As retail institutions strive to simplify business processes and unify their multi-store, multi-office, multi-distribution units, the concept of centrally managed voice and data services is making more economic sense, but is still technically challenging.

There is a general acceptance that the retail sector requires the latest enterprise features, including unified communications (UC). Inter-business collaboration brings the prospect of improved operational efficiency whilst enhancing system performance to enrich the constituent experience. But disparate networks require large amounts of systems integration to deliver company-wide UC benefits.

Retail institutions are looking to access a full suite of UC services, but still operate with the economic and operational advantages of a centrally controlled infrastructure. The company's CIO wants the cost benefits of a central platform, but the division IT manager does not necessarily want to give up the independence of operating their own administration.

Many large retail institutions also operate mixed IP-PBX architectures; enterprise-based PBX at the main offices (where there are many phones in large sites), and small business PBXs at the regional stores (where there are less than 20 phones).  To achieve all the benefits fromUC, they need applications to run over this mixed architecture.

The main challenges that retail organizations are facing, include:

  • Management of diverse and independent business groups, each with their own specific needs - one size does not fit all
  • Large numbers of retail stores, spread across the multiple regions
  • Consolidation of multi-generational platforms
  • Multiple vendors, disparate legacy systems
  • Making cost savings by sharing a centralized infrastructure, but wanting to maintain autonomy for individual departmental administrators
  • Ensuring service continutity - cannot afford for stores to lose telephony services
  • Effective management of disaster situations
  • Ability to scale and integrate new acquisitions
  • Providing a platform to efficiently deliver new UC applications