The SAS Group, an international provider of IP-based network communication infrastructure services, has announced a new consultancy service to help firms successfully implement and manage IP-based unified communications (UC) systems. Meanwhile, BT has launched its Onevoice service, which aims to help IT departments gradually transition from analogue to UC systems encompassing both fixed and mobile communications.

SAS Group CEO Charles Davis said that many companies face problems in matching IP telephony (IPT) technology to their particular business needs because none of the available solutions from Cisco, Avaya and others can be compared like for like.

“Firms have a big learning curve in choosing the right systems because unified communications (UC) changes the way everything within the organisation works,” Davis explained. “Companies need to look at the applications they are using and identify the interdependencies between them, and how the new system links in with the existing system.”

Implementation is only the beginning, though. Most companies fail to assess system support, training and management requirements, the cost of which must be built into the UC project from the start.

The SAS Group focuses on user education, training and the provision of test bed resources that allow companies to evaluate UC solutions, such as IP handsets running the session initiation protocol (SIP) over virtual private networks (VPNs) on a small scale prior to full implementation.

“Firms used to be able to get hold of equipment for evaluation purposes, but that has changed. Vendors know that as soon as they let a bit of kit out of the door, the opportunity to get it back and manage that investment is probably gone,” said Davis.

BT's Onevoice service, also launched this week, aims to simplify migration to UC solutions by allowing companies to gradually replace analogue telephone systems one step at a time.

Deploying a managed service from a single supplier, which utilises a single contract and bill for all fixed and mobile voice and data services, whether analogue or IP, also makes system management easier, according to Tom Craig, president of IP Networking at BT Global Services.

“If their telephone infrastructure is part [analogue] TDM, part IP, why should they have to put up with the hassle of two bills, two sets of SLAs and two different contracts?” Craig said in a statement.

But while using a single communications supplier for all landline and mobile services may ease management concerns, it does not necessarily save money.

Telecoms expense management specialist Aurora Kendrick James this week estimated that UK companies waste more than £1bn a year by failing to measure, manage and control individual bills, irrespective of bundled tariffs that appear to offer better value.

MD Matt Atkinson believes that UC solutions that combine fixed line telephony with mobile, VoIP and WiFi communications make it even more difficult for companies to track individual usage.

“There is a utopia: one service provider. But even if you have a single company delivering all your communications services, issues on how you manage that and get visibility into individual costs remain,” Atkinson said. “The key is to give users guidance on what is good practice and what is bad practice, and how to use those services.”