Unified Communications is coming into force and growing rapidly. It is positioning itself as the next big step forward in the communications industry, both wired and wireless.
In the past, businesses of all sizes had to have telephone equipment – such as a complicated and expensive private exchange – that was paid for, installed and continually updated. The rise of unified communications has replaced this burden with systems that are easy to implement, affordable and always up-to-date.
"Unified Communications" or "UC" is the name given to subscription communication services and software. Subscriber phones, computers, videoconferencing equipment and any other type of communication technology that they can use all pass through an online unified communications service.
Crowded market
There are many companies that offer unified communications services. In addition to finding the services that fit your needs, it's important to choose a trusted company or supplier. If you line up 10 unified communications providers, you'll find that they all have different angles and different strengths and weaknesses. Some focus more on one technology than another.
Choosing a vendor can be difficult, but it's worth it because it will improve your communications with customers, prospects, executives, employees and partners.
Owning and maintaining your own communication system can be expensive and discouraging, and it can become obsolete quickly. New technologies are coming at a crazy speed. Unified communications eliminates these headaches and allows businesses to be more competitive.
Two examples UC
The UC is a data service provided over the Internet or by data lines, both wired and wireless. The IP plays an important role. New technologies are digital and not analog, which means that they need a data network.
Unified communications service providers come from different sectors of the communications industry: the telephone side, the cable television side, the wireless side or the Internet side.
Frontier Business, part of Frontier Communications, is a unified communications provider that comes from the phone company's side of the fence. It offers a full range of services for small and medium businesses: voice, data, Internet, IPTV, video conferencing and more.
Altice USA, another UC player, has just announced the addition of the UC Call Center feature to its Lightpath-hosted voice line. Altice is a cable television company. Its MSO Lightpath provides managed services including voice, data and the Internet.
What business customers want
CUs are not new, but they are young. Its rapid growth and evolution are clear indications that it is the future. Every telephone company, cable television company, wireless company and Internet company is already in the unified communications market or will be entering it.
UC is what business customers want. The need is real and considerable. Big seats do not want to fight with PBX systems anymore. For small communities and even home offices, it makes sense to connect easily via the Internet or data line.
Think of UC as the modernization of the communications network for businesses, large and small, wired and wireless. He is involved in all types of communications – telephone, wireless, Internet, pay television, video conferencing, computer communications and much more.
Unified communications make life a lot easier and better for those who are responsible for the reliable connection of each part of a company and the speed ahead.
Jeff Kagan has been a columnist for the ECT News Network since 2010. He focuses on the wireless and telecommunications industries. He is an independent
analyst, consultant and speaker.
Email Jeff.