1. Unified Communications Overview

“This is not about working 25 hours a day, it’s about eliminating inefficient communications” -
Steve Blood research vice president, Gartner
With the deployment of integrated communication services there is an opportunity for
organisations to significantly improve employee productivity, augment business processes
and foster innovation. (Butler Group, Enterprise Communications, February 2010).
In essence, Unified Communications takes all of the means by which a modern business
communicates – data, voice, messaging and wireless – and unifies the experience. This is
achieved through the integration of real-time communication services such as IP telephony,
instant messaging, video conferencing and Telepresence with non-real-time services such as
email, SMS, fax and voicemail.
It is not a single product, but a solution based on a set of products unified in such a way as to
provide a consistent user interface and user experience across a wide range of devices and
media types. This means that an individual user can send a message via one medium, whilst
the recipient can access the same communication via another medium – for instance
accessing voicemail messages through email or a cell phone. If the sender is online and
available, a response can be sent immediately via text chat or video call. Otherwise, it may
be sent as a non real-time message accessible via a variety of media.
This unification of communication technologies and interfaces is made possible by the
consolidation of different types of communication over a single physical network. Both voice
and data can be delivered over the same network, using the same format - IP, or internet
protocol.
Since unified communication is based on IP, it is also relevant to Cloud Computing, whereby
communication services are delivered via the internet on a subscription basis.
The strength of a Unified Communications solution is that an organisation has a trusted
partner who understands their strategic goals and direction. That partner is able to build an
end to end solution which is specific to the organisation’s business environment, ensuring
that Unified Communications effectively underpins collaboration-intensive business
processes.
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2. Business benefits
The specific benefits of moving to a Unified Communications model will always depend on
the nature of the user organisation to an extent. However, the model also enables a range of
more general benefits, such as:
 Productivity and efficiency: Unified Communications enables users to communicate
more efficiently by giving them access to all communications via a single interface – and
by enabling them to share, forward, or manage them in real time. There is no need to
switch between multiple interfaces in order to manage different communications types,
which drives efficiency and speed of communication between people
 Cost benefit: Unified Communications streamlines and consolidates communications
infrastructure, reducing the need to invest in hardware
 Anytime, anywhere access: Merging email, voice, and other communications services
enables users to, for instance, access voice messages in email, have email dictated over
the phone, or access communications via the Web. As a result, the ability communicate,
and access communications services is not limited by location, provided internet access
is available
 Simplified maintenance: Unified Communications delivers a wide range of messaging and
communication to a single inbox. Meanwhile, the user organisation does not need to
manage separate infrastructures for both data and voice traffic. Together, these factors
add up to simplified infrastructure that can be maintained more easily and efficiently
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3. Considerations
As with any decision to migrate to an entirely new ICT architecture, businesses should
assess providers and solutions thoroughly before committing, focussing in particular on
issues such as:
 Security: In a Unified Communications environment where many, if not all, of an
organisation’s communications platforms are integrated, special attention should be given
to security considerations. In particular, it is vital to protect against the links between the
communications channels acting as bridges enabling security issues, such as viruses, to
affect several or all of the platforms, leaving the organisation unable to communicate
 Reliability and service availability: Strong service level agreements are vital, as are the
provider’s reputation when it comes to reliability and provisions for continuity during
service disruption
 Future-proofing: It is important to ensure that any solution implemented now is likely to be
compatible with future developments in communication technology
 Usability: The system must be extremely easy to use. Otherwise, users personnel will not
use the facilities effectively and the potential benefits will not be realised
 Scalability: Any system purchased must be capable of growing scalable to meet future
demands and developments - both in terms of technologies and the size of the
organisation
 Compliance: It is very important to ensure that a Unified Communications infrastructure is
designed and implemented I such a way as to support the compliance and regulatory
demands on the organisation – for instance providing for the application of granular
permissions policies governing access to and use of information
 Managed Service: Using a managed service provider with experience is an option worth
considering for organisations, to ensure a smooth transition and integration of all
communication solutions and network.
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4. Glossary
 Internet Protocol (IP): The primary communications protocol through which packets of
data are routed across network boundaries. It is fundamental to the effective operation of
the Internet
 Presence information: An indicator informing a user as to the location and availability of
an intended communication recipient
 Unified Messaging (UM): A system that makes different types of messages available from
a single inbox – which is accessible from a variety of devices and applications
 Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP): A telephony networking solution that transmits voice
telephone calls across an IP network as an alternative to the public switched telephone
network (PSTN)
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