IP telephony encompasses a set of technologies enabling voice, data and video over existing IP-based LANS, WANs and the internet. Using voice over IP (VoIP) as the enabling technology to transport phone calls allows firms to eliminate legacy circuit-switched (TDM) systems and lower equipment costs by converging applications onto a single infrastructure, while browser-based interfaces can simplify system management. Software upgrades are also much easier to implement, as are adds, moves and changes (AMCs). At […]
unified communications
11 posts
Just a few years ago, the small business tech catch phrase was Voice over IP (VoIP). By now VoIP is the standard in telephony. A Computer Economics study shows that by 2009, nearly 60 percent of organizations had adopted VoIP and more than half are investing in VoIP. The initial draw for small businesses to make the switch to VoIP related to cost savings — namely, there are no toll charges or long distance fees […]
Unified communications is entering its own hype cycle, like that of cloud computing, virtualization, and color TV before it, as vendors tout their “me-too” solutions in a familiar history repeating itself pattern. UC brings together such capabilities as voice, videoconferencing, instant messaging, email, document sharing, and more into one user interface so employees of one company, their partners, and even customers can collaborate with each other across the corporate campus or across oceans. A recently […]
Rather than working with applications installed on servers at various office and site locations, the new cloud computing model promises to allow oil and gas companies to centralize increasing numbers of applications within the cloud, drawing on them as required and even paying for them as they are used. This new model is set to reduce costs drastically and improve the flexibility of moving to new software models. Today, CIOs want to benefit from these […]
The telephone switchboard and landline desk phone may not be dead, but they are becoming relics of the past along with office ashtrays and typewriters. Businesses are increasingly turning away from PBX (private branch exchange) phone systems and toward VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) telephony, which enables conversations to travel as data across the Internet. By 2013 more than 80 percent of businesses will use VoIP, according to research by In-Stat. Is VoIP Right for […]
A report has found that many businesses are turning to cloud computing in an effort to control costs Companies are increasingly turning cloud computing to enhance productivity and increase their return on investment (ROI), according to a report from Fonality. The “2011 Small and Medium-Sized Business Communications Plans and Priorities” state-of-the-market report polled professionals considered to be on the “leading edge” of technology adoption. Respondents emphasised that cloud-based business applications or AaaS (Anything as a […]
Today, we’d like to spotlight two great reports that may interest our audience. The first report, written by Abner Germanow and Jonathan Edwards at IDC is titled “Virtualizing UC: Reaping the Benefits and Understanding the Issues for Real-Time Communications.” The second report is called “Accelerating UC Deployment with a SIP/XML Architecture” written by Zeus Kerravala, distinguished research fellow at Yankee Group. The reports are sponsored by Avaya and are hosted on Webtorials. The first paper […]
In the future, mobile phones will dominate, with businesses moving to a ‘bring your own device’ strategy and voice virtualization will take on more importance in business’ networks according to survey results taken by business communications and collaboration software and services provider Mitel Networks. The survey found 53 percent of respondents felt that, in the future, mobile phones would become the dominant communication device in the workplace. These same responders also stated that their organizations […]
The cloud will be discussed everywhere in 2011, but how much money actually is there in the cloud business? In a live webcast event this week, analyst firm IDC’s Research Vice-President Cindy Borovick forecast a $1.6 billion cloud market in 2011. Borovick’s forecast is not for the entire cloud services ecosystem, but rather is a subset of IDC’s data center and networking forecast. The $1.6 billion figure is IDC’s projection for network equipment revenues used […]
Cloud Adopters Embrace Cloud For Both Innovation and Legacy Optimization Once thought to be the answer to deployment options for just the SMB market, early cloud adopters proved otherwise. Stereotypes about industry, size of company, geographies, and roles no longer hold back adoption. Cloud adoption at all 4 layers of the cloud passed the tipping points in 2010 as a key business and technology strategy (see Figure 1). For 2011, we can expect users to: […]
Contact centers that want to easily interoperate with other vendors, partners, and worksites must standardize with Session Initial Protocol (SIP) over their Voice-over-IP (VoIP) communications systems. Once an organization’s VoIP is SIP-enabled, they open themselves up to virtualizing multiple operations, increasing flexibility, reducing costs, and improving overall efficiency across an endless array of communications options. Here’s how organizations are improving customer service with SIP-enabled VoIP communications: Virtualize. An all IP-based solution doesn’t require PBX hardware […]