Features

Features

Collaborative Applications

• How UC technology supports long-term remote work

  Successful long-term remote work needs unified communications. Learn about the communications tools that organizations need to ensure effective employee communication.  Continue Reading

• Slack's growth strategy faces the hurdle of paid users

  In this roundup of UC blogs, analysts discuss challenges to Slack's growth, enhancements to Avaya Spaces video and the drivers for UCC vendor consolidation.  Continue Reading

• UC presence evolves amid remote work revolution

  UC presence technology must evolve to be effective in today's world of remote work and multi-device communication. Learn how presence can adapt to new ways of working.  Continue Reading

• Remote teams centralize collaboration on Slack platform

  Deploying collaboration technology has played a key role in supporting remote teams during the pandemic. Tech leaders at Slack Frontiers share their success stories.  Continue Reading

• Microsoft Teams updates address employee engagement

  In this roundup of UC blogs, analysts discuss Microsoft Teams updates, CPaaS announcements from Microsoft Ignite and Verizon's portfolio strategy for BlueJeans.  Continue Reading

• CPaaS industry growth driven by pandemic communications

  The CPaaS industry is accelerating as the pandemic drives new use cases for communications APIs, from virtual patient visits in healthcare to contactless pickup in retail.  Continue Reading

• Enterprise Connect 2020 focuses on new UC priorities

  Organizations need advice on changing collaboration needs and pandemic-related remote work. A virtual Enterprise Connect 2020 will address a new world of enterprise communications.  Continue Reading

• Top 16 unified communications blogs to follow in 2020

  Follow these top UC blogs for the latest trends in the UC and collaboration markets. These blogs provide insight into analysts' industry research, product news and market trends.  Continue Reading

• 9 most useful unified communications features in business

  The coronavirus crisis and work-from-home orders have drastically changed the UC landscape. Read our list of the features that are made for this new era of remote collaboration.  Continue Reading

• Microsoft Teams meetings tutorial offers best practices

  In this Microsoft Teams meetings tutorial, learn the features and functionalities of virtual meetings and live events, from customizing meeting requests to sharing content.  Continue Reading

• Making the most of meetings in Microsoft Teams

  Meetings in Microsoft Teams are vital to support remote collaboration. Learn what role Teams meetings should play in your organization and where the platform must improve.  Continue Reading

• Slack and Zoom integration drives Skype's decline

  In this roundup of UC blogs, analysts discuss how the Slack and Zoom integration are pushing Skype's decline, why vendors must look beyond video and team collaboration success factors.  Continue Reading

• Team collaboration tools ease remote work management

  As employees continue to work from home, team collaboration apps can provide organizations with the tools they need to support remote work management and engagement.  Continue Reading

• Managing multiple collaboration tools in the workplace

  Nearly half of organizations have at least two collaboration tools in the workplace. Learn how IT should approach supporting and securing multiple apps.  Continue Reading

• Video conferencing adoption surge highlights market trends

  Amid the throes of coronavirus, organizations have relied on video collaboration. But, after the pandemic subsides, will businesses still use video as a fundamental workflow?  Continue Reading

• A remote work policy needs infrastructure, collaboration support

  In this roundup of UC blogs, analysts discuss reevaluating remote work policies, best practices for team collaboration and lessons learned from China's remote work mandates.  Continue Reading

• Comparing UCaaS vs. CPaaS for cloud-based communications

  CPaaS and UCaaS platforms are growing, as organizations move from on premises to cloud. Learn what capabilities these options offer and how they fit into your enterprise communications.  Continue Reading

• Cisco collaboration products unify UC, admin and productivity tools

  In this roundup of UC blogs, analysts discuss the evolution of Cisco collaboration products, voice recognition in collaboration workflows and how AI benefits productivity suites.  Continue Reading

• The 4 features of a complete enterprise video platform

  Organizations are increasing video use as part of daily workflows. Learn what capabilities IT decision-makers should look for in a complete enterprise video platform.  Continue Reading

• Managing external collaboration from start to finish

  External collaboration is difficult to manage at every step. This FAQ explains how to prepare, manage and complete collaboration initiatives with external partners.  Continue Reading

• Top expert tips highlight 2019 unified communications trends

  The UC industry is changing rapidly, and buyers need advice to make educated buying decisions. Our top expert tips of 2019 helped organizations navigate market trends.  Continue Reading

• Mobile trends that will flourish and flop in 2020

  In this roundup of UC blogs, analysts discuss mobile trends for 2020, how to choose the right digital whiteboard canvas and how video analytics could help retailers.  Continue Reading

• CPaaS market evolves to meet changing business needs

  Changing user needs are transforming the CPaaS market as vendors look to provide tools for nondevelopers and enhance communications API capabilities.  Continue Reading

• How speech recognition can augment UC workflows

  Speech technology applications can provide new enhancements for collaboration and productivity, from real-time meeting transcriptions to personal virtual assistants.  Continue Reading

• Microsoft, Cisco usher in new era of video conferencing interoperability

  In this roundup of UC blogs, analysts discuss the future of video interoperability, Zoom's evolution in business communications and key announcements from Microsoft Ignite.  Continue Reading

• Workplace by Facebook app finds its enterprise footing

  The Workplace by Facebook app is starting to make serious inroads in the enterprise as large organizations look to unify disparate workers and enhance employee communication.  Continue Reading

• Team collaboration platform benefits and challenges

  Productivity can improve when organizations adopt team collaboration platforms. Learn the benefits and challenges of adopting a team collaboration platform.  Continue Reading

• Enhancing business processes with intelligent virtual assistants

  In this roundup of UC blogs, analysts discuss the rise of intelligent virtual assistants, Zoom's foray into WebRTC technology and the pitfalls of using vendor-provided RFPs.  Continue Reading

• Understanding the components of team collaboration tools

  Refresh your knowledge of which team collaboration components are essential to team workflows and what IT leaders should keep top of mind to prevent potential problems.  Continue Reading

• How to assess team collaboration platforms pre- and post-deployment

  Testing predeployment and monitoring post-deployment are two factors that influence collaboration success. Learn how to prepare for and monitor team collaboration platforms.  Continue Reading

• Can Google collaboration slow Slack's momentum?

  Google got on the collaboration train early, but Slack has proven to be the more popular messaging platform. Will Google's investment in Hangouts Chat slow Slack?  Continue Reading

• Brush up on your knowledge of speech technology terms

  Vocal commands are one way speech technology is making its way into business applications and services. This mini glossary will refresh your knowledge of speech technology and some of its use cases.  Continue Reading

• User buy-in crucial when migrating from Slack to Microsoft Teams

  For organizations using Microsoft 365, migrating from Slack to Microsoft Teams can better support employee workflows. But a migration requires more than mandating users to switch.  Continue Reading

• Flexibility in the workplace relies on UC technology

  The future of work requires supporting flexibility in the workplace with UC technology, according to a Fuze executive. But this requires addressing corporate culture.  Continue Reading

• Supporting a dispersed workforce with communications technology

  UC tools are a vital part of engaging a dispersed workforce. Learn how business leaders use UC tools to help remote workers feel part of company culture and how to avoid burnout.  Continue Reading

• Slack collaboration helps Ford, Wayfair build employee trust

  Executives looking to build employee trust and support collaboration across the organization should embrace Slack team collaboration, according to business leaders.  Continue Reading

• The 3 pillars of successful collaboration in the workplace

  To achieve collaboration deployment success, organizations need to look beyond the tools and create a workplace culture centered on collaboration.  Continue Reading

• How to prepare for API integration on your network

  APIs are becoming the easiest way to customize services to fit business communications needs. Before deployment, IT should investigate what network constraints API traffic could bring.  Continue Reading

• How Mio integrates Slack, Microsoft Teams and Cisco Webex users

  Mio -- winner of TechTarget's Network Innovation Award -- enables a Slack, Microsoft Teams and Cisco Webex integration, enabling internal communication and collaboration across messaging apps.  Continue Reading

• Achieve UC success with strong user adoption strategies

  Unified communications is not just about the technology; it's about the people, too. IT leaders at Enterprise Connect share their tips on how to support end-user adoption.  Continue Reading

• Mature UC market drives innovation at Enterprise Connect 2019

  The maturity of the UC market is driving vendors to find new ways to innovate. Enterprise Connect 2019 will see service and product announcements around AI and contact centers.  Continue Reading

• Video conferencing platform connects California university campuses

  To keep up with the changing culture of video communications, California State University adopted Zoom to better connect students and faculty and create a more connected campus.  Continue Reading

• How to deploy team collaboration platforms successfully

  How an organization deploys team collaboration tools depends on its overall UC strategy and end-user needs. Discover the deployment options available and how to ensure adoption.  Continue Reading

• Expert insights reflect top five trends in unified communications

  UC buyers need all the advice they can get in a rapidly changing market. Our top expert tips of 2018 helped organizations make sense of the trends driving the UC market.  Continue Reading

• Team communication apps see surge in enterprise adoption

  The adoption of team communication apps is on the rise, as enterprises focus on improving workflow and efficiency through contextualized communication.  Continue Reading

• Conference rooms of the future need IT control, expertise

  As organizations evaluate their conference rooms of the future, IT groups need to lead these projects to create a consistent meeting room experience for end users.  Continue Reading

• How to navigate a Microsoft Teams migration from Skype for Business

  A Microsoft Teams deployment seems inevitable for Skype for Business users. Learn how to prepare your organization, whether you're in the cloud or on premises.  Continue Reading

• Consolidating overlapping tools for enterprise collaboration

  Tools for enterprise collaboration are most effective when users work on the same platform. Consider these best practices to consolidate overlapping features.  Continue Reading

• How the top cloud collaboration tools stack up

  Team collaboration apps have saturated the UC market. See how the leading products compare on calling features, video conferencing support, pricing and other criteria.  Continue Reading

• The leading team collaboration tools offer numerous options

  As organizations assess team collaboration apps, they need to evaluate the full extent of a deployment, including app integrations, administrator options and pricing plans.  Continue Reading

• Six questions to ask before buying a team collaboration app

  Before you vet the different cloud collaboration tools, you should examine your list of considerations and determine how each vendor can address them.  Continue Reading

• IT leaders shouldn't underestimate business messaging

  While real-time voice communications are central to the collaboration process, team messaging apps have emerged to play an important role in everyday business communications.  Continue Reading

• Team collaboration apps can help streamline communications

  Organizations of all sizes and verticals can take advantage of cloud collaboration tools. The use cases provided here highlight the functionality these apps offer.  Continue Reading

• Team collaboration tools tout cloud messaging services

  Collaborative messaging services are becoming the de facto standard, as they enable mobile and remote users to easily contribute to a project despite their location or time zone.  Continue Reading

• Skype for Business users wary of Microsoft Teams telephony

  As Microsoft rolls out its Teams communications client, many Skype for Business users are concerned about certain telephony features and may prefer on-premises options.  Continue Reading

• Mobile unified communications market has growing pains

  The mobile UC market needs to offer products that make access to voice, text and video platforms simple, which means enterprises will rely on native device apps in the meantime.  Continue Reading

• Keeping cloud-based unified communications grounded

  Cloud-based unified communications brings with it a chance for networking pros to transform and innovate their networks -- and their own IT skill sets.  Continue Reading

• Seeking use cases for digital collaborative whiteboards

  As a fairly new business technology, touchscreen whiteboards are trying to find their way into the enterprise market. Some companies, however, are struggling to find use cases.  Continue Reading

• Team chat applications face interoperability woes

  Team collaboration apps are booming among businesses. But a lack of interoperability is creating headaches for users who rely on multiple apps for internal and external collaboration.  Continue Reading

• Team collaboration apps face centralized vs. decentralized deployments

  The adoption of team chat apps has risen sharply in the past year. But as these collaboration tools gain traction, what's the best deployment approach for enterprises?  Continue Reading

• Zoom meetings jettison complex video infrastructure

  With cloud-based video meetings from Zoom Video Conferencing, businesses can host collaborative online meetings in the office and on mobile devices without a complex video conferencing infrastructure.  Continue Reading

• Team messaging apps go mainstream, could have ripple effect

  As team messaging applications such as Slack and Cisco Spark grow in popularity, they could decrease reliance on email, 1-800 customer service numbers and even LinkedIn.  Continue Reading

• WebEx video conferencing software evolves with the times

  Cisco's WebEx video conferencing software provides large and small companies with features such as screen sharing, meeting recordings and multiple presenters for events.  Continue Reading

• Polycom video conferencing system offers widespread capabilities

  Polycom's video conferencing system provides companies of all sizes with flexible deployments for mobile devices, desktop computers and meeting rooms.  Continue Reading

• Skype for Business video conferencing meshes with Office 365 plans

  Businesses can deploy Skype for Business video conferencing either as a stand-alone tool or as part of Office 365. Third-party vendors provide endpoint and infrastructure support.  Continue Reading

• UCaaS-to-SaaS integrations lend competitive advantage in enterprise

  SaaS integrations that connect UCaaS platforms with business-critical systems such as Salesforce can dramatically improve the efficiency of existing workflows in the enterprise.  Continue Reading

• Examining Cisco video endpoints, infrastructure and mobility

  Besides WebEx, Cisco video conferencing offers a range of options, including endpoint agility, robust infrastructure, and mobile and desktop capabilities.  Continue Reading

• Lifesize Cloud offers alternative to traditional video conferencing

  Cloud-based video conferencing, such as Lifesize Cloud, helps businesses implement scalable video systems while also curbing costs and IT resources.  Continue Reading

• A look at two Citrix GoTo virtual meeting room products

  The Citrix GoTo family of virtual meeting room products, including GoToMeeting and GoToWebinar, offers online meeting flexibility, but lacks interoperability with other systems.  Continue Reading

• Exploring the Blue Jeans video conferencing service and apps

  High interoperability with other video conferencing providers and no on-premises hardware are the fabric of the Blue Jeans video conferencing service.  Continue Reading

• Unify Circuit: UC as a service product overview

  The Unify Circuit platform provides a single cloud-based service that addresses organizations' cross-platform team collaboration and communication needs.  Continue Reading

• After Atos acquisition, Unify collaboration roadmap emerges

  The dust is settling after Atos acquired Unify. Now, Unify CEO Jon Pritchard details how the acquisition has affected the company's collaboration products.  Continue Reading

• Land and expand: Collaboration apps gain ground, with or without IT's OK

  Workers unhappy with available collaboration platforms increasingly bypass IT and download apps such as Slack and Unify Circuit, then convert their colleagues into users too.  Continue Reading

• The business case for video conference technology just got easier

  Use cases for video conference technology have transformed recently, as the software-as-a-service model provides greater flexibility, lower cost of ownership and easier deployments.  Continue Reading

• Cisco vs. Microsoft: Cloud becomes latest battlefront for UC

  As these industry giants wrestle for dominance in UC, their fight moves to the cloud. But as their offerings increasingly overlap, how do you decide which best fits your business?  Continue Reading

• How to evaluate cloud unified communications services

  This guide will help you choose cloud unified communication services that best equip employees to work from wherever they are, and on whatever device they have.  Continue Reading

• The 10 stories that dominated UC news in 2015

  Take a look at the UC news stories that shaped unified communications in 2015, from the rise of team collaboration apps to the changing video conferencing service market.  Continue Reading

• Video conferencing technology evolution empowers new users

  The video conferencing market, once dominated by large room-based systems for internal company communications, now offers more flexible cloud-based options.  Continue Reading

• Users praise, critique Microsoft Surface Hub

  As early adopters evaluate the Microsoft Surface Hub, shipping of the large-screen collaboration device has been pushed back by four months.  Continue Reading

• Simplicity of Web-based collaboration tools gains appeal

  For so long, UC apps have been in a separate silo. Web-based collaboration tools like Cisco Spark and Unify Circuit bring UC to where users actually work.  Continue Reading

• Cisco Spark vs. Unify Circuit: Comparing collaboration apps

  Collaboration apps that target mobile workgroups are making their way into the enterprise. Our chart compares two high-profile apps: Cisco Spark and Unify Circuit.  Continue Reading

• Collaboration applications faceoff: Microsoft vs. Cisco

  Microsoft's Skype for Business and Cisco's Jabber and WebEx have similar features. Here, we compare these collaboration applications to find the similarities and differences.  Continue Reading

• Is your Web conferencing service as secure as you think?

  In general, Web conferencing service security is tight, but experts warn some gaps could be exposed. Find out what safeguards to put in place to keep your data secure.  Continue Reading

• Five unified communications trends that change the collaboration game

  From WebRTC to consumer video in the enterprise, UC technology innovation is changing the future of collaboration ... again.  Continue Reading

• Unified communications data analytics can improve social collaboration

  In this Q&A, Esna CEO Mohammad Nezarati explains how unified communications data can improve social collaboration.  Continue Reading

• Google Hangouts vs. Skype: A comparative look

  Google's challenging Microsoft in the video conferencing market. This chart offers a feature-by-feature comparative look at Google Hangouts vs. Skype.  Continue Reading

• Secure video conferencing: Auto-answer can be risky

  Enterprises concerned about secure video conferencing need to assess the risk posed by the auto-answer feature, which could open the door for snooping by unwanted visitors.  Continue Reading

• What UC is and isn't

  Want to know what unified communications (UC) is and what UC isn't? Find out here and learn about key UC elements and components.  Continue Reading