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CASE STUDY
1
UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS AT BOEING
The Boeing Company (http://www.boeing.com/), headquartered in Chicago,
Illinois, is the world’s largest manufacturer of military aircraft and
commercial jetliners. Boeing has more than 159,000 employees working in
70 different countries who require effective communication to develop and
build some of the world’s most complex products using components from
more than 22,000 global suppliers.
The company’s workforce is one of the most highly educated in the
world. Most employees hold a college degree and many hold advanced
degrees. Collectively Boeing employees have very broad and deep
knowledge that can be harnessed to solve problems and design next
generation products.
Like many major corporations, Boeing has experienced an uptick in the
number of employees who work remotely or travel the majority of each work
week. Boeing’s engineers number in the thousands and are purposely
scattered worldwide to support the company’s global operations.
Boeing organizes its employees into work and project teams. Given the
company’s size and geographic footprint, many of Boeing work’s teams
include globally dispersed members. Engineers on the same team may be
separated by multiple time zones and thousands of miles. Time zone
differences and distance frequently present teams with communication
challenges when they are faced with time sensitive issues that must be
resolved quickly.
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Additional communication issues are associated with the sheer breadth
and depth of Boeing’s knowledge base. When faced with questions about a
particular part included in one of Boeing’s new airliners, an engineer can be
challenged to identify the right person in the company to contact for
answers.
Collaboration Technologies
Boeing knows that continual innovation is important to its long term success.
It also recognizes that effective communication among its employees,
customers, and suppliers is an important enabler of continual innovation.
Boeing has traditionally relied on a variety of systems to facilitate
collaboration among its employees and business partners. As illustrated in
Figure C1-1a, Web conferencing, audio conferencing, desktop sharing, and
mobile voice and data services have been used by Boeing employees to
facilitate communication among geographically dispersed team members.
Historically, these capabilities have been provided by different third-party
providers who were selected on the basis of their ability to provide highquality communication services at competitive rates.
By the mid-2000s, Boeing had begun its migration toward unified
messaging and unified communications. At that time, instant messaging (IM)
was one of the more popular messaging services used Boeing employees. At
Boeing, IM has traditionally been supplemented by Web and audio
conferencing services as well as by desktop sharing services. The capabilities
provided by these services are especially important when answers to
complex questions are needed. During the mid-2000s, more than 100,000
employees used conferencing services each year. As you might expect,
conferencing services represented a significant percentage of Boeing’s
annual communication expenses.
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As collaboration technologies, the desktop sharing and conferencing
systems worked well alone, but it was not easy to get them to use them
simultaneously for a virtual team meeting. To use them in combination
required scheduling conference rooms equipped with at least one phone lines
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and data drop. It also required reserving conferencing time with one or both
service providers, getting all locations logged in to each service, and
performing some quick set up tasks and tests at the beginning of each
session. Hence, while it was possible to use multiple collaboration capabilities
at the same time, this was not easily or transparently done. Advanced
planning was needed at all locations to have satisfactory interactive
conferencing and desktop sharing sessions.
Over time, it became increasingly more apparent to Boeing that a
superior collaboration platform was needed. While the company’s
subscriptions to third-party services did support collaboration among
geographically dispersed team members, Boeing began to feel that it needed
something that was both easier and more robust to achieve the levels of
collaboration, innovation and responsiveness that it aspired to have.
Converged Network Project
In 2008, Boeing signed a $400 million contract with AT&T to consolidate its
existing voice and data networks into an IP-network. Boeing began using
AT&T’s WAN services, audio conferencing services, and wireless voice and
data services. Moving the bulk of its communication facilities to a common
IP-based network infrastructure enabled Boeing to roll out unified messaging
services to more of its employees. The converged network project also set
the stage for its subsequent move to unified communications.
To better serve its mobile workers, one of the first enterprise-wide
applications that Boeing deployed on its converged IP network was
Mircosoft’s Office Communication Server. This was implemented to provide
desktop sharing, VoIP, audio conferencing, instant messaging, and presence
capabilities to all of its workers worldwide. This quickly became a popular
supplement or alternative to the company’s traditional collaboration services.
Boeing subsequently made the decision to upgrade to Mircosoft’s Lync
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Server to enable its employees to leverage enhanced presence, ad hoc
collaboration, desktop sharing, and online meeting capabilities.
Boeing’s collaboration capabilities before and after the creation of the
converged IP network are illustrated in Figure C1.1. It is important to note
that Boeing continues to subscribe to many of the collaboration services that
it used prior to implementing its unified communications solutions. Hence,
UC is best observed to be a supplement not a replacement to the
collaboration systems that were already in place.
One of the key changes associated with Boeing UC system has been the
ability of employees to use the same softphone headset to support both
office and mobile phone calls. Phone capabilities follow the mobile worker
who can specify which device to route calls to on the fly. Their Boeing phone
number is always the same whether they are in their office, at home, on the
road, or working on the other side of the world. Detailed presence
information about team members is provided via Lync’s location and activity
feed capabilities. Supply chain partners are also able see the presence
information of their key contacts at Boeing; this facilitates their interactions
with engineering and maintenance teams at Boeing.
UC Benefits
Boeing’s converged IP network and unified communications capabilities
enable employees share information and knowledge more quickly and
effectively, regardless of their location. Boeing’s geographically dispersed
engineers use these systems to share expertise with one another just as
they could if they were in the same place at the same time. The ability to
support unified communications capabilities over the converged IP network
facilitates knowledge sharing and has become an important facet of Boeing’s
collaboration and knowledge management strategies.
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The company’s unified communications system enables employees at
remote locations to have the same capabilities that have in their home
offices. Virtual teams benefit from being able to adjust their interactions to
the communication mode that makes the most sense. For example, they are
able to transition from instant messaging to a voice communication and/or
desktop sharing session depending on what the situation requires. The UC
system’s enhanced presence capabilities also provides real time information
about the current availability and activities of other Boeing employees so
that they can be brought into conversations about how to address time
sensitive problem issues about parts, maintenance issues, or assembly line
delays.
Boeing has benefitted from increased productivity and efficiency at both
the individual and team levels. Its UC capabilities and converged IP network
have also helped the company rein in its Web and audio conferencing costs.
Prior to the UC implementation, Boeing experienced double-digit growth in
costs associated with Web conferencing. Web conferencing continues to be
widely used by Boeing employees, but the annual costs associated with Web
conferencing have leveled off as employees increasingly use UC desktop
sharing and audio conferencing capabilities instead of third-party
conferencing services.
Boeing’s annual costs for audio conferencing services have decreased by
more than 15% since implementing the UC system. While Boeing still
subscribes to third-party audio conferencing services, these are being used
less frequently for team meetings as the result of the company’s UC
capabilities.
The UC system has been positively received by Boeing employees. It is
widely viewed as a platform that facilitates collaboration in an engaging
manner. Boeing continues to have the reputation of being one of the world’s
most innovative companies and its decision to implement unified
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communications on a converged IP network demonstrates its commitment to
deploy technologies that enable innovation.
Discussion Points
1.
Some virtual teams at Boeing have discussions focused on military
aircraft. Do some Internet research on UC security mechanisms and
identify and briefly describe several that Boeing should have in
place to ensure the privacy and integrity of such discussions.
2.
To what extent do the UC benefits experienced by Boeing mirror
those of other firms that have deployed UC capabilities over
converged IP networks?
3.
To date, Boeing has not implemented the full range of capabilities
available through UC systems. If you were the CIO at Boeing, what
additional UC capabilities would you implement? What benefits
would you expect Boeing to derive from deploying these
capabilities?
Sources
[MICR10] Microsoft Case Studies. “Boeing Expects to Lower Costs and
Improve Productivity with Messaging Solution.” March 16, 2010. Retrieved
online at:
http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Case_Study_Detail.aspx?casestudyid
=4000006703.
[MICR11] Microsoft Case Studies. “Boeing Promotes Knowledge Sharing for
Global Workforce with Communications Solution.” April 29, 2011. Retrieved
online at: http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Microsoft-Lync-Server2010/Boeing/Boeing-Promotes-Knowledge-Sharing-for-Global-Workforcewith-Communications-Solution/4000009654.
[REED08] Reed, B. “AT&T snags big Boeing voice/data contract.”
NetworkWorld. August 12, 2008. Retrieved online at:
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/081208-boeing-att-contract.html
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CASE STUDY
2
CORE CREDIT UNION
CORE Credit Union (www.corecu.org)is a state-chartered credit union whose
main office is located in Statesboro, Georgia. Statesboro is located in Bulloch
County which is the largest county in east Georgia (in square miles). It is a
predominantly rural county with a population of 70,000+ where agriculture
is a significant part of the local economy. Statesboro, with a population of
28,000, is the county seat and is the central hub for both the public and
private sectors of the economy. Brooklet is the largest community in the
eastern part of the county, it is located about 10 miles east of Statesboro.
Portal, located about 14 miles west of Statesboro, is the largest population
center in western Bulloch County. Bulloch County is one of the fastest
growing counties in Georgia and the U.S. Its population grew more than
25% from 2000 to 2010.
Credit Unions vs. Banks
Credit unions are financial institutions that are similar to community
banks in terms of the products and services that they provide to consumers.
However, they differ from banks in several important ways. First, credit
unions are non-profit organizations and unlike for-profit banks, they are not
subject to federal or state income taxes. Second, credit unions are
cooperatives and each credit union member owns the equivalent of one
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share of the organization. Banks on the other hand have shareholders, who
own shares of the bank’s stocks. Bank managers and their Boards of
Directors (who are typically paid) operate their banks in ways to maximize
returns to bank stockholders. Credit union managers and their Board of
Directors (who are unpaid volunteers) do this as well, but in their case,
every customer is also a shareholder who owns the equivalent of one share
of stock. When credit unions are well-managed, everyone benefits, typically
in terms of higher interest rates on savings accounts and certificates of
deposit (CD) and/or lower rates on loans. In banks, only a small fraction
their customers, if any, are stockholders and it is the stockholders who
benefit most from good decision making on the part of bank managers.
Third, banks compete openly with one another for consumer and business
accounts. Credit unions, however, may be restricted to offering their
services to select employee groups (SEGs) and/or geographic regions. This
limits their membership and growth opportunities.
Like banks, accounts at credit unions are insured up to $250,000. The
Federal Deposit Insurance Agency insures account at banks. The National
Credit Union Association (NCUA) insures credit union accounts. Both banks
and credit unions are subject to annual audits by independent auditors.
State banking agencies, such as the Georgia Department of Banking, also
audit the banks and credit unions that operate in their states. The FDIC and
NCUA also perform annual audits for the financial institutions that they
provide insurance for. In recent years, audit results have resulted in the
closure or merger of multiple banks. From 2010 to 2012, the state of
Georgia led the nation with its number of community bank closures.
Competitive Environment
CORE CU is classified as state-charted community credit union. For much of
its 30 year history, it was primarily a credit union for educators (public
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school teachers and university faculty and staff). The local hospital (East
Georgia Regional) and several manufacturers (including Briggs & Stratton,
Great Dane, and Viracon), successfully petitioned for membership and
eventually the decision was made to change its charter to become a
community credit union where anyone who “lives, works, or worships” in
Bulloch County can join the credit union and take advantage of its products
and services.
Within Statesboro, CORE competes for members with a federally
chartered credit union. It also competes with multiple community banks
(including Colonial, Farmers and Merchants, Heritage, Sea Island) and
national banks (BB&T, Queensborough, and Wells Fargo) for consumer and
business accounts.
Competitively, CORE credit union has held its own. It has approximately
8,000 members and more than $50M in assets. Over the last decade it has
experienced double-digit annualized asset growth rates and has one of the
state’s best performers in the financial services industry in terms of return
on assets (ROA) and other key financial performance metrics. During the
economic downturn, CORE continued to grow in assets, members, and
branch locations. In 2009, it opened a branch in Brooklet, Georgia and in
2012 it opened a branch in Portal, Georgia.
IT Infrastructure
Information technology has been a key contributor to CORE credit union’s
growth and solid financial performance. CORE was one of the first credit
unions in Georgia to have a Web page and it has been among the early
adopters of other banking applications such as telephone banking, Internet
banking, online bill paying services, and mobile banking. The credit union’s
management team and Board of Directors has demonstrated consistent
interest in IT applications and infrastructure that extend products and
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services to its members. Because so many of its key products and services
are delivered online as well as via traditional means, members who move
out of the area often continue to use CORE as their primary financial
services after they move out of the area.
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As illustrated in Figure C2.1a, CORE has a 100 Mbps Ethernet LAN at its
main office and at each of its operating locations. Tellers, customer service
personnel loan officers, managers, and back office personnel at the main
office use computers that are attached to the Ethernet LAN. Teller and loan
transactions are performed on a Share One server that is also attached to
the LAN. Each walk-in customer who makes a deposit, withdrawal, or loan
payment receives a printed record of the transaction and their account
balances are updated by the Share One server in real time.
Teller and loan officer computers at the branch offices are logically part
of the Ethernet LAN at the main office. Each connects to the Share One
server at the main office via a VPN connection. Like those for customers at
the main office, transactions for walk-ins at the branches result in real-time
updates to account balances.
All transactions on the Share One server are replicated in near-real-time
at the Share One service center in Memphis, Tennessee. Exact duplicates of
the Share One server and storage area network (SAN) at CORE’s main office
in Statesboro are located in the Share One service center. In fact, there are
two duplicates of each at the Memphis location. Both are configured exactly
like their counterparts in Statesboro. One is used for data replication (back
up) and the second is available as a failover or for immediate shipment to
CORE should some type of disaster (fire, tornado, earthquake, hurricane,
etc.) strike CORE’s main office.
Voice Network
Voice communication has always been an important part of banking and is
essential to high-quality customer service. As you might expect, phones are
always ringing at CORE Credit Union and being able to address customer
needs by phone is an important part of every business day. CORE’s voice
network is illustrated in Figure C2.1b. CORE has a PBX on premises at the
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main office to support its staff of 20. Two-dozen phone lines and three
facsimile lines are supported at the main office. Each of CORE’s branches has
three phone lines and another line for facsimile. Phone calls between the
main office and the branches are routed through at least one central office
(CO). Calls between the main office and the Main Street Village branch are
connected via the Frontier Communications CO in Statesboro. Calls between
the main office and either the Brooklet or Portal branch go through two
CO’s: the Frontier Communication’s CO and a Bulloch Telephone CO.
One of CORE’s older outreach services is phone banking. For almost two
decades, members have been able to dial into COREY, an interactive voice
response (IVR) system that enables members to check account balances,
transfer money between accounts, and make loans payments. Because
COREY enables members to do many types of transactions by phone, it
reduces the need for members to call a customer service representative for
help in performing routine financial transactions. This means that customer
service representatives are more likely to be available to help members
address more complicated issues.
When customers call the main number at CORE, they are greeted by an
IVR recording and COREY is one of the menu options. Callers who select the
COREY option hear another set of menu options. Because some callers select
IVR options that affect account balances, such as verifying balances or
transferring money among accounts, the IVR must necessarily be able to
access account information in the Share One transaction processing system.
Hence, the IVR server is connected to both the PBX and the Ethernet LAN at
CORE.
ATM Network
CORE has a drive-up ATM the ma …
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