Free WiFi Calls

Expanding on TechTarget’s article, Presence, IM power mobile UC with or without fixed mobile convergence – absolutely! DiVitas agrees that being able to broadcast your Mobile Presence and Status is the best way to ensure you connect with colleagues on the first try. In fact, we’ve developed our Enterprise Social Networking solution around this issue.

However, not all Mobile Presence is created equal. DiVitas’ Presence technology provides a uniquely deep level of information about an individual’s availability. For Presence to be truly useful, it must convey far more than simply “available or unavailable.”

• Mobile Presence is displayed on the DiVitas phone’s interface as an icon similar to Yahoo IM (showing a happy face to say if you are available, not available.) However, DiVitas' Presence icon also shows whether you are reachable by voice or IM chat, or maybe you are temporarily on a call, and you are all together unavailable for communication (in which case calls go straight to voicemail).
   
• DiVitas Mobile Presence also communicates a person’s location, activity and network connectivity. Various Presence components allow people to obtain information about others and use that information to engage in the most efficient and economical way. For example, if I can see via your Mobile Presence that you are in London and on cellular, I would much rather IM you than talk -- to save on international calls. However if I know we are both on WiFi, I could choose to talk instead because the call is a free WiFi call and I might prefer a voice conversation.
   
• Status message is coupled with the Mobile Presence icon on a DiVitas smartphone, which provides an additional level of detail to availability about where you are and what you are doing (i.e. at the airport waiting for a 5pm flight). Indicating the window of opportunity for a call or chat is powerful knowledge and a great contributor in the quest to reduce missed calls and connect on the first attempt.

DiVitas takes the Presence and mobile Instant Messaging (IM) aspect of Mobile UC farther by making it an Enterprise Social Networking platform. By mobilizing the business number onto a mobile phone and tying it to voice, IM and Social Networking - Mobile Presence and Status - DiVitas ensures that the mobile workforce is always reachable, whether individuals are in- or out-of-office.

In her article, TechTarget’s Jessica Scarpati writes: “Mobile unified communications (UC) has become more than just voice over Wi-Fi [and cellular]. Enterprises can improve communication and collaboration by investing in other mobile UC applications, such as presence and IM that can integrate with smartphones, whether enterprises rely on their cellular data networks or fixed-mobile convergence to do so."

(Footnote: The key thing is that these mobile social networking tools must be integrated. Just having a bunch of tools on your phone does not provide total story.)

Agreeing with TechTarget’s Scarpati, Vanessa Alvarez, a unified communications analyst at Frost & Sullivan, is quoted as saying: "…the last [place] you want [employees] to be is behind a desk. You want them on the move, but at the same time you want them connected as if they were in the office."

Alvarez also says: “… as [presence] evolves it'll state what you're doing and the best way to reach you.”

Well, Vanessa, Mobile Presence has evolved and it is here today.  Welcome to DiVitas.

Deploying a Mobile Unified Communications (Mobile UC) solution is a very straightforward process. However, before you get started, you want to make sure your WLAN is up to spec in terms of being mobile VoIP-ready. Following are five survey questions to ask yourself first, and some answers to help fend off any potential problems.

1- Do you have an adequate number of WiFi Access Points (APs)?

Typically the answer to this question is “no.”

Organizations that have an existing WiFi infrastructure installed have most likely configured it for data.  Because voice is a real-time application, a WLAN that is configured for data will not be adequate for VoIP (Voice over IP).  Research suggests that businesses typically have as much as 20% fewer APs installed than what they really need for reliable VoIP coverage. This means there can be major coverage gaps in areas in between APs, which will cause WiFi calls to drop (similar to how cell calls drop when you roam in to gaps between tower coverage).

Be sure to create overlapping AP coverage in order to avoid WiFi signal gaps – and dropped calls.
 
2- Have you overlooked any high voice-traffic areas in placing your APs?

Businesses typically forget to include off-hand locations such as storage rooms, stairwells and elevator shafts in the AP plan. However, these are examples of quite popular areas where people tend to pass through during their busy day while on their phones. These places also offer weak or no cellular and may therefore benefit from WiFi for extended coverage in order to take advantage of seamless roaming and the benefits of reduced cellular costs (and hence reduced telecom costs).

Your voice over WiFi (VoWiFi) scheme needs to prepare for the idiosyncrasies of mobile VoIP – like the fact that mobile calls rarely happen at a predictable moment or location (like inside a storage room.) It is a common oversight because people typically think data first, and then plan around that need. These are key considerations when seeking to maximize enterprise mobility.

The lesson learned is: Watch traffic patterns among your own company’s mobile phone users when assessing your AP coverage. If your top sales people tend to use their phones in the stairwell, for example, or in front of the office building, you will want to put up some APs in those locations to make sure their calls don’t drop before closing a deal! Also, you want to give emlployees as much opportunity as possible to take advantage of free WiFi calls.

3- Is your WLAN future-proofed?

Choose a vendor that doesn’t require you to eventually replace your existing infrastructure. Some of the older WLANs required that businesses do a rip-and-replace in the event of a mobile VoIP-driven upgrade. Choosing a switched-based WLAN means you can extend your network very easily – a good thing because you want to be able to leverage your existing infrastructure.

4- Is your campus exactly like every other?

The answer is “absolutely not” because no two implementations are alike. Therefore, plan for the unexpected.

One installation I did in Hawaii, for example, dealt with an Army hospital that was built in the 40’s, and which therefore had walls so thick they had to put an access point in every room. (There was no hope for cellular penetration so WiFi was a wonderful mobile-communications alternative.)

Lesson learned: The older your building is, the harder it is to bring RF into it.

5- Make sure you are not trying to implement on the cheap.  

The lowest cost AP from even a highly reputable vendor may not be suitable for VOIP. Read case studies and do other research to identify a proven solution first.

Voice over WiFi Lessons Learned

One of my favorite WiFi-coverage mystery stories of all times, and one which can easily provide a learning lesson for anybody preparing their WLAN for the VoIP onslaught, is this one …

There was one deployment –a popular chain of lingerie stores – that called us for support one day (I was working for a well-known WiFi-phone manufacturer at the time.) We got the “911” WiFi-emergency alert when calls suddenly started dropping like crazy at one of the lingerie store locations, after having worked perfectly for months. Guess what we found? They had put up a dressing room with mirrors in the middle of the store. This caused shadows of RF that weren’t originally there, and Voila, a rash of dropped calls.

The solution: Adding more APs completed their WiFi coverage. In general, the more complete your coverage, the better your mobile VoIP experience will be.

Service Provider Clearfly Communications is now offering DiVitas Mobile Unified Communications (Mobile UC) as a managed mobile VoIP service to SMBs.

With DiVitas, Clearfly’s users are able to use WiFi to reduce cellular costs (free WiFi calls) and improve mobile voice quality. In enabling this mobile workforce, these users are also leveraging their PBX investments because DiVitas transforms a smartphone into a mobile deskphone – a DiVitas phone carries the corporate phone number (and caller ID) and mobilizes deskphone features (extension dialing, call transfer, hold, etc.).

Read more about how Clearfly and DiVitas are making enterprise mobility affordable and pervasive here.

Managed Service Providers are leveraging DiVitas for a major revenue opportunity that is particularly timely given the down economy.

Clearfly Communications, an infrastructure-based provider of integrated communications solutions for the small and medium business community, is among them. The company is selling its Mobile UC solution branded, “Mobile SIP”, as a managed service to its customers throughout the Western United States.

Clearfly offers integrated service packages in 14 Western states, excluding California and Nevada. It is deploying DiVitas Mobile UC to its customers, which range in size from 10 to 500 employees, as a managed service; the DiVitas solution is helping these organizations reduce cellular costs and improve productivity while leveraging their PBX and WiFi investments.

“Layering DiVitas Mobile UC on top of an existing mobile-communications infrastructure is painless for our customers, and they begin realizing benefits from day one,” says Mauro Calvi, CEO, Clearfly Communications. “Cellular bills drop immediately, and voice quality improves right away – our customers are on the way to realizing cost savings and improved productivity as soon as they start using DiVitas.”

This managed-services model for Mobile UC is practical for the SMB-sized customer Clearfly serves. As IT organizations downsize, or are expected to do more with the same staffs, they are turning to third parties and managed services.

This cost saving benefit has great appeal to companies needing to cut costs without sacrificing productivity. With Mobile UC, voice calls are mobilized and coverage is increased, but free WiFi calls offload cellular minutes to reduce costs. For example, the average Clearfly customer spends about $90 to $100 per mobile user, per month, and saves up to 30 percent off that cost by deploying DiVitas to displace cellular with WiFi.
    
“The tougher the financial conditions, the harder organizations look for ways to stretch their dollars,” continued Calvi. “Companies want to take advantage of the significant investment they’ve already made in their PBXs and their wireless LANs, and they want maximum value from their corporate smartphone purchases. DiVitas Mobile UC meets these challenges head on.”

I read a GigaOM blog earlier this week where the writer was advertising the industry need for a mobile device that will help balance today’s all-too-common 24x7 lifestyle. It was a well-written blog, but I couldn’t help but get a good chuckle out of it. DiVitas addresses every wish on his list – sort of a fairy tale ending to a “Someday My Prince Will Come” themed blog.

According to this blog titled Wanted: One Mobile Device, for a 24/7 Life, the search is on for “a smart device to support my diverse lifestyle, one that doesn’t compromise either my IT department’s sleep schedule or — more importantly — the integrity of my personal data.”

The writer, Balaji Natarajan and senior IT strategist for Capgemini, goes on to suggest a “targeted re-engineering of mobile devices and device management technologies” as the answer to his problem.

This seems a little like taking a wrecking ball to kill a spider (and hence the chuckle when I read it). The industry doesn’t need a bunch of new hardware re-engineering. It simply needs a solution like DiVitas Mobile Unified Communications (Mobile UC)– which is here today and leverages existing smartphone technology.

DiVitas runs on smartphones, such as the $99 Nokia E71x, and addresses all of these work/life balance issues. And it does this on a single device and without causing IT headaches. DiVitas also has a plethora of other advantages such as saving money (WiFi calls don’t count against the carrier plan and are free of charge), it fully migrates a deskphone number along with its capabilities to a mobile device and it uniquely supports integrated Unified Communications.

DiVitas Mobile UC:

• Supports Dual Persona, which allows personal calls to be routed through a native cellular number (Personal Persona) and business calls to be routed through the DiVitas client (Business Persona).
• Mobilizes the deskphone number, which enables single number reach.
• Is under IT control and supports remote over the air (OTA) installation, configuration and update management.
• Has integrated Mobile Social Networking capabilities, letting you use UC apps such as corporate Mobile Presence and mobile Instant Messaging (IM) directly from your smartphone.
• Supports Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC), allowing mobile phones to perform seamless roaming between WiFi and cellular.
• Supports WiFi calling, which means mobile calls have landline-like voice quality. No choppy cell phone calls when you are in WiFi range.
• Enables free WiFi calls, enabling quick mobile convergence ROI.
• Makes mobile phone behaves just like a deskphone (same number, call forward, extension dialing, etc.)
• Supports Visual Voicemail and Unified Messaging, allowing users to retrieve corporate messages directly from their smartphones and eyeball which messages have priority status.

While Natarajan is correct when he refers to the mobile workforce in his blog. “... as our work and personal lives become increasingly harder to separate, we will become increasingly unwilling to tote around more than one mobile device.

However, I couldn’t disagree more with his statement, “one truly mobile device for a 24/7 life will remain out of our reach.” Mr. Natarajan, that solution is here today and it is offered by DiVitas Enterprise Social Networking.

DiVitas is rolling with the social networking trends, adding Facebook to the list of venues letting you know what we’re up to (i.e. website, blog and newsletter).

In addition to providing you with lively (news and fun!) information about DiVitas and its team, our Facebook page will keep you posted on what's happening in the Mobile Unified Communications industry.

About DiVitas

DiVitas offers Mobile Unified Communications (Mobile UC),  an enterprise-class application, which is comprised of several individual technologies:

• Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) for seamless roaming over WiFi and cellular networks.
• Unified Communications (UC), which enables Presence, Status Update messages (micro-blogging), Instant Messaging (IM) and Visual Voicemail.
• Smartphones such as the Nokia ESeries (E71), devices that carry the business (deskphone) number and enable single-number reach when mobile.
• Integration with the corporate PBX, which enables smartphones to behave like deskphones (extension dialing, calll forward, call hold, etc.).
• WiFi support (corporate, home office or public hotspot), which enables free WiFi calling (domestic and international).
• Support for cellular networks, which means deskphone functions and UC apps available via DiVitas smartphones are extended to mobile workers, regardless of location (in the office or on the road).

Be sure to visit the DiVitas Facebook page and become a fan!

The recently announced partnership betweeen DiVitas and Avaya is a big win-win-win-win … for Avaya, DiVitas, customers and channel partners.

• Avaya gets to fill a gap in its product line, giving it a dual-mode solution to complement its single-mode one-X Mobile product (in some scenarios, users want mobility on a cellular-only client, while in others, users want mobile workers to have the same Unified Communications features across both WiFi and cellular networks).

• DiVitas gains access to Avaya’s distribution channel (this is significant given that Avaya is the largest PBX vendor in North America and supplies 20% of the business phone systems world-wide).

• End users get a Mobile Unified Communications solution that, in addition to offering dual-mode and Unified Communications capabilities, integrates with Avaya voicemail and Presence servers (mobile workers manage a single voicemail inbox and their availability status is broadcasted by a single Presence engine).

• Channel partners get their hands on a proven Mobile Unified Communications solution, which is backed by an experienced company (DiVitas already supports a worldwide installed-base of Mobile Unified Communications users).

“Everybody gains,” says Wi Revolution analyst Michael Stanford of the partnership. “Avaya plugs a troublesome gap in its product line; DiVitas gets an excellent distribution channel; the Avaya channel adds a fully supported best-of-breed solution to its portfolio; and end users get the familiarity of Avaya with the handset technology of Nokia and the DiVitas software that weaves them together into a user-friendly package.”

DiVitas and Avaya are involved in at least a dozen joint customer deployments, including CSX Corporation – one of North America’s leading transportation companies and a long-time Avaya user. The company is running the DiVitas Mobile UC solution (using Nokia E71 phones) as an integration with Avaya’s Modular Messaging voicemail system to offer mobile Unified Messaging, mobile Presence, mobile VoIP and to take advantage of free WiFi calls. In doing so, CSX is addressing its critical need to make its highly mobile workforce more reachable while simultaneously reducing its monthly cell bills.

“Because the DiVitas solution uses smartphones, CSX gets a useful side benefit, namely that it can run proprietary application software on the phones, eliminating the need for its employees to carry a laptop,” says Stanford. “The other side benefit is that even in areas of cellular coverage the WiFi connection can be used to save on cellular minutes.”

Avaya made a major announcement this week, naming DiVitas as its preferred dual-mode solution. As you can imagine, this is exciting news for us given Avaya’s size (number one in North America’s PBX market) – and given the fact that we are a startup company in an emerging market.

But it’s also big news for Avaya due to DiVitas’ leadership in the Mobile Unified Communications space (emerging or not, Mobile UC is a hot market). A key reason that Avaya selected DiVitas is our Mobile UC solution offers much more than our FMC counterparts (who focus primarily on seamless roaming between WiFi and cellular). In addition to seamless roaming, DiVitas users also get Presence, Visual Voicemail, single-number reach and mobilized deskphone (phone number and mid-call functions). And we are now extending these capabilities to Avaya users in an integrated package.

As one analyst (FierceVoIP’s Doug Mohney) put it, Avaya’s “Mobile UC partnership with DiVitas Networks smacks of bigness for both parties, given Avaya's market share and DiVitas' solution.”

Bigness aside, together we are providing the promise of helping mobile workers do their jobs just as though they were seated at their desks – without having to juggle two phone numbers (desktop and cell) or spend an arm and a leg on cell bills (thanks to free WiFi calls).

This is a snapshot of how an Avaya user’s dual-mode world looks as a result of the Avaya-DiVitas partnership:

• Roam seamlessly between WiFi and cellular (more minutes spent on free WiFi vs. expensive cellular).
• The same number as their deskphone (single-number reach means mobile workers are easier to reach and they waste less time returning missed calls).
• Mid-call functions i.e. extension dialing, call forward, conference calling, etc. (business calls are handled the same way as when they are using a deskphone).
• Their dual-mode phone and deskphone share a single mailbox thanks to the tight integration between DiVitas and Avaya’s Modular Messaging voicemail system (reduces frustration wasted-time checking multiple mailboxes).
• Avaya voicemail messages can be eyeballed and individually played according to each message’s individual priority (no more time wasted listening to low-priority messages before getting to the urgent stuff).
• Their Presence status is broadcasted (indicating if you are available by voice and/or text, or if you are unavailable for communication at that moment maximizes the ability to be reached).

Avaya is considered a leader in traditional UC, which is their core business.  And we are the leader in Mobile UC.  Therefore, this is a story of “Traditional UC” teaming up with “Mobile UC”, and in this story Avaya and DiVitas are making history.

To: RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie
From: DiVitas Networks

Dear Mr. Balsillie,

We are writing to you as a fellow player in the mobile communications market – not as a RIM competitor, but as your future Mobile UC partner.

After reading your recent interview with the Financial Times – and learning how RIM is responding to Blackberry competition from the likes of Apple’s iPhone -  we feel compelled to extend an important message: Let’s unite Blackberry devices with DiVitas Mobile Unified Communications.

RIM is a proven winner in the market for enterprise smartphones. And DiVitas is the leader in Mobile Unified Communications. You stated the need to offer this technology to your customers in your interview with Financial Times' Ingrid Lunden. Why reinvent the wheel? Integration between DiVitas and Blackberry will enable you to quickly deliver a competitive edge in a cutthroat market.

We are convinced this would be a win-win for both parties. And judging by your comments about discussions with CIOs, you probably agree. “There is a “real urgency” around wanting more mobile unified communications … having the ability to integrate the BlackBerry devices with their existing PBXs,” you told Ms. Lunden.

Your perceived demand among your customers for Mobile UC/PBX integration makes perfect sense to us. We know CIOs want to reduce their mobile communications costs. At the same time, they want to make their employees more reachable. Mobile Unified Communications (Fixed Mobile Convergence technology combined with Unified Communications apps) lets companies reach these goals (cost cutting and increased mobility) by providing several capabilities:

1- WiFi calling to reduce monthly telecom bills (WiFi minutes don’t count against the cell plan):

• WiFi calls placed or received on-campus calls are free.
• International calls are free when placed or received over WiFi.
• WiFi calls placed or received from hotspots (home office, airport, coffee shop, hotel, etc.) are free.
• Mobile users can additionally create their own WiFi hotspot in any hotel room with WiFi – they can place free calls via WiFi and use their laptops simultaneously.
• Bridge vendors (who can charge thousands of dollars per month) can be eliminated by using DiVitas for free, in-house bridge lines for conference calling (international and local).

2- Mobile workers carry a single device and a single number to make them consistently reachable:

• Support for the Single-Number Reach capability makes a mobile device behave like a deskphone. This means mobile workers are available by a single phone number – the deskphone number – which results in fewer missed calls and helps eliminate the waste of expensive cell minutes

3- Companies leverage their existing communications investment:

• Deploying voice over the existing WLAN gives companies more bang for the WiFi buck.
• PBX integration provides support for existing deskphone features (call forward, extension dialing, call waiting, etc.).
• Mobile workers are available as if they were seated at their desks, regardless of where they are located (on-campus, in cellular mode or in a WiFi hotspot) when they place or receive calls.

4- Taking advantage of productivity gains through Unified Communications applications:

• Presence ensures that mobile workers are consistently reachable by allowing them to broadcast their availability and how best to be reached (phone, text, not available, etc.).
• Micro-blogging provides status details about where the mobile worker is and what they are doing (in a meeting, catching a flight, in the office, at the dentist, etc.).
• Instant Messaging (IM) can replace expensive text messaging for brief, discreet communication … but at no additional cost (provided there is a data plan).
• Visual Voicemail allows mobile users to eyeball messages sitting in their inbox, and decide which should be read first. This saves expensive cellular minutes and time.
• Single Voicemail Inbox Management means that mobile workers have only one voicemail inbox to manage --  the corporate mobile phone and corporate deskphone inboxes are one and the same.

Mr. Balsillie, the smartphone market is white-hot right now. And RIM needs to act quickly to maintain Blackberry’s position as the leading enterprise smartphone. There’s no quicker way to getting there than by dropping a proven solution into the Blackberry mix and offering it to your existing and prospective customers ASAP.

Sincerely,

DiVitas Networks

By Prashant Chauhan

If you are one of the myriad organizations feeling the brunt of this economic downturn, it seems like you should be able to qualify for an Economic Stimulus Package. But you can’t qualify unless you are part of the elite: A cash-strapped bank who gave out bad loans, an automaker who totally took its eye off the ball, a local or state government whose tax revenues just dried up. Or you need to be in the business of creating a green revolution, in the business of curing the incurable...

But if you are just trying to run a decent enterprise that is forced to control costs and increase productivity to survive this downturn, sorry, you are on your own. There ain't no Economic Stimulus Package to bail you out. The average Joe-Enterprise has to bail itself out in order to survive and emerge out of this downturn.

If this describes your organization, it's very likely that you are making the tough choices of downsizing your workforce and of lowering your other operating costs. You know that you've got to live with this economic mess for some time to come. And amid all this, you have also come to realize that the only way you are going to maintain and grow your customers and revenues is by making the most of your surviving employees. In short, you must learn to use the double-edged sword of cutting the costs while maintaining, or increasing, productivity.

But things are not as impossible as they seem. At least not when it comes to controlling your telecommunications cost. There are some valuable tools out there to help you cut your enterprise communication cost while actually increasing your employee productivity in the process. And the Mobile Unified Communications solution from DiVitas Networks, for one, has the right ingredients to help make this happen. DiVitas provides an enterprise with several means for slashing costs while still unleashing employee productivity:
 
1- Free WiFi calling to reduce monthly telecom bills:

• WiFi calls placed or received on-campus calls are free.
• International calls are free when placed or received over WiFi.
• WiFi calls placed or received from hotspots (home office, airport, coffee shop, hotel, etc.) are free.
• Mobile users can additionally create their own WiFi hotspot in any hotel room with WiFi – they can place free calls via WiFi and use their laptops simultaneously.
• Bridge vendors (who can charge thousands of dollars per month) can be eliminated by using DiVitas for free, in-house bridge lines for conference calling (international and local).

2- Taking advantage of productivity gains through Unified Communications applications:

• Presence ensures that mobile workers are consistently reachable by allowing them to broadcast their availability and how best to be reached (phone, text, not available, etc.).
• Micro-blogging provides status details about where the mobile worker is and what they are doing (in a meeting, catching a flight, in the office, at the dentist, etc.).
• Instant Messaging (IM) can replace expensive text messaging for brief, discreet communication … but at no additional cost (provided there is a data plan).
• Visual Voicemail allows mobile users to eyeball messages sitting in their inbox, and decide which should be read first. This saves expensive cellular minutes and time.
• Single Inbox Management means that mobile workers have only one voicemail inbox to manage because the corporate mobile phone and corporate deskphone inboxes are one and the same.

3- Companies leverage their existing communications investment:

• Deploying voice over the existing WLAN gives companies more bang for the WiFi buck.
• PBX integration provides support for existing deskphone features (call forward, extension dialing, call waiting, etc.). Mobile workers are available as if they were seated at their desks, regardless of where they are located (on-campus, in cellular mode or in a WiFi hotspot) when they place or receive a call.

4- Mobile workers carry a single device and a single number to make them consistently reachable:

• Support for the Single-Number Reach capability makes a mobile device behave like a deskphone. This means mobile workers are available by a single phone number – the deskphone number – which results in fewer missed calls and helps eliminate the waste of expensive cell minutes.

DiVitas doesn’t yet have President Obama’s ear, so we don’t have control over where the U.S. government’s economic-stimulus dollars are spent. But we do offer a bailout … Silicon-Valley style. Companies deploying the DiVitas Mobile Unified Communications solution can dramatically reduce their cell phone bills without sacrificing productivity. And they can realize ROI in a matter of months. Now that’s some stimulating news!

Unified Communications (UC) is making headlines this week thanks to IBM’s surprisingly popular Lotusphere 2009 conference. I say “surprisingly” given the economic slowdown, slashed travel budgets and the general trend toward low-attendee turnout at conferences.

But regardless of the woeful business news, IBM claims Lotusphere conference attendance was actually up 2 percent this year. And this increase was testimony to just how strategic collaboration has become to corporations, according to a No Jitter column posted by Yankee Group’s Zeus Kerravala.

“Providing the right access to the right user community as fast as possible is absolutely strategic to organizations and the mood and atmosphere at the conference indicated that,” says Kerravala.

The show’s main theme was collaboration, and IBM’s Sametime Unified Communications software (which integrates Presence, IM, email, telephony, etc.) was the center attraction. Considering Unified Communications is half of the DiVitas Mobile Unified Communications (Mobile UC) solution name, we think this is pretty important stuff.
 
Kerravala also predicts that very soon – considering how feature-rich smartphones are getting and how much mobile networks are improving – workers will simply have a laptop and mobile phone to work with, and all the stuff on the desk will go away. “Many users I talk to say they really only use their desk phones to pick up voicemail (unless they have Unified Messaging, then the phone sits idle).”

Additionally, No Jitter’s Eric Krapf posted an interesting column from Lotusphere. In his post, Krapf cites some solid ROI figures on Unified Communications. IBM’s generic case study was comprised of a 5,000-employee deployment of Lotus Sametime Unified Communications software, at a cost of $450,000 for software, servers, administration and installation. IBM claims that:

• The more efficient communications of Sametime saved that group of employees 5 telephone calls a day, at 2 cents a minute and 4 minutes per call.
• Annual savings would be $480,000 (achieving ROI by a $30K margin).
• Avoiding international roaming would save an additional $95,000 a year.
• Integrating Presence with the company website for customer self service was additionally estimated to save $120,000 in contact center expenses.

These are interesting figures, especially when you consider that a mobility component – seamless roaming between WiFi and cellular networks (Fixed Mobile Convergence) – would further benefit any company looking for competitive gains from deploying Unified Communications. The additional cost savings from being able to place free WiFi calls whenever you are in range of a wireless LAN (WLAN) really adds up.

As we embark on a brand new year, I would like to take a moment to reflect on all that we have accomplished together during the past year.

2008 was a year for execution at DiVitas. Raising the bar on what the market should expect from a Mobile UC product, we shipped a major new release of our flagship product, the DiVitas Mobile Unified Communications (Mobile UC) solution. We took the product a significant step forward by adding an easy-to-use GUI, visual voice mail and Unified Communications (UC) features such as Instant Messaging (IM), Micro-blogging and Presence.

A Special Thanks to our Loyal and Growing Customer Base

This past year, we’ve witnessed how DiVitas can make companies across a broad vertical landscape more competitive. The DiVitas Mobile UC solution has helped many companies of varying sizes, locations and industries increase efficiency. Confirmed by our customers, DiVitas has helped to significantly reduce mobile-communications costs and make their mobile employees more productive. A select group that has spoken in public on our behalf includes:

Carrier – Sawtel
Judicial – Albuquerque 13th Judicial District Court
County Government –Bernalillo County, NM
Education – New College Durham (UK)
 
Another Key Validation: Analysts Test-Drive the DiVitas Solution

We are very proud of our Mobile UC product capabilities and as such we chose to do something that hasn’t been done before. Late last year, we began to place our product in the hands of highly respected analysts to trial and evaluate. Anyone reading this knows that this is not something that a technology company chooses to do on a whim – industry influencers are a highly critical bunch.

Thus far analysts from Current Analysis, Forrester and Yankee Group have given our solution a test drive. Several independent influencers such as Michael Finneran, Brent Kelly, Craig Mathias and Michael Stanford have also tested and reviewed our solution.

They've been supplying steady, positive feedback about key areas of our Mobile UC solution:

• Voice quality
• Seamless roaming between WiFi and cellular
• Visual voicemail (and single voicemail box)
• UC features (IM, Presence and Micro-blogging)
• Clear cost savings benefits offered by free calling in WiFi

Since we continue to receive requests from the analyst community to participate in this program, there is no end in sight for this bold and innovative approach to a product trial.

More information about our Hosted DiVitas Solution Initiative is available on ourblog.

Our Partners Continue to be Critical to Our Rapid Growth

As a vendor-agnostic Mobile UC company, DiVitas continues to partner with key carriers and handset, PBX and WLAN vendors. We have multiple deployments with Nokia, AT&T, T-Mobile, Avaya, Meru, Cisco and several other vendors whose equipment and services comprise an integrated Mobile UC solution.

And we invite you to stay tuned for an exciting joint announcement with a major partner that will be made public in the first half of this year. Of course, in DiVitas style, this announcement will be validated by joint customers.

Awards and Accolades

Honoring these accomplishments, we have won many awards over the year. In keeping with brevity, we chose to highlight some of the awards where we have been designated as the key Mobile UC player in our space. In November, we were named among the “Fierce 15” VoIP companies of 2008 by FierceVoIP editors. And earlier in the year, we were named by InfoWorld as a 2008 Top Technology of the Year (Networking). We were also named by Yankee Group analyst Zeus Kerravala in Start-ups to Watch in 2009. The complete list of awards received in 2008 is listed here.
 

Onwards and Upwards

In a year that has been particularly challenging economically, we have experienced significant progress with product acceptance and customer traction. And for this we owe a debt of gratitude to the analyst community, the media and to our customers. The analysts and media have begun to validate the Mobile UC market as one that is important to businesses worldwide. We thank our customers for their willingness to speak about how our technology has benefited their organizations, making them more productive while they lower their cellular expenses.

We have worked very hard to get to where we are today and we promise to continue executing plans in 2009 to ensure we maintain our leading position in the Mobile UC market. We promise to continue to update you on our progress through our When In Roam newsletters. Reading the newsletters and providing us with your valuable feedback guarantees to keep them informative and interesting. We thank you for taking time to provide us with your insightful comments.

On behalf of all of us at DiVitas, I can honestly say that we very much look forward to 2009, and we are excited about sharing our progress as it unfolds throughout the year.

Sincerely,
Vivek Khuller
Founder & CEO

 

Mobile phones are replacing corporate deskphones at such a rate that companies should consider Mobile Unified Communications (Mobile UC) a must-have solution. This is because Mobile UC will help them manage the rising tide of mobile devices and curb – rather than absorb – the associated costs.

According to a new Gartner report – Enterprise Mobile Phones Will Replace Desktop Phones in North America – the number of enterprise mobile phones in North America will overtake the number desktop phones by 2011. What does this mean to businesses? They need to manage this influx of phones in order to control cost and usage.

Among Gartner’s preparedness recommendations and where DiVitas Mobile Unified Communications (Mobile UC) should be deployed to resolve issues:  

Gartner Recommendation: Enterprises should mitigate the higher costs of wireless services by looking at alternative in-building solutions, including mobile unified communications and zoned pricing.

DiVitas Solution: With DiVitas Mobile UC, companies can ROI in a matter of months because the solution immediately helps reduce mobile-communications costs through free WiFi calling. In contrast, a company can spend as much as $100,000 on a Distributed Antenna System (DAS) or picocell equipment and implementation alone. DiVitas (which includes Fixed Mobile Convergence technology for seamless roaming between WiFi and cellular) is a software solution that integrates with any vendor’s communications-infrastructure equipment (WLAN, PBX, handset, carrier etc.). It is a fraction of the DAS or picocell cost to deploy because, most often, the WiFi network has already been deployed by the hosting enterprise. And it is managed in-house by a company’s IT department as opposed to a carrier.  

Gartner Recommendation: Enterprises should prepare for the onslaught of mobile devices by writing and extending mobile phone policies across the different areas of IT, not just telecommunications.

DiVitas Solution: IT departments both want and need to control mobile phone usage in a similar way they control desk phone usage. In doing so, they can take advantage of carriers’ pooled minute programs by having all mobile workers on the same cellular services vs. paying individually and submitting monthly expense reports. This will dramatically save on cell minute costs.

Gartner Recommendation: Enterprises should carefully plan who gets wireless service and how that service is managed.

DiVitas Solution: With DiVitas, mobile workers who spend all, or the majority of, their time on campus can be WiFi-only. This means all calls are free. They are also able to move about the campus freely and all the while they are taking advantage of the DiVitas feature set. No missed calls at no additional (celluar) cost. Their deskphone and DiVitas features go where they go.

Gartner Recommendation: Prepare to remove unused and unwanted desk phones to reduce support costs.

DiVitas Solution: Many workers today prefer to be accessible by one device. DiVitas makes this possible by making a mobile phone behave as a deskphone. The mobile device’s phone number is the same as the deskphone extension, they share the same visual voicemail inbox and all of the DiVitas UC features (i.e. IM, Presence and microblogging) are available, regardless of location.

If Gartner’s prediction is true – that that 23% of enterprise mobile
users will only have a mobile phone, compared with 4% today – then companies will want a solution that brings those phones into the fold for better manageability. DiVitas does this, and it significantly cuts costs in the process.

This blog has been updated to reflect DiVitas' expanded smartphone support, which now includes Blackberry, iPhone and Android phones running DiVitas' enterprise social networking solution.

When we originally wrote this blog back in January, we had allowed analyst Michael Stanford to test drive the DiVitas Mobile Unified Communications (Mobile UC) solution using a Nokia ESeries smartphone.  However, his personal mobile device of choice is an Apple iPhone and he – like many of our customers – wanted to take advantage of DiVitas' mobile social networking capabilities on his favorite toy.

We came through on Michael's wish today with our enterprise mobility announcement that DiVitas Mobile UC now runs on all major platforms.

Building on the Nokia Eseries' established strength (one of the few handsets that support seamless roaming for free WiFi calls), DiVitas is now also providing an affordable, nimble and easy way for organizations to increase their mobile workforce.

Organizations can use DiVitas's web client to employ a BYO phone (bring your own phone) strategy, leveraging the increasingly popular use of iPhone, Blackberry and Android in the workplace.

Today mobile workers' personal phones frequently double as a business phone, but there are two phone numbers to juggle and there is no synergy with the PBX (business number and features such as extension dialing and call forward).

Now, with DiVitas' web client, a mobile worker's personal phone can become a mobilized deskphone that is under IT control - without having to download any software. An iPhone, Blackberry or Android user, for example, will have their deskphone (business number) moved onto their smartphone and those individuals will be able to place/receive calls from that business number or use IM and Social Networking (Mobile Presence and Status) from that single device.

For the individual, there is no longer a need to juggle two devices and phone numbers. For organizations, there is no need to purchase phones for every mobile worker. Meanwhile, Mobile Presence and Status are tied to the directory of contacts, which is accessible from the smartphone's interface, ensuring that individuals connect on the first try.

It's a new era for enterprise mobility and affordably creating a mobile workforce.

I often get asked about cellular-only alternatives to Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) when I’m sitting on various industry panels at tradeshows and elsewhere. Members of these audiences have cut their mobile teeth on cell phones, and are understandably loyal to this technology. They are still learning about how they can add WiFi to the mix in order to reduce mobile-communications costs while improving productivity.

I always explain that cellular-only options such as a Distributed Antenna System (DAS) or Picocells have several serious shortcomings. And these shortcomings are especially significant in today’s tough economic climate.

DAS and Picocell systems are horrifically expensive to deploy: A company can spend as much as $100,000 on the DAS or picocell equipment and implementation alone – unless they are subsidized by a carrier. If so there will likely be payback in form of a very large and/or long service plan. In contrast, DiVitas Mobile Unified Communications (which includes Fixed Mobile Convergence technology for seamless roaming) is a software solution that integrates with any vendor’s communications-infrastructure equipment (WLAN, PBX, handset, carrier etc.). It is a fraction of the DAS or picocell cost to deploy because, most often, the WiFi network has already been deployed by the hosting enterprise. And it is managed in-house by a company’s IT department as opposed to a carrier.  Don’t get me wrong – DiVitas utilizes and respects the carriers for the great cellular wideservices they offer, but IT departments both want and need to control mobile phone usage in a similar way they control desk phone usage.

DAS and picocell systems are horrifically expensive to maintain: Many of our customers have mobile workers who spend all (or the majority of) their time in-building. If a company were to use a cellular-only solution i.e. DAS or picocells, it would cause mobile workers to use precious cell minutes to make every call when away from their desks – even if they are just across the building. While reachability has been increased, so has the cost of mobilizing their employees. They also lose out on Mobile Unified Communications capabilities such like “one number reach” and PBX functionality.

In contrast, if they were using a Fixed Mobile Convergence solution, all in-building calls would take place over free WiFi. There is no cost to place or receive calls via WiFi. As a cost-savings example, we have one customer who is replacing their DAS with a DiVitas Mobile UC solution in order to significantly reduce their nearly $40,000-per-month cell bill. And DiVitas voice quality over WiFi is toll quality, making it equal to a desk phone.

DAS and picocell systems fail to integrate with, or take advantage of, PBX features: This means cellular-only, in-building systems don’t do extension-dialing, forward calls to co-workers, etc.

In contrast, Mobile UC integrates with the PBX, extending the deskphone to the mobile phone so that mobile workers can be reached, regardless of where they are. And they can still communicate as if they were sitting in their office, using their deskphone.

Femtocells are another option floating around out there, but they are primarily targeted at home users and small businesses vs. enterprises. They do, however, serve to highlight yet another major shortcoming of an all cellular-approach to increasing reachability: When you deploy Femtocells, you are paying to make up for a deficiency in your carrier’s coverage, according to Michael Finneran in his blog Femtocell Reality Check. Finneran is also not too keen on how Femtocells rely on your broadband connection to work, so if there is a power outage, poof you have no cell phone service.

Yes, DiVitas is of the mind that a solution that provides seamless roaming based on Fixed Mobile Convergence technology vs. cellular-only technology is an obvious choice. But it’s not to say that carriers don’t have a pivotal role in the Fixed Mobile Convergence (and Mobile UC) space. In fact, DiVitas is successfully partnering with carriers today.

For example, we have a carrier customer – Sawtel of Hartford, Conn. – which is deploying Mobile UC to 200,000 subscribers worldwide. Sawtel is leaping ahead of its competition, saving itself years of development time – and millions of dollars in engineering resources – by working with DiVitas.

Cell-based calls have their place – when mobile workers are out of WiFi range. The more cost-effective solution for mobilizing workers in-building, or anywhere on-campus, is one that uses WiFi for free calling whenever possible. The goal is to let companies reduce costs - without sacrificing their ability to remain competitive.

ROI blog series (#2 of 4):  DiVitas Mobile Unified Communications can achieve ROI based on international toll-cost savings alone.

As I mentioned in my previous blog, making international calls from a mobile phone is a standard part of many jobs. There are numerous situations where it’s simply not practical to wait until you get back to your deskphone to make, or return, a call to an international customer, partner, co-worker, etc. Placing international calls from cell phones is a significant part of skyrocketing mobile communications costs, and it’s one that companies struggle to control.

Imagine if those calls were free. Enter the DiVitas Mobile Unifications (Mobile UC) solution and its ability to let you make free international calls over WiFi. Because there are no costs – mobile or otherwise - associated with calling over WiFi, DiVitas always favors WiFi over cellular networks for managing calls whenever possible.

To maintain a call connection, DiVitas will perform seamles roaming (using Fixed Mobile Convergence technology)  only when quality WiFi is not available at your current location.  Most organizations have WiFi access points installed throughout their campus, enabling mobile calls to be made completely free of cellular charges. It is when the individual steps away from the organization’s campus that they will most likely roam to cellular. 

All calls made while in WiFi apply to this scenario including those made in the workplace, home office or a Hotspot such as a hotel, airport, coffee shop, etc.

Without DiVitas

USA     To:	Cost per minute	Typical cost for 5 hours a month	Cost per Year	Cost for 100 Employees per Year
Canada	$0.19	$57	$684	$68,400
Europe	$0.69	$207	$2,484	$248,400
South America	$0.99	$297	$3,564	$356,400
Japan	$0.69	$207	$2,484	$248,400
China	$1.49	$447	$5,364	$536,400
India	$1.49	$447	$5,364	$536,400

With DiVitas

USA     To:	Cost per minute	Typical cost for 5 hours a month	Cost per Year	Cost for 100 Employees per Year	Savings per Year Using Divitas
Canada	$0	$0	$0	$0	$68,400
Europe	$0	$0	$0	$0	$248,400
South America	$0	$0	$0	$0	$356,400
Japan	$0	$0	$0	$0	$248,400
China	$0	$0	$0	$0	$536,400
India	$0	$0	$0	$0	$536,400

ROI blog series (#1 of 4. ):  DiVitas Mobile Unified Communications can achieve ROI based on international toll-cost savings alone.

1- DiVitas Lets Companies ROI on International Cell Cost Reduction Alone
2- WiFi calls initiated from the United States to an international destination cost: $00.00 per minute (free)
3- WiFi hotspots reduce international call costs to ... free
4- Reduce Costs on Outbound Calls From International locations

WiFi hotspots reduce international call costs to ... free
DiVitas has an exceptional ROI story. And by exceptional, I mean extremely fast. In fact, a company deploying a DiVitas Mobile Unified Communications (Mobile UC) solution can achieve a return on their investment based on international toll-cost savings alone. Skeptical? I have the proof and I will be dedicating a few blogs to this topic. DiVitas can save organizations thousands of dollars on international cellular costs (whether they are made from within or outside the United Status) … and the magic doesn’t happen by limiting the number of calls being placed. Saving money by not placing international business calls is simply not an option.

Scenario #1:

Mobile call initiated from the United States to an international destination. In this example, it is important to note that all cellular calls made from a mobile handset are billed at *international cellular call rates.

Without DiVitas

USA  to:	Cost per minute	Typical cost for 5 hours a month	Cost per Year	Cost for 100 Employees per Year
Canada	$0.19	$57	$684	$68,400
Europe	$0.69	$207	$2,484	$248,400
South America	$0.99	$297	$3,564	$356,400
Japan	$0.69	$207	$2,484	$248,400
China	$1.49	$447	$5,364	$536,400
India	$1.49	$447	$5,364	$536,400

With DiVitas

DiVitas integrates with any IP PBX, taking on all of the attributes and capabilities offered through that PBX. When placing or receiving a cellular call via the DiVitas Mobile UC handset, all calls are routed through the organization’s PBX, which avoids the high price levied by the wireless carrier. The cost of the international call will be based on the PBX-based calling rates negotiated with an organization’s carrier of choice. In this example we used the rates we negotiated with our carrier. 

USA to:	Cost per minute	Typical cost for 5 hours a month	Cost per Year	Cost for 100 Employees per Year	Savings per Year Using Divitas
Canada	$0.02	$6	$72	$7,200	$61,200
Europe	$0.04	$12	$144	$14,400	$234,000
South America	$0.17	$51	$612	$61,200	$295,200
Japan	$0.06	$18	$216	$21,600	$226,800
China	$0.15	$45	$540	$54,000	$482,400
India	$0.25	$75	$900	$90,000	$446,400

*The numbers used in the scenarios below were taken from a large carrier’s published pricing.  Because this carrier offers very aggressive and competitive pricing – comparing DiVitas with other carriers will result in even greater savings.  This information is not meant to indicate the competitiveness of the carrier.  Rather, it is to support our claim that in every case an international call made through DiVitas will be less expensive than calls made by a cell phone at carrier rates. And in some cases international calls made through DiVitas will actually be free.

I connected personally with this week’s blog posted by Doug Mohney (FierceVoIP), titled IBM, Microsoft: Bad economy good for UC. Doug attended VoiceCon in San Francisco this week, and his blog reflects the pulse of the market regarding Unified Communications and the ailing economy.

Doug’s blog was music to my ears. I feel like I’m up to my eyeballs with news reports on our “tough economy” and how retail sales are down, unemployment is up, blah, blah, blah. Yes, it’s significant stuff, and it’s affecting everybody, worldwide. But I’m a glass-is-half-full person, and I’d rather concentrate on solutions rather than dwell on problems.

Hence my respect for Doug’s blog. A couple of my favorite excerpts:

• ... at VoiceCon San Francisco 2008, executives from IBM and Microsoft said that a bad economy is good for the adoption of Unified Communications.

• UC, when done right, can make it easier to find the right people to collaborate with in order to make smarter business decisions more efficiently. A dash of social networking might help the adoption of UC within a corporate network… Of course, what's UC without some cost-savings talk … by getting groups to work together, travel needs can be reduced and telephony costs can go down as well through reduction of call volume.

Enter DiVitas Networks' Mobile Unified Communications solution. Doug's blog precisely outlines our value proposition: Our mobile, collaboration solution creates profitability in an economic climate where companies are looking for cost-cutting measures that enhance – not hinder – their business. We agree that Unified Communications will be a savior in a bad economy – especially when those UC applications are mobilized on a smartphone that roams seamlessly between WiFi and cellular networks (thanks to the native DiVitas Fixed Mobile Convergence technology).

The DiVitas Mobile UC solution extends the deskphone by duplicating its functionality onto a smartphone —and then complementing it with key business communication applications (voicemail, contacts, IM and Presence). DiVitas supports true Dual Persona by offering a business number that is completely separate from the personal cellular number that comes native with the phone.  The DiVitas Mobile UC solution operates seamlessly over WiFi and cellular networks to significantly reduce the amount of cellular minutes used each month.

This mobile VoIP solution is also inexpensive to deploy and it is cost-effective. Most importantly, it offers multiple ways for companies to cut mobile communications costs and offers an ROI in a matter of months:

• International calls are free when placed or received over WiFi.
• Instant Messaging (IM) can replace expensive text messaging at no additional cost (provided there is a data plan).
• Mobile users can create their own WiFi hotspot in any hotel room with WiFi – call free via WiFi and use your laptop simultaneously.
• WiFi calls placed or received on-campus calls are free.
• WiFi calls placed or received from home offices or other hotspots are free.
• Companies leverage their existing WLAN investment, which gives them more bang for the WiFi buck
• Workers are more productive, hence companies improve the bottom line

Thanks Doug for the incentive to write on this topic!  It’s important for everybody to keep our eyes on the prize by focusing on solving problems.

As many as eight out of every 10 Americans are stressed over the economy, according to a recent poll posted on the CNN website. That’s a whopping 80 percent of the country! Well, companies are stressed out too, which is why they are most likely looking for cost-cutting measures that enhance – not hinder – their business.

The DiVitas Mobile Unified Communications (Mobile UC) solution is inexpensive to deploy, is cost-effective … and it offers multiple ways for companies to save real money. Cost savings are always important, but this is especially true now given the current economic crisis. With DiVitas:

• Companies reduce monthly cellular bills by replacing cell minutes with WiFi minutes
• International calls are almost free when placed or received over WiFi
• WiFi calls placed or received on-campus calls are free
• WiFi calls placed or received from home offices or other hotspots are free
• Workers are more productive, hence companies save money
• Companies leverage their existing wireless LAN (WLAN), which gives them more bang for the WiFi buck

In the next series of blogs, I will explain how DiVitas enables each of these benefits, and I will provide user examples as living proof of the many Mobile UC capabilities:

• Dual Persona: allows personal calls to be routed through native cellular number (Personal Persona) and business calls to be routed through the DiVitas client (Business Persona).
• Voice Quality: Assures that information is communicated clearly and efficiently.
• Presence: Broadcasting your availability eliminates costly telephone tag.
• IM and Email: Reduces use of expensive voice or text messaging for quick communication.
• Seamless Roaming: A call that starts on the cellular network can roam seamlessly to free WiFi once the caller is in range of a WLAN.
• Customer Choice – Choose a mobile handset, select a carrier, utilize existing investments in PBX and WLAN infrastructure.