FAQ (Frequently asked questions)
Adopted terminology
IT - Information Technology
СIS - Corporate communications and information system or network
COI - Ukrainian company, organization or institution
Question 1. How can modern communications and information technologies increase efficiency of Ukrainian enterprises, organizations or institutions?
Answer 1. The general condition of COI, management of public institutions, their interaction with COI and population is characterized by rapid dynamics of change, continuous emergence of new points of development, implementation of the ‘electronic society’ and ‘electronic government’ concepts. The success of COI directly depends on the effectiveness of communication with other COI, government agencies, and public. Advanced communications and information technologies themselves provide the technical platform of modern communication, correct and timely use of which has become one of the mandatory foundations of successful and sustainable development of COI. These technologies help COI to improve efficiency, and in turn, successful COI become incentive to the development of communications and information technology.
Usual fixed and mobile telephony communications and Internet have become a normal working resource of COI in Ukrainian cities, and gradually penetrate into the rural areas and remote regions. Their importance is clear and requires no explanation here. Let us look at the new major opportunities for COI, which provide advanced communications and information solutions of industrial quality:
- Ability to conduct business there, where happens to be the manager or employee of COI, at any required time. Benefits for COI are obvious. Certain obstacles can create lack of quality to access public or corporate communication networks, the price of "high mobility", as well as natural and legal restrictions for a person to work a lot and continuously;
- Ability to find the COI manager or employee quickly, as soon as they are available for communication. The complexity of the tasks is a consequence of large quantities of contact information (phone numbers, email and instant messaging services) and a lot of communication devices of COI personnel, non-permanent accessibility of networks subscribers, work pressure on managers and employees ( "at meeting", "on business trip", "at dinner ","on leave") etc. You can put all the contacts of the COI manager or employee in the CIS database and CIS itself will search for this person☺ . Or you may as well make girls ‘do’ the job☹;
- Opportunity for COI not to miss "any single communication" with a client, manager, contractor, visitor and a citizen. Sometimes, however, "somehow, somewhere as it happens ", happens that we do not want such communications. However, it is good to know that technical opportunity ‘not to lose’ already exists☺;
- Opportunity for COI to deliver with guarantee any information that can be presented in modern CIS (text, speech, sound, images, video) with the confirmation of delivery by all means to consumers, contractors, citizens, COI own staff and managers;
- Ability to organize collective work of COI managers or staff quickly and relatively cheaply for physically distributed units (even in different regions of Ukraine or countries), while you can see and hear each other "live" ☺, documents, presentations, etc. The cost of advanced solutions for teamwork in the environment of CIS is very often lower than the total cost of personnel business trips, as well as other direct and indirect appropriate costs of COI.
Question 2. What specific results can the Ukrainian company, organization or institution expect from implementation of the modern corporate communications and information system or network?
Answer 2. Usually the motivation of the Ukrainian institution, organization or enterprise to set the objective to develop modern corporate CIS is defined by the necessity to solve these main issues:
- Main type (types) of COI activities requires the use of some or all modern forms and services of communication: the exchange of voice, text, video messaging, computer data, access to repositories of information, including the Internet, in a bilateral or multilateral regime. Taking all this into account, the parties involved in the exchange can be fixed or be in motion;
- COI does not possess CIS or existing CIS does not have the required functionality or is obsolete, functions unreliably, with poor quality. The essential point is also the image aspect, since the heads of organizations are paying serious attention to the level of their workplace equipment. Communication terminals (desktop digital and analogue phones, mobile phones, smart phones, communicators, desktops, notebooks and palm computers) become integral elements of fixed or mobile manager workplaces;
- The level of COI spending on communication services provided by operators of fixed and mobile public telephone networks, is too high; preliminary estimation shows that investments in the creation of CIS help significantly to reduce regular payments to external communication service providers;
- COI is required to raise significantly the level of its own security; preliminary assessment confirms that CIS will help to control communication and information exchange of an organization and significantly decrease the security threats from external persons and structures, as well as insiders.
In short, in principle modern CIS can solve completely or in a large scale the above-mentioned main tasks. The practical return to COI from spent time and efforts, investment in creating its own CIS, is defined, above all, by CIS proper design, work planning, efficient solutions of legal and financial issues, correct choice of (general) contractor, to whom COI entrusts the design, putting into operation and subsequent maintenance of CIS.
Question 3. What are the greatest challenges the management of the Ukrainian enterprise, organization or institution faces, recognizing that the imperfection of the existing technical means of communication adversely affects the overall activities of COI?
Answer 3. If the manager (or COI) specializes in communications and information technologies, it is able to independently answer to this particular question, and most likely does not need our advice. All others, we hope, will find our recommendations helpful. Every successful leader is strong in their own way☺, but the human powers have limits eventually. Managers just have to think and act in the sake of the main purpose of their business. And their business activity is estimated in financial performance indicators, prospects and the opening of new successful (profitable) business directions of COI, overall image and opinions of the surrounding (clients, contractors, visitors ,...) about COI, overall mood in the team. It is therefore logical for a leader to consider corporate CIS as operating environment (tools), which should positively affect the business outcomes of the COI (qualitative estimation). The manager also needs quantitative estimations, which can (usually only partially) confirm the financial impact of implementation of the new (upgraded) corporate CIS.
To support what was said above, the leader needs a partner, capable in terms of COI major profile of activity (business), skillfully and in acceptable term to give him the answers to a few "simple" questions:
- What losses (qualitative and quantitative) has COI as a result of imperfection of employed corporate communications and information solutions?
- What advantages (qualitative and quantitative) will advanced communications and information solutions, integrated within COI business environment and business processes, bring to it?
- What is the sum of investment, its payback period (ROI)?
- What is the term of the new corporate communications and information solutions installation and risks of this process?
- Who is responsible and to what extent for the result of the implementation (modernization) of corporate CIS?
Therefore UCOSIC can become such a partner to the head of COI. We are ready to develop a complete (turn-key) solution. In some cases UCOSIC may, in agreement with the customer, perform the part of the overall task.
Question 4. What are the greatest challenges facing the manager of communication services or information technology unit of Ukrainian enterprise, organization or institution, when the head of COI is inclined to create a solution to implement (upgrade) corporate COI?
Answer 4. Typically, mentioned new task is added to the normal load of work of the head of communications or IT. The volume and complexity of work of the managers will at a time increase dramatically, and their activities will even more resemble the classic iceberg. But few will understand them as well as we in UCOSIC ☺! And they will need to answer to all the above mentioned in the FAQ ‘simple’ answers to their chiefs in allocated timeframes. And everywhere they have to be on time… The Head of Communications or IT, no doubt, imagines better than anyone else how many problems and how he/she will have to decide in constrained timelines, as well as the level of responsibility that lies in the development of the solutions. However, as a rule, the Head of Communications or IT will barely get any additional (and disproportional) resources in the described situation, if any. As a result, apparently, he/she would need the same partner as needs the chiefs of COI (see the previous article of FAQ). And here he/she can fully rely upon the help of our company – UCOSIC ☺.
