Unified communications
Encyclopedia
Unified communications is the integration of real-time communication services such as instant messaging
(chat), presence information
, telephony (including IP telephony), video conferencing, data sharing (including web connected electronic whiteboards aka IWB's or Interactive White Boards
), call control
and speech recognition with non-real-time communication services such as unified messaging
(integrated voicemail
, e-mail
, SMS
and fax
). UC is not a single product, but a set of products that provides a consistent unified user interface and user experience across multiple devices and media types.
In its broadest sense UC can encompass all forms of communications that are exchanged via the medium of the TCP/IP network to include other forms of communications such as Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) and Digital Signage
Communications as they become an integrated part of the network communications deployment and may be directed as one to one communications or broadcast communications from one to many.
UC allows an individual to send a message on one medium and receive the same communication on another medium. For example, one can receive a voicemail message and choose to access it through e-mail or a cell phone. If the sender is online according to the presence information and currently accepts calls, the response can be sent immediately through text chat or video call. Otherwise, it may be sent as a non real-time message that can be accessed through a variety of media.
Unified communications is an evolving set of technologies that automates and unifies human and device communications in a common context and experience. It optimizes business processes and enhances human communications by reducing latency, managing flows, and eliminating device and media dependencies.
, or in other words perceived speed, which often is essential in decision making and acting upon instructions. For example; an action that takes two days to complete but is received a day late, takes three days to complete. Unified communications technology aims to minimize that delay. It also focuses on the following: telecommunication voice systems and services, data communication networks, IT systems, mobile telecommunications services, and videoconferencing technology and telepresence services.
provided and managed by the local phone company. These systems used the phone company's analog or digital circuits to deliver phone calls from a Central Office (CO) to the customer. The system—PBX or Key Telephone System
—accepted the call and routed the call to the appropriate extension or line appearance on the phones at the customer's office.
In the 1980s, Voice mail systems with IVR-like features were recognized as an access mechanism to corporate information for mobile employees, before the explosion of cell phones and the proliferation of PCs. E-mail also began to grow in popularity, and as early as 1985, e-mail reading features were made available for certain voicemail.
The term "Unified Communications" did not show up until the mid-90's, when messaging and real-time communications began to combine. By today's standards, however, that would scarcely qualify as UC.
In the late 1990s, a New Zealand-based organization called IPFX developed the first commercially available presence solution, which let users see the location of colleagues, make decisions on how to contact them, and let users define how their messages were handled based on their own presence.
The major drawback to this service was the reliance on the phone company to manage (in most cases) the PBX or Key Telephone System
. This resulted in a residual, recurring cost to customers. Over time, the PBX became more privatized, and internal staff members were hired to manage these systems. This was typically done by companies that could afford to bring this skill in-house and thereby reduce the requirement to notify the phone company or their local PBX vendor each time a change was required in the system. This increasing privatization triggered the development of more powerful software that increased the usability and manageability of the system.
As companies began to deploy IP networks in their environment, companies began to use these networks to transmit voice instead of relying on traditional telephone network circuits. Some vendors such as Avaya
and Nortel
created circuit packs or cards for their PBX systems that could interconnect their communications systems to the IP network. Other vendors such as Cisco
created equipment that could be placed in routers to transport voice calls across a company network from site to site. The termination of PBX circuits
to be transported across a network
and delivered to another phone system is traditionally referred to as Voice over IP (Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP). This design required special hardware on both ends of the network equipment to provide the termination and delivery at each site. As time went by, Siemens
, Alcatel-Lucent
, AltiGen, Cisco
, Nortel
, Avaya
and Mitel
realized the potential for eliminating the traditional PBX or Key System
and replacing it with a solution based on IP. This IP solution is software driven only, and thereby does away with the need for "switching" equipment at a customer site (save the equipment necessary to connect to the outside world). This created a new technology, now called IP Telephony. A system that uses IP-based telephony services only, rather than a legacy PBX or Key System
, is called an IP Telephony solution.
With the advent of IP Telephony the handset was no longer a digital device hanging off a copper loop from a PBX. Instead, the handset lived on the network as another computer device. The transport of audio was therefore no longer a variation in voltages or modulation of frequency such as with the handsets from before, but rather encoding the conversation using a CODEC
(G.711
originally) and transporting it with a protocol such as the Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP
). When the handset is just another computer connected to the network, advanced features can be provided by letting computer applications communicate with server computers elsewhere in any number of ways; applications can even be upgraded or freshly installed on the handset.
When considering the efforts of Unified Communications solutions providers, the overall goal is to no longer focus strictly on the telephony portion of daily communications. The unification of all communication devices inside a single platform provides the mobility, presence, and contact capabilities that extend beyond the phone to all devices a person may use or have at their disposal.
Given the wide scope of Unified Communications, there has been a lack of community definition as most solutions are from proprietary vendors. Since Mar 2008, there are several open source projects with a Unified Communications focus such as Druid and elasti], which are based on Asterisk, a leading open source telephony project. The aim of these open source Unified Communications projects is to allow the open source community of developers and users to have a say in Unified Communications and what it means.
IBM
entered the unified communications marketplace with several products, beginning in 2006 with the updated release of a unified communications middleware platform, IBM Lotus Sametime 7.5, as well as related products and services such as IBM WebSphere Unified Messaging, IBM Global Technology Services - Converged Communications Services, and more. In October 2007, Microsoft
entered the Unified Communications market with the launch of Office Communications Server, a software-based application running on Windows
. In March 2008, Unison Technologies launched Unison
, a software-based unified communications solution that runs on Linux
and Windows.
In May 2010, the Unified Communications Interoperability Forum
(UCIF) was announced. UCIF is an independent, non-profit alliance between technology companies that creates and tests interoperability
profiles, implementation guidelines, and [best practices] for interoperability between UC products and existing communications and business applications. The original founding members were HP, Juniper Networks
, Logitech
/ LifeSize
, Microsoft
, and Polycom
. Other members are Acme Packet
, Aspect, AudioCodes
, Broadcom
, BroadSoft, Brocade Communications Systems
, ClearOne, Jabra
, Plantronics
, Radvision, Siemens Enterprise Communications
, and Teliris
.
As the buzz about cloud computing has resonated strongly in 2010, there is some debate about whether Unified Communications hosted on a enterprise's premise is the same thing as Unified Communications solutions that are hosted by a service provider--or UCaaS (UC as a Service). This may be mostly a marketing distinction as all of these approaches properly fall under the single umbrella term of Unified Communications.
, but it is distinct. Unified communications refers to both real-time and non-real-time delivery of communications based on the preferred method and location of the recipient; unified messaging
systems culls messages from several sources (such as e-mail, voice mail and faxes), but holds those messages only for retrieval at a later time. Unified communications allows for an individual to check and retrieve an e-mail or voicemail from any communication device at anytime. It expands beyond voicemail services to data communications and video services.
Presence
—knowing where intended recipients are, and if they are available, in real time—is a key component of unified communications. Unified communications integrates all systems a user might already use, and helps those systems work together in real time. For example, unified communications technology could allow a user to seamlessly collaborate with another person on a project, even if the two users are in separate locations. The user could quickly locate the necessary person by accessing an interactive directory, engage in a text messaging session, and then escalate the session to a voice call, or even a video call.
In another example, an employee receives a call from a customer who wants answers. Unified communications enables that employee to call an expert colleague from a real-time list. This way, the employee can answer the customer faster by eliminating rounds of back-and-forth e-mails and phone-tag.
The examples in the previous paragraph primarily describe "personal productivity" enhancements that tend to benefit the individual user. While such benefits can be important, enterprises are finding that they can achieve even greater impact by using unified communications capabilities to transform business processes. This is achieved by integrating UC functionality directly into the business applications using development tools provided by many of the suppliers. Instead of the individual user invoking the UC functionality to, say, find an appropriate resource, the workflow or process application automatically identifies the resource at the point in the business activity where one is needed.
When used in this manner, the concept of presence
often changes. Most people associate presence with instant messaging
(IM "buddy lists") -- the status of individuals is identified. But, in many business process applications, what is important is finding someone with a certain skill. In these environments, presence identifies available skills or capabilities.
This "business process" approach to integrating UC functionality can result in bottom line benefits that are an order of magnitude greater than those achievable by personal productivity methods alone.
UC-U is mostly aimed at users, designed so that they can access data, programs, messages, etc. quickly, avoid installation or technical troubles, collaborate with other users, or any other way that the user experience can benefit. These services and applications are designed to improve one's personal productivity, rather than affect the entire company.
UC-B is targeted at businesses themselves, rather than the individual. UC-B solutions and applications are made to improve Business Process Integration or CEBP, improve customer satisfaction, or enhance business processes. These are aimed with the enterprise's bottom line in mind, rather than individual employees.
Instant messaging
Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
(chat), presence information
Presence information
In computer and telecommunications networks, presence information is a status indicator that conveys ability and willingness of a potential communication partner—for example a user--to communicate...
, telephony (including IP telephony), video conferencing, data sharing (including web connected electronic whiteboards aka IWB's or Interactive White Boards
Interactive whiteboard
An interactive whiteboard , is a large interactive display that connects to a computer and projector. A projector projects the computer's desktop onto the board's surface where users control the computer using a pen, finger, stylus, or other device...
), call control
Call control
In telephony, call control refers to the software within a telephone switch that supplies its central function. Call control decodes addressing information and routes telephone calls from one end point to another. It also creates the features that can be used to adapt standard switch operation to...
and speech recognition with non-real-time communication services such as unified messaging
Unified messaging
Unified Messaging is the integration of different electronic messaging and communications media technologies into a single interface, accessible from a variety of different devices....
(integrated voicemail
Voicemail
Voicemail is a computer based system that allows users and subscribers to exchange personal voice messages; to select and deliver voice information; and to process transactions relating to individuals, organizations, products and services, using an ordinary telephone...
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
, SMS
SMS
SMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...
and fax
Fax
Fax , sometimes called telecopying, is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material , normally to a telephone number connected to a printer or other output device...
). UC is not a single product, but a set of products that provides a consistent unified user interface and user experience across multiple devices and media types.
In its broadest sense UC can encompass all forms of communications that are exchanged via the medium of the TCP/IP network to include other forms of communications such as Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) and Digital Signage
Digital signage
Digital signage is a form of electronic display that shows television programming, menus, information, advertising and other messages. Digital signs can be found in public and private environments, such as retail stores, hotels, restaurants and corporate buildings.Digital signage Displays are most...
Communications as they become an integrated part of the network communications deployment and may be directed as one to one communications or broadcast communications from one to many.
UC allows an individual to send a message on one medium and receive the same communication on another medium. For example, one can receive a voicemail message and choose to access it through e-mail or a cell phone. If the sender is online according to the presence information and currently accepts calls, the response can be sent immediately through text chat or video call. Otherwise, it may be sent as a non real-time message that can be accessed through a variety of media.
Unified communications definition
There are varying definitions for Unified Communications. A basic definition would be “Communications integrated to optimize business processes,” but such integration can take many forms, such as: Users simply adjusting their habits, manual integration as defined by procedures and training, integration of communications into off-the-shelf tools such as Outlook, Notes, BlackBerry, Salesforce.com, and many others, or purpose-specific integration into customized applications in specific operating departments or in vertical markets such as healthcare.Unified communications is an evolving set of technologies that automates and unifies human and device communications in a common context and experience. It optimizes business processes and enhances human communications by reducing latency, managing flows, and eliminating device and media dependencies.
Communication latency
One focus of unified communications is to reduce communication response timeResponse time
In technology, response time is the time a system or functional unit takes to react to a given input.- Data processing :In data processing, the response time perceived by the end user is the interval between the instant at which an operator at a terminal enters a request for a response from a...
, or in other words perceived speed, which often is essential in decision making and acting upon instructions. For example; an action that takes two days to complete but is received a day late, takes three days to complete. Unified communications technology aims to minimize that delay. It also focuses on the following: telecommunication voice systems and services, data communication networks, IT systems, mobile telecommunications services, and videoconferencing technology and telepresence services.
History
The history of unified communications is tied to the evolution of the supporting technology. Originally, business telephone systems were a private branch exchange (PBX) or Key Telephone SystemKey telephone system
A business telephone system is any of a range of a multiline telephone systems typically used in business environments, encompassing systems ranging from small key systems to large scale private branch....
provided and managed by the local phone company. These systems used the phone company's analog or digital circuits to deliver phone calls from a Central Office (CO) to the customer. The system—PBX or Key Telephone System
Key telephone system
A business telephone system is any of a range of a multiline telephone systems typically used in business environments, encompassing systems ranging from small key systems to large scale private branch....
—accepted the call and routed the call to the appropriate extension or line appearance on the phones at the customer's office.
In the 1980s, Voice mail systems with IVR-like features were recognized as an access mechanism to corporate information for mobile employees, before the explosion of cell phones and the proliferation of PCs. E-mail also began to grow in popularity, and as early as 1985, e-mail reading features were made available for certain voicemail.
The term "Unified Communications" did not show up until the mid-90's, when messaging and real-time communications began to combine. By today's standards, however, that would scarcely qualify as UC.
In the late 1990s, a New Zealand-based organization called IPFX developed the first commercially available presence solution, which let users see the location of colleagues, make decisions on how to contact them, and let users define how their messages were handled based on their own presence.
The major drawback to this service was the reliance on the phone company to manage (in most cases) the PBX or Key Telephone System
Key telephone system
A business telephone system is any of a range of a multiline telephone systems typically used in business environments, encompassing systems ranging from small key systems to large scale private branch....
. This resulted in a residual, recurring cost to customers. Over time, the PBX became more privatized, and internal staff members were hired to manage these systems. This was typically done by companies that could afford to bring this skill in-house and thereby reduce the requirement to notify the phone company or their local PBX vendor each time a change was required in the system. This increasing privatization triggered the development of more powerful software that increased the usability and manageability of the system.
As companies began to deploy IP networks in their environment, companies began to use these networks to transmit voice instead of relying on traditional telephone network circuits. Some vendors such as Avaya
Avaya
Avaya Inc. is a privately held computer networking, information technology and telecommunications company that is a global provider of business communications systems. The international head quarters is in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, United States...
and Nortel
Nortel
Nortel Networks Corporation, formerly known as Northern Telecom Limited and sometimes known simply as Nortel, was a multinational telecommunications equipment manufacturer headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada...
created circuit packs or cards for their PBX systems that could interconnect their communications systems to the IP network. Other vendors such as Cisco
Cisco
Cisco may refer to:Companies:*Cisco Systems, a computer networking company* Certis CISCO, corporatised entity of the former Commercial and Industrial Security Corporation in Singapore...
created equipment that could be placed in routers to transport voice calls across a company network from site to site. The termination of PBX circuits
Telecommunication circuit
A telecommunication circuit is any line, conductor, or other conduit by which information is transmitted.A dedicated circuit, private circuit, or leased line is a line that is dedicated to only one use...
to be transported across a network
Computer network
A computer network, often simply referred to as a network, is a collection of hardware components and computers interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and information....
and delivered to another phone system is traditionally referred to as Voice over IP (Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP). This design required special hardware on both ends of the network equipment to provide the termination and delivery at each site. As time went by, Siemens
Siemens
Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
, Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent is a global telecommunications corporation, headquartered in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France. It provides telecommunications solutions to service providers, enterprises, and governments around the world, enabling these customers to deliver voice, data, and video services...
, AltiGen, Cisco
Cisco
Cisco may refer to:Companies:*Cisco Systems, a computer networking company* Certis CISCO, corporatised entity of the former Commercial and Industrial Security Corporation in Singapore...
, Nortel
Nortel
Nortel Networks Corporation, formerly known as Northern Telecom Limited and sometimes known simply as Nortel, was a multinational telecommunications equipment manufacturer headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada...
, Avaya
Avaya
Avaya Inc. is a privately held computer networking, information technology and telecommunications company that is a global provider of business communications systems. The international head quarters is in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, United States...
and Mitel
Mitel
Mitel Networks, is a high-tech company providing unified communications solutions for business. The company previously produced TDM PBX systems and applications but after a change in ownership in 2001 now focuses almost entirely on Voice-over-IP products.Mitel is headquartered in Ottawa,...
realized the potential for eliminating the traditional PBX or Key System
Key telephone system
A business telephone system is any of a range of a multiline telephone systems typically used in business environments, encompassing systems ranging from small key systems to large scale private branch....
and replacing it with a solution based on IP. This IP solution is software driven only, and thereby does away with the need for "switching" equipment at a customer site (save the equipment necessary to connect to the outside world). This created a new technology, now called IP Telephony. A system that uses IP-based telephony services only, rather than a legacy PBX or Key System
Key System
The Key System was a privately owned company which provided mass transit in the cities of Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Emeryville, Piedmont, San Leandro, Richmond, Albany and El Cerrito in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area from 1903 until 1960, when the system was sold to a newly formed public...
, is called an IP Telephony solution.
With the advent of IP Telephony the handset was no longer a digital device hanging off a copper loop from a PBX. Instead, the handset lived on the network as another computer device. The transport of audio was therefore no longer a variation in voltages or modulation of frequency such as with the handsets from before, but rather encoding the conversation using a CODEC
Codec
A codec is a device or computer program capable of encoding or decoding a digital data stream or signal. The word codec is a portmanteau of "compressor-decompressor" or, more commonly, "coder-decoder"...
(G.711
G.711
G.711 is an ITU-T standard for audio companding. It is primarily used in telephony. The standard was released for usage in 1972. Its formal name is Pulse code modulation of voice frequencies. It is required standard in many technologies, for example in H.320 and H.323 specifications. It can also...
originally) and transporting it with a protocol such as the Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP
Real-time Transport Protocol
The Real-time Transport Protocol defines a standardized packet format for delivering audio and video over IP networks. RTP is used extensively in communication and entertainment systems that involve streaming media, such as telephony, video teleconference applications, television services and...
). When the handset is just another computer connected to the network, advanced features can be provided by letting computer applications communicate with server computers elsewhere in any number of ways; applications can even be upgraded or freshly installed on the handset.
When considering the efforts of Unified Communications solutions providers, the overall goal is to no longer focus strictly on the telephony portion of daily communications. The unification of all communication devices inside a single platform provides the mobility, presence, and contact capabilities that extend beyond the phone to all devices a person may use or have at their disposal.
Given the wide scope of Unified Communications, there has been a lack of community definition as most solutions are from proprietary vendors. Since Mar 2008, there are several open source projects with a Unified Communications focus such as Druid and elasti], which are based on Asterisk, a leading open source telephony project. The aim of these open source Unified Communications projects is to allow the open source community of developers and users to have a say in Unified Communications and what it means.
IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
entered the unified communications marketplace with several products, beginning in 2006 with the updated release of a unified communications middleware platform, IBM Lotus Sametime 7.5, as well as related products and services such as IBM WebSphere Unified Messaging, IBM Global Technology Services - Converged Communications Services, and more. In October 2007, Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
entered the Unified Communications market with the launch of Office Communications Server, a software-based application running on Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
. In March 2008, Unison Technologies launched Unison
Unison (unified communications software)
Unison is collaboration software aimed at small and medium businesses. It was developed by Unison Technologies, Inc., of New York City, which promotes the software as an alternative to consumer communications tools...
, a software-based unified communications solution that runs on Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
and Windows.
In May 2010, the Unified Communications Interoperability Forum
Unified Communications Interoperability Forum
The Unified Communications Interoperability Forum is a non-profit alliance between communications technology vendors. It was announced on May 19, 2010, with the vision to maximize the interoperability of UC based on existing standards. Founding members of UCIF were HP, Microsoft, Polycom,...
(UCIF) was announced. UCIF is an independent, non-profit alliance between technology companies that creates and tests interoperability
Interoperability
Interoperability is a property referring to the ability of diverse systems and organizations to work together . The term is often used in a technical systems engineering sense, or alternatively in a broad sense, taking into account social, political, and organizational factors that impact system to...
profiles, implementation guidelines, and [best practices] for interoperability between UC products and existing communications and business applications. The original founding members were HP, Juniper Networks
Juniper Networks
Juniper Networks is an information technology and computer networking products multinational company, founded in 1996. It is head quartered in Sunnyvale, California, USA. The company designs and sells high-performance Internet Protocol network products and services...
, Logitech
Logitech
Logitech International S.A. is a global provider of personal peripherals for computers and other digital platforms headquartered in Romanel-sur-Morges, Switzerland. The company develops and markets products like peripheral devices for PCs, including keyboards, mice, microphones, game controllers...
/ LifeSize
LifeSize
LifeSize, a division of Logitech, is a video and audio communications company that provides high definition video conferencing endpoints and accessories, infrastructure products and a cloud-based video collaboration platform. LifeSize's worldwide headquarters is located in Austin, Texas...
, Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, and Polycom
Polycom
Polycom is a multinational corporation with approximately 3,200 employees worldwide and an annual revenue of approximately $1.2 billion in 2010. The company manufactures and sells telepresence and voice communications solutions.-Company History 1990:...
. Other members are Acme Packet
Acme Packet
Acme Packet is a company based in Bedford, Massachusetts which produces and markets Session Border Controllers , multiservice security gateways and session routing proxies . It is a public company incorporated in Delaware...
, Aspect, AudioCodes
AudioCodes
AudioCodes Ltd. designs, develops, and sells products for voice, data, and video over IP networks. The company is an early pioneer of the VoIP industry having shipped VoIP solutions as early as 1995.-Company history:...
, Broadcom
Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation is a fabless semiconductor company in the wireless and broadband communication business. The company is headquartered in Irvine, California, USA. Broadcom was founded by a professor-student pair Henry Samueli and Henry T. Nicholas III from the University of California, Los...
, BroadSoft, Brocade Communications Systems
Brocade Communications Systems
Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. , based in Silicon Valley , is a vendor of storage area network hardware and software. The company also designs, manufactures, and sells networking products and management applications for local, metro, and wide area networks...
, ClearOne, Jabra
Jabra
Jabra develops, manufactures and markets wireless and corded headsets for mobile phone users, contact centres and office-based users. It is owned by . The Jabra subsidiary is based in Nashua, New Hampshire.-History:...
, Plantronics
Plantronics
Plantronics is an electronics company producing audio communications equipment for business and consumers. Its' products provide unified communications, mobile use, gaming and music...
, Radvision, Siemens Enterprise Communications
Siemens Enterprise Communications
Siemens Enterprise Communications is a joint venture between the American private equity firm The Gores Group and German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG.The joint venture was announced on July 29, 2008, and was launched on October 1, 2008...
, and Teliris
Teliris
Teliris is a privately-owned telepresence and videoconferencing company headquartered in New York and London that designs and sells video collaboration products and services. Teliris currently has deployments in over 50 countries...
.
As the buzz about cloud computing has resonated strongly in 2010, there is some debate about whether Unified Communications hosted on a enterprise's premise is the same thing as Unified Communications solutions that are hosted by a service provider--or UCaaS (UC as a Service). This may be mostly a marketing distinction as all of these approaches properly fall under the single umbrella term of Unified Communications.
The difference between unified communications and unified messaging
Unified communications is sometimes confused with unified messagingUnified messaging
Unified Messaging is the integration of different electronic messaging and communications media technologies into a single interface, accessible from a variety of different devices....
, but it is distinct. Unified communications refers to both real-time and non-real-time delivery of communications based on the preferred method and location of the recipient; unified messaging
Unified messaging
Unified Messaging is the integration of different electronic messaging and communications media technologies into a single interface, accessible from a variety of different devices....
systems culls messages from several sources (such as e-mail, voice mail and faxes), but holds those messages only for retrieval at a later time. Unified communications allows for an individual to check and retrieve an e-mail or voicemail from any communication device at anytime. It expands beyond voicemail services to data communications and video services.
Components of unified communications
With unified communications, multiple modes of business communications are seamlessly integrated. Unified communications is not a single product but a collection elements that includes:- Call control and multimodal communications
- Presence
- Instant messagingInstant messagingInstant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
- Unified messagingUnified messagingUnified Messaging is the integration of different electronic messaging and communications media technologies into a single interface, accessible from a variety of different devices....
- speechSpeech recognitionSpeech recognition converts spoken words to text. The term "voice recognition" is sometimes used to refer to recognition systems that must be trained to a particular speaker—as is the case for most desktop recognition software...
- Conferencing
- Collaboration tools
- Business process integration (BPI)
- Business process integration.
Presence
Presence service
Presence service is a network service which accepts, stores and distributes presence information.Presence service may be implemented as a single server or have an internal structure involving multiple servers and proxies. There may be complex patterns of redirection and proxying while retaining...
—knowing where intended recipients are, and if they are available, in real time—is a key component of unified communications. Unified communications integrates all systems a user might already use, and helps those systems work together in real time. For example, unified communications technology could allow a user to seamlessly collaborate with another person on a project, even if the two users are in separate locations. The user could quickly locate the necessary person by accessing an interactive directory, engage in a text messaging session, and then escalate the session to a voice call, or even a video call.
In another example, an employee receives a call from a customer who wants answers. Unified communications enables that employee to call an expert colleague from a real-time list. This way, the employee can answer the customer faster by eliminating rounds of back-and-forth e-mails and phone-tag.
The examples in the previous paragraph primarily describe "personal productivity" enhancements that tend to benefit the individual user. While such benefits can be important, enterprises are finding that they can achieve even greater impact by using unified communications capabilities to transform business processes. This is achieved by integrating UC functionality directly into the business applications using development tools provided by many of the suppliers. Instead of the individual user invoking the UC functionality to, say, find an appropriate resource, the workflow or process application automatically identifies the resource at the point in the business activity where one is needed.
When used in this manner, the concept of presence
Presence service
Presence service is a network service which accepts, stores and distributes presence information.Presence service may be implemented as a single server or have an internal structure involving multiple servers and proxies. There may be complex patterns of redirection and proxying while retaining...
often changes. Most people associate presence with instant messaging
Instant messaging
Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
(IM "buddy lists") -- the status of individuals is identified. But, in many business process applications, what is important is finding someone with a certain skill. In these environments, presence identifies available skills or capabilities.
This "business process" approach to integrating UC functionality can result in bottom line benefits that are an order of magnitude greater than those achievable by personal productivity methods alone.
UC-User and UC-Business
Unified communications can be divided into two major types of solutions and applications:- UC-User Productivity or UC-U: Unified Communications tools that users adopt to improve their experience and/or results.
- UC-Business Processes or UC-B: Unified Communications tools explicitly integrated into defined processes, either procedural or automated.
UC-U is mostly aimed at users, designed so that they can access data, programs, messages, etc. quickly, avoid installation or technical troubles, collaborate with other users, or any other way that the user experience can benefit. These services and applications are designed to improve one's personal productivity, rather than affect the entire company.
UC-B is targeted at businesses themselves, rather than the individual. UC-B solutions and applications are made to improve Business Process Integration or CEBP, improve customer satisfaction, or enhance business processes. These are aimed with the enterprise's bottom line in mind, rather than individual employees.
See also
- Intelligent network service
- Mobile collaborationMobile collaborationMobile collaboration is a technology-based process of communicating utilizing electronic assets and accompanying software designed for use in remote locations...
- TelepresenceTelepresenceTelepresence refers to a set of technologies which allow a person to feel as if they were present, to give the appearance of being present, or to have an effect, via telerobotics, at a place other than their true location....
- Unified messagingUnified messagingUnified Messaging is the integration of different electronic messaging and communications media technologies into a single interface, accessible from a variety of different devices....
- List of unified communications companies