Unified Communications

Connecting all Systems into the Conference Room

Unified Communications, or UC, is a term that has eluded firm definition. This is largely because the underlying technology continues to evolve.  Unified communications is an evolving set of technologies that automates and unifies human and device communications in a common context and experience.*

There is no ideal way to implement UC within an organization.  In fact there are 3 scenarios whereby UC can be implemented.  As an:

  • Extension of your telephony system
  • Evolution of your IT office systems
  • Offshoot from an application

Each implementation approach is valid and can co-exist within different parts of an organization.

For example, Microsoft’s OCS, or Lync as it is now called, is a powerful implementation of many of the UC technologies, such as, presence, chat, IP telephony & video.   Lync is a powerful UC implementation because it leverages Microsoft’s dominant position as the corporate office platform of choice and because it automates and unifies human and device communications in a common context and experience.

The ET Group works with organizations who are implementing Lync to:

  1. Create an integrated approach between Lync’s technology and corporate meeting rooms and spaces  Learn more »»
  2. Enhance the Lync technology platform by providing a more robust and flexible video component  Learn more »»
  3. Working with the Lync APIs to integrate corporate information into the Lync communications infrastructure  Learn more »»

 

 

*Rick McCharles, Principal Author of IP Communications and Technology Blog