Big news this week in the world of unified communications, so let’s get right into it.

 

Tuesday saw a major announcement from none other than IBM (News - Alert). Looking to make advancements into the unified communications market, IBM unveiled a range of large client adoptions and major OEM embedded software and reseller agreements, expanding IBM Lotus Sametime to millions of new users.

 

Also, ActiveVoice announced that Hill & Company has successfully migrated from a traditional voicemail system to Kinesis, Active Voice’s popular UM solution and speech-enable auto attendant, thus giving them flexibility, security and scalability to help them grow while enabling streamlined communications for highly mobile agents.

 

FranklinCovey was added to the list of prominent companies who have chosen Microsoft’s Office Communications Server 2007. The unified communications package is expected to lower costs and provide more efficient communications.

 

On Wednesday, CommuniGate Systems announced the addition of Ca1DAV support to its unified communications platform. The Ca1DAV standard allows users to share scheduling resources and calendar events to improve collaboration and productivity throughout the enterprise.

 

That same say, Clarus Systems revealed that its collaborative efforts with IQ Services (News - Alert) continue to make inroads for both companies’ solutions within the contact center. This has been viewed as more evidence of the continuing maturity of the unified communications market.

 

Also, Quintum Technologies announced the release of the new Tenor Hybrid Gateway (News - Alert) 60, which integrates Quitum’s Tenor switching intelligence, and is Microsoft Mediation Server-ready to simplify deployments of Microsoft unified communications. The new hybrid product is a single box solution.

 

Frost & Sullivan’s (News - Alert) Research and Markets in Dublin declared that “Unified Messaging and Communications Market is South Africa” will now be added to its research service. The study provides a comprehensive overview of current levels of demand for unified communication solutions.

 

Yesterday, Mitel launched an expanded Exclusive Business Partner program that is intended to give resellers strategic advances in selling and servicing its comprehensive portfolio of unified communication solutions.

 

And finally, earlier today, Officescape launched its Unified Communications (News - Alert) Software v1.5, providing greater unified messaging and more tools, plus a more user-friendly interface.