Feature Articles

Fonality Talks Services, Search and Storage
Fonality, which may be best known for its HUD desktop communications platform, is gearing up for some important announcements, Aron Aicard, senior director of product management, told Unified Communications Magazine in a late June interview.

College of the Canyons Gives NEC Solution High Marks
The recession has sent hoards of employees packing. And when these folks can't find a job with their existing skill sets, many use their free time to go back to school. That has been both a boon and a curse for College of the Canyons.

Preparing Your Network for UC, And Keeping It Up to Snuff on an Ongoing Basis
Unified communications and virtualization have seen good uptake in the past couple years despite the economic downturn. Indeed, according to data recently released by Network Instruments, about 75 percent of companies were expected to have invested in these technologies by the end of 2009 due to their perceived cost savings and fast return on investments. But the same study indicates that three-fourths of those organizations lack the tools and visibility needed to monitor and troubleshoot performance problems on such platforms.

Demystifying Telephony in Emergency Notification and Response
You've probably noticed it too - with the growth of e-mail, smartphones and other technology, the world seems to be shrinking. These days it's just as easy to talk with a colleague across the globe as one across the hall; sometimes it's even easier.

Subway Coop Sates Call Requirements with Unified Communications Solution
For most of us, fresh-baked bread, BMTs and Jared Fogle may come to mind when Subway enters into the conversation. For franchise owners of the popular sandwich shops, however, delivering food quickly and to order is more complex than your simple mustard vs. mayo decision. These small business owners have to keep abreast of a variety of issues, including various payment options and related customer loyalty programs. And unified communications has become a key ingredient in enabling them to do so./h2>

Fax Keeps Marching On
Fax technology has found its footing as a secure method to transfer sensitive information in the enterprise space, such as within the medical and financial industries, where information security and privacy are critical. And while there are still large information distribution fax networks that send literally thousands of faxes per day over traditional TDM and IP-based networks, the popularity of another piece of office equipment, the all-in-one printer, is leading to renewed interest in fax at the small and medium enterprise level.

Automated Software System is Prescription for Efficiency, Savings for Visiting Angels
Many of us have parents or grandparents who are getting up there in age and may need a little extra assistance to remain in their own homes. Visiting Angels is a franchise that specializes in just such care.

SoundBite Helps Sprint, Others Do Multichannel Proactive Customer Communications
Communications services is a dynamic business that requires telecom service providers to be in regular contact with their customers to offer promotions, provide bills and related reminders, and take other steps that can help them retain customers, build user loyalty and drive new revenues. SoundBite Communications Inc. helps companies like Sprint do this kind of proactive customer communications.

Bigfoot Aims to Make Its Mark in Latency Control
It sounds more reality show than reality, but Bigfoot Networks Inc. got its start by winning a competition. Today, about 30,000 of the company's NIC cards, list priced at $129, are in use to help address latency, mostly for game-related applications. INTERNET TELEPHONY recently spoke to Wayne Dunlap, vice president of engineering at the Austin, Texas-based outfit, about the company's beginnings as well as its future, which includes bringing latency control to VoIP and video.

Productivity, Responsiveness & Mobility

Esnatech Delivers on the Three Keys of SIP-Based UC
Looking to increase revenue and improve customer service while decreasing communication costs? SIP-based unified communications can get you there. And it can help your business become more productive, responsive and mobile.

Q & A

60 Seconds With Avaya
Avaya is among the leaders in the unified communications space. Unified Communications magazine recently interviewed Steve Hardy, director of product and solutions marketing at Avaya to talk about what's new and what's next in the area of UC.