Conclusion

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Conclusion We have come a long way since 2000. Just three years ago, the Cisco telephony system was based on an all-PBX infrastructure. Today, we have deployed more than 54,500 IP phones and 234 IP CallManagers worldwide. In San Jose alone, 23,700 IP phones operate in a single cluster, with availability of 99.999 percent. Pushing forward continues to keep Cisco IT busy. The deployment of a centralized call processing model, preparation for video, and implementation of the wave of existing and future XML applications are projects that peak on the Cisco horizon. However, pushing the envelope and finding more ways to be even more productive, efficient, and mobile is part of Cisco culture and will always be our organization's biggest strength. What It Has Meant to Me… A Few Words from the Author It has been almost two years since Cisco completed the retrofit of our San Jose campus, and I never get tired of telling the story of how we did it. I still remember the day my manager informed me that I would be project managing this Herculean endeavor. I recall my concerns and questioning of whether I was experienced enough, whether I would be able to lead the team, and whether I knew enough about IP Telephony to lead the charge. Of course, the answer to all these questions was yes. I just needed to remember all the lessons I had learned from my 10 years of managing projects. It all comes down to this. Plan the plan. Build a strong team around you. Communicate the vision. Identify the risk. Develop and maintain key relationships. Do not try to do too much. Build confidence within the teams. Do not be afraid to ask stupid questions. Keep copious notes. Keep the obstacles clear so that the team can do what it was assigned to do. Always remember that this project is not just about the technology; it is about the people. This project really tested my abilities and allowed me to prove to myself that if I could do this, I could do anything. I cannot tell you how many times I needed to call in a favor, calm down an anxious end user, or ask the team to keep going when it wanted to slow down. My focus was clear, and my mission was eminent: Migrate the campus, and do it right the first time. Of course, we made some mistakes along the way, but we captured many best practices and lessons learned. I am so proud that we were not only the first to use IP Telephony on such a large scale, but that we did it with minimal customer impact. And Now… A Word from Our Sponsors "By moving aggressively to integrate IP communications throughout our global business, Cisco has realized a significantly lower total cost of ownership for voice communications while enabling new capabilities that are not possible with traditional TDM-based systems. We 'walked the talk' on IP communications, and as a result, we are enjoying the benefits of increased productivity, more effective communications between workgroups, and improved competitive advantage." �Don Proctor, Cisco vice president of voice technology group "Our conversion to VoIP has not only resulted in direct cost savings, but has also simplified the setup and maintenance of single back-end systems, such as databases. We no longer consider services such as voice, data, and storage as separate technology silos, but as services delivered over one converged, intelligent network. Looking back, it is hard for us to imagine doing it any other way. Looking forward, I think the biggest gains are yet to come as they lie in the applications associated with increasing employee productivity and improving services to our customers. We see this in our IP contact center applications and are just starting to see it in our IP phone service offerings. As Cisco continues to break new ground in the application of advanced technologies, I hope the industry will benefit from our experiences in ways we've only dreamed of before." �Lance Perry, Cisco vice president of IT infrastructure "It took two years to migrate Cisco to a full VoIP network. Today we have over 54,000 active IP phones. It has become an integral part of our IP communications network. We moved for several reasons: to showcase our technology, to improve employee productivity, and, of course, to reduce cost. During that migration process, we learned a lot about how to execute a company-wide cutover, including what to do and what not to do. This deployment has been a launching pad for many new services and conveniences that will enable Cisco to provide better service to its customers and greater flexibility for its employees. Cisco IT wants to share its implementation experience with Cisco customers and partners to aide in the deployment practices of new Cisco technologies. While conducting our own company-wide cutover, we learned a great deal about what to do and what not to do. This book shares our experiences. I encourage you to contact us and let us know how we can help share our best practices with you." �Brad Boston, Cisco senior vice president and chief information officer Lessons Learned The following is a consolidation of the lessons we learned throughout each stage of the initiative, contributed by members of the Tiger Team who were front and center from beginning to end. Although I have delivered more than 400 customer briefings outlining the Cisco migration story, there are still key lessons and critical success factors that we have learned, including the following. Communication Without senior management support and sponsorship, the integration and acceptance of new world technology will ultimately fail or at least make it harder to gain acceptance. The technology strategy, your infrastructure, and the business strategy must be in synch toward a vision that will move all media and functional types of customer interactions to the next highest level, to a competitive advantage, to incremental improvements in customer satisfaction and loyalty. Team/Relationships Those involved in the original design and engineering of the new solution know the technology intimately. Involve the engineering team when making strategic implementation decisions to leverage their expertise for unique configurations and workarounds. Keep the engineering team close (and happy) because when you get into technical trouble, they will be your biggest allies. Planning/Strategic Starting the implementation before you know the "must-have" features is the ultimate mistake. Ensure that unique configurations are identified early. A mistake here can cause an immediate slowdown while fixes are developed and put into place. Know your users, and identify the product features that are "must have" versus "nice to have" before you begin. Also, do not forget your network readiness plan (IP Telephony ready infrastructure, QoS, inline power, security, LAN availability). Strategic Placement of Equipment Place servers in diverse data centers on campus, equally balancing the load and failover redundancy. Be sure to address your power backup requirements for the equipment. Understand the Current Environment Each department and group uses telephony differently. Study customer usage for usage patterns and requirements of the business. Conduct a user survey that identifies those "must-have" features, and review your PBX configuration report early to ensure that you do not have any surprises. Pay attention to the details, conduct a thorough site survey, and create a customer service model that minimizes end-user impact. Migration Strategy Create a plan that does not allow anyone to fall through the cracks. A phased migration is a great alternative to a flash cut when numerous users and solutions are involved. New buildings, new employees, and all adds, moves, and changes are a good start. Ensure that your schedule is realistic yet aggressive so that you keep the momentum going. If you do not have the expertise, get help. If the planning process is not well executed, you will see all the mistakes manifested throughout the migration. Pilots and time for proof of concept will flush out the surprises and create a standard for everyone to use during the installation phase. Technology The standard for desktop Ethernet service provides two 10/100 patches to each CAT 5 wall plate�one live jack for the IP phone with the PC connecting to the phone. We forgot to ask a basic question: "Tell us how you are using your phone today." We assumed we knew. What a big mistake that was. Global dial plan is a key watch for surprises: modems, faxes, operator consoles, call center applications. Special in-country ISDN signaling voice is a service, and CallManager is a server; you have to manage the relationship between the service and the server and bring an NT expert on board. (Availability and security are the keys.) Also, remember to certify those third-party applications that will hang off the CallManager. Get the vendors involved. Process Apply key rules of successful IT projects. Change management, organizational culture influences, and the governance board are critical. (Project tools, process, and change management are all components.) Remember that this is about service, not just technology (service, people, technology). Do not let the engineering team drive the project requirements because they are looking at the process from an engineering view, not from an end-user view (that is, phased migration versus flash cut). Use solid project management to determine when it is time to move to the next phase. Plan the plan, and always remember to communicate. Communication will save you every time! Operations Use the "clean network" philosophy when defining your implementation guidelines. The retrofit is a perfect opportunity to start out with a clean network. Focus on what you use, not what you have. Operational policies will accommodate the new voice and data converged network and keep it clean and stable. Optimize After the IP Telephony solution is up and running, keep it functioning at optimal levels. Use IP Telephony-enabled monitoring and troubleshooting tools that allow you to manage it reactively and proactively. Get the Project Team Thinking If you find yourself in a meeting with your project team, and you begin to feel overwhelmed as to the right questions you should be asking, just relax. Never let the team see you sweat; help is on the way. Take along my checklist of questions to ask your project team as a tool to jump-start the discussion. Be bold, and schedule a planning workshop to get the team thinking. Although this questionnaire does not cover everything (you will need to read the book for that), it does encompass the many key questions that customers continue to forget and can help you flush out key areas where project teams often get stuck.

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