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Managed Solution is a Systems Integrator specializing in Unified Communications and network and systems infrastructure.

 

Providing solutions from both Microsoft and Cisco we have a unique perspective on the UC marketplace.  We are excited about the release of Lync and its ability to integrate with Microsoft's desktop applications as well as SharePoint, CRM and the rest of the Microsoft productivity stack. 

Lync puts Microsoft as the leader in UC and the market is really paying attention.

Managed Solution specializes in assisting

organizations with reducing IT operations costs while increasing end user productivity.  We can be reached at 888-563-9132 or on the web at www.managedsolution.com.

 UC Needs UM for QoE otherwise you get an RGE

Unified Communications Needs Unified Management for Quality of Experience 

Lync Performance Management Software

Customers should be totally and rightfully concerned about how Lync will perform since it is fully dependent on the voice and data infrastructure it runs on. It is about time we see vendors helping customers manage across the boundaries between QoE-Quality of Experience, Network Infrastructure and Voice Servers which of course is not a Microsoft only conversation. Kontinuum by Servera, Inc (www.LyncManagement.com) looks to be one of the first solutions designed specifically to address performance and quality risks for Lync™ and the infrastructure it depends on. The following diagram is how Servera about the management challenges ahead:

click here for larger version.
 

Get QoE Before You Get An RGE

"Unified Communications demands Unified Management and customers want to know that they have everything covered," says Shih CEO of Kontinuum software.  Kontinuum is a Lync UM solution designed to assist teams with assessment, monitoring, troubleshooting and reporting on everything involved in making the UC environment healthy.

The first major component with Kontinuum is the Lync Readiness Assessment capability which gives a deep analysis of an IT environment's ability to support a high-quality end user experience. I wrote a paper on the Top-10 Issues Before VoIP for XO and the #1 Issue is getting an network assessment. 

Kontinuum consists of active simulations of Lync traffic while at the same time passively analyzing its impact on the network and dependant servers. Servera recommends this as a way to understand risk points within the IT infrastructure and gives a great visual report that will make potential problems obvious and couples it with insight and recommendations. Below is an example:

ONE LAST LOOK - Lync CAL-Customer Access License Prices  

I get a lot of emails on "how much does Lync cost" though they use another word beginning with the letter "s."  Of course, in other mags/blogs there is "much to do about nothing" from all the pundits about how Lync is going fail and their going to win.  Alas, few simply point out that if you like Outlook, then your fate is complete, Lync is the answer.  If you don't like Outlook, then look at Google (maybe even Facebook) but certainly not the traditional "PBX gang." I started a journey like a person might by asking for help (hence the Help button to the right).  I asked a lot of people about putting together various types of Lync systems such as a BO-branch office, 100 user and 1,000 user system.  That is, if you want to get Lync, you need to know how much cheese, pasta, tomato sauce and other ingredients you will need.

Next, I warmed up the oven and started asking people for more information on what I might have forgotten. I asked even more people about the components.  Certainly the complexities of all the CAL options are not really explained very well in all the Microsoft documents like media gateways, infrastructure, etc.  Ok, that's not quite the story either.  Yes, there is a vast amount of information but its all so general you can quite figure out how much you really need.  I even did a Google search and found no help there.  So, if you are selling Lync related gear or goodies, then ramp up your Google AdWords budget and get going.  I spent nearly a whole day just looking for information and then was sent to Microsoft's Lync Partner Showcase page and looked around there for a while. Even called a few of the companies listed.  It was more like going shopping at a mall where you had to go to each store to get each item for the pizza and all I was looking for was California Pizza Kitchen.

Next, I started calling the old PBX-key system trusty reliable "Maytag Repairman" guys who have been doing this before many of you were born or toddlers (aka 1975).  There comments were less than enthusiastic.  Not that they are "Luddites" by any means but these folks make a living by keeping simple telephone systems "alive" and help small business customers do their job.  One commented that the customer may die before the antiquated pre-12K key system did.  "It just won't die," he said like the "Maytag Repairman."  Customers don't want anything more than phones, most commented.  This are also guys who know VoIP and have heard every story in the book.  Few of them have installed hosted-VoIP either.  Many customers just not wanting to take the chance on external reliability was the common theme against hosted VoIP. However, I did an "apple-to-apples" comparison between traditional TDM, IP and Lync for a SMB or BO setting of less than 40 stations.  Now, don't quote me or even ask me to do it again but the price for Lync is not awful at all.  According to Sean Ferrell, CEO of ManagedSolution.com (and yes, a new advertiser) who sells both Cisco and Microsoft said, "we tell people it's about $30 per month per user."  This applies to hosted or premise-based solutions.  Remember Sean and I are both saying YMMV-your mileage may vary but this is close to what I found as well.  For Lync on-premise, you need 1-2 servers, gateway, phones, CAL, etc.  For hosted, it's gateway and phones.  In comparison, traditional TDM, I was told by a number of sources that $300-500 a year per user is the range.  So whether is $30 x120 = $360 or $3-500, both are in the range.  Each has advantages and issues but it's time to start to baking a pizza.  

I also wanted to leave you with a point about the future.  Lync is also really about total content management, business intelligence, collaboration and other issues.  In other words, when you are talking about Lync, you should be really talking about the other business needs a customer has.  I have built three courses on SharePoint, trained hundreds on it and used it to manage more than 20 courses at a major telecom company.  SharePoint works even for a group of five IT trainers who teach a wide range of courses.  A SMB example is you have five products and each has a flyer, FAQ, documentation, price sheets, white papers, customer case studies and more.  How do you manage all that content without each sales person having a different version which may be out-of-date or wrong version of the product.  You use SharePoint for to manage all that content. Click here for larger version of the graphic.

This is a bit off-track but is not simply about communications but communicating the right-content to the right-person at the right-time.  We will also be doing two new newsletters on SharePoint and Channel convergence which you can signup if you are interested below.

Here is just one page from the Microsoft Server 2010 Pricing and Licensing overview.
As you can see the price for Lync is relatively inexpensive by itself.  However, Lync pricing is certainly not about Lync it is all about "taking the total business from the customer," one MS VAR who insisted on remaining anonymous.  I don't disagree with that.  Frankly it just stating the obvious and if you or anyone else could do that, you certainly would (take all the money).  To that point alone, another MS VAR said, "it's just easier to buy the entire package, than try to figure out which user(s) need what features."

This is a multi-part series because a number of people wanted to do their own analysis before commenting to me. 

Click Here for complete presentation

ONE LAST LOOK - Part 2 of 2 - Lync CAL-Customer Access License Prices by Andy Ord

Introduction

With the Microsoft virtual product launch (including a well-staged appearance from Bill Gates) and numerous regional events in recent weeks Lync Server 2010 has been responsible for unprecedented interest in Microsoft unified communications.  Now that the whirlwind of events is over and the dust settles I'm receiving a number of queries regarding licensing.  So users can receive the feature rich experience Microsoft intended a number of licenses must be in place.  In this post I'm confident you will find a concise reference for anyone deploying an on-premise Lync Server 2010 solution. 

Pre-Requisites

Before considering what you must purchase for an on-premise Lync solution there is a number of other Microsoft products which must be in place and licensed accordingly.  As a minimum the following must be in place, Windows Server and SQL Server.  It is essential that you have in place the licenses for these products, thereafter if deploying the full unified communications experience:

·         SharePoint is required for users taking advantage of skill search

·         Exchange is required for users with unified messaging

·         Office 2010 is required for users making use of Office integration

Windows Server is licensed through the Server/CAL model.  SQL is typically purchased in a similar Server/CAL model or "Per Proc" for larger enterprise deployments.

The version of Microsoft Office deployed is also a critical pre-requisite.  In order to access the functionality of Lync Server 2010 the Lync client application must be in place.  If you do not have Office Professional Plus 2010 suite entitlement you must purchase the standalone client application. 

CAL Changes

Previous versions of Lync only had two CAL options, Standard and Enterprise.  Now with Lync we have three for consideration as a new Plus CAL option has been introduced.  Remember a CAL is not a software product but rather the user right to access services and this CAL dictates the feature entitlement.  Microsoft has thankfully published tables detailing the feature entitlement of each CAL and I thoroughly recommend you review them at the earliest opportunity.  In brief some of the enterprise voice features available in previous product versions have been placed into the Plus CAL, this being a significant change from the previous Office Communications Server (OCS) 2007 R2 license model.

As a result of this change the enterprise voice technology features available from the Plus CAL are no longer included within the Enterprise CAL (ECAL) Suite.  Although existing users of Office Communications Server (OCS) 2007 R2 can take advantage of Grandfathering Software Assurance rights this will not be applicable for new deployments.  This change has been a common topic of discussion however Microsoft provides competitive options for purchasing enterprise voice features.

As with many other Microsoft products Lync CALs are additive.  For anyone new to Microsoft licensing let me explain this means Enterprise CAL and Plus CAL is an additional purchase over and above Standard CAL.   Depending on the quantity of users vs. devices you may obtain cost savings by purchasing CALs on a "per User" CAL or "per Device" CAL basis.  Finally External Connector licenses may be appropriate if you want external users who are not employees, for example, business partners accessing your Lync services as authenticated users.

Server Licenses

As you would imagine a server license must be purchased for each instance of the server software running regardless if the deployment is virtualised or operating on physical server hardware.  Two editions exist, standard edition and enterprise edition.  Standard edition is typically deployed for smaller organisations or in branch locations, enterprise being more applicable for larger organisations or where high availability is essential.  Regardless of the server license purchased Lync Server 2010 can be commissioned on a server with a number of roles.  These roles provide functionality for example, edge services for external access, audio/video conferencing or mediation between the on-premise Lync Server solution and the PSTN services.  The majority of Lync Server 2010 roles are considered "additional software" and do not require a license, however each front end server role requires a license.

Useful Links

With this concise summary I'm confident you can have informed discussions with local Microsoft licensing resellers.  Please make use of the fantastic resources available via links below.  If considering Microsoft-hosted or Partner-hosted deployment models please refer to the licensing guide in the first instance. 

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Pricing and Licensing Guide

Andrew Ord Unified Communications Blog

Lync Skill Search Demo

Lync Forward to Mobile Demo

Lync Location Demo

Lync Profile Pictures Demo

Follow andyord and ucfocus on twitter

Bill Gates on Microsoft Lync

Nexthop,  the Microsoft Lync Server team's customer response channel

Author

As a consultant, consumer and active contributor in the world of unified communications I have been fortunate enough to have started my journey from the earliest commercial beginnings of IP enabled voice and collaboration.  The introduction of Lync Server 2010 in the unified communications industry delivers upon the Microsoft vision Bill Gates had a number of years ago" comments Andrews Ord, Lync Server 2010 MVP Nominee, as he prepares for his next user group event in the North, details of which can be found here.  

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