According to a recent Gartner report, the business case for application initiatives is now centered on cost reduction and risk management rather than revenue growth.  Because of the impact cost reduction has on business travel near- and mid-term, Gartner expects unified communications and collaboration technology spending to thrive.  Gartner also expects that unified messaging (voice mail, e-mail and fax integration) and alternative collaboration services, such as instant messaging, teamware and voice/Web/videoconferencing, will "assume more importance." Do you believe Gartner is right in its assessment that the business case for applications and infrastructure won't be about fostering revenue growth? Julie Director of Collaboration Solution Marketing ... View more

Collaboration is something people at Cisco do every day—working together to achieve goals is a vital part of our culture.  Yet just because we have 60,000 employees doesn't mean that collaboration as a culture, process and set of technologies isn't critical to small and medium-sized companies. Take West Virginia-based WesBanco Bank, for instance, a provider of residential and business financial services in West Virginia, Ohio and western Pennsylvania.  By adopting a collaboration strategy based on technology from Cisco, the bank was immediately able to shave 40%+ off of its telecom costs.  IP Telephony is just the beginning for how they will invest to save and thrive in today's economy.  The bank is also exploring how collaboration technology can be embedded in the fabric of the sales process by the use of virtual sales experts who could use Unified Contact Center to allow the sales people to "meet" with customers just about anywhere -- a call center, another branch, or from corporate headquarters. Here is a NetworkWorld article about WesBanco Bank if you're intererested in reading more. Unifying communications to drive customer intimacy is a great way to differentiate yourself from competitors and maximize sales no matter what size your company is. Don't you agree? Julie Director of Solutions Marketing ... View more