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Unified Communications and Collaboration: Laying the Foundations for Business Process Flexibility and Innovation

Apr 01, 2008

The requirement for a multi-channel IP network and unified communications to support all of an organization’s interaction and collaboration needs has never been more evident. It is becoming increasingly important for IT management to begin to lay the foundations for the availability of integrated common communication services, either by infrastructure upgrades or through Managed Services. If organizations have not already, they should put in place the foundation of a converged IP environment, along with exploiting unified communications and the latest collaboration mechanisms.

Key Findings
  • The communications architecture that has evolved over the last 20 years no longer meets the requirements of organisations.
  • Collaboration is about much more than tools and technologies: it is also about people and processes.
  • Going forward, a single IP-based infrastructure will form the backbone for all data traffic and communication mechanisms.
  • Organisations must formulate a communications strategy that employs a service-centric approach.
  • The use of Voice over IP (VoIP) and other IP-based standards will form the foundation of next generation networks.
  • Unified communications underpins collaboration-intensive business processes.
  • Presence is the dial tone of the future.
  • Security and end-to-end visibility remain key considerations within the unified communications environment.
  • Communications convergence is a key enabler for better collaboration.
  • Managed services provision for communication requirements is an option worth considering for many organisations.
  • Vendor partnering and alliances are a key aspect of the Unified Communications and Collaboration market.


Report Synopsis
These are challenging times, with organisations facing continuous change, including the shift to a more agile, virtual organisation, increasingly mobile workers, and the unremitting demands to increase productivity and lower costs. The requirement for a multi-channel IP network and unified communications to support all of an organisation’s interaction and collaboration needs has never been more evident.It is becoming increasingly important for IT management to begin to lay the foundations for the availability of integrated common communication services, either by infrastructure upgrades or through Managed Services. If organisations have not already, then Butler Group recommends that enterprises should put in place the foundation of a converged IP environment, along with exploiting unified communications and the latest collaboration mechanisms.


Nick Wakeman

Nick Wakeman's Business Beat