Gartner listed unified communications (UC) as 2nd in their top ten technology areas of 2008. Driven by voice over IP (VoIP), call centers and phone services are leading the way, but other areas of IT such as storage networks, video from security cameras and sensors will soon follow.
Unified communications refers to a group of technologies, many of which are already used in the business world today. Instant messaging allows workers to chat with each other in real-time. This is a useful tool for team members that are separated by feet or miles and need to collaborate. Jabber offers a real-time communications solution with its Jabber XCP package.
The Jabber Extensible Communications Platform™ (Jabber XCP™) is more than real-time, person-to-person communications. It is a highly programmable presence and messaging framework, uniquely capable of bridging applications, networks, devices, multi-media, and protocols. Enterprises, government agencies, systems integrators, telecommunications providers, and technology developers use Jabber XCP to integrate with existing systems and presence-power virtually any real-time application; from branded enterprise instant messaging (EIM), to work flow systems, mobile gaming communities, transactional financial trading systems, government intelligence systems, customer service portals, and more.
Unified messaging brings your email, voice phone and fax all into a single inbox that workers can access from different devices. Cisco offers an enterprise ready unified messaging and voice platform with their Cisco Unity solution.
Amplify productivity with Cisco Unity, an enterprise-ready voice and unified messaging platform. As part of a unified communications solution, Cisco Unity offers a reliable, secure, scalable, and full-featured voice and unified messaging platform. Its unified messaging with Microsoft Exchange or IBM Lotus Domino enables you to access e-mail, voice, and fax messages from a single inbox anytime, anywhere, and on any device. Standards-based Cisco Unity integrates with your network, communication applications, and clients.
Unified communications is about more than phone systems. Many IT departments are already using parts of UC and are looking at more ways to leverage them to be more widespread and useful tools for business users.