“From the Trenches: An End-User Look at Lync”
With so much information currently about Lync out on the market, sometimes we get caught up in the technical specs and forget about the end user. This article is going to be about how a typical end user, yours truly, uses Lync on a day to day basis.
The first thing that I noticed about Lync, once my IT team installed it on my machine, was the ease of adoption and use. Similar to everything Microsoft, Lync lays out the user interface that’s in line with all of their other products. Being in my mid 20s, I’ve grown up using the Microsoft tool set (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, etc…) and figuring out where and how everything works within Lync, took all of 15 minutes. With only a couple of clicks within the same interface, I could see whether or not my clients and coworkers were online, start IM conversations and even make a quick phone call.
Given the nature of my work as an outside sales manager, I sometimes need to do the “face to face” with a client. Previously, scheduling a video call required that I be in our conference room with dial in numbers, web logins, etc… to be set up in advance. Now, I can be on the road, plug in my $30 webcam into my laptop, and have a video conference going with multiple people in under a minute. I can’t overstate how much this has helped drive business and customer relations for me. Having that face time with long distance clients really does make a big difference.
Finally, I believe the greatest aspect of Lync, is the fact that all of the above features are accessible outside of my corporate network. All I need is an internet connection and off I go. It’s made working from home a great experience as I don’t fall behind on work given my remote distance. On sick days, I can still accept calls and IM clients without getting my coworkers infected. During the snowy days of Colorado, business still moves forward through conferencing, even if the local grocery store is shut down due to weather conditions.
All I can really say to summarize Lync is that this tool has changed the way I do business, for the better, and moving forward there is no way to work without it. If you want to help your business by enabling your end users to be the most productive, Lync is the way to go.
-Arash Zadeh, PEI
