10 Keys to Ensuring the Success of Your Lync Deployment Justin MorrisManaging Consultant - AUModality SystemsOSS205
Why does this matter?
Critical to getting it right first time
Based on real world experience
Not strictly technical - Level 200
I’m not Letterman - order does not signify importance
Who am I?8 years UC experience in Australia and the UK
Deployed the largest Lync voice deployment in the UK
Contributor on The UC Architects Podcast
Lync MVP
Founder of Sydney’s Lync User Group
Blog @ justin-morris.net
Twitter - @justimorris
#1 - Business User Buy-In
Your Job is to Improve the Lives of Users
This is job number one
Early and Repeat User Engagement
Ensure you have business sponsorship
Support the Cultural Change
Lync enables new ways of working
Some functions work in different ways e.g. Team Call/Group Pickup/Transfer
Measure Success and Gather Feedback
Ensure you are open to questions, suggestions and feedback
Promote success stories within the organisation
Use the monitoring server to gather usage information and act on it
#2 - IT/TelephonyTeam Buy-In
The business will take cues from IT
IT should be Champions of Lync, particularly when they interact with the business
IT should be using Lync first to fully understand it
Put aside differences
Telephony and Networks staff need to be friends, not enemies
During early phases you’ll need to work closely with and depend on telephony staff
#3 – BusinessPolicy Decisions
Lync Enables New Abilities
Work with the organisation to enable as much as possible
Often the default answer will be “no” to new abilities
Help the business decision makers understand the risks and benefits
Define new business policies
Help the business define new staff policies using Lync
Focus on delivering value to users, not “how we’ve always done it”
#4 - Lync Depends ona Solid Infrastructure
Lync does not stand alone
Lync success depends on many technologies
Many technologies often means many teams/IT staff
Understand the dependencies and identify weaknesses
Dependencies to Consider
Exchange Unified Messaging
NetworkBandwidth, QoS, CAC, PoE, WAN, Firewalls and Branch Sites
Wireless
Desktop Client RolloutConsider Device Drivers, USB Security and Patching
Users don’t care - it’s all Lync to them
Users aren’t interested in why it’s not working, it’s just not working
You have to protect Lync’s reputation within the business
#5 – Completingthe Solution
Completing the UC Picture
Lync 2013 provides the core UC solution
How do you address the remaining communications and regulatory requirements?
Additional Telephony Use Cases
Contact Centres
Operator ConsolesReceptionists are one of the most important people in your organisation
Facility DevicesFax machines
Common Area Phones
Door entry systems
Paging systems
Warehouse phones
Compliance Solutions
Regulatory RequirementsLegal disclaimers
Keyword Detection and Filtering
Ethical Walls
Security RequirementsControl external access to Lync/Exchange
Avoid DDoS attacks and account lockouts
Call Recording
Determine Requirements e.g. training or regulatory
Complying with Australian monitoring of voice comms guidelines
Lots of Microsoft Qualified Options AvailableInvestigate and Test
Consider Patching and Support
Consider the impact of dependencies on future plans
Remember to consider High Availability and Disaster Recovery for these components
#6 - Planning and Testing High Availability and Disaster Recovery
Having a plan is good
Users are used to voice “always being available”
It’s not good enough until it’s tested
Areas often overlooked
Inbound carrier re-routing
Branch site DHCP/DNS
#7 - User experience is all about endpoints
Vast Differences in Quality and Cost
From a few dollars to hundreds of dollars
Don’t try to make unrealistic savings here
Areas to consider
Always use Qualified or Optimised Endpoints
IP Phones or USB headsets
Bluetooth vs DECT
Get a few options and test – talk to all the vendors
#8 - Rollout Strategyand Planning
Rollout Strategy
You are swapping out a business tool, get it rightFirst impressions really matter
Big bang or gradual?Which users when?
All features at once or a staged feature rollout?
Rollout Strategy
Setup before users arrive or setup with users?Do users expect to hit the ground running?
Or are they happy to “learn on the go”
#9 - User Training and End User Support
There is a lot to Lync, don’t ignore trainingBusiness users may not be as savvy as IT
Lots of training options
You can’t train users on every feature in one goStart off with the basics
Re-visit and build up skills
Give your power users the opportunity to learn more
The difference between OK and Great
Good end user support is critical
It’s a specialist skillset - end user support need to know the Lync client inside and out
#10 - Infrastructure Support and Lifecycle Management
Good Support is Vital
OptionsIn-house
Microsoft Premier Support
Certified Support Partner
Or a mix?
Third party components need support too
Monitor Your Lync Deployment
Monitoring Server Reports
SCOM/Synthetic Transactions
Voice Quality Management with Network Probes
Gateway Monitoring
Lifecycle Management
Patching (Clients, Servers, OS, Firmware)
Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways
User, Business and Technical Buy-in
Rollout and Support
Supporting Infrastructure
Q&A
Related content
OSS411 - Addressing Lync 2013 Security AspectsWednesday 3pm – 4pm
Track resources
Ignite - Ignite.office.com
FastTrack - fasttrack.office.com
Office Blogs – blogs.office.com
Office 365 Trust Centre - trustoffice365.com
Office 365 Customer Success Centre – success.office.comRegister for Office 365 Ignite - aka.ms/ausignite
Track resources
Melbourne Lync User GroupNovember 12th, 6pm at Microsoft FWP
Sydney Lync User GroupNovember 12th, 6pm at Microsoft North Ryde
Thanks! Don’t forget to complete your evaluationsAsk me questions on twitter@justimorris
aka.ms/mytechedmel