Microsoft Lync revolutionises Noratel International’s Communications System

Noratel International (Pvt) Ltd. became one of the first local companies to successfully deploy a fully fledges unified communication solution powered by Microsoft Lync, along with an integrated communication and collaboration system into their communications network.

Almost a year since its introduction, Microsoft Lync has revolutionised the company’s communications experience and helped dramatically cut down costs with its ability to create real-time, face-to-face meetings regardless of geographical boundaries.

Noratel International, a multinational organisation with over 80 years of experience in producing top quality transformers has been able to reap maximum benefits out of their investment on Microsoft Lync.

This global giant has 16 companies in 12 countries and over 2,750 employees around the world. Microsoft Lync has proven to be the ideal solution for them with its ability to bring their vast network of employees ranging from executives, designers, manufacturers and their suppliers together effectively and efficiently, on to a simplified and more engaging collaboration platform. Microsoft Lync is a single platform that integrates instant messaging, presence, audio, video and web conferencing and voice to bring people together in the ways they communicate best. Lync provides one interface that works with applications that businesses know and use today, including Microsoft Office, Microsoft SharePoint and Microsoft Exchange.

Apart from revolutionising the organisation’s communication system, Microsoft Lync has seen a remarkable drop in cost of communications, according to Noratel International’s IT Manager (System Administration & Networks), Thilak Ranamuka.

“Our communications expenses has been cut down by at least 40 percent, possibly even 60 percent since we implemented Lync in 2010 because we no longer need to make expensive IDD calls and have been able to drastically cut down on travel costs incurred in attending our regular team meetings and executive reviews,” he said.

“Additionally, Microsoft Lync has really changed how we operate as a designing and manufacturing company – our engineers can brainstorm new solutions and consult with their colleagues around the world and everyone can contribute with Lync’s screen share and white board options. It’s like they’re in the same room with you, except without having paid the travel costs to get there.”

The Microsoft Lync communication system comprises of several unique features, making it an essentiality for any dynamic enterprise keen on staying ahead of its competition. Perhaps its most attractive feature is the system’s ability to track down and locate an individual irrespective of his availability at a particular location. The concept takes a fresh look at communications by following the person instead of a number.

With Lync, a person to be contacted even if the individual is away – maybe just a few work stations, or buildings or a different continent, without the hassle of having to remember a different contact number each time, and also with a mechanism to identify whether the person is available or not, based on their presence.Microsoft Lync allows the person to be followed on their mobile phone or landlines by simply clicking on their name on the Lync  user interface on their desktops because of its ability to determine how best to contact an individual at a given point in time based on their Outlook calendar.

The Instant Messaging (IM) feature built in to Lync allows the presence of any team member within an organisation be seen, allowing them to be simply ‘pinged’ over their IP address and have a conversation or connect via a call instantaneously. Call conferencing feature gives the freedom to patch up any number of individuals over a single call and conduct team meetings irrespective of their whereabouts.

The single interface formed by Lync uniting voice communications, presence, instant messaging, and audio/video/web conferencing have added a total new dimension to the way an organisation communicate and collaborate in real terms.“Lync delivers on Microsoft’s vision to unify all the areas of modern business communication, giving people a more collaborative experience. This combination of creative new tools allow individuals and groups collaborate naturally and effortlessly across any distance, providing a flexible platform for public and private organisations of all types and sizes,” said Pubudu Basnayake – SMS&P Director, Microsoft Sri Lanka.

“In addition to transforming how people communicate, IT departments can also benefit from Lync and evolve their infrastructure while enhancing or eliminating their traditional PBX systems, saving time and money. Most importantly, this is an ideal solution for managers and senior decision makers who want to change the way they conduct their routine managerial activities and simplify the operational complexity of their companies to shift focus on to the core business drivers.”

Microsoft Lync’s features that add to its versatility include virtual meetings and the server’s ability to work with public networks such as Windows Live Messenger, AOL, and Yahoo!, enabling users to use the call and video call aspect of Lync with outside parties when required.

Speaking on the Lync Virtual Meetings feature, Harsha Randeny, Partner Technology Advisor at Microsoft Sri Lanka stated: “The convenience and simplicity these virtual meetings offer are unbeatable. For example, if I’m in Singapore, and my colleague is in Sri Lanka where we want to attend a meeting and work on a presentation together, I can change and make edits on it by simply sharing his screen, so it’s not different to as if we were working on the same computer next to each other and I’ve just taken over editing physically.

“This also allows both of us to take part in even a customer or partner briefing session and make a live presentation via the web, where he can bring in his sales expertise and I can cover the technical aspects to an interactive single meeting, irrespective where the participants are located anywhere in the world.”

In today’s highly competitive business arena, where companies seek improved yet simple ways to make their day-to-day interactions a more engaging experience, Microsoft Lync provides the best collaborative platform that increases productivity and leads to business success. To find out more about the many capabilities of Microsoft Lync log on to http://lync.microsoft.com.