The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/163881
A Lync of a Different Kind LINKING UP WITH LYNC by Dick Jensen of Goodmans LLP in Canada Our firm was faced with an aging Nortel phone system that was becoming less and less reliable. Scheduled weekend maintenance had become a white-knuckled affair as we waited to see which hardware would fail. As a result, we went out to find a new phone system. A CLEAR WINNER In meetings with vendors, they all told us they have 99.99999 percent reliability and more features than we would ever use. Our highest priorities were the integration between the phone and desktop computer, as well as choice of hardware (phone sets, headsets and conference phones). It quickly became apparent that Lync was the leader in all categories. Being a fairly new product, Lync had some risks that others had outgrown, such as whether it would be around in three years or shelved as we have seen Microsoft do in the past with other products. Would Microsoft put the needed resources to grow Lync into an enterprise product? We have now seen Microsoft merge the Skype and Lync divisions into one unit, which I believe is a very positive move. SOMEONE TO CONSULT If you are considering Lync, my first suggestion is to hire a good consultant. The old saying, "you don't know what you don't know" holds true here. Our firm has great staff who are very smart and competent, but this was uncharted territory, and you should not try to figure it all out on your own. We have all heard our network infrastructure must be ready for VoIP, but do you really know what that means? Is your Lync traffic in a separate VLAN? Are your server routes optimized for voice? Just looking at your average bandwidth use and turning on QOS is not enough. Lync QOS is not the same as Cisco QOS, and there is work involved to ensure it is working fully. Bridging your existing phone system to Lync likely requires a gateway. Finding someone who knows the gateway, Lync and your old phone system may be trickier than you think. AFTER IMPLEMENTATION Our gateway had temporary transition issues that existed only while we had users on both old and new systems running at the same time. One issue experienced was that attorneys' caller IDs were blocked when making outgoing calls. They appeared as "blocked callers" when calling people on Lync because the gateway saw Lync as outside the internal system. Changing an attorney's phone system is one of the hardest things to get them to accept no matter what vendor you choose. Users are more accepting of a Microsoft Word upgrade than having a new phone. We approached this by offering small training class sizes, and assistants received an initial class before the attorneys. Attorneys then attended with their assistant, at which point they received the new phones. Support staff remained at their desks when training was completed in case there were questions, and they did frequent drop-ins over the first few days. The question that people keep asking me is whether I would recommend Lync to other firms. Without hesitation, I would say yes. Interest in Lync is growing steadily in and outside of legal. The merger of the Skype division with Lync shows Microsoft's commitment to the product, and we're on board for the long haul. Peer to Peer 35