Communication is a key component of a successful business and we tend to use a mix of methods from telephony, e-mail, SMS, chat, video conferences, web meetings and even still some fax. At the same time being able to communicate effectively while mobile is an ever increasing imperative.
All these methods tend to work independently of each other using different devices, platforms and IT technologies requiring multiple skill sets and divergent administrative platforms. IBM’s Unified Communications and Collaboration strategy (UC2) is about unifying these disparate communications methods and bringing them all into one consistent user experience integrating the various technologies without needing to rip and replace your infrastructure.
Have you ever been on the phone with someone and you need to leave the office to drive to a meeting and need to transfer the call to your mobile seamlessly without the caller noticing? Think UC2. Have you ever been reading an e-mail or a document and wondered whether the author is on-line at the moment? Think UC2.
Unified Communications and collaboration is the experience of being able to view your contacts and be able to e-mail, SMS, chat or phone them with great ease using potentially a variety of technical solutions for each possibly from different vendors all brought into one consistent user interface.
In addition to chat and presence awareness, UC2 brings together IP telephony solutions from multiple vendors allowing you to reduce your dependence on particular vendors and integrate your telephony with your other services.
IBM Lotus Sametime is the leading platform for secure, corporate unified communications and unified messaging and collaboration providing out of the box support for both IBM Lotus and Microsoft platforms such as Microsoft Office, Outlook and Sharepoint as well as telephony solutions from Cisco, Alcatel etc. The platform is also extensible based on standards-based tools.
Lotus Sametime serves as a single communications and collaboration interface on users’ desktops supporting Microsoft Windows, Mac and Linux environments and is about cost reduction, increased responsiveness and maintaining security. Organisations feel the pressure every day for higher productivity, more innovative ideas and all at lower costs.
Shireburn Software, IBM Advanced Business Partners, have experience in implementing Lotus Sametime for the unified messaging solutions and collaboration as well as having certified staff to support your deployment.