In today's business world, there is no magic bullet when it comes to communication mediums. Voice, e-mail, text messaging and Web collaboration all have their purposes, and users want the flexibility to choose the tool that meets their needs at any given time. As the adoption growth of these communication tools continues, people will be looking to find a platform that integrates all of these capabilities into a one-stop communication solution. VoIP is proving to be that solution. No longer is VoIP simply a cost-saving alternative, it now has the potential to provide the foundation that unifies many different communication media into one solution over the Internet.
Unification through a VoIP infrastructure enhances the overall communication experience by providing a larger infrastructure from which to support different communication media. This amalgamation also allows for various media to be used in conjunction with one another (e.g., the addition of voice to virtual meetings). And, because the communications are integrated, updates made using one communication medium are available real-time across all others.
A VoIP infrastructure also provides a system that is able to recognize the various addresses associated with each type of communication. This capability frees users from having to continuously type in or remember address details, a feature that becomes more important as more mobile and wireless offerings are being made available.
Forward-thinking companies are already taking advantage of VoIP unified communication. Yahoo recently acquired two smaller voice companies, and Yahoo will be adding voice capabilities to their instant messaging offering. In addition, WebEx has added a voice channel. VoIP capabilities offer more than cost savings -- they can improve the overall user experience.
Next month, Sanjeev will delve deeper into unified communications, discussing instant messaging and VoIP.
Sanjeev Sawai is the vice president of research and development at Envox Worldwide, a voice solutions provider. With more than 15 years of experience in the development of telecommunications and embedded systems, Sawai is responsible for investigating and evaluating new standards and emerging technologies in the voice solutions market.
