Unified Communications Overview 

_____________________________________________________________________

Unified communications (UC) refers to a trend in business to simplify and integrate all forms of communications to enhance collaboration and improve business processes. In this context, communications that are leveraged include phone, e-mail, chat, voice mail, presence services, web conferencing, fax and informational systems, such as CRM and SharePoint. The intent is to unify or integrate these communication mediums so that any activity or message can be easily transferred to another and to integrate processes so users can share or access related information. UC can automate and unify all forms of human and device communications into a common user experience. Gains in efficiency can result through an optimization of business processes and enhancing human communications, reducing latency, managing flows, and eliminating device and media dependencies.

Unified communications is sometimes confused with unified messaging, but it is distinct. Unified communications refers to a 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 email, video, voice mail and faxes) into your email system, but holds those messages for retrieval at a later time.

The concept of presence is a critical factor for UC – knowing where one’s intended recipients are and if they are available, in real time. To put it simply, unified communications integrates all the systems that a user might already be using 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 or web conference– all within minutes. In another example, an employee receives a call from a customer who wants answers. Unified communications could enable that worker to access a real-time list of available expert colleagues, then make a call that would reach the necessary person, enabling the employee to answer the customer faster, and eliminating rounds of back-and-forth emails and phone-tag.

These are examples of "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 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 will identify 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.

Business benefits of unified communications

Unified communications helps businesses, small and large alike, to streamline information delivery and ensure ease of use. Human delays are also minimized or eliminated, resulting in better, faster interaction and service-delivery for the customer, and cost savings for the business. Unified communications also allows for easier, more direct collaboration between co-workers and with suppliers and clients, even if they are not physically on the same site. This allows for possible reductions in business travel, especially with multi-party video communications, reducing an organization's carbon footprint.

Attain Technologies offers three distinct solutions that provide this UC functionality. These solutions can be integrated into automation systems to aid in rapid retrieval of information. Having a UC system fully populated with names, phone numbers, email addresses, IM names, and access to video and voice can be a great benefit to organize teams and ensure that these teams have all the information available. Attain offers:

Ø  ShoreTel VoIP solutions and integration with Microsoft Office Communication Server

Ø  Interactive Intelligence UC solutions

Ø  Microsoft’s Office Communications Server solutions