What Is Unified Communications Technology?

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A common question from most people is what is
unified communications technology? Unified
communications technology is known by other names
such as information and communications
technology (ICT), unified communications and
collaboration (UCC) and collaborative
communications.
What Is Unified Communications Technology?
The definition of unified communications
technology differs from one industry expert
to another. However, the term basically describes
a new technological architecture that integrates
communication tools so as to allow both
individuals and businesses to manage all their
communications in a single entity rather than
separately. It functions to bridge the gap that
exists between other computer related
communication technologies and VoIP. This system
allows companies to utilize integrated video,
voice and data in just one supported
product. Unified communications technology
integrates communication tools to assist people
in exchanging ideas as well as to effectively do
their jobs. The communication tools being
referred to here are instant messaging, presence
technology and IP telephony. The ultimate aim of
unified communication technology is to integrate
the software which supports both asynchronous
and synchronous communication so that the end
user has an easy access to each and every tool
from the computing device they are using.
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Technologies Used
After learning about the definition of unified
communication technology, it is only fair to
know about the technologies used in it. There are
several technologies that characterize unified
communications technology, they include the ones
listed below IPT IPT is an abbreviation for
Internet Protocol (IP) telephony. This has become
an important part of unified communication
technology as many enterprises are using the
internet to deliver fax, voice as well as other
forms of communication. IP telephony uses the
internet in delivering phone calls while VoIP is
a transport mechanism which manages voice
communications over IP. IP telephony basically
moves traditional phone systems from solid
existence to be a component of the enterprise
data network. It decreases the quantity of wiring
required as well as the type of mobility that
accompanies the connection of the voice system
anywhere. Onto the broader area
network. Presence This technology allows for
computing devices to be located and consequently
identified. This is done when the user is
connected to the network and does not depend on
the location of the device. Users can therefore
monitor the state or availability of other users,
thus adding convenience and ease to unified
communications. It is ideal for enhancing
productivity within an enterprise. Presence is
an important part of any companys unified
communications and collaboration strategy. It is
what allows knowledge management technologies,
collaboration and unified communications to
collaborate so that the production of employees
increases. Presence is usually featured tool
rather than as a standalone. Conferencing,
social networking tools, email, telephony and
instant messaging have presence but as a
built-in capability.
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Presence can be defined as the ability to
indicate a number of useful characteristics
about a person to the outside world. This is
inclusive of the persons identity, what he/she
is currently doing, whether they can be reached
and also how best to reach them (videoconference,
email, instant messaging, phone etc.) Presence
provides all the above information but on the
basis of who is requesting it. Most systems have
the provision of tweaking or tuning the
availability information and reachability
information and this is based on the context of
the person who is requesting it. Instant
messaging is the most recent mechanism of
presence and it includes basic indicators for a
persons availability. Messaging Messaging
technologies comprise of instant messaging (IM),
faxes, voicemail and email. This technology
combines messaging services such as voicemail and
fax into one mailbox that users can gain access
to through phone or email. Unified messaging
allows end-users to electronically deliver
voicemails to any destination. This is achieved
through email delivery using a voicemail from any
one of several sources such as a home number, an
office phone or a cell phone. Conferencing Conf
erencing has greatly evolved from audio, web to
even video. This is driven by the emergence of
new technologies. Conferencing services such as
ezTalks allow for increased presence and
mobility for enterprises. The integration of
video conferencing such as that provided by
ezTalks with unified communications allows users
to easily initiate video connections via
presence. This integration overcomes several
challenges that were experience in the past with
the separate video conferencing technology such
as scheduling and learning new interface. This is
because it allows for video connections in a
similar fashion to IM or voice connections via
presence. The process of integrating video
conferencing into unified communication
technology environment requires the user to
first define their video conferencing
requirements. There
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are numerous video conferencing solutions but the
identification of good ones such as ezTalks that
will satisfy the users requirements is the main
challenge. Conclusion Unified Communication
technology is an important investment for
organizations which are keen on improving
responsiveness and productivity while still
reducing the costs of IT. This is because it
converges data, video and voice around an
IP-based infrastructure which is shared. This
simplifies joining video or audio conferences,
sending messages and making calls. What is
unified communications technology? Now you know.
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