Unified Communications- Latest trends and developments

Unified Communications runs on the internet and is projected as the future of web conferencing, comprising of audio and video. UC is bound to grow by leaps and bounds because telecom industry is the one that continues to grow even in the face of recession. Unified Communication Systems provide real time communication beyond the barriers of device and media used allowing people to collaborate more effectively.

The world is drawn towards cloud computing and telecom industry has teamed up with the cloud to open up a whole new world of opportunities by integrating voice, video, text and images all together. Let’s find out what has developed in the world of Unified Communications so far.

Multiple ways to communicate-

What if you wanted to reach out to your friend to tell him your great big news? You would call him, right. So you pick up your phone and ring him up but he doesn’t answer. That’s ok, you go ahead and leave him a message will all the fancy details. Now you have your other set of friends to inform too. You start a conference call and invite all the people you want listen in to your story. That is just a regular day at school or college where we can chat, message, call or conference with one or more people in real time. This is nothing but Unified Communications.

At a broader level, the users are able to share not just voice calls and messages, but videos, images, presentations and have live web conferences with people across the globe instantly. The involvement of various media forms into a single unified platform makes communication greatly effective. The devices people deploy have changed drastically from desktops to laptops, tablets, smart phones, Android and iPhones. The use of cloud at the backend provides unmatched coverage beyond continents.

Real time Telepresence-

We find a wonderful video we would love to share with our friends. We just login to our “Facebook” and “Twitter” accounts and share it live. We instantly message it out buddies from our Android phones or tablets. We like it, share it, chat about it and spread it to hundreds of friends in seconds. That is the power of Unified Communications.

On the professional front, it can be better described for telecommuters. There is always a remote workforce that travels around the globe forming a major section of a business organization. Telecommuters work while they travel. They always need a direct line of communication with their employers, colleagues and clients no matter where they are. Unified Communication provides them 24X7 connectivity to share and collaborate with multiple users in real time. They can work on documents such as spreadsheets, word files and presentations to stay on the same page enhancing business productivity. Remote users can maintain a virtual telepresence through voice and video calls, emails, faxes and voicemails giving out an impression of working right from their office desk to the clients. 

Freedom from the extra baggage of Infrastructure-

More and more business enterprises are encompassing Unified Communications as the crux of their business communication as it relieves them from the affliction of owning and maintaining the Herculean IT Infrastructure. Users don’t have to worry about bulky equipments, complex connections, storage space and technical team to run and manage it. Hardware free not only makes Unified Communications economical but easy to manage, taking away all the pain and hassles of traditional premise based communication.

Greater accessibility through mobile applications-

Recent years have seen an outburst in the use and demand of soft phones and mobile applications for Android, iPhone, Blackberry, tablets and netbooks. There has been an exponential use of iPads, netbooks and smart phones on both personal and professional facet. Developers and engineers have created products and solutions that allow users to access multimedia through Unified Communications. Any type of communication either voice, video or text can be carried out through mobile software applications.

Unified Communications make it possible to receive faxes in emails, read voicemail messages, view emails on cell phones and much more providing faster, better and a more efficient means of communication available at your fingertips.