2. Confusion in the Market
“UC” means different Integrated VM
things Chat applications
Many products with File sharing
“Unified” in the name IP communications
“UC” is often sold as a Webinar
“thing” you buy Teleconferencing
Speech recognition
Business process
integration
3. Today’s Discussion
Define UC
Identify major UC applications (“tools”)
3 primary ways UC can be purchased /
rolled out
5. What is Unified “Communications?”
“Unified Communications is the integration of
communication functions into business processes”
Editor – CIO Magazine
“Communications integrated to optimize business
processes”
www.ucstrategies.com
“Technology that connects communication and
collaboration applications on a common platform”
Forrester Research
7. Three Stages of Unification
U-Infrastructure U-Applications U-Processes
IP Telephony Conferencing Attendance
Mobility notification
Presence/IM Embedded
Communications
Third Party Call
Control
8. The UC Continuum
At its lowest level, UC serves to join
multiple types of communications to:
Consolidate infrastructure
11. Implications
Lowest levels of UC is an IT project focused on
voice and data infrastructure
Consolidate Merge Collapse
Voice/Data Cabling Voice and data staff Voice onto the LAN
Vendors Voice onto the data
WAN
Better potential voice integration via IP and SIP
12. The UC Continuum
At a moderate level, UC serves to join
communication applications to:
Enhance Personal Productivity
Enhance Workgroup Productivity
Jessica Young
13. Implications
Moderate levels of UC is typically focused on
deploying user productivity tools:
Presence
IM/Chat
Unified Messaging (voice/email/fax)
Click to call / Click to conference
Find Me / Follow me
Conferencing (Meet Me audio bridge, video and web
conferencing)
14. The UC Continuum
At its highest level, UC incorporates
functionality to:
Build communication methods directly into
business processes
Communications Enabled Business Processes
(CEBP)
15. Implications
High levels of UC are often concerned with
integrating some form of communications
input/output in response to a business process
This require deep knowledge of:
The enterprise business
Who is communicating with who
How they are communicating
What are the critical paths
16. Implications
At the highest levels, vendors are not in a good
position to address this UC functionality
They lack access to the customer organization
They lack compensation for their time to figure this out
This is where internal expertise or outside
assistance is required
Customization may be required
17. The UC Continuum
Thus, all the confusion…
Vendors/Media often over simplify UC as a
“thing you buy” rather than a set of tools to be
figured out and applied to optimize business
communications
Vendors/Media often present IP telephony,
Unified Messaging, and Unified
Communications as synonymous
Vendors/Media often imply that UC capabilities
are contingent upon implementing IP telephony
18. The UC Continuum
Thus, all the confusion…
Vendor’s naming conventions often build
“Unified” into their product names
Multiple vendors / New vendors to buy from
Many vendors are still learning and evolving
21. What is driving UC?
As telephone systems come up for
replacement, UC capabilities are the
newest feature sets to be considered
Available Features? Needed Features
Presence Click to Conference Presence
Web Conferencing IM IM
Click to Call Video Conferencing Click to Call
Federation Search Directory Search Directory
Kitchen Sink Tag
22. What is driving UC?
Organizations are trying to figure out
How to solve communication problems
Bottlenecks
Difficulty reaching the right person quickly
How to optimize business processes
Single Number Reach
Speed up communication flows
Better collaboration
26. UC Toolsets
Presence
Real time status – who is on-line and available?
The “dial tone” of the future
Today: Presence focused within the enterprise and
ability to have an IM session
Tomorrow: Presence servers gathering information
from various sources/platforms from in/out of the
enterprise (requires federation)
Basic Presence: On-line, level of activity
Rich Presence: Location, type of device being used,
its OS, local time, outside-of-enterprise
27. UC Toolsets
Instant Messaging
Enterprise-grade/Enterprise-wide Instant
Messaging
Security and Privacy
Quick exchanges
Multi-tasking / Ability to reach those that are “busy”
28. UC Toolsets
Third-Party Call Control
Activation of telephone features by point/click
Click to Call
Click to Conference
The office telephone becomes a “handset”
29. UC Toolsets
Synchronized Directory
Single user identity to tie together
Email address
Office telephone number
Mobile telephone number
30. UC Toolsets
Integrated audio
conferencing
Integrated web conferencing
Integrated video
conferencing
Conferencing &
Collaboration
32. UC Toolsets
Unified Messaging
Live reply/call return of
VM messages
Messaging
33. UC Toolsets
Unified Messaging
One in-box for email, voice mail – even fax
Unified message notification for all message
types
Ability to access any messages from any device
Ability to forward voice mail messages as email
attachments
Ability to work with voice mail messages from PC
34. UC Toolsets
Advanced Call & Message Management
Desktop call screening (rules for screening
inbound calls)
Find Me/Follow Me
Live Reply/Call Return of a VM message
35. UC Toolsets
Single number service
Voice commands
Seamlessly swap calls from
cell to desk phone (and vice
versa)
Mobility & Remote Soft phone VPN to corporate
Office network
36. UC Toolsets
Mobility Tools
Single Number Service
Office Number routes to “hidden” cell number
Voice mail messages pulled back to enterprise VM
server
Outbound calls from cell show Office Number CLID
Voice commands
37. UC Toolsets
Speech Access & Personal Assistant
Voice Recognition / Natural Speech commands
Speech commands to control “personal
assistants”
Access inbox
Access calendar
Access directory / contacts
Set up outbound dialing
38. UC Toolsets
Remote Telephony Access
Soft Phone (Laptop/PC with headset/microphone)
VPN over Broadband Internet Connection
Remote workers can receive calls to their business
number
Remote workers can place calls over the corporate
trunks
39. UC Toolsets
What appears to be readily adopted?
Instant Messaging
Presence
Click to Call
Search Directory
40. UC Toolsets
Presence
IM
Click to Call
Search Directory
Tag
Click to Conference
Web Conferencing
Video Conferencing
Federation
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Blair Pleasant and Nancy Jamison – June 2008
42. Communication Grid
High
Phone
Intrusion
IM Email
Low
Immediate Delayed
Time
43. Process Optimizations
Speed up the process of reaching someone
Speed up and simplify the process of joining
multiple parties
Simplify and enhance the process of collaborating
with disparate parties
Enhance the ability of mobile users to be reached
and function with the tools available within their
office
Set up triggers to automatically provide
notification at a critical point
44. Contact Management
Presence shows who is available
IM allows for instant access even if they are
engaged in another task
One-Number / Find Me-Follow Me allows the
system to manage multiple venues – relieving
the caller from trying different numbers
Directory Dialing and Click to Call simplifies the
process of identifying and contacting someone
45. Mobility
One-Number / Find Me-Follow Me allows the
system to work through multiple venues – not
the caller
Unified Messaging allows voice mail, email, and
fax to available through a single interface
(Smartphone user)
Text-to-Speech allows access to email from
standard cell phones
Natural Speech allows for easier interaction
46. Collaboration
Audio conferencing (“Meet Me”)
Video Conferencing (PC to PC up to telepresence)
Web Conferencing
Rapid virtual meetings
Share documents and files
Calendar and project timeline
Presence
47. Communications-Enabled Portal
Integrate Presence/IM with operating system
software
Software identifies an event where assistance is
required
Software identified individuals that could assist
IM/Chat window is opened to communicate with
selected individuals
Click to Call can be selected