A2S wins 35% of net revenue by installing systems in which all services and Internet telephony function in an integrated (unified communications systems). "But the 2S," says Renato Carneiro, President, "Live for something else." Because of unified communications, Carneiro has found time to take care of something else. Carneiro is no time to take care of the flagship.

Another systems integrator, Damovo, has gone so well. Damovo wins 70% of net revenue to the maintenance of conventional telephony, but Rogerio Fonseca Redondo, commercial director of Damovo of Brazil, devotes most of his time to projects for IP Telephony, WiMAX, IP videoconferencing.

The two companies, and Damovo 2S, earn recurring revenue with the flagship. It is a service long-term (two to three years), whereby the customer pays monthly. The 2S intertwined lives of three services: using algorithms monitoring, it detects network problems, then fix the problems and all the time, allocates technicians to perform tasks diaa-day in place of the customer's technical (as the task of going from computer to computer to update the antivirus). The three services are worth 50% of net sales in long-term contracts.

Carneiro and Rogério, while working on new technology projects, run out of time to increase the number of customers with recurring revenue services.

It is what is happening also in CIMCORP. Thaddeus Fucci, the president, is concerned with optimization projects as server and storage systems (with consolidation and virtualization), or in projects of high performance computing, and gets less time to care for the IaaS (the acronym for the infrastructure service). If the customer signs a contract IaaS for a few years CIMCORP receives a monthly fee and, in turn, operates, maintains and improves the infrastructure of the client computer. Thaddeus and crew worked six months to design the IaaS, launched the service in January and so far managed six clients. Even so, the staff takes care of most of CIMCORP temporary projects, such as optimization of servers, without the recurring revenue.

Flurry of projects

In October 2007, Microsoft released Office Communications Server 2007. In the same month, 2S OCS used to mount a room demonstrations for customers. Clients can not imagine a right unified communications system and understand concepts such as presence (the system says it

the user is online, and if not, says the best way to contact him now, either e-mail, cell phone, phone). In little over a month, Ram took 60 customers to visit the room of statements in a campaign called Get to Know - two customers a day, one morning, one in the afternoon.

The folks at Microsoft said all customers. They bought the rights to use any Microsoft product through agreements such as Select or Enterprise Agreement. For the folks at Microsoft, if customers have already paid by OCS, then you'd better use the OCS, before they begin to question the value of paying upfront. Another systems integrator, Pedro Rondon, director of operations B2br confirms: the sale of Microsoft products rose sharply in October here.

Ram was able to install unified communications system in 32 customers to date - for now, system tests, or pilot. Since the campaign ended Come to know, it takes two clients per week for room demonstrations - most indication of Microsoft. Every time a Microsoft partner makes a sale, a whole chain of companies into action. Roger, on Damovo, is selling more products from Extreme Networks, Juniper, Cisco, Enterasys, Polycom, Radware - partly because of unified communications. To help, Cisco has set up a rebate program to design for unified communications: Start Cisco, sometimes with 70% discount.

But there is another reason, says Thaddeus Fucci. Companies are spending money on projects, risk analysis, monitoring, virtualization, consolidation, contingency, backup, grid, high performance computing. These companies plan to borrow money from foreign investment funds, and therefore need to invest in IT administration very good. "IT is one of the pillars of governance." Every analyst knows that no credit business works well without IT to lend money, it will require evidence that the company manages the IT area as well (see story on page 14).

All of these projects while they eat, says Renato Carneiro. "Given the number of projects of new technology, increase the number of recurring revenue contracts became more difficult."

Typical conflicts

For the integrator, a system with new technology moves much money, but pays less; integrator needs to pass the part of manufacturers and new technology costs more. In addition, the new systems come with a guarantee of two years. The integrator provides warranty service on behalf of the manufacturer but the manufacturer fixes the price. "During the warranty period," says Roger, of Damovo, "there sacrificing margin."

Long-term services are complicated. Maintenance, for example, the integrator will send their employees to take classes at the manufacturer, will purchase spare parts, will send the parts to

various cities, will buy control algorithms for the term of contract, schedule of preventive care, handling of spare parts. "Anyone can sell," says Roger. "Not everyone can provide a service as well as maintenance."

So the CIO is wary of any company with which you need to sign a long term contract. And if the service is not good?

But there is a way to turn a temporary service, like assembling a new system, a permanent service: to perfect the integration of the new system. Sheep can mount a unified communications system with only two manufacturers. It's possible. But he always rides the system with four manufacturers, sometimes more. It uses many of the subsystems from two manufacturers (Cisco and Microsoft), but replaces some of the subsystems of these two manufacturers of subsystems from other manufacturers.

Done this, Aries then needs some time to meetings where manufacturers want to understand what happened, why 2S replaced subsystems such and such? Why not use more of my own technology? "These are the typical conflicts of an integrator." With four manufacturers, says Carneiro, you can build a perfect system of unified communications. The system will work best, will get more air time, it will be easier to use. "A unified communications system," says Ram, "changes the lives of those working in the field." Once users become accustomed to the new life, the system can not stop. Carneiro monitors 32 pilot systems with care: algorithms guarding the gateways, PBXs, routers, servers, computers. Unforeseen alarmed at the center of network monitoring within the 2S.

Living IQ

In 2s, the 32 customers represent 4000 UC users. On average, 125 users per customer. It's quite a few people, since many of these customers are large companies - most of them, Petrobras, employs 55,000 people.

Carneiro takes good care of these 32 pilot systems for that reason: they can easily get to 10 000 users. Just wait a bit, so that the employees of each client discover how to use the unified communications business. Then, these customers will buy more gateways, routers more, maybe even a 100% IP PBX - and will buy more services. Maybe buy network monitoring.

Or emergency assistance. Maybe pay a monthly fee per user, a contract of two or three years. Or maybe the customers showing the supplier to other colleagues.

Roger lives in Redondo directions well, so Damovo meets whimsy to the supplier warranty. Once the guarantee contract expires, the customer will need to deliver the new system (all done with IP technology) to the care of some maintenance company, as it already does with

the conventional telephone system. "0 services market," says Roger, "works on the basis of the statement." A service provided as well, even with "margin of sacrifice," then yields a good indication.

Published by: Telecom P. 12/13: Markets