Evaluate

Evaluate

Weigh the pros and cons of technologies, products and projects you are considering.

• Social project management tools: Conversations, tasks in one place

  Social project management tools can boost productivity. Clarizen updates its collaboration tool, combining project management with social engagement. Continue Reading

• What WebRTC applications will and won't do for enterprises

  What can the enterprise really expect from WebRTC applications? UC analysts and vendors discuss misconceptions around the pre-standardized protocol. 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

• Use network simulation tools to prevent UC from crashing your network

  To avoid real-time UC applications from crashing your network, analyze the stress points using network simulation tools, then eliminate the problems. Continue Reading

• Social strategies: Enterprise-grade software, or consumer tools?

  Many enterprise social strategies still include consumer tools, but businesses are starting to realize the benefits of enterprise social software. Continue Reading

• Business social collaboration: Where the industry stands

  Industry analyst Irwin Lazar discusses the trends around business social collaboration and what's being done in today's organizations, in this Q&A.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

• Google applications: Deeper integration between Voice, Hangouts

  Google drops XMPP and integrates its voice app into Hangouts to unify Google applications for a blended social experience.Continue Reading

• Siemens unifies communications, unveils real-time collaboration tool

  Siemens unveils Project Ansible, its real-time collaboration aggregator of business and social apps, voice, video and IM and presence tools.Continue Reading

• How to decide which cloud-based UC applications should be in the cloud

  Not sure if you should move that UC application to the cloud? Answering these five questions will help you determine whether you're ready.Continue Reading

• Mobile collaboration: Users need features, but not the whole tool set

  Sophisticated mobile collaboration features are needed as users rely more on mobile devices. UC feature sets differ across tablets and smartphones.Continue Reading

• Collaboration apps: Companies need better tactics to combat slowness

  When it comes to collaboration apps, slowness is a big issue in the U.S. It's key to look into some previously unexplored tactics to combat this issue.Continue Reading

• E911 services primer: Wireless and VoIP phones in emergency situations

  E911 provides services for wireless and VoIP callers during emergency situations, but determining a caller's location can be challenging.Continue Reading

• Can UC apps run over virtual infrastructure?

  Unified communications analyst Michael Brandenburg explains how UC apps are able to run over virtual infrastructure in this expert response.Continue Reading

• To cloud or not to cloud your unified communications applications?

  When it comes to running your unified communications applications, which should live on-premises or in the cloud? Expert Dave Michels explains.Continue Reading

• Is there a way to mix different unified communications solutions?

  It is possible to mix different unified communications solutions to fit your needs, says UC expert Jon Arnold.Continue Reading

• What is a call park phone feature and how does it work?

  UC expert, Matt Brunk, explains a call park phone feature, how it works and how it compares to a visual call park feature in this expert response.Continue Reading

• ShoreTel Mobility app and BYOD dock: Not your ordinary desk phone

  ShoreTel's new docking station and Mobility client can transform smartphones and tablets into desk phones.Continue Reading

• On-premises vs. hosted cloud UC: Comparison chart

  This tech comparison offers an in-depth look at cloud UC to help you decide whether to stick with on-premises or opt for hosted cloud.Continue Reading

• The future of unified communications & collaboration looks bright

  A recent Ovum survey looks at the future of unified communications & collaboration and sees good uptake in the technology. Why the renewed interest?Continue Reading

• How to keep your UC&C deployment from failing

  Ovum research firm statistics point to challenges that could keep a unified communication and collaboration (UC&C) deployment from succeeding.Continue Reading

• Calculating TCO of hosted unified communications solutions

  Learn what elements to account for when calculating the total cost of ownership (TCO) of your hosted unified communications solutions.Continue Reading

• What do I do after I've integrated my existing UC applications?

  After integrating existing UC applications as part of a UC solution, there are steps that need to be taken, says Irwin Lazar of Nemertes Research.Continue Reading

• WebRTC primer: Using Web browsers for calls and video conferencing

  This primer explores what WebRTC is, how it's being used, its potential impact on the network and standards under development.Continue Reading

• Enterprise social tools need UC integration to thrive

  Enterprise social tools won't become part of users' daily routines without some integration with basic UC services like voice and messaging.Continue Reading

• Are legacy voice attitudes holding back unified communications?

  At Enterprise Connect 2013, some enterprises are still trying to merge legacy voice into the rest of their IT organizations.Continue Reading

• Can WebRTC applications and mobility invigorate a stagnant UC market?

  UC vendors say WebRTC applications and mobility will help enterprise keep up with sophisticated user demandsContinue Reading

• Can remote collaboration tools push back against teleworking bans?

  Yahoo's recent telecommuting ban sparks questions around whether good remote collaboration tools can increase employee productivity.Continue Reading

• Microsoft collaboration tools: Is Lync ready for business?

  Enterprises like Microsoft collaboration tools for their feature-rich UC, but they wonder if Lync's voice and video reliability is enterprise-grade.Continue Reading

• Taking the complexity out of unified communications solutions

  Unified communications solutions are notoriously complex. Learn how to simplify a UC deployment using the best practices discussed in this article.Continue Reading

• Should unified communications and collaboration make it 'official'?

  Unified communications and collaboration have been 'dating,' but now industry analysts think it's time to integrate the two and make it 'official.'Continue Reading

• Provider CttC's hosted PBX showcases most advanced features

  Continue Reading

• Cloud telephony allures businesses with full features, low costs

  Cloud telephony and UC service pricing options and full feature sets are alluring enterprises to move phone systems off premise.Continue Reading

• Integration between cloud-based UC apps require cloud federation

  Third-party vendors offer cloud federation as enterprises seek integration among their mixed vendor, cloud-based UC apps.Continue Reading

• Advances in integrating UC apps into VDI environments

  Unified communications in virtual desktop infrastructure causes network performance problems. Find out how to integrate UC apps into VDI environments.Continue Reading

• Adding the UC app into virtual desktop infrastructure

  Businesses find unified communications and virtual desktop infrastructure beneficial, but what happens when you add a UC app to VDI?Continue Reading

• UC&C vendors must integrate collaborative tools for good communication

  For the most effective communication, companies with a UC&C strategy must implement collaborative tools that adapt to users -- not the reverse.Continue Reading

• Are collaboration application vendors unifying their solutions?

  Collaboration application vendors need to step up their game on the app front by improving functionality and unification, says analyst Zeus Kerravala.Continue Reading

• Desktop and small group video conferencing solutions on the rise

  Small group video conferencing solutions are emerging for enterprises looking to extend roundtable video conference meetings to lower-level workers.Continue Reading

• UC milestones in 2012: Enterprise collaboration tools

  Mobility played a large role in the enterprise collaboration tools market in 2012, as vendors offered flexibility and better use cases.Continue Reading

• Avoid unnecessary vendor upselling for unified communication solutions

  When purchasing your unified communication solutions, avoid unnecessary UC vendor upselling techniques that could cost you unwanted product features.Continue Reading

• Business considerations for your unified communications solution

  Understand the business considerations IT managers and engineers must take into account before selecting a unified communications solution.Continue Reading

• Explore the top 10 tips on UC solutions from 2012

  Before you look to the future of unified communications, take this opportunity to review our top 10 tips on UC solutions of 2012.Continue Reading

• UC milestones in 2012: Enterprise social media tools

  The 2012 UC milestones series turns to the evolution of the social media market and the year's milestones for enterprise social media tools.Continue Reading

• Best feature articles from 2012 on unified communications technology

  Read the best feature articles from 2012 on unified communications technology, trends and vendors.Continue Reading

• Better collaboration tools essential for virtual team productivity

  A new survey points to the need for integrated and easy-to-use collaboration tools to help a growing number of virtual teams increase productivity.Continue Reading

• Is Polycom penetrating the UC market?

  Polycom's RealPresence CloudAXIS aligns more closely with a UC than a video agenda, but does that mean the vendor is breaking into the UC market?Continue Reading

• Which video conferencing solution has the best value?

  When researching video conferencing products, our expert recommends first considering integration opportunities with existing UC components.Continue Reading

• Collaboration during crisis with the Avaya Notification Solution

  The new release of the Avaya Notification Solution offers collaboration and communication for crisis management or everyday business continuity scenarios.Continue Reading

• Cisco UC licensing clears app-based UC visibility for the enterprise

  Enterprises want flexible, yet simplified unified communications licensing options, and Cisco UC licensing now includes software-only UC models.Continue Reading

• Viable voice telecom solutions for small, medium and large enterprises

  There is no one-size-fits-all voice telecom solution. The size of your organization determines the viable telecommunication options for you.Continue Reading

• Global enterprise taps AppNeta's PathView Cloud for VoIP monitoring

  Herman Miller, an interior furnishings company, selected PathView Cloud from AppNeta for VoIP monitoring across its 100 global locations.Continue Reading

• Do high-definition video conferencing tools provide security features?

  High-definition video conferencing comes with some security features, but you can ensure a more secure session, explains our video expert.Continue Reading

• Socialize: Comparing enterprise social software vendors

  Enterprise social software vendors Cisco, Microsoft and Socialtext promise to connect employees better. But which package is best for your business?Continue Reading

• Subpar office telephone systems: Is there a solution?

  When seeking solutions for subpar office telephone systems, assess your company's needs and flaws of the current provider, our telephony expert says.Continue Reading

• Multilingual applications aim to keep social context in translation

  Igloo announced multilingual application support in its social software, boosting social collaboration for global enterprises.Continue Reading

• Evaluating business collaboration architecture types and vendors

  Learn about collaboration architecture and how to best evaluate competing and complementary vendor products and services.Continue Reading

• Skype vs. Google Voice: Feature-by-feature showdown

  Two companies are competing to rule the free-VoIP market. This chart offers a feature-by-feature comparative look at Skype vs. Google Voice.Continue Reading

• Is video collaboration the obvious fix for conference-call blues?

  Conference-calls can be stressful and confusing with a large group of people on the line. Is video-conferencing the cure to this problem?Continue Reading

• Integrating mobile device management with UC systems and features

  Businesses need a plan to integrate their existing UC systems with their mobile device management and BYOD policy; building a matrix can give the project a logical start.Continue Reading

• Interop 2012: UC apps vendors must strive for interoperability

  Vendors are aware of and gradually responding to issues around multi-vendor UC strategies and UC interoperability, according to a discussion panel at Interop 2012.Continue Reading

• Integrating cloud-based UC applications for the branch office

  As enterprises consider cloud-based UC applications for the branch office, they face integration issues between the cloud- and premises-based UC applications.Continue Reading

• Free collaboration tools a la Google spur better enterprise UC apps

  Rather than eclipsing enterprise collaboration tools and UC apps, free collaboration tools are prompting commercial vendors to improve security and integration.Continue Reading

• IT consumerization: Hindering adoption of enterprise-grade UC tools

  At Enterprise Connect 2012 experts said IT consumerization can slow adoption of enterprise-grade UC and collaboration tools if enterprises fail to adjust their strategy.Continue Reading

• UC collaboration tools: greater simplicity needed for IT, end users

  UC collaboration products must offer ease-of-use for IT and end users. With that goal in mind, Mitel updates its UC collaboration suite.Continue Reading

• Video conferencing management: No longer just an AV application

  Enterprises struggle with video conferencing management. ScienceLogic integrates video management capabilities into its IT management platform.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

• TCO metrics key, but complex in IP telephony systems deployment

  Total cost of ownership (TCO) metrics for new IP telephony systems are often overlooked by enterprises, according to a new study, but other factors rank high in importance.Continue Reading

• Top unified communications definitions for UC professionals in 2011

  After crunching numbers to see which unified communications definitions our readers searched for most in 2011, one thing's clear: As UC evolves, you like to return to the basics.Continue Reading

• Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise: Inside the IP contact center

  This chapter from "Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise" details differences among Cisco's Unified Contact Center, Unified Intelligent Contact Manager and other portfolio items.Continue Reading

• Managing mobile unified communications in a BYOD environment

  Find out the first steps you should take when managing mobile unified communications in a bring your own device (BYOD) environment.Continue Reading

• Enterprise VoIP spending up, UC pros demand advanced mobility features

  UC pros are deploying more sophisticated enterprise VoIP endpoints and making advanced PBX features around mobility a purchasing requirement.Continue Reading

• Cloud providers deliver mobile collaboration apps better than on-prem

  On-prem UC can't keep pace with the evolving mobile device landscape and sub-second latency requirements of mobile collaboration, but cloud UC providers can, says one expert.Continue Reading

• With enterprise social software, usability matters more than features

  No matter how much users love Facebook, they won't automatically flock to enterprise social software. Adoption requires more than meeting a checklist of feature sets.Continue Reading

• Security on the line: Evaluating session border controller vendors

  Session border controllers provide security and QoS to IP telephony links. Learn how to pick a session border controller and review our list of session border controller vendors.Continue Reading

• Guide to evaluating video conferencing service providers

  Evaluating conferencing service providers means asking the right questions based on the requirements and preferences of your company. Here are the topics to cover.Continue Reading

• Deploying video management software can aid video conferencing support

  Part five of our video conferencing Expert Lesson explores deploying dedicated video management software to help support high-quality video conferencing tools and content.Continue Reading

• Consumer apps for business: Just deal with it?

  The use of consumer apps for business is inescapable. Rather than fighting it, enterprises should provide policies and guidelines to ensure security and compliance.Continue Reading

• Do enterprises want to dump the desk phone for a softphone?

  Plenty of vendors tell UC managers that it's time to replace wired desk phones with softphone applications on laptops or UC apps on mobile devices. But is anyone really doing it?Continue Reading

• Integrating video and unified communications: Video as a core UC tool

  The prevalence of video products at this year's Enterprise Connect shows that integrating video and unified communications has become a key focus of providers in the UC market.Continue Reading

• Video over Wi-Fi: Planning and support considerations for UC managers

  As more UC users go mobile, video over Wi-Fi will present support issues. UC managers must work with network engineers on wireless LAN design, configuration and troubleshooting.Continue Reading

• SIP video conferencing systems: A standardized approach to integration

  Vendors are moving toward SIP video conferencing for system integration. Our Expert Lesson details how SIP-based video conferencing solutions lay key UC architecture groundwork.Continue Reading

• Mobile unified communications client overview: Connecting users

  Mobile unified communications can be a boon to user productivity, but supporting a mix of users and mobile devices can be a nightmare. Learn about apps to link devices to the IP telephony infrastructure.Continue Reading

• Asterisk SCF: Enterprise-class open source VoIP and UC

  The new Asterisk SCF framework could transform the open source VoIP software into an enterprise-class unified communications platform with the scalability needed by enterprises and the agility required by the cloud. Digium is reengineering ...Continue Reading

• Integrating video conferencing solutions with UC

  Integrating video conferencing with unified communications has become critical for many enterprises. John Bartlett of NetForecast speaks with Michael Brandenburg about the benefits of video integration and the challenges that come with it.Continue Reading

• A closer look at video conferencing solutions, technology and vendors

  Understanding the physical pieces of video conferencing solutions is key to implementation success. Take a closer look at the individual elements of your video conferencing system.Continue Reading

• Emerging unified communications management tools immature, demand light

  VoIP monitoring vendors aren't ready to fully support unified communications management tools, and many enterprise UC deployments are still too immature to need them.Continue Reading

• Making sense of unified communications cloud services

  Unified communications cloud services have the opportunity to fundamentally change how an enterprise delivers unified communications. With broad definitions and plenty of marketing spin, it is difficult to separate the real from the hyped. ...Continue Reading

• Managing use of consumer collaboration tools, mobile devices for work

  Should enterprises let employees use consumer collaboration tools and personal mobile computing devices for work? Ted Schadler of Forrester Research weighs in.Continue Reading

• Making sense of unified communications and collaboration tools

  Shopping unified communications and collaboration tools is demanding since collaboration tools and packages vary across vendors. This tip provides an overview of UC collaboration tools from top vendors, like Microsoft, IBM and Avaya, and will help ...Continue Reading

• Echo in a hosted VoIP solution: Could split LAN pairs be the culprit?

  Unified communications expert Matt Brunk digs deep into his bag of tricks to help a reader experiencing a persistent echo problem in a hosted VoIP solution with Polycom phones.Continue Reading

• Application delivery controllers ensure enterprise's OCS 2007 R2 uptime

  To ensure uptime for its UC applications, one global enterprise deployed application delivery controllers to intelligently load balance its Microsoft OCS 2007 R2 traffic.Continue Reading

• Bringing UC tools into enterprise video conferencing

  Although UC pros welcome integrations between UC tools and enterprise video conferencing products as a way to improve employee productivity, some still hesitate to implement them.Continue Reading

• Video conferencing adoption: Tracking trends and deployment strategies

  Video conferencing adoption is increasing as enterprises turn to higher-quality, lower-cost video technology to improve workforce collaboration and reduce reliance on travel.Continue Reading

• Open source UC solutions: Low-risk service delivery at low cost

  Enterprises looking to stretch tight IT budgets and improve collaboration are exploring open source UC solutions to deliver new services at low cost. Learn about free and commercial open source-based UC apps, open source security and more.Continue Reading

• Cloud computing security issues: Protecting your UC applications

  Cloud computing security has become a pivotal issue for enterprises exploring hosted solutions like cloud-based unified communications. Learn how to tackle the security challenges you'll face when undertaking cloud implementation.Continue Reading

• Why some users dread business collaboration tools, feel they waste time

  Some users hate business collaboration tools. Developing a collaboration strategy ahead of deployment can help enterprises maximize UC investments by matching them to business needs and processes.Continue Reading

• Introducing the Unified Communications Interoperability Forum (UCIF)

  The Unified Communications Interoperability Forum (UCIF) is an open forum aimed at resolving unified communications interoperability challenges.Continue Reading

• Why open source and other VoIP and UC deployment models fail

  One organization learned that Asterisk's open source communication server was not a good fit with its limited in-house expertise and resources. Find out why so many organizations are struggling with their VoIP and UC deployments.Continue Reading

• VoiceCon 2010 roundup: Enterprise Connect, SIP trunking, interoperability and more

  With keynotes from top unified communication vendors, and technical sessions on SIP trunking, interoperability, mobility, video conferencing and more, VoiceCon 2010 (now Enterprise Connect) was a hit. Here's our VoiceCon coverage.Continue Reading