The Internet of things (IOT) has the power to reshape the business world, and unified communication (UC) lies at the heart of enabling enterprises to leverage this to their advantage.
So said Vishal Barapatre, CTO at In2IT Technologies SA, speaking at the In2IT Technologies UC event in Johannesburg this week.
UC unifies various platforms of communication into a single, connected interface, and with IOT rapidly expanding the number of connected 'things', UC is more important than ever, said Barapatre.
He noted for business, the challenge lies in embracing IOT to deliver smart solutions that offer value for the consumer - making their lives easier.
"Connectivity and connectedness lie at the heart of many changes that are beginning to emerge, and businesses need to take the first steps in enabling new functionality in order to be well positioned for future opportunities."
Conrad Steyn, product sales specialist for collaboration at Cisco, noted UC and IOT technologies represent the next wave of innovation, and businesses that are able to leverage them effectively stand to benefit from creating and maintaining a competitive advantage.
According to Steyn, organisations should be able to incorporate communication not just from the standard channels, but from whichever channels that will arise in the future.
He pointed out collaboration is a key enabler in connecting people with devices, turning data into information that people can use to improve processes and generate more value.
On their own, processes, data and things aren't that intriguing. It's the convergence of people, process, data and things that creates a powerful opportunity for disruption and change, said Steyn.
Barapatre explained many organisations already incorporate aspects of UC; however, in order to leverage the potential of IOT, this needs to be extended.
He pointed out the cost of implementing the necessary infrastructure is significant and this is where IOT and UC collide with another megatrend shaping our world today - the cloud.
Cloud services enable organisations to fully embrace UC without needing to invest in infrastructure, bringing the necessary improvements to flexibility, scalability and productivity, said Barapatre.
He explained hybrid cloud solutions will allow enterprises to merge their existing infrastructure and solutions with new, cloud-based functionality, driving UC further into business processes than ever before.
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