Different Popular Types of Unified Communications Systems
What is unified communications system? Why do you need one? How can it contribute to the growth of your business? If you are new in the communication industry,all these things might have dominated your mind.
Definition of Unified Communications System
Unified communication system integrates different business communication tools into one efficient platform. Unified communications systems increase the efficiency,productivity,and responsiveness of a company by utilizing the modern technologies. With this developed communication system,you can streamline email,multimedia applications,and inter-office chat into one system.
Popular Types of Unified Communication Systems
When it comes to the vendors,Microsoft Lync,Cisco,and Avaya are the popular names that have dominated the market. Some new names like ezTalks are also receiving the increasing popularity. They offer some customized features to help the users to enhance their experience. In the current condition,this industry is creating new technologies to make the communication systems more effective and efficient. They are integrating the wireless and wired worlds to serve the interests of the unwired workers who normally spend more time on smartphones and tablets. As the industry is growing fast,you might experience some new trends in the near future. At present,you will find the following five types of the unified communication systems that are used by most of the vendors. (In the following text,“UC” is short for unified communication.)
1. Cloud-Based UC
Currently,around ninety percent companies use software as service (SaaS) for the growth of their business. They choose this option due to the lack of in-house expertise. They also want the fast and more effective result and that will be possible with the use of software only. In additions,SaaS offers flexible options when it comes to the resources and spending. You can get more benefits with the cloud-based software. It helps the IT sectors to reduce the capital investment and to move to operational spending in which the companies only need to spend for their requirements. You can consider a system depending on the demand of your business and the spending will be accordingly. The downside is that it cannot customize the facilities depending on the demand of the businesses.
2. Video UC
The video is an integral part of the collaboration technology. It has become a universal conferencing tool widely used by medium and large level companies. Now,new codecs like H.264 Scalable Video Coding (SVC) and H.264 high profile are enabling HD videos across Internet or wireless networks. Some vendors also offer the ability to start a conference among a mix room,mobile users,consumer services,and the desktop endpoints. It also allows recording the video conference for the future usages.
3. WebRTC
WebRTC (short for Web Real-Time Communication) allows the web browsers to work as voice and video endpoints without using a browser plug-in or any separate app. It is simply to use. The user can click to call from a mobile app or web page without picking up the phone. WebRTC provides apps like video conferencing and telephony. As it uses the JavaScript,the web developers will have the option to use this technology to add video,voice,and screen sharing to their applications. The best thing about the WebRTC is that it enables peer-to-peer communication without using the UC platform.
4. Mobile UC
In the area of the smartphone,you need to choose a unified communication system that is mobile friendly. This feature is offered by some of the popular vendors including Good Mobile Iron and Air Watch. These UC support the mobile workers across the globe and help them to communicate with their team via their smartphone. Many companies are using the mobile UC to help their employees to work outside the IT sector. Moreover,the vendors now deliver fully operational mobile clients for both the personal and business devices to support the features and applications.
5. Lync
Microsoft has launched Lync as a telephony platform that can be used by the medium and large companies. Microsoft is convincing its web conferencing customers to use the Lync for telephony. With this new inclusion,Microsoft is gaining market share. It also helped the company to prove the credibility as a video conferencing and IP telephony vendor. Microsoft might need some more updates to make the Lync more impressive and useful for the companies.
Summary
These are five popular types of unified communication systems. You can consider any of them to make your business more productive,efficient,and dynamic. But while choosing any of the above types,you need to understand your requirement first. A proper understanding will help you to get a right option for your business.