IP-based communication involves much more than cheap Internet calls. When done right, it enables efficient, productive communications through convergence, or what has become known as unified communications (UC).
This is the view of Bennie Langenhoven, managing executive of Tellumat Telecoms, who says the development of UC has led to two main trends today: the uptake and deployment of collaborative tools, and presence management solutions.
Langenhoven's predictions for the future of UC include the establishment of communications-driven business process with voice becoming just another app on the network.
He notes that collaboration tools such as conference calling, video, desktop sharing and white boarding have become an integral part of UC. According to Langenhoven, the main benefit of collaborative tools is their time-saving ability.
“For instance, if you're busy with a phone conversation you can complete a task by sharing an application with the other party, rather than having to fax or e-mail something later and then having a follow-up meeting to discuss. It is becoming easier to have online meetings, which saves on travelling costs,” he explains.
The uptake of presence management is another trend in UC, offers Langenhoven. This solution puts the user in control of how and where people can contact them.
Benefits include better customer satisfaction and higher efficiency, he notes. “By integrating into Outlook, for instance, the system can check your calendar to see if you're in meetings or out of the office.”
Langenhoven believes that voice is destined to become just another application on the network, with tighter integration into back office processes and ERP systems.
“In the future, voice will be driven by business processes. There won't be a dedicated voice switch that is integrated into the enterprise back-end,” he predicts.
“Voice will be an application like any other on the network, built into processes from the ground up. Voice switching will be driven by business rules, not by the number dialled,” he concludes.
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