Why Cloud UC Is Gaining Ground and Esna Cloudlink 3.0 Is Up For the Task

27 Feb 2013

Introduction and Why UC is Gaining Ground

Microsoft Exchange, for most enterprises, is the baseline e-mail standard, however, the cloud is gaining interest and ground. A Unified Communications solution is now of either high interest or a requirement by most enterprise customers. All major IP Telephony manufacturers integrate with Microsoft.

The market has moved towards UC maturity and UC is now gaining ground, and where it was a distant option for many enterprises is now a baseline requirement or option in any procurement we are involved with. Why?

- UC price point for licenses is almost at giveaway pricing, a "no brainer" for most enterprises. UC's price point is minimal, even "free" when compared with a similar VoIP/UC offering less than 24 months ago

- IP Telephony in many cases is perceived as a "like for like" replacement compared with the legacy TDM Telephony system or older IP Telephony system

- IP Telephony only is not trendy, nor is it transforming in terms of feature and functionality offered along with a rich UC environment

- Just as cellular services took off when price-per-minute dropped from $1 per minute to below $.10 per minute, similarly the UC world will take on use among enterprises

- Enterprises have had to figure out what to do with UC, as the process and use of these tools is very different from Telephony

o Many organizations now have remote worker policies, enabling the requirement for IP hardphones of softphone clients
o Many organizations are integrating the desktop with the mobile device, some via BYOD using a one-number publish for anytime anywhere access
o We encourage our clients with an organization test bed approach, looking for cultural "kinks or clashes" before UC is rolled out to the general population

- UC presents an opportunity (and possible headache) of a real time always on, anytime, anywhere environment. This is both an advantage and disadvantage:

o Advantage - for critical access to individuals quickly across broad geographies
o Disadvantage - possible reduction of individuals' personal time, and increased requirement for multi-tasking

- Users want more. Telephony and voice mail only in today's day and age is simply not enough. Users are looking for:

o Remote worker access via softphone, hard phone
o One number, follow me reach to mobile device or softphone (Follow Me, Twinning)
o Presence showing who is available within their network for advice and add to a critical conversation (IM/chat and presence)
o The ability to schedule meet me conferences and send out invites to participants from a single user interface (UC interface)
o Check on e-mail, voice mail, and faxing all in one "Inbox" (Unified Messaging)
o Share documents real time (Collaboration tools)
o Connect colleagues "on the fly" across thousands of miles, i.e., geography becomes irrelevant (IM/chat, Calendaring, Conferencing - audio and video tools)

- Enterprises must differentiate for competitive reasons, and UC helps facilitate that - not doing so eventually leaves that enterprise behind its competition

- Ease of integration with current systems is a necessary component of bringing a fully-functioning UC and cloud solution together.

Enter the UC Cloud App

I had the privilege of attending Esna Tech's Cloudlink 3.0 a few weeks ago. Why the significance of the Cloudlink 3.0 announcement? Esna is one of the few partners that offers the API for integration of cloud-based Google Apps to major IP Telephony/Unified Communications manufacturers' UC apps. Esna, for some IP Telephony manufacturers, is a critical component for bring UC to the forefront with a Google Gmail cloud-based solution.

Few vendors offer this integration to Google, and Google Gmail and Apps are gaining ground in the market. We have four clients now that have migrated their organizations to Google Gmail as their e-mail client (exceeding 15,000 end points), and the trend is significant. Google Gmail is one of the cloud solutions offered in the market, and any premise or cloud-based IP Telephony solution requires some type of UC integration to Google Gmail.

So Why Cloudlink 3.0 and its Significance?

To quote Esna, "Esna Cloudlink seamlessly integrates Cisco Collaboration solutions with cloud-based productivity applications such as Google Apps, VMware Zimbra and Jive as well as on-premise solutions like Lotus Notes and Novell GroupWise. With Cloudlink, you can schedule WebEx meetings, check other's availability, make phone calls, and manage voicemail and faxes right from your company email. Cloudlink makes it easy for you to find, connect and collaborate live with others."

Cloudlink offers the following features and functions:

- Unified Messaging - Voice messages are transcribed, converted to MP3 and delivered to users' email inboxes. One can access and manage their messages on a desktop or mobile device. Additionally, Cloudlink synchronizes and turns off the message waiting indicator (MWI) on the desk phone once voice mail messages are heard

- Presence - With Cloudlink one can see if peers are on or off the phone, free or busy, and integrates with Cisco UC Manager and calendar to publish status and availability

- Click-to-Dial - Cloudlink recognizes phone numbers and extensions and allows one to "click" on any number and place calls right from any web application or website

- WebEx Integration - Esna provides an interface to schedule WebEx meetings directly from Google Apps. One can schedule and start WebEx meetings from Google Calendar, Google Contact Card, Google People Widget, Google Hangout and Chrome browser using Cloudlink

- Security - Secure controls are supported in Gmail, Zimbra, Notes and GroupWise

- Virtualized - Esna Cloudlink 3.0 runs in an existing virtualized environment and supports VMware Vsphere 4.x and higher

- Ease of Install - According to Esna (and our own client experience) Cloudlink is easy to install and administer with configuration wizards that automatically provision Cisco Unity Connection users on the solution.

My Observations

I believe the market as a whole is ready for UC adoption in a big way, now in the cloud. Cloudlink 3.0, therefore, is a significant announcement for the following reasons:

It enhances the integration experience, especially with Google Gmail
It's one of the few APIs (Siemens Openscape being another) that integrates with a Google Gmail environment and enhances the Google Gmail experience
The model is offered typically on a per user, per year, "rental" model, following the cloud-based financial model and in most cases affordable
Although the model currently focuses on Cisco UC integration, I expect near term future announcements for other IP Telephony manufacturers who are supporting the Google Gmail and Apps upward trend
Cloudlink provides seamless integration as a front-end to WebEx, allowing the user to plan for conference calls without having to leave the Google application
Cloudlink supports Google, Lotus Notes, Novell Groupwise, and VMWare's Zimbra (no Microsoft included) - other than Microsoft, Esna has a made a commitment to support most major e-mail platforms for UC integration.

Some Cloudlink Limitations

Any new product has its limitations, and Esna Cloudlink 3.0 is no exception. In particular:

- Currently Esna Cloudlink does not bridge an on-premise Cisco Jabber instant messaging and presence (not phone on-/off-hook) to Google Talk XMPP (I understand Esna is working on this)

- Currently Esna does not offer Cisco Jabber integration to Google calendar, but I understand that this requirement will be addressed

- Currently Esna only offers a Cisco SaaS WebEx version (not Cisco Webex Meeting Server). I understand there is a dependency on feature/functionality for a possible WebEx Meeting Server application, yet to be determined

- Currently Esna only offers Cloudlink 3.0 for Cisco. I do expect future announcements to be more platform independent and additional IP Telephony manufacturers will be added to the support mix.

In Conclusion

Is your enterprise ready for UC? It should be. You are now a pivotal point for joining the Enterprise UC ranks or be left behind. And when it comes to the cloud and UC, should you consider Esna? If you and your enterprise are seriously considering Google Gmail and Google Apps as your going-forward platform, then Esna, in most cases, will become part of the mix. If you are looking for UC integration with Google Gmail and Google Apps, you should take a look at Esna. When evaluating IP-PBX manufacturers with your Google Gmail platform and are seeking UC integration, you will likely see Esna somewhere in the vendor's offer.

In my opinion, Esna is an up and comer with its enhancements and integration for Google Gmail, Google Apps, and key IP Telephony manufacturers. They are one of the few APIs available for Google for UC integration, and without Esna, Google in most cases will be an e-mail only platform and cumbersome for the user community for any level of UC integration.