The Presence indicator can also carry a comment from the user, saying they are working on a time-critical project, or have been called into an open-ended meeting, for example.
Another business benefit of Presence is that it enables an employee to locate and involve the right expert in a timely manner. For example, in a situation where urgent medical knowledge is required, a UC system that has medical experts working as part of the team, could find an expert colleague quickly, who has the required knowledge, and involve them immediately.
In a situation like this, the communication between colleagues might begin as an SMS or instant message conversation, but be escalated quickly to a voice call, or even a video call, enabling a deeper level of communication and collaboration.
UC also provides a platform that incorporates a range of web-based applications, including instant messaging, video conferencing, and data sharing through web-connected, interactive whiteboards.
Unified communications and contact management
Finally, UC can provide contact management integration - a single, easily-accessible phone book for all business contacts, which can be accessed from multiple devices and locations. This is possible because UC information is held on a central server, which can be accessed over the network.
UC used to be targeted at large businesses, but is increasingly being offered to smaller firms, through lower-cost equipment from the likes of Cisco, with UC software platforms available from Microsoft and IBM. Telephony firms, including BT and Vodafone Business, also offer Unified Communications applications and services, with bespoke packages and different levels of commitment available for different sizes of organisations.
UC packages can vary greatly between vendors in terms of what they offer out-of-the-box, but can be a starting point to use these technologies to aid teamwork and collaboration, lower telephony costs, and give employees a single user interface across multiple devices and applications.
