Why Integration and User Behaviors Are Top of Mind in Successful UC Environments
August 15, 2016
By Susan J. Campbell
TMCnet Contributing Editor
Staying connected in the business world is about more than just emails and texting. For professionals today, the ability to gain access to the network on a moment’s notice is critical, whether the individual is traveling or in the office. The same is true for collaboration as key members of the team may not be in the same place at the same time. Making sure the ability to stay connected is also unified is a key priority for businesses throughout the global marketplace.
Call accounting solutions provider, ISI Telemanagement Solutions (News - Alert) recently posted a blog on the topic, highlighting the recent release of Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications (News - Alert). While the report is considered one of the most relevant in the marketplace, the summary points to the reality that suite solutions in unified communications are getting better. At the same time, there is a is still a need to enhance key capabilities to increase functionality or scale so that users have what they need, when they need it.
Video conferencing, both desktop and mobile, is gaining momentum as users continue to turn to it as an important tool for collaboration. The tricky part with video conferencing, however, is that it can get clunky and expensive very quickly if decision makers aren’t clear on the right steps for integration with the unified communications strategy. For instance, video conferencing should be monitored by the call accounting platform, but a lack of integration understanding could miss this step altogether.
For those environments relying on the Cisco (News - Alert) suite, options for on-premise video is through the Jabber client. Web options are available through the cloud-based Cisco WebEx. When the two environments need to talk to each other, there must be a solution in between to connect deskphones with mobile phones and vice versa. This is key as employees need to be able to work the way they prefer in order to enhance productivity.
Environments relying on Microsoft’s (News - Alert) Skype for Business have different hurdles to get over. The web conferencing solution can be deployed as a managed service, on-premise or as a hybrid. When it’s bundled with Office 365, the full collaboration suite offers voice, email, instant messaging and presence, in addition to video. Recording is then enabled through Jabber or Skype (News - Alert) for Business, depending on the needs of the organization.
The combinations could go on and one, but the point is that integration is key if you hope to drive the intended benefits within your corporate environment. That integration has to be focused on user behavior or unified communications and collaboration will fail to deliver on expectations. The ultimate goal is to provide users with the tools they need to get the job done. As everyone’s job varies, so too must the options for the ways they stay connected.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi