Renault

Car Maker Turns to Unified Communications to Support Flexible Working Environment

The “new way of working” initiative at car manufacturer Renault encourages and supports a better work/life balance for its employees. The company wanted to strengthen its new, more flexible working environment through the use of unified communications technology, which combines telephony with computing to deliver a smoother experience for users. Some Renault employees are already using Microsoft® Office Communications Server 2007, integrated with the company’s voice over IP (VoIP) hardware solution, to get a taste of a true unified communications environment. They can communicate in real time with instant messaging, see employee availability with presence awareness, and transition seamlessly to multiparty conferences. In addition, employees can work from home or other offices with intuitive, easy-to-use tools that support real-time collaboration.

Situation

The investment in unified communications tools such as Office Communications Server 2007 is an opportunity to ensure return on investment and reduce the number of solutions to deploy and support in the future.  François Marsollier Environment Tools Strategy Consultant Renault

One of Europe’s leading car manufacturers, Renault has industrial and commercial presence in 118 countries. With headquarters in Paris, France, the company employs nearly 130,000 people who are involved in the design, production, and marketing of safe and economical vehicles. Customer satisfaction is a priority at Renault, and this, combined with its unwavering commitment to innovation and international expansion, helped the business achieve revenues of €41.5 billion (U.S.$57.6 billion) in 2006.

Renault is also dedicated to innovation in the workplace. The company’s “travailler autrement,” or “new way of working,” initiative supports and encourages a better work/life balance through technology. The aim is to help people work more efficiently by providing a flexible work environment, allowing employees to operate from different locations that suit them. François Marsollier, Environment Tools Strategy Consultant at Renault, says, “The initiative is designed to open up new methods and practices so that people aren’t restricted by traditional, desk-bound approaches to working. It gives people the tools and training to work more flexibly and the technology they need to work seamlessly from other offices or from home.”

Renault recognizes that one of the main technology pillars that supports this new way of working is unified communications. This integration of communications channels bridges the gap between telephony and computing so that organizations can deliver real-time messaging, voice, and conferencing to employee computers.

Marsollier explains that one of the company’s goals was to encourage greater collaboration through more efficient communications methods. “In the past, the adoption of tools such as Web conferencing was very progressive,” he says. “But today, because of the lack of integration with other communications tools, this functionality is less effective.” Marsollier knew that engineers and designers, for example, would benefit from integrated tools that could help them work more closely with their colleagues to speed up projects and inspire new ideas.

In 2004, the company took the first step toward these goals by implementing voice over IP (VoIP) to route voice conversations over the Internet. For its VoIP solution, Renault adopted a Cisco IP Telephony solution, which provides the gateway for voice communications between the company and the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). VoIP uses less bandwidth than traditional telephone calls, which can make it more cost-effective.

In addition, Renault is deploying Microsoft® Office Live Communications Server 2005, which offers employees presence awareness and instant messaging (IM). But the company is now looking further ahead. To achieve a true unified communications environment, increase workers’ efficiency, and support the company’s “new way of working” approach, Renault wanted to combine its VoIP technology with its messaging platform.

Solution

Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 is a real-time unified communications environment based on Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) standards. Office Communications Server 2007 delivers software-powered VoIP that can work with an organization’s existing messaging and telephony infrastructure.

As part of a pilot program, Renault integrated Office Communications Server 2007 with its existing VoIP system, linking it to the PSTN using a Dialogic® DMG4000 Media Gateway—a cost-effective solution designed to support Microsoft unified communications technology.

Approximately 100 Renault employees are taking part in the Office  Communications Server 2007 pilot, including IT team members and other employees who are involved in the “new way of working” initiative. “We picked a group of people including many who aren’t highly technical so that we could see just how easy the technology is to use. We wanted to keep training to a minimum,” Marsollier says.

These employees now use the intuitive, easy-to-use interface of the Office Communicator 2007 client to direct calls to and from Cisco hard phones. Click-to-call features make it easy to initiate calls. Employees simply click the person’s name within the Office Communicator 2007 interface, or from within other Microsoft Office applications where presence information is shown, such as the Microsoft Office Outlook® messaging and collaboration client. Office Communications Server 2007 pulls in address book and corporate directory information so that employees can use presence indicators to share information about their availability, helping them communicate in real time. Employees can also communicate using IM—an important business productivity tool for fast, direct collaboration.

Office Communications Server 2007 also integrates with Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging, which delivers a unified inbox that includes e-mail, voice mail, and faxes. The solution places voice messages into users' inboxes alongside their e-mail, and users can access their messages from any phone.

Employees participating in the pilot use Office Communicator 2007 as a soft phone client, and headsets to speak to colleagues. Eventually, Renault plans to eliminate the need for hard phones by rolling out an entire unified communications network, with employees working with just a personal computer and a mobile phone.

Benefits

VoIP is becoming a crucial technology. Office Communications Server 2007 aligns with our corporate strategy, and makes it possible for employees to spend less time traveling.  François Marsollier Environment Tools Strategy Consultant Renault

Unified communications is playing a key role in the Renault initiative to provide a more flexible workplace. Employees can use presence features to support real-time collaboration, and remote employees are setting up conferences faster and more easily, thanks to intuitive tools that make any time, anywhere communication possible. The company anticipates significant cost savings through the use of these integrated capabilities.

Supports “New Way of Working” Strategy

In January 2007, Renault signed an agreement with unions to offer employees the opportunity to work from home. With their managers’ consent, technicians, engineers, and other employees can work from home, up to four days a week. This supports the company's “new way of working” approach, giving employees a better work/life balance while helping the business to operate more efficiently.

Marsollier says, “VoIP is becoming a crucial technology. Office Communications Server 2007 aligns with our corporate strategy, and makes it possible for employees to spend less time traveling.”

Unified communications and presence awareness in particular play a key role in the company's initiative. For example, employees who are using presence awareness in Office Communications Server 2007 are changing the way they work and communicate with one another across many countries. It’s possible to see whether a colleague is available for a conversation from any location. People can communicate in real time wherever they are―at home, at a new desk, in another building, or overseas.

As Marsollier explains, Office Communications Server 2007 offers several enhancements to Live Communications Server 2005, as well as number of innovative new features. With Office Communications Server 2007, employees can be contacted whatever their location, because they can set the solution to automatically forward calls to the most appropriate device, whether it is a soft phone, mobile device, or voice mail. Mobile users can also make voice or video calls from wireless hotspots, or from anywhere that has an Internet connection, while employees who work within the office are no longer bound by the location of their desk phone.

Reduces Costs

Under the “new way of working” agreement, 24,000 Renault employees at the company's Paris headquarters will now share desks, or “hot-desk,” saving the company 2,000 “desks.” With designated desk space costing approximately €15,000 to €20,000 (U.S.$20,775 to $27,700) a year per seat, the company will potentially save up to €20 million (U.S.$27.7 million) a year.

Marsollier predicts the solution could help Renault save costs for years to come, simply by taking the place of numerous disparate solutions that may otherwise be necessary to help it keep up with evolving communications needs. He says, “The investment in unified communications tools such as Office Communications Server 2007 is an opportunity to ensure return on investment and reduce the number of solutions to deploy and support in the future.”

With Office Communications Server 2007, users can easily escalate an IM or voice conversation to a conference involving three or more people at the same time, making advanced communication far easier.  François Marsollier Environment Tools Strategy Consultant Renault

Consolidates Communications Channels

Unified communications combines features such as directory information or presence awareness for all channels of communication including voice, e-mail, IM, and fax. IT managers can administrate a consolidated system more cost-effectively by using fewer resources. And employees are assured of a far more seamless experience, because they can contact one another in ways that suit them best from one minute to the next.

Renault is already benefiting from unified communications features, such as an integrated user interface, and from some integration with VoIP telephony. But as the company is discovering through its proof of concept, Office Communications Server 2007 opens up many new possibilities for a more unified infrastructure in the future.

Makes Conferencing Fast and Simple

Employees can use new multimedia conferencing tools including on-premise conferencing (audio, video, and Web) features that offer “virtual meeting” functionality. Project managers working remotely can link up to discuss project strategies, while engineers can use the rich presentation functionality to share designs and plans.

Although peer-to-peer video conferencing was available before, Renault employees can now see and speak to several colleagues at the same time. In addition, users can transition conversations seamlessly from a two-person voice call to a multiparty conference, adding attendees simply by dragging names into the conference field.

Says Marsollier, “With Office Communications Server 2007, users can easily escalate an IM or voice conversation to a conference involving three or more people at the same time, making advanced communication far easier.”

Security standards for IM are now enforced with built-in security protocols within Office Communications Server 2007—all IM traffic and server-to-server communication is encrypted. In addition, presence features are richer than ever, with greater user control and information sharing options.

Accelerates User Adoption

A clear unified communications strategy is helping Renault make a smooth transition to a more innovative, flexible workplace. The organization is building a clear road map, not just for a future-proof IT infrastructure, but for the progress of its employees. Unified communications based on Microsoft technology has addressed the operational preferences of users through more-intuitive features and functions. Office Communications Server 2007 is easy to use and manage, and it requires minimal training.  “People are enthusiastic about the fact that with Office Communications Server 2007 they need one password to access all their communications applications,” says Marsollier. “And features such as click-to-dial help people contact their colleagues with minimal effort.”

On the face of it, software-powered VoIP is a big step, yet the pilot has proven that users take to it quickly. In fact, employees have adapted to the Office Communicator 2007 client without training. Marsollier says, “User feedback so far has been very positive about Office Communicator 2007. Our selection of nontechnical people learned intuitively how to use the tools without instruction, even the main functionalities.”

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For more information about Renault products and services, visit the Web site at:
www.renault.com

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Document published November 2007