Understand Unified Communications

What is Unified Communications?

In the Western world we rely heavily upon a vast array of technical devices in order to be able to communicate. These devices include PCs, laptops, telephones, mobiles, VoIP systems, PDAs and fax machines. These types of appliances enable us to communicate using the web, email, chat, instant messaging, text, video and voice. Replicate this across all or most of those devices and managing all of the functionality can become an issue.

Unified communications (also known as UC) is designed to enable users to manage all of these devices and applications through one single environment. This will simplify the whole process and users can then for example make and take all calls from a mobile phone, PDA or from a desk phone regardless where they are located and from the device that is the most accessible.

Unified Communications is one of the most competitive of technologies and as such is serviced by a plethora of vendors. Vendors like Cisco, Mitel, ShoreTel, Toshiba Business Communications, Aastra, BT, LG-Ericsson, Microsoft, Avaya, AVST with their CallXpress Platform and Plantronics for their innovative and superb headset technology. Traditional mobile network operators such as O2 have fantastic business VoIP services as the market joins up its communications.

The Future of Unified Communications

The trend in this area is set to continue to develop and grow for a number of reasons. New and more effective methods of communication are constantly being developed, for example we now see the growth of 3G (Third Generation Mobile Network*1) that gives greater capability and capacity to mobile phones, PDAs and their users.

Likewise, with the growth of wireless networks and hot spots, business people and consumers no longer need to rely on their mobile phone when they are out of the office and the desk phone when they are in the office while only being able to have internet access when they are either at home or in the office. Everything can be done through one device, at any time and at the convenience of the user rather than where the device is located.

Why Unified Communications?

Unified communications technology automates, unifies, or integrates all forms of communications with the aim of improving and maximising processes that have previously been heavily dependent on human interaction.

For example, unified communications allows for a voice message sent to a phone to be automatically forwarded to a mobile phone or sent as a text or even sent as an email to a PC or PDA.

This reduces the time to respond to calls and messages and improves the efficiency in which an individual responds. It also eliminates the need to rely on several devices, as you will now be able to access all functions from one device, thereby unifying all of those processes.

With the continued development of PDAs, PCs and thin computing to name but a few, people using unified communications can communicate to anyone, anywhere, regardless of the device that they are using and indeed the application e.g. IM (see IM in glossary), chat, voice etc.

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