Unified Communications: How Far and How Fast?

UC implementations remain both cutting edge and mature, depending on the specific technology and organizational goals. Most IT staffs have widely deployed individual UC applications such as instant messaging, Web conferencing, and presence. But the true value of a UC strategy lies with the integration of multiple communications, collaboration, and with enterprise applications. Companies continue to struggle to develop a business case based on hard-dollar benefits such as cost savings. Instead, IT leaders rate success by evaluating soft-metrics such as user satisfaction, system performance, mobility, and improved productivity. IT leaders also are assessing Microsoft’s push into UC; piloting and evaluating Lync but not yet ready to trust it for enterprise telephony. Finally, UC architects are starting to address virtualization, exploring both the opportunity to take advantage of virtualization’s ability to save money and improve flexibility, and the challenges in delivering real-time client applications to virtualized desktops.