Business News Holding

Tag: uc

  • Jabber now available for virtual desktops

    Cisco has announced that Jabber, its unified communications (UC) product, is now available for virtual desktops. Cisco says based on an estimate by research and advisory firm Gartner, there will be around 77 million Jabber users on virtual desktops by 2016.

    How does Jabber integrate with virtual desktops?

    Through a new piece of software called the Virtualisation Experience Media Engine, Jabber is now available for Cisco thin clients and will soon be rolled out to other thin platforms as well as to mobile devices.

    What is Jabber?

    Jabber is a sophisticated communication solution that builds on Voice over IP (VOIP) technology popularized by video calling products like Skype. Its enterprise users have the opportunity to access their preferred method of communication to collaborate with others anytime, anywhere. Enterprise users can take advantage of Jabber's voice, video, presence, web conference and instant messaging capabilities to get the job done and can exchange information swiftly and securely. Users can arrange virtual meetings, work collaboratively on documents or simply stay in touch, regardless of whether they are using a mobile device, virtual desktop or a traditional PC. Jabber increases productivity by linking seamlessly with Microsoft Office.

    Jabber is an ideal solution for telecommuters or businesses whose employees travel frequently – it is in many ways the closest thing to being in the office in person, and is flexible enough to adapt to all kinds of workplaces and working situations.

    Cisco has so far sold 1.4 million Jabber 'seats' or licenses.

  • Survey Reveals Mobile Users Prefer Voice Over IP

    A study conducted by BroadSoft revealed greater than 2/3 of mobile device users showed a preference for voice over IP or UC services and regarded it the most worthwhile application. BroadSoft surveyed 700 people who work in assorted industries located in Sweden, Spain, and in the United States.

    The primary issue users had with communication was lack of speed at 78%. The next two issues were finding and contacting a person (68%) and email problems (58%). Other issues users experienced included travel interruptions, internal meetings, and telecom problems.

    The survey found that users of voice over IP preferred internet collaboration, instant messaging, and mobile incorporation. Leslie Ferry, vice president of marketing for BroadSoft concluded operators of mobile devices are in a better position to make their investments earn them the most profit quicker in LTE networks and they can furnish users with excellent service business users need regardless of location and device. This is because of the greater revenue produced by each user through UC services.

    A white paper issued by BroadSoft indicated there are still professional employees who communicate with smartphones and laptops more than desktop computers. Other professional employees still communicate with desktops and standard telephones perhaps because of limited finances. Desktop computers are among the most used deice for communication proceeding laptops and office telephones. Desk tops and office phones tied as a commonly used communication device for the health industry.

    Other studies and BroadSoft agreed with other studies that observed the developing enterprise adaptation of UC services. The study also concluded that a lack of UC applications may cause a 'production gap' amid employees onsite and mobile device users of nearly 2.5 hours weekly. The trend of voice over IP and other UC services will proceed to expand as employees continue to take their mobile devices to work and more services for mobile communications are provided by UC vendors. Vendors will need to stay ahead of trends.

  • Mobile UC Deployment the Key to Higher Productivity, Says Survey

    Adding mobile technology to a Unified Communications strategy could allow the average business to recover $5,500 per employee per annum in lost productivity.

    Webtorials has collected survey responses from 200 people employed at companies which have over 500 employees, most of which are located in the United States. The survey, which was commissioned by the SIP communications company Sonus Networks, has some results that will interest business owners.

    Only one-quarter of the businesses surveyed stated that the saturation of Mobile UC in their workforce was intermediate, while another quarter said they were just starting to deploy the new technology. Another twenty-one percent said they had limited deployment of Mobile UC.

    With this technology only effectively deployed in around one-third of the businesses surveyed by Webtorials, there is a lot of room for improvement. The technology allows employees to communicate with each other on different mobile devices, such as tablets and smart phones, and can therefore boost employee productivity significantly.

    The report also stated that the shortfall in the widespread adoption of offsite UC capability could promote the development of a "productivity gap" between remote workers and onsite workers. This leads to a loss of around 2.5 hours per week per employee, a significant waste in productivity. Mobile UC allows enterprises to recover around $5,500 per annum in lost productivity.

    The use of smartphones and tablets at work is now widespread. According to the survey, two-thirds of knowledge workers in enterprise use their mobile devices at least one-quarter of the time.

    Steve Taylor, editor-in-chief of Webtorials, highlights the importance of this new technology, stating that mobility and flexibility is the key to the UC conundrum, especially for large enterprises. "Enterprises must push their Unified Communications capabilities beyond the office walls if they wish to get the maximum return on investment from their technology investments and the employees who use them."

    Wes Durow, the vice president of global marketing at Sonus, added: "Enabling mobility across the enterprise should be the first consideration as companies plan their UC deployments and that means having a robust, open-standard, SIP-based communications architecture in place that can support employees no matter where they are or what device they use."

  • 4PSA Enhances VoIP Suite with Cloud Telephony Service

    4PSA, known for its VoipNow Unified Communications platform, has announced the public availability of Cloud Telephony, the flexible, next-generation SIP trunking service that "can be provisioned within minutes."

    The new service delivers access to the telephony network using the SIP protocol and features unlimited concurrent incoming and outgoing calls. Moreover, it is possible to choose local phone numbers in over 30 countries around the world with best rates for domestic and international calls. Using VoIP technologies and the Cloud Telephony service, it is not necessary to install physical phone lines and incoming calls are always free.

    "The Cloud Telephony solution is designed to deliver great value to a wide variety of customers, from small businesses to enterprises and also service providers. We cover a wide range of expectations and requirements." said Mike Ross, 4PSA's President. "With the addition of Cloud Telephony to our VoipNow Cloud Instance and Unified Communications suite, the go-to-market time for these services has been greatly reduced." Mr. Ross also stated.

    The new service is part of 4PSA's strategy to bring the cloud flexibility to resources that traditionally required complicated provisioning processes. Cloud Telephony follows cloud Unified Communications and cloud software licensing as a way to simplify the deployment of traditional telephony services.

    Cloud Telephony can be used with any communication system that implements a VoIP SIP interface. When paired with VoipNow Cloud Instance that already offers software, infrastructure and support, it is a complete solution for service providers so that they can start delivering services to their customers immediately, and also for businesses that are looking for a turn-key Unified Communications solution.

    "Some customers prefer to host VoipNow® on their own infrastructure and choose their favorite carriers. VoipNow Professional is already the optimal solution for these customers with its comprehensive set of features, its flexibility and ability to scale. The new Cloud Telephony helps these installations too because it provides additional carrier services that reduce costs and improve reliability," added Mr. Ross.

    4PSA's Cloud Telephony is available in three packages – Starter, Business and Service Provider, which offer free credit every month and require no commitments.

  • Polycom Announces Acquisition of Accordent Technologies

    Unified Communications provider Polycom has announced the acquisition of Accordent Technologies, a provider of video content management and delivery solutions, for approximately $50 million in cash. Polycom expects this acquisition to be neutral to earnings in 2011 and slightly accretive to earnings in 2012.

    Polycom will integrate its open standards UC Intelligent Core and UC endpoints with Accordent’s open standards video content management solution. The Accordent solution provides capture solutions for all major video use cases, whether delivering highly scalable live webcasts from the studio, providing automated rich media webcasting from the meeting or classroom, adding a streaming extension to videoconferences or enabling user-generated content from the desktop.

    According to data from market research firm Wainhouse Research, this acquisition immediately expands Polycom’s total available market by $500 million and, for this video management segment, this market is projected to generate a compounded annual growth rate of 32% through 2014 to $1.2 billion. As a strategic partner with Microsoft, Accordent strengthens and further differentiates Polycom’s deep native integration with Microsoft Lync and Sharepoint.

    "Polycom is committed to delivering an innovative, flexible and world-class video communications solution to customers over the entire content lifecycle – from real-time to capture, to management, to delivery," said Sudhakar Ramakrishna, Polycom Chief Development Officer.

    "We believe Accordent has the most elegant video content management solution on the market and by leveraging customer, channel, partner and product synergies with Polycom, this transaction positions Polycom at the forefront of end-to-end video and content management. We welcome Accordent’s customers and employees to the Polycom team," he added.

    "From our first meeting with Polycom, we shared a common vision about the future of unified collaboration and the paradigm shift in the way people communicate and work," said Mike Newman, previous Accordent Chief Executive Officer. "By integrating Accordent’s video content management solutions with Polycom’s unparalleled end-to-end video solution, we believe we can make this vision a reality as we harness the natural synergies between our two companies."

    Accordent grew to $9 million in revenues in 2010 and has over 1,200 customers in the enterprise and public sector, and through select service providers. The staff of 50 employees will remain in Southern California and will report into Polycom’s UC research and development organization. Accordent’s software-centric solution will become an integral element of the Polycom UC Intelligent Core and will be reported with Polycom’s Network Infrastructure revenues.

  • Unified Communications Market Has Strongest Quarter Since 2008

    Dell’Oro Group reported that the Unified Communications market expanded to its highest level since 2008 in the third quarter this year. Strong second half seasonality helped offset weakness in Europe as the Unified Communications market expanded 7 percent sequentially.

    “The market rebounded strongly in the third quarter due to robust seasonal quarters from several of the larger vendors, especially in North America, which was able to offset weakness in Europe” commented Alan Weckel, Director at Dell’Oro Group.

    “Despite pockets of weakness reappearing, we believe that the Unified Communications market will expand significantly in 2010 as existing vendors continue to invest and expand their software offerings and Microsoft begins to actively push Lync,” Weckel added.

    Also, according to the report, vendors continue to migrate their installed base over to IP lines, although the process may take another decade to complete. The top eight vendors in the quarter that accounted for more than 80 percent of IP line shipments were: Aastra, Alcatel-Lucent, Avaya, Cisco, Mitel, NEC, Shoretel, and Siemens.

  • Avaya and Skype Team Up to to Collaborate on Unified Communications

    Avaya and Skype have announced a strategic agreement to deliver communications and collaboration solutions to businesses of all sizes. The multi-phase deal includes both go-to-market and a joint technology integration.

    In the first phase of the agreement, Avaya customers in the U.S. market will have access to Skype Connect, a product which adds Skype calling to IP-based enterprise communications systems, providing a SIP communications channel between Avaya communications systems and Skype.

    According to Avaya, Customers with Avaya Aura Session Manager or Avaya Aura SIP Enablement Server, CS1000, Avaya IP Office, or BCM systems can use Skype Connect to place calls globally “for increased reach, while aiming to save on international calling.” Enterprise-level security and features such as tracking, recording, regulatory compliance, and more are provided by the Avaya system.

    Skype reported 124 million average monthly connected users during the second quarter of 2010. Now, Skype users can make inbound calls to Avaya customers in the U.S. market for free or at a low cost. Calls will be treated with Avaya’s routing, conferencing, messaging, mobility and contact center capabilities, as well as other collaboration services.

    For example, businesses can:
    • Establish Skype Click & Call buttons for inbound calling from Web sites
    • Establish Skype Online Numbers for inbound calling from landline and mobile phones
    • Route inbound calls from a Skype user to an enterprise extension.

    In the second half of 2011, Avaya and Skype plan to deliver integrated unified communications and collaboration solutions for enterprises within the U.S. The integration is intended to establish federation between Avaya Aura and Skype communications platforms and both user communities, so that an Avaya end-user and Skype user can engage and interact via presence, instant messaging, voice and video.

    According to the companies, a business, for example, could use Skype to access an Avaya-based contact center “in a simple and highly integrated way to quickly and efficiently resolve customer service issues.” The integrated solutions will also allow enterprise IT managers to manage and control the inter-connectivity between end users to meet their corporate IT policies.

    "Our relationship with Avaya is expected to expand the footprint for Skype Connect into more enterprises in the U.S. market, while allowing us to help Avaya’s customers benefit from Skype’s cost savings and access to Skype’s global user base," said David Gurlé, vice president and general manager of Skype for Business.

    "We believe our integrated solution in the second half of 2011 is expected to offer the benefits of Skype to a growing number of businesses and open up new ways for people to communicate and collaborate," he added.

    Related news
    Skype Launches Channel Partner Program in the U.S.
    MZA: Avaya Continues to Lead PBX Market
    Skype Connect 1.0 Officially Launched
    Avaya Introduces New Products at Interop 2010

  • Alteva Offers Free Complete UC Solution Through Its IP Phone Rental Program

    Alteva has announced another affordable way to leverage Microsoft Communication Services integrated with Alteva’s enterprise hosted VoIP service. Together, Microsoft and Alteva are providing hosted UC solutions for smaller businesses that integrate communication and business processes.

    To further make new IP technologies accessible to the SMB market, Alteva is now offering its complete UC solution to organizations purchasing 10 or more phones through an IP phone rental program. Alteva said that companies that choose to take advantage of the rental program will not have to put any money down to get a new Voice over IP phone system. “This rental option will greatly improve the channel managers’ ability to close sales in this turbulent economy,” said Alteva Chief Sales Officer Louis Hayner.

    Back in April, Alteva launched the complete suite of Microsoft Communication Services, including Microsoft Exchange, SharePoint and Office Communications Server (OCS) with hosted voice services.

    “Hosted unified communications will change the way that businesses communicate,” said Rich Cannon, Industry Marketing Development Manager at Microsoft.

    “By integrating voice with Microsoft Communication Services, we are opening the doors to service providers and their partners by providing a range of functionalities to offer to the end user that will inevitably change the landscape of their business,” he added.

    In a survey by Infonetics Research, of North American companies and their plans for deploying Unified Communications equipment and services, as well as their ratings of leading Unified Communications vendors, Microsoft is one of the most widely deployed Unified Communications suppliers among survey respondents, enjoying high buyer awareness and receiving high marks from buyers on the most important buying criteria.

    “Against the backdrop of significant enterprise spending reductions on all kinds of products, the unified communication market is holding up remarkably well. Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise, as these tools are designed to allow users to communicate and collaborate more effectively,” noted Matthias Machowinski, directing analyst for enterprise voice and data at Infonetics Research.

    Related news
    Microsoft Lync: A New Name for a New Generation of UC Solutions
    SoliCall Releases Personal PBXMate for SMB’s and Private Users
    LG-Ericsson and Accton to Deliver Unified Voice and Data Solutions for Businesses

  • Microsoft Lync: A New Name for a New Generation of UC Solutions

    Microsoft announced the release candidate of Microsoft Lync, the next generation of Microsoft’s unified communications software. Lync is the new family brand for the products formerly known as Communications Server, Communications Online and Communicator, and it also now includes Lync Web App, and Lync Online.

    The release candidates of Lync 2010 and Lync Server 2010 are now available for businesses of all sizes to try for free. Microsoft said this broad release candidate is the last step toward release to manufacturing and general availability scheduled for later this year.

    According to the company, Lync can make every engagement a virtual face-to-face meeting, because any interaction can include video and audio conferencing, application and desktop sharing, instant messaging, and telephony.

    Lync has been designed from the ground up to work with Microsoft Office, SharePoint and Exchange, which helps reduce end-user adoption hurdles and increase return on investment. People can also stay connected to others on a wide range of devices while away from the office and manage their communications and calls in new ways, such as moving a call from a PC to a mobile device while leaving the office without disrupting the conversation.

    Microsoft revealed that more than 120 enterprise customers and partners are enrolled in the Microsoft Technology Adoption Program (TAP) for Lync, testing early releases and providing feedback, and over 400 unified communications partners are involved in readiness activities, preparing for general availability of the software later this year.

    In addition, more than 30 partners have announced beta versions of their Lync-compatible hardware, software and service products. Hardware products include a variety of internet protocol phones and USB endpoints optimized for Lync. Software solutions include contact centers, call recording, accounting and new applications that incorporate communications right within business processes. Routing services work with Lync to allow companies to meet United States E-911 requirements for all U.S.-based workers, regardless of location.

    “Over the past five years we have been on a journey to transform communications with the power of software,” said Gurdeep Singh Pall, corporate vice president of Unified Communications at Microsoft.

    “Lync delivers on this vision by unifying enterprise voice, instant messaging and web-, audio- and videoconferencing into a new, connected communications experience,” he added.

  • Skype Launches Channel Partner Program in the U.S.

    Skype has announced the introduction of the Skype Channel Partner Program to help businesses who are looking to use Skype for their collaboration and communication needs.

    According to Skype, the goal of the program is to establish a qualified network of channel partners in the United States that can assist companies interested in using Skype “to improve their productivity and optimize their communication costs.”

    Through the Skype Channel Partner Program, qualified Channel Partners will receive training, sales and marketing collaterals, customer tracking and reporting tools, as well as support and account management from Skype.

    Once trained and certified by Skype, the partners will be equipped to provide their own consulting, installation, configuration, maintenance and support services to business customers who wish to use Skype’s business solutions, including the Skype Business Client, Skype Manager and Skype Connect.

    Channel Partners will help businesses set up Skype and buy and use Skype products. For example, they will help Skype Manager customers use and manage the Skype Business Client on their desktop and mobile phones via business accounts or connect their existing private branch exchange (PBX) or Unified Communications (UC) systems to Skype using Skype Connect.

    They may also sell third-party hardware and software for use with Skype. Channel Partners will not be reselling any Skype products to customers; all Skype products will be bought directly from Skype.

    According to Skype, already twenty VARs and system integrators have been enrolled in and trained as part of the program and have started marketing and selling their own services and third-party hardware and software for use with Skype’s business solutions.

    Skype said will also work with manufacturers of the IP-enabled PBX and UC systems that have already been certified as interoperable with Skype Connect to introduce the Skype Channel Partner Program to their existing channel partners.

    Related news
    Skype Connect 1.0 Officially Launched
    Skype Now Available on Verizon Multimedia Phones on the BREW Platform
    Skype for iPhone Now Supports Multitasking, No Charges for Calling Over 3G
    Skype For SIP Now Available in Beta