Avanade ITS, a global technology services organization, implemented Microsoft Lync as a unified communication platform to improve communication and collaboration among its global workforce of over 20,000 professionals. The company recognized the need for a secure global communication platform to address key business challenges, including improving the effectiveness of virtual teams and providing faster access to subject matter experts. The implementation of Lync resulted in reduced TCO, improved virtual team effectiveness, real-time access to subject matter experts, simplified internal and external collaboration, support for social networking capabilities, and mobile integration. Avanade was the first company to deploy a complete Microsoft Lync implementation, providing a unified interface for voice communication, instant messaging, and meetings (audio, video, and web) in a single rich experience. The solution was built on regionally loaded distributed Lync servers for balancing and fault tolerance. Unified messaging was implemented on Microsoft Exchange 2010 SP3, providing seamless integration with voice mail solutions. Lync provides a more streamlined and efficient way of communicating and collaborating, and integrates seamlessly with Avanade's core processes and behaviors. With support for XMPP, integration with other organizations and joint messaging platforms is also possible.
