UC RFP Project Shows Vendor Gaps ShrinkingUC RFP Project Shows Vendor Gaps Shrinking
My Enterprise Connect RFP project shows a leveling out of key capabilities as vendors emphasize improved user interfaces, cloud implementations, mobility and more.
April 1, 2015
My Enterprise Connect RFP project shows a leveling out of key capabilities as vendors emphasize improved user interfaces, cloud implementations, mobility and more.
I recently returned from sunny Florida after a terrific time at the 25th anniversary Enterprise Connect and a few days of R&R at the beach. This article highlights the well-attended Monday afternoon UC RFP session.
The session this year again used a single voice/UC RFP that solicited both premise (also configurable as a private cloud solution) as well as cloud solutions. New this year was the solicitation of proposals from systems integrators, resulting in a total of 13 responses (three more than last year), consisting of four premises and nine cloud solutions. These included premises-based solutions from Avaya, NEC, Unify and Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise. Cloud-based solutions providers included Thinking Phone Networks, NEC, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, SPS (Hybrid Lync), Masergy (BroadSoft) and Sprint, which proposed three solutions: Cisco HCS, Hosted Lync, and Workplace as a Service. The RFP was based on an organization that is represented in the diagram below:
The RFP included stringent requirements for high availability, core voice functionality, voice mail, unified messaging, unified communications (e.g. presence, IM, voice, Web, video conferencing) and system administration including provisioning, management and analytics. (Note that the complete slide deck is available to Enterprise Connect attendees for download.)
The session also allocated significant time for in-depth panel discussions that covered topics such as:
Top three issues for clients
Product differentiation
TCO
Integration issues
Partner vs. manufacturer involvement
Where does managed services fit?
Deployment issues
How do vendors decide what to propose (cloud vs. premises?)
Responsibility demarcation – LAN/WAN – is this an issue?
Key Findings
Although there were some new products introduced such as Sprint's Best in Show Workplace as a service (WPaaS), in large part, it seemed to me that changes this year were 'evolutionary' rather than 'revolutionary.' There were no proposals that included products based on the persistent chat model such as Circuit or Spark. Although we hear a lot about these new products, their limited functionality does not yet address the robust communications requirements of medium/large enterprises such as those represented in the RFP session.
The vendor responses placed an emphasis on security, mobility, virtualization and integrating the existing product sets, as well as on improving user interfaces.
The Obvious
Vendor attention and resources are focused on the cloud as evidenced by the number and type of responses
Continued development of Android and iOS platforms for mobility offerings (a little bit of Windows)
Everyone has the ability to provide a highly reliable and secure system (with some significant variances)
Significant activity in the development of UC interfaces -- Do users want to 'Live in Outlook' or use yet another vendor client application?
Voice differentiators are narrower than ever before
The Not-So-Obvious
Not every vendor has every feature you may want
Gaps in UC capabilities amongst the respondents has decreased, though still notable in areas
Management/analytics offerings vary significantly
Cloud TCO pricing disadvantage remains (I was challenged on this by one cloud vendor, still awaiting their detailed financial analysis and follow-up)
Average premises-based prices actually decreased 2015 vs. 2014
Average cloud-based prices actually increased 2015 vs. 2014
Other Observations
Significant differences still exist in vendor solutions (architecture, E911, UC, operator, management, price)
Cloud vs. premises functionality differences are more significant than you may think
Cloud vs. premises TCO differences remain significant
Notable variances in professional services costs
Incremental changes in responses compared to other years
Evaluating the Responses
For the past five years that I've been responsible for the session, a numerical evaluation has been published for each proposed solution that has the following criteria:
Obviously, your own criteria and evaluation may vary from the ones that I used, and as a result, your results may be different. Those are modified here as well as on the revised session slides posted on the Enterprise Connect site. The overall comparisons are noted below: 
Conclusion
Vendors' interests (and marketing resources) have swung significantly to the cloud. I received twice as many cloud responses as those for premises solutions. Yet, TCO remains heavily weighted toward the premises-based solutions. I am keenly interested in hearing from end user organizations as to why you may have chosen premises- or cloud-based approaches to solve your unified communications/voice problems. It doesn't seem the answer is cost.
"SCTC Perspectives" is written by members of the Society of Communications Technology Consultants, an international organization of independent information and communication technology professionals serving clients in all business sectors and government worldwide.
