Unified Access
There are many options when it comes to choosing a user interface for unified communications. Each vendor that makes up part of your unified communications ecosystem will be naturally keen to become the branded interface.
However, outside cosmetic issues, the real issue that drives an improved user experience is better functionality. And, better functionality is always relative to the demands of each job role and how accommodating the new interface is to existing, familiar ways of undertaking a task.
Take the example of a sales team and making their life easier by giving them an IP soft phone, into which they find they can easily cut and paste numbers from customer lists and CRM database that they already use on daily basis.
Or an email plug-in that let them play voice messages directly from their inbox (with a choice of playback on the PC, IP phone or mobile/PDA) and record a reply with one click.
Or, a calendar plug-in that lets them set up a multi-party audio and/or web conference just by checking a box and entering the e-mail addresses.
All are examples of introducing new functionality on the back of familiar behaviour so that it sticks.
In this sense, unified messaging is an early win, since a combined list of email and voice mail is built on an existing daily habit of checking inboxes. For others further down the unified communications track, it might be integrating a preferred IM/presence client with the IP telephony system. This then provides both the richest possible presence indication, including telephone status, and the ability to click-to-call or click-to-conference to any telephone extension from an IM window, a buddy list, a personal contact/business card or a collaborative workspace software package.
Unified access should make working life simpler but will only achieve that goal if it is built on deeply engrained working practices.
See alternative technical needs description
Datapoint provides the following technologies and services for Unified Access.