Nowadays companies are increasingly expecting their employees to be able to communicate any time and from anywhere – and it appears that unified communications (UC) technologies are coming of age, and are providing this much-needed capability by consolidating a number of services onto standard networks.
According to Johann Evans, chief technical officer of Cherry Olive, the unified data management specialists, by integrating different methods of communication – such as desktop handsets, voice mail, fax, e-mail, instant messaging, conferencing, laptops and mobile devices, – it becomes “much easier to manage all these devices from one single point when the data elements become converged”.
Evans says certain intelligent functionality within unified communications lets users know whether they are available – and on which device it is best to reach them at any given time during the day – this is all driven by the data bread-crumb trails behind the scenes.
“That is the beauty of unified communications. It automatically allows the communications routing, making it easier for users to use multiple platforms – yet see things from a unified platform, all the time. It is like a constant dashboard, giving users hands-on capabilities 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in terms of information flow.”
There are, Evans highlighted, killer apps within unified communications which allow users to track each other whether they are in the office, in transit, at the beach, or in a meeting.
“In today’s hurly-burly business world – where the pace is speeding up all the time – this kind of unified communication platform is a must for any company. If a company cannot operate like this they will almost certainly lose the edge to their competitors.”
He says intelligent notification services also make it possible for people to be contacted with important information, including instructions on the order in which to contact people. It is also possible to route this information via each user’s preferred method of communication.
“The days of having silos of information are gone. It is impossible to operate properly when data is scattered around all over the place. Those companies who can pinpoint data at the touch of a mouse – and reach whoever they need to, and on time – are the ones that will prosper in the future. The rest will be consigned to the scrap heaps of the business world.”
