IP Telephony Unveiled

IP Telephony Unveiled

(80)

Figure 5-1 Understanding the Business Is the Key to Convergence

Sample Business Cases

The model in Figure 5-1 can identify business needs and turn that knowledge

into a new type of application that addresses specific requirements. This model can

be applied to six different sectors:

• Hospitality

• Secondary education

• Higher education

• Retail

• Health care

• Finance

Hospitality/Hotels

Hotels have been relatively slow to adopt IP telephony. This industry is

heavily focused on costs—ironically, cost containment is turning into one of the

major initiatives that is causing this industry to investigate IPT. Initially, however,

the thinking was as follows:

“We need to contain our costs. Our phones work just fine. Our guests are not

asking for smarter phones, but looking for entertainment and tools to help them

Work

Process

Work

Process

Key Business

Process

Key

Initiative

Work

Process

Applications

and Documents

Applications

and Documents

Applications

and Documents

Features

Features

Features

Work

Process

Work

Process

Key Business

Process

Work

Process

Applications

and Documents

Applications

and Documents

Applications

and Documents

Features

Features

Features

Chapter 5: Focusing on the Few

(81)

conduct business while traveling. We don’t need new voice technologies at this

time, we just need more ‘heads on beds.’”

This thought process dominated most decision makers in the hospitality

industry when they were initially introduced to IP telephony. However, as the

potential for new types of applications continues to surface, leaders in these

organizations are beginning to align their expectations with how IPT can

significantly impact their specific initiatives. One initiative, for example, pertains

to room service.

Room service is a key business process in many full-service hotels because it

generates revenue for the hotel and enhances customer satisfaction by providing a

convenient service to clients. As in other industries, the traditional sources of

revenue are changing. In recent years, for example, the prevalence of cell phones

has dramatically reduced the revenues that hotels earn from long-distance calls

made by guests. Hotels are looking for new ways to increase their revenues and

control costs. Looking specifically at the work process involved for providing in-

room breakfast service, some clear opportunities for business impact become

evident.

The menu, for example, represents an investment in design, printing, and

perhaps even translation services. As such, the menu is part of the cost of sales that

a hotel incurs to offer room service. In an IP telephony business assessment, the

goal is to find applications and/or documents that can be enhanced.

The menu is usually multicolored, double-sided, and printed on heavy stock

paper. It often has a special perforation that allows it to hang on a doorknob. This

menu, depending on its complexity, can easily be $0.75 to $1.25 per document,

and the hotel provides one in every room, every night.

Now, consider the process itself. George checks into his room late at night and

wants to order breakfast for the morning. He makes his selection on the menu,

and hangs the menu outside his door. Later in the night, someone comes by and

retrieves this document. This is labor to the hotel. The employee takes the

document downstairs into the kitchen, where someone enters the information into

a computer system. This, too, is labor cost to the hotel.

Yet another consideration remains. These menus have a reminder to hang the

document on the door by midnight, suggesting that at some point, this process is

cut off. In other words, potential revenue is cut off. In the case of someone who is

IP Telephony Unveiled

(82)

arriving on a late-night flight and checking-in at the hotel too late to set up

breakfast, a potential loss of room service revenue exists for the hotel.

Figure 5-2 shows the relationship between the initiative, key business process,

work process, application/document, and feature for this opportunity.

Figure 5-2 Hospitality Business Opportunity

Up to this point, all these have been considered fixed and necessary costs for

the breakfast room service. The question is, can IP telephony, or more specifically,

IP telephony applications, impact this process? Can any costs from this process be

reduced through convergence? The answer is yes.

Figure 5-3 depicts a typical application being deployed in hotel rooms

because of IP telephony. This type of application is currently provided by

applications development organizations, such as Calence, Percipia, and Norstan.

This hospitality application is designed for IP phones in hotel rooms. It

presents a myriad of opportunities for customer service, revenue generation, and

employee productivity for hotel staff. It is made possible by placing a more

intelligent device in hotel rooms.

Figure 5-3 Room Service as an Application for Hospitality

INITIATIVE

Contain Costs

in Room Service

BUSINESS PROCESS

Room service

WORK PROCESS

In-Room Dining

Breakfast

APPLICATION/DOCUMENT

Breakfast menu

FEATURE

Multiple Selections

Time "Reservation"