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Unified Communications Trends

Unified Communications, or UCC, has finally gained momentum and got the industry acceptance that it has been looking for all these years. The universal platform that integrates everything from an email to videoconferencing is here to stay because customers can’t get enough of this latest technology. The fact is that UC has been in the market for quite a long time and it really deserves the limelight. Here are some of the latest Unified Communications trends that is ruling the telecommunication world like never before:

Video Conferencing

This has been long due and customers have been waiting for long to find a UC system that incorporates even the video feature. It is quite a wise decision to use Netflix, Skype or Youtube in the offices because they have not only been successfully tested but are also preferred over travels. Companies are cutting down their travel budget, which has indirectly helped the UC bandwagon to be pushed further.

IP Mobility

Mobility broke into the UC scene as IT managers found it really difficult to coordinate with their AV counterparts. The companies are fast adopting BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) and CYOD (Choose Your Own Device) that are bound to change everything that we perceived about UC and mobility. The users are now able to work on a variety of devices, which either belong to them or they choose from a range of mobile devices offered by their organizations. Employees are able to work with their smartphones or tablets and that too while staying connected to their UC platform.

WebRTC

Google gave away the source code for the development of WebRTC in the year 2011 and by the start of 2013 we were flooded with various WebRTC applications. This technology allows the users to carry out video conferencing over the internet by using their browsers. Neither do you require any application nor do you need any kind of a dedicated hardware. It is one feature that can directly use the UC resources and make video conferencing look like a walk in the park.

Cloud Computing and Cloud Communication

Hosting UC on the cloud can make things extremely easy for the users as they are able to avail all the latest features of UC without having to worry about any hardware or software infrastructure. All that a user will need to do is have an internet connection and they are set to avail all the latest features being offered by UC.

Pro AV

Pro AV is being adopted by the organizations along with their UC package because it offers high-definition video delivered around the world. With the growth in the UC systems, Pro AV will be integrated and offered in an integrated manner while being accessed from the cloud.

About Universal ComOne

Universal ComOne offers award winning business telephone systems that are right for any business. We can design a solution to fit your needs.

Call 337-205-9364 for all your communication needs.

Toshiba Releases UCedge!

One of the hindrances of using a business phone system is the wide variety of end devices you may need to use. For example, you will use an IP or Digital phone to make a call. At the same time, if you want to access a data file, you may need to use a computer. But what if all these can be combined to a single end device, and at the same time, give you mobility and flexibility? That is exactly what UCedge does.

Designed to work with VIPedge, IPEdge, and Strata CIX, UCedge has an application that you can download and install on your Windows or Mac laptop, any tablet and your Apple or Android smartphone. Once the application is installed, UCedge can federate multiple networks and give you access to all the features on the server.

For more details on the product release, click here.

About Universal ComOne

Universal ComOne offers award winning business telephone systems that are right for any business. We can design a solution to fit your needs.

Call 337-205-9364 for all your communication needs.

 

Benefits of Unified Communications

Unification is the buzz word for UC. It combines business data and telephony in the same network and allows businesses to use and combine voice and data information in a common business application. One can save and forward faxes, instant messages, emails, use video conferencing or do voice phone calls as just a simple chunk of data. Above all UC can encrypt the data. Thus when your data floats on the web, there are no chances of it being intercepted by the wrong person.

Unifed CommunicationsThe advantages of Unified Communication go beyond this and can be experienced when an employee uses a single phone number or handset and an inbox, which is unified for all their communications. It is different from other standard systems which are server-based and use digital networks and IP. Here are some of the applications and their benefits.

Advanced Telephony

If your business is spread over multiple geographical locations, your employees can communicate directly with each other by using UC. Unlike with a normal PSTN system, they don’t even have to remember the area code. You can also offer advanced call forwarding to various devices. With hunt groups, the incoming calls may search for an idle extension. Regardless of the location, UC can offer ringing of multiple devices like mobile phone, desk phone and desktop simultaneously. Thus, as a phone user you are benefitted by having a single number for all your devices.

Users also benefit from UC by only having a single unified voicemail box to check messages. These messages can also be sent to your email inbox for more convenience.

Cheaper calls and simplified billing

UC offers lower cost calling than the traditional telephony as it is mainly based on a digital network. As the voice and videos are carried as data over the various networks, businesses receive the benefit of reducing their phone bills by using this unified system in their organizations.

With it, the billing system can be simplified and even system administration becomes much easier. And combining the disparate services through a single vendor also reduces the total cost of conferencing. With UC, businesses can get predictable bills and thus can estimate their monthly costs.

Presence and knowing when you can take a call

With UC, businesses get Presence technology which allows different business associates and colleagues to find out who is available online and whether they can be contacted or not. Just as one sees the status of their friends in social networks, the presence of one individual is indicated if they are available either on their home phone, mobile or desk phone. The users can also state whether they are driving or are in a meeting and are allowed to put a comment about their status.

Another way presence is beneficial is that with it, an employee can easily locate an expert on a specific issue and get connected to them easily with UC. For example, if there is a problem of any critical technological aspect, one can get to the expert and get the solution. In such situations the communication starts with a simple SMS or instant messaging, and then they may be escalated all the way up to video conferencing if required.

Unified Communications and Contact Management

Last but not the least, contact management integration can be easily done with UC; hence, employees can easily access a single phone book for all business contacts, throughout the organization and across the globe.

About Universal ComOne

Universal ComOne offers award winning business telephone systems that are right for any business. We can design a solution to fit your needs. Call 337-205-9364 for all your communication needs.