Can Microsoft replace your PBX?

Shane T Callaghan

Director of Information Technology

March 2011

• > 200 lawyers

• ~ 300 staff

• 7 offices in 4 provinces in Atlantic Canada

• 15 IT staff

Who is McInnes Cooper?

• 2 Mitel IP PBXs (one hybrid)

• 1 Norstar key system

• Lots of POTS lines

Where we were

• Everyone on the same system

• Productivity gains

• Client service opportunities

What we wanted

The value of UC

More capabilities

• Unified messaging

• Presence

• IM

• Video

• Desktop sharing

• Single number reach

• Mobility

Outlook Integration

• Dial from Outlook

• On-screen caller ID

• Simple audio conferencing

• On-demand web conferencing

• Presence

• Based on firm strategy

• First to the COO/CEO

• Then to the management team

• Then to the entire firm

How we sold it

• Design

– “All in” approach

– Native, not legacy-integrated

• Build

• Pilot

– First with 50 users, then 100

• Train/Deploy

• Patch!

How we did it

• PBX-free

• POTS-free (well, almost…)

• 100% UC adoption

• Some quality and reliability issues

Where we are now

• Strategic focus

• Management commitment

• “All in” approach

• Communications

• Design

• Training

What we did well

• Deploy IP phones rather than USB phones

• Think hard about any deviation from proven configurations

What we would do differently

Telco

Med

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Tele

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G

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OCS

Poo

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Lync with IP phones

What’s next

Is Lync as reliable as your PBX?

If you design it properly, yes. Maybe more reliable.

Is Exchange as good for voice mail?

I would say better

What about the phones?

Limited options, but good quality and affordable

Is your network ready?

If you are doing VoIP successfully now, probably

Is Lync as capable as your PBX?

It depends

Is Microsoft ready to replace your PBX?

Depends on what?

PBX Capabilities

Lync Capabilities

How much of this you

want

If you really need this

FAQs

1. Do I need PoE?

2. Do I need QoS?

3. Can I use soft phones?

No, but it’s nice to have

Microsoft says no.

Shane says yes.

Only for occasional use

shane@callaghan.ca