaging, unified voicemail, and whiteboarding into a single environment offering the user a more complete but simpler and more effective experience.
Although I may be using the term in its loose sense, off late, there have been developments in the internet industry, which made me think of the expression – “unified communications on the net”. The specific developments are:-
1) Microsoft declaring its hosted “productivity suite”, a collection of its popular solutions - Sharepoint, Exchange, LiveMeeting and Communications Server, offered as hosted products, at a joint monthly price.
2) Cisco aquiring PostPath, an email and calendar software company, to reinforce its WebEx web conferencing software. As some blogs reported “Cisco said it will also extend the email and calendar functionality of its flexible software-as-a-service-based collaborative platform that includes instant messaging, voice, video, data, document management, and web 2.0 applications.”
3) Google gradually building out its suite of online productivity software - Google Pages, Google Apps, Gmail, Gtalk etc, and positioning itself as a business solution, while solutions like Gmail and Gtalk have always been seen as consumer products.
The common thread in the above is rather obvious. The attempt to offer the following as a single hosted product – email, calendars, task management, contact management (traditionally called messaging software), document collaboration, intranet/extranet/webpage publishing and customization, forums, IM (they call it collaboration software), audio conferencing, whiteboard, application/desktop sharing, and online presentations etc (called web conferencing). How can one NOT call a single solution with all the above a “unified communications” or “total collaboration” solution.
Traditionally companies have had to look at three products to serve the above needs. Obviously, there are great synergies to be obtained from seamless data flow between these traditionally segregated solutions. For example, web conferencing, which is basically a way to set up meetings, would gain from being integrated with calendring, as it would gain from integrating with document management, as documents need to be distributed and collaboratively worked on during meetings. It would especially be benifical for growing organizations, which are complexity-phobic and cost-phobic to be able to access all the above features from a single web based console, at a reasonable monthly fees.
Exciting and heartening as the above developments are, one has to admit that the above attempts at an online unified communications solution are not quite there. Microsoft’s productivity suite just offers three pieces of the puzzle for a single pricing. Hosted Sharepoint, Exchange, LiveMeeting and Communications Server are un-integrated, and bare bones (vanilla) solutions, and not suitable for small organizations because they need to be configured and integrated to have a usable solution. Google doesn’t really have a web conferencing solution, and to consider Gtalk as one is a stretch. Even otherwise, its products seem more suitable as end customer, stand alone products. And Cisco’s dream product is not here yet.
Quite suprisingly, there is another product, which is not as hyped as the above (although it is has been a well respected provider in the SMB domain for the last more than 8 years), which comes close to the “dream” solution. The solution I’m talking about is HyperOffice, a web based provider of “total collaboration” solution.
They have long provided integrated messaging and collaboration solutions under their fragship product, HyperOffice, which has been positioned as a “Sharepoint alternative” and “Exchange alternative”. Aspects of messaging, tie very logically with aspects of collaboration. The solution design is roughly as follows – “workspaces” for individuals with tools like personal desktop, mail client, personal document management, to do lists, personal address books, and personal calendaring etc. The second level is “workspaces” for groups (teams, departments, clients or partners) with tools like group desktop, group calendring, project management, group address books, group document management, forums, and polls etc. So an individual has access to his personal workspace as well as the group workspaces he is a member of. Recently, HyperOffice also launched HyperMeeting, its web conferencing solution, which integrates completely with HyperOffice and adds the missing piece to the puzzle.
It scores on all the criterion of being complete, integrated, simple and ready to use.
HyperOffice Introduces HyperMeeting
HyperOffice recently launched HyperMeeting, a robust and easy to use web conferencing solution primarily meant for the small to mid sized business segment. Like HyperOffice, HyperMeeting is web based. Users simply need to sign up online and start conferencing.
HyperMeeting includes the usual range of features like PowerPoint presentations, whiteboard, desktop sharing, application sharing, file distribution, full conference recording etc. One unique feature is the ability to easily switch between administrator and audience with a simple click.
But what really sets the solution apart is it’s ability to fully integrate with HyperOffice, HyperOffice’s (pardon the confusion) rich collaboration and messaging suite. The synergies to be had from integrated messaging, collaboration and conferencing are tremendous. This also makes HyperOffice’s the most comprehensive web based productivity suite, even exceeding Google products (google does not have a full fledged conferencing tool) and Microsoft’s recent “Productivity Suite”.
In spite of the hype and hopes surrounding Microsoft’s Online Services, it has really fallen short. The “productivity suite” may offer all the pieces of the puzzle – messaging (Exchange), collaboration (Sharepoint) and conferencing (LiveMeeting), but the pieces don’t fit together. They’re piecemeal, bare bones solutions, which will need to be configured and integrated by the users themselves.
HyperOffice, with integrated HyperMeeting, on the other hand, offers a single console, ready to use solution in which all pieces of the puzzle communicate with each other perfectly.
Sharepoint Study - Careful before you use Sharepoint for public facing websites
I recently came across a very interesting report on Sharepoint by J Boyce. The report titled “Best Practices for Using SharePoint for Public Websites - A Business Person’s Guide”, outlines the reasons why organizations opt for SharePoint as a solution for public facing websites, the pitfalls of doing so, and discusses the shortcomings of the oft touted arguments for selecting SharePoint as a collaboration solution. The report is well researched and well founded, based upon extensive interviews with SharePoint experts, consultants and organizations spread all over the globe.
Some prominent recommendations and observations of the study are as follows:-
- Extreme caution is enjoined while using Sharepoint as a solution for public facing websites as it is certainly not as safe and risk-free as many like to think.
- More often than not, the decision to opt for Sharepoint is an IT decision and not a business decision, leading to a disconnect with business objectives.
- Common arguments in favor of selecting Sharepoint – Works best with MS Office, match for current and future requirements, a safe choice; are deconstructed.
The report comes at a not so cheap 135 pounds. But the investment is well worth it for companies considering opting for Sharepoint.
The Dream Product is Here?
With its recently released "Information Worker Suite", has Microsoft finally realized the dream the small to mid sized business owner has long harbored? An integrated product addressing all of a business' compelling IT needs - hosted exchange for email setup, and shared calendars, tasks and contacts; hosted Sharepoint for collaborative workspaces and document management and LiveMeeting for web conferencing, all rolled together beautifully in the "Information Worker Suite". No need to ever look elsewhere; no need for hardware, software downloads, implementation or maintenance; and all at an imminently affordable $15. Might not your eyes brim over? Might not you be choked with emotion?
Snap out of it.
For all that Microsoft may seem to offer, its product is none of that. For one, it is not an integrated all in one product. It's the same old bare bones hosted Exchange, hosted Sharepoint and LiveMeeting, offered at a joint pricing. Not a ready to use, all in one product. That means implementation that YOU have to do. Don't want to handle three separate products? Well, its integration that YOU have to perform. Isn’t that what small to mid sized business were running away from all along?
So is there no hope?
There has been hope all along. Just open your eyes and look around. Smaller companies who have matured working for small to mid sized businesses have been offering such a dream solution for years. A great example is HyperOffice. It’s been marketing itself as a Sharepoint and Exchange alternative for years.
HyperOffice is web based (no hardware or software downloads) and includes email setup, shared contacts/calendars/tasks, document management, intranet/extranet publishing, forums, Outlook integration, desktop integration, mobile access, chat and much more; all rolled into one, accessible from a single, easy to use console.
The only allegation that could have been leveled against them is that they did not offer web conferencing. Well, not any more. They recently launched their web conferencing tool, well integrated with the rest of the suite.
Next time Microsoft paints glorious pictures, don’t fall for it.
HyperOffice Review
Review Rating – Two Thumbs Up! (because I have only 2)
Although we will review HyperOffice mostly as a "sharepoint alternative", it is pretty much the most comprehensive web collaboration software out there. It covers almost the entire range of features in the SharePoint & Exchange alternative domains, has sophisticated document management capabilities, and allows mobile access (HyperOffice on iPhone particularly impressed me) all rolled into one.
To start our review, HyperOffice is web based, so it does not require any hardware setup, or any downloads at the user's end, as with SharePoint or some of its alternatives. To get going you need to sign up online (the customary free trial is there, and allows full access). You have the choice of setting up a domain with a HyperOffice extension (yourcompany.hyperoffice.com) or a custom domain (yourcompany.com) for a little extra charge.
Intranet - Each user gets a "personal area" which has a desktop (with announcements, to do lists, news, events, notes, access to tools etc), a mail client, personal document management, a personal calendar, personal contact management, "my tasks", "my links", "my reminders" etc.
In addition "group areas" can be easily set up for the entire company, departments, teams, ad-hoc projects etc. These group areas have a group desktop (or homepage) (group announcements, events, news, access to tools etc), shared document management, shared group calendar, group contact lists, group links, group project management, forums, polls, instant messaging etc. A group administrator can very easily manage membership of a group, by adding or deleting new members, and even managing the level of access different members have within a group.
This intranet design is very simple and logical, allowing employees to easily manage personal information, or get together and work and collaborate on group information. Each tool has its own nuances and power, but touching upon all of them would unnecessarily take up space.
Extranets & Customer Portals - Extranets/Customer portals are simply group areas which have membership of relevant employees and partners and clients, as applicable. So extranets can simply be seen as an extension of the intranet. External members can easily access these extranets with any web browser and the requisite login and password. 128 bit encryption ensures safety of company and partner information.
Customization - HyperOffice includes a "publisher" tool through which intranets and extranets can easily be customized to a great extent. "Publisher" is a push button tool, and does not require any designing expertise at all. You can easily manage the look, layout and design of group homepage; create any number of pages; add branding; create linkages to tools or documents etc. You can choose from a range of pre-built templates or even create entire websites from scratch. In addition you can choose what tools you want included in a particular group.
Customizing and branding intranets, extranets, and customer portals is a great way of impressing and motivating people. With HyperOffice's publisher, it is truly child's play.
Document Management - HyperOffice has an elegant and powerful document management system, and it is intelligently integrated with the intranet design as mentioned above. Some of its features are as follows:-
Organization - Personal and group documents can easily be organized as folders and subfolders.
Filetypes Supported - The system is filetype agnostic.
Collaboration - Multiple employees can get togather and work on documents and files. Versioning, change notifications, automatic locking, audit trails, document commenting etc facilitate collaboration.
Desktop Integration - HyperOffice's web folder concept allows users to access and work on files directly from their local system's desktop. You simply need to download a small module called "HyperDrive", which installs a "web folder" on your desktop through which you can easily navigate to all your files and folders like you would within Windows. Any changes you make to your documents are automatically updated on your online account.
Drag and Drop - Web Folders also allow you to drag and drop multiple files and folders to your online account. Beats doing it one at a time!
Access Control - The administrator can easily manage which people can access what information and what they can do with it (read, write, delete). Access can be set at the "group" level, the folder/subfolder level, or even the document level. Through "profiling" you can even hide information from people who do not have the rights.
Browser Access/Mobile Access – HyperOffice is accessible from any web browser, either Mac or PC. What’s more, its even optimized for mobile browsers. I was especially impressed with HyperOffice on iPhone. It pretty much powers iPhone to be used as a collaboration tool.
Security - In a web based system, letting go of your information and allowing it to be hosted on a third party's system is certainly an act of faith. HyperOffice certainly keeps the faith with an excellent record. They have extensive security protocols, 128 bit encryption, and automatic backups, which can be considered as better can provide in house.
Conclusion - The above features can well be called half of HyperOffice. It also includes integrated Exchange killer features like email hosting, Outlook integration, automatic synching; as well as cool concepts like “interlinking” (the ability to associate related data).
Pricing is very reasonable, at around $7 per user per month. Through ideal for small to mid sized businesses, the solution is highly scalable, with many 1000 user clients in its kitty.
All in all, it is a top notch tool, and goes highly recommended.
