Unified communications

Unified communications (UC) is "an industry term used to describe all forms of call and multimedia/cross-media message-management functions controlled by an individual user for both business and social purposes" [1]. This potentially includes the integration of fixed and mobile voice, e-mail, instant messaging, desktop and advanced business applications, Internet Protocol (IP)-PBX, voice over IP (VoIP), presence, voice-mail, fax, audio video and web conferencing, unified messaging, unified voicemail, and whiteboarding into a single environment offering the user a more complete but simpler and more effective experience.

Gartner states "The largest single value of UC is its ability to reduce "human latency" in business processes."

Definition

An evolving communications technology architecture which automates and unifies all forms of human and device communications in context, and with a common experience. Its purpose is to optimize business processes and enhance human communications by reducing latency, managing flows, and eliminating device and media dependencies.

'Latency' is explained in this paragraph from Bloor:

If it will take you two days to take appropriate steps after being alerted to a particular issue then the fact that that information arrived at your desk within seconds of its occurring, as opposed to hours, will not have huge relevance. This decision-making latency, or human latency, is what needs to be squeezed out of the situation in order to improve efficiency. There are basically two reasons behind human latency. One is the need for further information and the other is when there is a requirement to consult with colleagues.

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 System provided and managed by the local phone company. These systems utilized analog or digital circuits provided by the phone company in order to deliver phone calls from the Central Office (CO) to the customer. The system, be it a PBX or Key Telephone System, would then accept the call and handle routing the call to the appropriate extension or line appearance on the phones at the customer's office.

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 and 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. The privatization of managing the PBX ultimately triggered the development of more powerful software that increased the usability and manageability of the system.

As companies began to deploy networks in their environment, companies such as Cisco began to create equipment that could be placed in Cisco 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, Cisco, Nortel and Avaya realized the potential for eliminating the traditional PBX or Key System and replacing it with a solution based on IP. This IP solution would be driven by software only and thereby do away with the requirement for "switching" equipment at a customer site (save the equipment necessary to connect to the outside world). This created a new technology which is now referred to as IP Telephony. When referring to a system that does not utilize any legacy PBX or Key System but rather IP-based telephony services only, it qualifies as 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). Because the handset was just another computer, applications could be pushed out to the endpoint to enable the end-user with advanced features enabled by web services such as XML, ASP or JAVA.

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.

The technology of unified communications

The difference between unified communications and unified messaging

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, voice mail and faxes), but holds those messages for retrieval at a later time.

Components of unified communications

Unified communications can include a variety of elements, such as instant messaging, telephony, video, email, voicemail, and short message services, whiteboarding all of which could be brought into real time and coordinated. The concept of presence is also a factor – knowing where one’s intended recipients are and if they are available, in real time – and is itself a key component of unified communications. 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 – 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.

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 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.

Unified communications in action and corresponding business benefits

Unified communications in action

Given the sophistication of unified communications technology, its uses are myriad for businesses. It enables users to know where their colleagues are physically located (say, their car or home office). They also have the ability to see which mode of communication the recipient prefers to use at any given time (perhaps their cell phone, or email, or instant messaging). A user could seamlessly set up a real-time collaboration on a document they are producing with a co-worker, or, in a retail setting, a worker might do a price-check on a product using a hand-held device and need to consult with a co-worker based on a customer inquiry. With unified communications, instant messaging and presence could be built into the price check application, and the problem could be resolved in moments.

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.

Who is it for?

Unified communications is very useful for knowledge workers, information workers, and service workers alike, many of whom may cross the lines between the three sectors on a daily or hourly basis, depending on the task and the client. With an increasingly mobile workforce, businesses are rarely centralized in one location. Unified communications facilitates this on-the-go, always-available style of communication. In addition, unified communications technology can be tailored to each person’s specific job or to a particular section of a company.

See also

• Avaya
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (formerly known as CallManager)
• Genesys Conferencing
• Microsoft Office Communications Server
• Mitel
• Nortel Communication Server 2100
• Telepresence
• Webex
• Enterprise FMC
• Reuters Messaging

External links

• International Engineering Consortium; Definition and Overview