Polycom Managed ServicesA Comprehensive Guide

WHITE PAPERWHITE PAPER

WHITE PAPER WHITE PAPER

2

Polycom Managed Services–A Comprehensive Guide

IntroductionWherever you are in the world, and whatever type of organization you’re responsible for, there’s a strong possibility you could benefit from moving to a Managed Service for your video collaboration environment–through reduced risk, lower total cost of ownership (TCO), improved uptime, accelerated return on investment (ROI), the financial predictability of operating vs capital expenses (OPEX vs CAPEX), and more.

These kinds of benefits make the business case for Managed Services compelling–especially if video collaboration within your organization has become mission -critical, your collaboration solution spans multiple countries, or the complexity of your environment has increased. Misunderstandings about the nature of Managed Services and what they encompass can lead to organizations missing out on all of the advantages. This white paper provides a detailed overview of Managed Services, including:

• What they are and what they cover.

• Common pain points Polycom Managed Services help you address.

• Polycom’s approach to delivering Managed Services, and what this means for you.

• The financial advantages of an OPEX vs CAPEX model for your collaboration solution.

• Case studies demonstrating the benefits of Polycom Managed Services.

What are Managed Services?According to industry body Technology Services Industry Association (TSIA), Managed Services is “the practice of outsourcing day-to-day management responsibilities as a strategic method for improving operations.” In its simplest form, leasing a car or moving into a condo where much of the property management is addressed by a homeowners association is an example of Managed Services. Within an organization, outsourcing responsibility for your IT infrastructure is a common scenario for Managed Services.

TSIA also identifies the kinds of offerings that can fall under a Managed Services umbrella, including:

• Monitor: Performing technology monitoring services to proactively detect performance issues and assist customers as questions crop up.

• Operate: After monitoring and notification services, a customer might wish to transfer the actual operation of a solution over to a third party. The customer still owns the technology, but would rather someone else run it for them. Many customer use this approach to augment their existing staff.

• Optimize: Once a solution is up and running, a Managed Service provider can help improve overall performance, usage, and workflows, and even manage expansions or integrate the solution into third-party applications through optimization.

• Transform: Helping a customer make the transition from legacy platforms, third-party equipment or older solutions to next generation solutions, as well as operating them on their behalf through the migration.

• Managed XaaS: Quickly becoming the most popular solution, this function is where a Managed Service provider does everything for the customer [X as a Service or XaaS], even offering networking infrastructure and collaboration- as-a-service. The customer doesn’t have to buy the hardware, just tell their Managed Service provider the services they need and pay on a per-user or per-month basis. XaaS delivers a highly predictable experience as everything is tested and operational prior to turn up.

Where are Polycom Managed Services being deployed?Polycom Managed Services are being adopted by organizations globally, in sectors including:

• Biotech and Pharmaceuticals–supporting collaboration among global teams tasked with accelerating time to market, by freeing them from the need to manage video.

• Education–for higher education establishments with campuses in more than one location, and using innovative technologies to attract students to their programs.

• Financial Services–through private cloud solutions, and providing resident engineers and call center staff to manage on-premises assets and facilities.

• Government–to support outsourcing of non-critical functions, reducing TCO.

• Oil and Gas–for worldwide collaboration in areas such as exploration.

• Retail–providing gross margin-centric businesses with predictable IT cost structures and resources based on OPEX rather than CAPEX, and lowering TCO.

• Telemedicine–for remote diagnosis and offering patients immediate access to translation services to help them explain their condition.

Use Character styles for the trademarking symbols. If there’s no style, the symbol should stay as is.

WHITE PAPER Polycom Managed Services–A Comprehensive Guide WHITE PAPER

3

Common challenges Polycom Managed Services help you addressPolycom Managed Services can help you address all of the issues in the areas identified by TSIA, and deal with an extensive range of challenges related to business transformation, collaboration, and IT resourcing. You should seriously consider Polycom Managed Services if:

• Your IT support staff’s time is needed for other strategic initiatives.

• The demands of maintaining and supporting your video collaboration system are outside the expertise of your IT staff, or you’re struggling to find and/or keep the right technical talent to meet these demands.

• Your business is expanding its footprint globally, or you have business units demanding greater access to visual collaboration tools.

• Your organization is about to undergo a significant business transformation, IT migration, or upgrade.

• Your current infrastructure is nearing capacity, you’re unable to scale it fast enough, or you need to get a fully functioning solution envisioned, designed, and deployed in the shortest possible timeframe.

• You’re looking to add significant new video capabilities for mobile or desktop users; want to integrate Polycom video with Skype for Business; or need a trusted partner capable of managing legacy or multi-vendor video solutions and endpoints.

• Your video collaboration solution is falling behind the most recent software updates and revisions, meaning employees aren’t experiencing the latest benefits.

• Your current Managed Services provider is not meeting all your needs–for example, if you feel you are not getting the value you are paying for, you want a more proactive approach, or you want a provider who will commit to continuous improvement of your solution throughout your contract period.

• Your collaboration solution is not delivering the results you had hoped for; you want to use it for more mission- critical applications than your current solution can support; or you would like help with driving technology adoption, utilization, improving scheduling, simplifying the user experience, etc.

In the e-book, How to Avoid the 5 Most Common Mistakes Made in Managed Services, TSIA says that in the technology industry:

• Managed Services not only oversee the operation of IT infrastructure and applications, but also the consumption of the technology. In other words, there’s a dual focus on both the purpose of the technology as well as the business problems it solves.

• There are many reasons a company might choose to outsource day-to-day infrastructure and application management, including improved performance, risk aversion, cost reduction, and accelerated ROI.

• Since Managed Services doesn’t necessarily follow a product purchase, its development must always start with a deep understanding [by the vendor] of the customer’s environment and top business challenges.

In addition to addressing these kinds of challenges, a move to Polycom Managed Services makes sense if:

• You want to avoid or reduce business risk and lower TCO, while keeping up-to-date with the latest technology.

• You’re looking to restructure more of your purchases as operational expenses, or replace CAPEX with OPEX projects as a way of better managing your cash flow.

The financial benefits of OPEX vs CAPEXLet’s assume that yours is a mid-to-large enterprise with operations in the United States, EMEA, and APAC. A 50 concurrent user Polycom® RealPresence Clariti™ private cloud collaboration solution would enable you to support around 500 concurrent connections, which could include anything from room-based endpoints or telepresence suites to huddle rooms or desktop and mobile clients.

In May 2016, if you purchased such a system on a CAPEX basis, and factored in the costs of the IT support staff needed to administer the solution 24x7, the total cost to your organization over a three-year period would be around double that of a comparable OPEX-based Polycom Managed Services agreement. This cost includes supporting, monitoring and managing the solution, handling upgrades and updates, etc. allowing your IT team to focus on other strategic, mission-critical activities and initiatives. And, within this OPEX-based cost you could also have added services, such as Envisioning, Solution Design, Microsoft Voice (to enable integration with an existing Skype for Business environment), Polycom® RealAccess™ analytics, and Business Apps (to improve end user productivity and streamline administrative tasks by simplifying conference management, scheduling, etc.) to increase the solution’s fit with your business requirements and use cases, improve integration with your workflows, and accelerate utilization and adoption by your employees.

WHITE PAPER WHITE PAPER

4

Polycom Managed Services–A Comprehensive Guide

• You want to address unpredictability of your IT operations– in terms of finance, performance, etc.–through a predictable, stable and reliable environment, cost model, and service level objectives (SLOs).

• You’re already outsourcing some of your other IT applications or moving them to the cloud–e.g. by switching to Microsoft Office 365–and would like to do the same for video.

• You’ve been considering outsourcing video to a public cloud provider due to the flexibility and speed of deployment available, but have concerns about security, Quality of Service (QoS), interoperability, the lack of opportunities for customization, etc.

Polycom’s approach to Managed Services “A Managed Service provider that provides part of the solution is part of the problem, and you [the vendor] don’t want to be a problem for a customer adopting your technology,” according to George Humphrey, TSIA’s Senior Director of Managed Services Research. Polycom’s approach to Managed Services is to offer a solution covering as much or as little of an organization’s collaboration environment as they require. This could include professional services, support services, licensing, training, and even product, all rolled up into a single integrated solution governed by an agreed set of success criteria, and paid for using the customer’s preferred financial model.

Polycom’s Managed Services team (often alongside one of our authorized partners) will also act as a trusted advisor, augmenting–not replacing–your existing IT resources, by supporting them in areas that are otherwise preventing them from concentrating on other strategic initiatives, or enabling them to offload tasks for which they do not possess the required level of skills or expertise.

How do Managed Services work?When the Polycom Managed Services team works with you, they will focus on two key areas:

1. Customer success: What specific business problems or challenges do you have, and what kinds of business outcomes do you need? What are your success criteria for video collaboration, how are these measured, what’s important, and what’s driving you to this point?

2. Total cost of ownership: How many of your IT staff are working on video, and how much is this costing? What is the status of your network, assets, training, documentation etc.? If you carry on as you are, how much would this cost each year? And if you wanted to offload some or all of the management of your collaboration solution, how much could you save?

Based on the results of this exercise, the team will suggest a Managed Service solution that works best for, and complements, your organization. This could potentially mean anything from using a Remote Monitoring and Management service to enable your IT staff to offload day-to-day operations of your video collaboration environment 24x7 to a total hosted solution that incorporates as many of your current assets as possible, to maximize ROI on your existing investment–all while allowing you to switch to a monthly subscription-based model that includes ongoing improvements.

What kinds of capabilities can Managed Services include?Polycom Managed Services gives you the flexibility to choose the kinds of capabilities needed by your organization to achieve its business objectives and meet budget requirements.

Remote Monitoring and Management–delivering high availability

Remote Monitoring and Management is the most common Managed Services that our customers choose. With this service, Polycom can achieve >99.9% uptime for your collaboration solution, through purpose-built monitoring tools and processes for problem identification, resolution, and reporting, which result in >50% of issues being proactively identified and >85% resolved remotely. By removing the need for parts to be delivered or an engineer to visit your site, this avoids disruption to your business and keeps your infrastructure, room systems, and other video endpoints available more of the time.

24x7 specialist technical support

As the use of video becomes increasingly mission critical, the number of people needed to support a collaboration environment can increase dramatically. That’s where 24x7 technical support comes in. Whereas a solution that needs to be actively managed 8x5 might require 1–1.5 trained personnel, Polycom estimates that for 24x7 operation (e.g. to support global collaboration) this figure increases to 4.3 people–a clear cost justification for outsourcing some or all of this function. This is especially the case given that Polycom’s specialist personnel are focused 100% on managing video collaboration environments, and Polycom can offer 24x7 or out-of-hours service–including proactive notification and/or fixes for identified issues–more cost effectively than many organizations can do so themselves.

Private or hybrid cloud, or public VaaS options

Polycom Private Cloud services offer custom configured Polycom infrastructure hosted at Polycom data centers (or at your existing supplier’s data center(s) if that fits your needs) accessible to you via an extension of your private network. This Private Cloud service model provides a purpose built, easy to deploy and scalable solution, and additional capacity, plus access to new features and functionality can be added

WHITE PAPER Polycom Managed Services–A Comprehensive Guide WHITE PAPER

5

to the service upon request, as they are made available for general release. Remote monitoring and management services are included with all Private Cloud services along with 24x7 technical support and a Client Services Manager.

If your organization has existing on-premises video infrastructure, you may be interested in a hybrid cloud and on-prem model. For organizations with particular business or security concerns, a Polycom private cloud Managed Service likely makes more sense than one based on a public or multi-tenant cloud solution.

If security, customization, or integration are not of concern to you, Polycom also offers a public Video as a Service (VaaS) solution in an OPEX model.

Analytics

Polycom analytics can be used to examine extensive aspects of your collaboration solution, including its configuration, assets, performance, utilization, and adoption. For example, where is the use of video particularly successful and why? Where isn’t it so successful and what can be done to improve this? Is there equipment that needs to be upgraded, a training requirement, scheduling issues, or capacity problems requiring additional resource? Understanding what is happening with your solution at a granular level can help drive usage and ROI.

Assigned Client Service Manager (CSM)

All organizations undertaking a Managed Services agreement with Polycom are assigned a Client Service Manager (CSM), who acts as their interface for the duration of the contract, and ensures they receive access to Polycom’s extensive expertise in video collaboration to help maximize ROI. Your CSM’s responsibilities include managing issue resolution, arranging monthly reviews with the Managed Services team, discussing performance in relation to agreed SLOs, identifying potential issues, providing guidance on the results generated by Polycom’s analytics tools, highlighting areas you may not otherwise have considered, and working proactively with you to increase the success of your solution.

Other value-add services are often included in your Managed Service engagement with Polycom. For example:

Skype for Business integration

If you’re implementing Skype for Business, how deeply do you want to enable it? Do you only want to use it for instant messaging, calendaring, etc., or have you started to use it with video? If so, how will you integrate with technologies like huddle rooms, immersive telepresence suites, and other applications, or people outside your business? Polycom’s partnership with Microsoft, and our native integration with Skype for Business, lets you create a quality experience that extends across all these technologies and beyond your four walls.

Case Study–Skype for Business IntegrationIn 2015, a large, fast-growing global biotech company, with a small IT staff and a propensity to outsource services, was looking for a partner to support a global Skype for Business rollout–including voice, presence, and video–to over 8,000 employees worldwide. To complement this, the company was looking to integrate Skype for Business with its legacy video endpoints and conferencing rooms.

The company was committed to the cloud, and chose Polycom’s private hosted solution due to its inherent benefits including security, Quality of Service, customization capabilities, and in particular Polycom’s native integration and interoperability with Skype for Business, which optimizes TCO and accelerates ROI. Polycom implemented the required private cloud infrastructure at the customer’s preferred data centers in the US, Europe, and APAC–with an authorized Polycom partner subsequently adding value by providing video conferencing helpdesk and room system support as part of the Managed Service.

Since implementing the Managed Service, the company’s use of video has undergone a complete transformation from an under-utilized, standalone solution based solely on calls between dedicated legacy conference rooms, to a fully integrated component of its global Skype for Business deployment and unified communications strategy. In 2016, projects underway included upgrades from legacy third party rooms to Polycom® RealPresence® Group Series systems, with the Polycom® RealConnect™ and One Touch Dial App features supporting both new and existing legacy room systems.

WHITE PAPER WHITE PAPER

6

Polycom Managed Services–A Comprehensive Guide

Envisioning and Solution Design

Prior to the start of a Managed Services arrangement, a Polycom Envisioning and Solution Design engagement team works with you to create a roadmap for the evolution of your collaboration solution over the contract period. Our consultants conduct a detailed examination of your collaboration workflows and use cases, to simplify and accelerate adoption of the video solution being deployed.

Network Assessment

Video is a real-time application whose network demands can be considerable. A Network Assessment pinpoints exact locations where network issues are impacting video performance–e.g., due to the way your video or network has been configured, or an issue with your service provider. You will then receive specific recommendations on where you have problems, how to fix them, and, if you’re purchasing bandwidth where your consumption doesn’t match what you’re paying for, how to work with your service provider to reallocate bandwidth to the most important areas.

And finally, if your organization has an existing collaboration environment that you’re making significant changes to, a business transformation engagement might be the best approach for working with the Polycom Managed Services team.

Business transformation

If you’re considering a significant business change involving video collaboration, Polycom will work with you to understand what you want to achieve, with a particular focus on the human factors involved. Through a migration plan guiding you on acquiring new endpoints and infrastructure and assimilate them into your operations, the Managed Services team can undertake a transformation process that moves you through this transition to the desired outcome.

How could Managed Services work for you?To summarize, you should seriously consider Polycom Managed Services if:

• Your video collaboration solution has grown in complexity in terms of size, configuration, user requirements and/or number of vendors, or you have non-Polycom vendors’ infrastructure and endpoints that you want covered by an agreement.

• You have a wide geographical spread of facilities around the world that your IT staff are struggling to cope with.

Case Study–Business TransformationIn 2015, a global US Financial Services company was facing a major business challenge and transformation following a company split. In less than six months, it was due to be left with video conferencing rooms without any core infrastructure. The company was uncertain how many IT resources it would retain, and undertaking a project to build and deploy a global unified collaboration (UC) infrastructure would not be feasible in the prescribed timeframe. It therefore decided to identify and implement an outsourced, cloud-based UC infrastructure solution.

The company has a presence in over 50 countries worldwide, and its employees were accustomed to using video, web, and audio conferencing technologies as part of their day-to-day routine. To meet its objective, it chose Polycom’s private hosted service for the new UC infrastructure. Polycom was selected due to our global presence, speed of response, and ability to offer a complete hosted solution, as well as our interoperability with Skype for Business and its existing legacy endpoints including over 400 third-party room systems. Together with one of our authorized partners, we were able to procure and implement a best of breed solution meeting the company’s requirements and schedule.

In less than 90 days, the Polycom team deployed private cloud infrastructure in three data centers–in the US, Europe, and APAC–through a Managed Service arrangement that met the company’s deadline, and removed the need for its IT staff to be involved in implementation of the UC infrastructure, freeing them to focus on other mission-critical applications as part of the split. On its second day in production, over 1,000 successful video conferences took place on the Polycom infrastructure. By mid-2016, the company had also added over 2,000 Polycom® RealPresence® Desktop licenses to its Managed Service solution and was in the process of refreshing 400 legacy room systems with Polycom® RealPresence® Group Series.

WHITE PAPER WHITE PAPER Polycom Managed Services–A Comprehensive Guide

© 2016 Polycom, Inc. All rights reserved. All Polycom® names and marks associated with Polycom products are trademarks or service marks of Polycom, Inc. and are registered or common law marks in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. No portion hereof may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, for any purpose other than the recipient’s personal use, without the express written permission of Polycom. 25169_0716

Polycom, Inc.1.800.POLYCOMwww.polycom.com

Polycom Asia Pacific Pte Ltd +65 6389 9200www.polycom.com.sg

Polycom EMEA+44 (0)1753 723282www.polycom.co.uk

About Polycom

Polycom helps organizations unleash the power of human collaboration. More than 415,000 companies and institutions worldwide defy distance with video, voice and content solutions from Polycom. Polycom and its global partner ecosystem provide flexible collaboration solutions for any environment that deliver the best user experience and unmatched investment protection.

• You are about to undergo a major business transformation involving video collaboration and/or Skype for Business.

• You’re looking to replace unpredictable CAPEX expenditures with a predictable OPEX arrangement that reduces TCO and increases ROI.

• You want a Managed Services arrangement that can be fully customized to best fit your organization’s specific requirements, and managed according to agreed SLOs.

Find out moreTo learn more about the benefits of Polycom Managed Services, or discuss your specific needs:

• Watch the video on Understanding Managed Services: http://bcove.me/shhcvxth

• Read a customer success story: http://www.polycom.com/global/en/customer-stories/verifone.html

• Review the white paper, Why you should be demanding proactive vendor engagement throughout the technology cycle white paper: http://bit.ly/1FaFROP

• Visit www.polycom.com/managedservices

• Contact your Polycom representative or partner.

Polycom Managed Services capability set✓ ITIL compliance (change, security, problem, incident,

capacity, release, event)

✓ ISO 27001 security certification

✓ 24x7 live concierge and technical support center with multi-language capability

✓ >99.9% availability, SLO-based

✓ Infrastructure and endpoint monitoring and management

✓ >50% of issues identified proactively before a customer sees an issue

✓ Incident and problem management

✓ >85% remote resolution-significantly lowers field service costs and resolution time

✓ Client Service Manager-trusted advisor for service management, adoption, analytics, reporting

✓ Comprehensive project management for custom services on large enterprise engagements (design, deploy, operate)