News

Collaborative Applications

• June 26, 2014 26 Jun'14

  SMART dry erase board: Not your meeting room's old white board

  Smart Technologies has released its SMART dry erase board and mobile app, SMART kapp, that will allow work to be saved and shared in real-time.

• May 29, 2014 29 May'14

  When buying contact center applications, don't be oversold

  When buying contact center applications, some enterprises will need to focus on basic functionality instead of the bells and whistles.

• May 21, 2014 21 May'14

  Cisco collaboration adds integrated endpoints, cloud meeting spaces

  The Cisco collaboration portfolio has been revamped, with new integrated endpoints and cloud-based meeting spaces.

• May 14, 2014 14 May'14

  Cisco discontinues WebEx Social, partners with Jive for social strategy

  Cisco has discontinued its WebEx Social platform and its own home-grown social efforts, and announces partnership with Jive for social strategy.

• April 25, 2014 25 Apr'14

  Dropbox for Business finally delivers enterprise-grade file sharing

  Dropbox introduced new security features and its new collaboration platform, Project Harmony, as Dropbox for Business.

• April 04, 2014 04 Apr'14

  Jabber vs. Lync: Choosing a UC vendor doesn't have to be a battle

  A Jabber vs. Lync session at Interop 2014 weighs the competencies of Microsoft and Cisco UC strategies for enterprise IT professionals.

• February 26, 2014 26 Feb'14

  Mitel contact center software boosts self-service, mobile management

  Flagship Mitel Contact Center offering expanded to include new self-service options for callers, mobile management for call center supervisors.

• February 06, 2014 06 Feb'14

  Collaborative tools emerge for regulated industries, mobile workers

  Niche, enterprise-class collaborative tools are emerging for highly regulated industries and users who don't sit at a desk all day.

• January 16, 2014 16 Jan'14

  How one company replaced email with team collaboration software

  Marketing firm Screenpush chooses Glip's conversation platform for integrated team collaboration and communication, eliminating the need for email.

• January 08, 2014 08 Jan'14

  UC predictions for the New Year: Collaboration technology trends

  Tim Banting, principal analyst for Current Analysis, weighs in on what collaboration technology trends enterprises can expect in 2014.

• November 07, 2013 07 Nov'13

  Cisco 'Mobility First': Collaboration offerings for mobile workforces

  Cisco 'Mobility First' vision unveiled, including collaboration software and connectivity services for the mobile workforce.

• October 15, 2013 15 Oct'13

  Siemens Enterprise Communications reborn as Unify; will it make a US comeback?

  Siemens Enterprise Communications changed its name to Unify in a rebranding effort emphasizing unified communication technology.

• October 10, 2013 10 Oct'13

  Enterprise social network software: Integrate with business applications

  Enterprises need social network software that can integrate with existing UC and business platforms, according to 'Gartner's Magic Quadrant report.

• October 04, 2013 04 Oct'13

  UC & collaboration breathing new life into call center technology

  UC and collaboration tools are bolstering call center technology, enabling active customer service strategies. Social media is the next step.

• September 30, 2013 30 Sep'13

  Unified communications begs for application layer know-how

  The application layer has become a focal point for IT professionals looking to enable unified communications and collaboration at Interop NYC 2013.

• September 12, 2013 12 Sep'13

  Cisco Show and Share expands education for Texas schools through video

  Denton Independent School District selected Cisco Show and Share for expanding student access to 'teacher's class materials for 'flipped learning.'

• August 08, 2013 08 Aug'13

  Cisco adds immersive video wall option to telepresence technology

  Cisco has added a video wall option to its telepresence technology, giving enterprises a more immersive telepresence room.

• July 24, 2013 24 Jul'13

  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.

• July 17, 2013 17 Jul'13

  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.

• June 19, 2013 19 Jun'13

  CCIE Voice killed, revived as CCIE Collaboration

  The CCIE Voice certification has been retired, with CCIE Collaboration taking its place, advancing IT expertise to include real-time UC capabilities.

• May 31, 2013 31 May'13

  Lync/Skype integration helps quench user demand, IT concerns

  The Lync/Skype integration will offer greater interoperability for external enterprise communications, without burdening IT.

• April 12, 2013 12 Apr'13

  IBM Domino social edition combines email, social networking

  IBM Notes and Domino Social Edition rolls social tools into the familiar email experience, helping to boost enterprise social adoption.

• March 18, 2013 18 Mar'13

  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 demands

• March 15, 2013 15 Mar'13

  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.

• January 23, 2013 23 Jan'13

  Hardware vs. software: Logitech offers Cisco accessories for Jabber

  Logitech releases Cisco accessories to complement Jabber software, as businesses make the transition from hardware to software unified communications.

• January 17, 2013 17 Jan'13

  Mobile collaboration: Small screens present big challenges

  Mobile collaboration on small interfaces challenges users who are dependent on mobile devices for document collaboration.

• January 09, 2013 09 Jan'13

  Providing secure collaboration on public social networking sites

  Enterprises secure collaboration on public social-networking and file-sharing sites with new authentication and encryption technologies.

• January 07, 2013 07 Jan'13

  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.

• December 06, 2012 06 Dec'12

  Cisco collaboration sales blamed on lack of integration, simplicity

  Cisco collaboration sales have dropped by 8% in 2012. Enterprises need a simpler, tightly integrated collaboration and UC offering.

• November 30, 2012 30 Nov'12

  How Microsoft Lync disrupts the unified communications market

  Microsoft Lync doesn't own the UC market yet, but it has enterprise mindshare and the features in place, including Skype, to be the disruptive force.

• November 30, 2012 30 Nov'12

  UC survey results: Cisco and Microsoft Lync duke it out

  TechTarget UC survey results show Microsoft Lync's increasing mindshare will shake up the status quo and compete against Cisco for the top vendor title.

• November 14, 2012 14 Nov'12

  WebEx Social: Tweaking collaboration for higher education

  Cisco introduces WebEx Social for Higher Education as unified communications and collaboration vendors tailor products for vertical markets.

• October 25, 2012 25 Oct'12

  Exploring vertical and niche corporate social networking vendors

  Enterprises can get more out of corporate social networking by working with vertically focused and functionally specific vendors.

• October 08, 2012 08 Oct'12

  Polycom breaks down video conferencing adoption barriers

  Polycom announces a RealPresence CloudAXIS suite that allows users to video conference across multiple consumer platforms and devices at a price accessible to SMBs.

• September 25, 2012 25 Sep'12

  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.

• September 19, 2012 19 Sep'12

  What's trending inside the firewall? IBM Connections adds internal social analytics

  IBM updates IBM Connections with internal social analytics capabilities, allowing enterprises to monitor trends in staff communication, collaboration.

• August 16, 2012 16 Aug'12

  Social listening: Enterprises heed the call of Twitter

  Social listening has become as crucial as social collaboration. Collaboration tool MindLink integrates UC with social monitoring capabilities.

• August 08, 2012 08 Aug'12

  Multilingual applications aim to keep social context in translation

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

• July 12, 2012 12 Jul'12

  Medical video technology becomes vital to health care organizations

  Medical video technology is gaining adoption in health care as more organizations use video conferencing and streaming video to improve patient care.

• July 09, 2012 09 Jul'12

  Cost cutting and tsunamis stunt UC market communication innovations

  Held back by cautious vendors and deep recession, enterprise telephony isn’t likely to heat up soon. Find out where change will come from.

• July 03, 2012 03 Jul'12

  Mitel pitches UC 360 appliance for SMB video conferencing

  Mitel announces its UC 360 SMB video conferencing and collaboration appliance, bringing telepresence on a small scale to the SMB market.

• June 28, 2012 28 Jun'12

  Microsoft announces Yammer acquisition, launches social strategy

  Microsoft officially announces Yammer acquisition, an effort to accelerate social strategy and cloud services.

• June 21, 2012 21 Jun'12

  Cisco WebEx Social: Bringing social collaboration to Quad

  Cisco announced mobility and document sharing updates to Cisco WebEx Social, a rebranded version of its Quad enterprise collaboration platform.

• May 30, 2012 30 May'12

  Cisco Cius: Death by iPad

  Cisco discontinued development of its Cius tablet for the enterprise; BYOD and poor planning contributed to the failure of Cisco's Cius tablet for the enterprise user.

• April 06, 2012 06 Apr'12

  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.

• March 29, 2012 29 Mar'12

  Discussing enterprise social media strategy at Enterprise Connect 2012

  From Enterprise Connect 2012, find out how leading companies developed an enterprise social media strategy.

• March 22, 2012 22 Mar'12

  Enterprise must-have: Better social media integration

  Social media integration into existing enterprise platforms can boost user adoption; IGLOO offers microblogging application that integrates with enterprise networking tools.

• March 22, 2012 22 Mar'12

  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.

• September 15, 2011 15 Sep'11

  Enterprise social software Magic Quadrant: Assess user need first

  Collaboration pros have three enterprise social software vendor paths, according to Gartner's social software Magic Quadrant -- choosing one requires assessing user need.

• August 11, 2011 11 Aug'11

  Breaking cultural barriers to enterprise social software adoption

  The barriers to enterprise social software adoption are more cultural than technical. In this Q&A, Caleb Barlow, IBM director of UC, explains how UC pros can overcome them.

• August 04, 2011 04 Aug'11

  Multiway video collaboration turns everyone into a presenter

  Vendors are evolving the screen-sharing features of their video collaboration products from a one-way, pass-the-ball experience to a multiway model that makes all participants presenters.

• May 12, 2011 12 May'11

  Microsoft/Skype: Once skeptical UC pros reassessing enterprise Skype

  The Microsoft/Skype deal is prompting UC pros who were once enterprise Skype skeptics to give the VoIP provider a second look now that an established UC vendor is at the helm.

• December 01, 2010 01 Dec'10

  Web conferencing video improves, possible contender for desktop video

  Web conferencing video tools have traditionally produced pixelated and jerky thumbnails, but vendors are now enabling high-quality and HD video at no additional cost.

• November 11, 2010 11 Nov'10

  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.

• August 12, 2010 12 Aug'10

  Mobile UC with GPS, Wi-Fi and cellular automates presence, status

  Mobile UC location-based applications that automatically update presence, status and call routing preferences with Wi-Fi, cellular signals and GPS are making mobile UC mindlessly easy and smoothing the path to adoption.

• July 22, 2010 22 Jul'10

  UC pros lukewarm to social media plug-ins for collaboration platforms

  Unified communications (UC) professionals aren't yet sold on the recent push from vendors to use social media plug-ins that embed consumer social networking feeds into UC and collaboration platforms.

• July 19, 2010 19 Jul'10

  Wainhouse summit to focus on collaboration technology, education space

  Collaboration technology and the education industry's rise as a UC, conferencing and collaboration market will be hot topics at the 2010 Wainhouse Research Collaboration Summit.

• June 03, 2010 03 Jun'10

  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.

• May 13, 2010 13 May'10

  A collaboration strategy starts with business objectives, not products

  Doing your collaboration strategy backwards -- retrofitting a business case to a technology, rather than choosing a tool to answer a business need -- can spell failure and leave collaborative tools gathering dust on a shelf.

• February 04, 2010 04 Feb'10

  Q&A: Natural user interface defines future of unified communications

  Microsoft's UC vice president Gurdeep Singh Pall says the 'natural user interface' will soon make the keyboard and mouse seem archaic.

• November 12, 2009 12 Nov'09

  Enterprise social networking may enhance, not yet replace, presence

  Enterprise social networking might seem the perfect way to enable greater unified communications (UC) adoption, but not on its own nor without the right strategy.

• October 15, 2009 15 Oct'09

  Presence, IM power mobile UC with or without fixed mobile convergence

  Presence and instant messaging are just as -- if not more -- critical to mobile unified communications (UC) than Voice over Wi-Fi, regardless of whether an enterprise deploys a dual-mode fixed mobile convergence (FMC) product. FMC can keep roaming ...

• July 30, 2009 30 Jul'09

  Maximizing instant messaging ROI requires education on pros, pitfalls

  When integrating instant messaging into business processes, implementing the right policies and offering comprehensive education on use can be as important as buying the right technology in seeing an instant messaging return on investment.

• May 07, 2009 07 May'09

  Instant messaging strategies: Usage policy and training are key

  Some people still believe that unified communications begins and ends with Voice over IP. But instant messaging is just as critical, if not more so. And establishing an instant messaging strategy is essential. Otherwise everyone in an enterprise ...

• December 08, 2008 08 Dec'08

  Presence: The heart of unified communications

  Presence has evolved from a simple status update to one of unified communications most central technologies.

• October 30, 2008 30 Oct'08

  Workers demand the flexibility of unified communications in the cloud

  Unified communications adoption is driven in part by users who demand more flexibility in when, where and how they work. They are using cloud-based consumer tools to transform how they work. IT organizations need to adapt.

• October 13, 2008 13 Oct'08

  Is unified communications presence good enough?

  Burton Group analyst Mike Gotta says the presence technology offered by unified communications is strong, but enterprises will need something more than a technology that helps employees open up lines of communication. He says social presence, ...

• July 10, 2008 10 Jul'08

  Social media challenges reside with users, not technology

  Strict network policing will not solve productivity problems stemming from excessive social media use, and the tactic could backfire. IT managers should embrace social media in the enterprise and create best practice guidelines for employee usage...

• May 22, 2008 22 May'08

  ShoreTel beefs up UC offering for SMBs

  ShoreTel has announced a new version of its IP communications platform that introduces tighter integration between media and new IM and presence capabilities, but it also features integration with Microsoft's outdated LCS platform.

• May 01, 2008 01 May'08

  Microsoft's partnership with Aspect sparks interest in converged contact centers

  Early promoters of converged contact centers claim the efficiencies lead to improved sales and happier customers, but the research results are less clear.

• April 17, 2008 17 Apr'08

  Facebook's new take on communications should be embraced by business

  Facebook's ability to build relationships should make it a unified communications tool of choice for forward-thinking businesses.

• April 17, 2008 17 Apr'08

  UC applications make SMBs competitive with heavy hitters

  UC applications are making it easier for SMBs to compete with enterprise organizations. Ohio-based Celina Insurance's UC implementation of IM and collaboration tools has more than made up for its smaller size.

• April 10, 2008 10 Apr'08

  Three consumer applications to pilot your unified communications strategy

  Tapping into consumer communications tools that users already bring into the office can help shape a broader strategy.

• April 01, 2008 01 Apr'08

  Enterprise application vendors to add presence and unified communications capabilities

  Enterprise application vendors are adding presence capabilities to their products to take advantage of unified communications.

• March 18, 2008 18 Mar'08

  Avaya solves fragmented presence problem with federated presence server

  Avaya launches Intelligent Presence Server, which solves the problem of fragmented presence within an enterprise.

• March 04, 2008 04 Mar'08

  Google offers beta of free unified messaging service

  Google has opened up GrandCentral, a free unified messaging and phone management service, to a limited beta.

• February 18, 2008 18 Feb'08

  Top ten UC terms

  Here you'll find the top ten searched-for unified communication terms including communication-enabled business processes, SIP, IM, presence, videoconferencing and more.

• February 11, 2008 11 Feb'08

  Build a solid Web conferencing strategy

  In this three-part series, Peter Brockmann, president of the high-tech consulting firm Brockmann & Company, explains why and how Web conferencing can add value to your business.

• February 04, 2008 04 Feb'08

  IM security threats and resources

  Instant messaging software can be a great addition to a company's communication strategy, but managers and employees need to be concerned about not only outside attacks, but also their role in maintaining a secure IM environment.

• January 18, 2008 18 Jan'08

  Instant messaging policies reduce risk

  Creating intant messaging (IM) security and usage policies now will reduce risk and put IT administrators ahead of the game when they expand into unified communications.

• October 16, 2007 16 Oct'07

  Hosted VoIP service unifies communications

  A hosted VoIP service for SMBs is aiming to unify phone, fax, mobile devices and email communications and offer calling from mobile, home and office phones.

• September 27, 2007 27 Sep'07

  Presence capabilities open university help desk

  Presence capabilities have helped one university ensure that calls into its help desk reach the person with the right set of skills.

• September 25, 2007 25 Sep'07

  Unified communications adds to mass notification system

  Unified communications (UC) adds a whole new level to the abilities of mass notification systems -- dramatically improving the quality of life for one community and easing the fears of parents of university students.

• September 24, 2007 24 Sep'07

  Microsoft's OCS changing the face of VoIP?

  Microsoft's OCS is set to debut in October. The OCS platform promises to transform the VoIP industry by making VoIP a real application and embedding communications into everything we do.

• July 10, 2007 10 Jul'07

  Unified messaging system updates company's voicemail

  Installing a new unified messaging system helped one company in its daily struggles with an outdated voicemail system.

• June 21, 2007 21 Jun'07

  Instant messaging usage increase highlights need for policies

  Instant messaging is a valuable business tool for some enterprises. For others, it's a security risk. Either way, a recent Burton Group report suggests that all companies should have an IM usage policy, even if they haven't deployed IM yet.

• May 25, 2007 25 May'07

  Unified communication case studies: What you need to know

  Unified communication case studies at your fingertips. Case studies are the next best thing to being there. Learn how others overcame the expected and the unexpected challenges of a UC deployment in our case studies.

• May 22, 2007 22 May'07

  Mobile instant messaging enhances company's business processes

  A mobile IM service acquired by a hosted VoIP provider encourages more companies to enhance their business processes.

• May 15, 2007 15 May'07

  Microsoft unveils unified communications devices

  Microsoft unveils unified communications devices.

• May 02, 2007 02 May'07

  IM slang glossary

  Our IM slang dictionary defines the most popular and amusing acronyms and slang used in online chat applications.

• April 12, 2007 12 Apr'07

  Instant messaging threats become more sophisticated

  Instant messaging faces greater threats as more enterprises begin to utilize it, making it a more appealing target to hackers.

• March 27, 2007 27 Mar'07

  IP communications tools boost productivity, sales

  IP communications tools have opened up several possibilities for one North American company, giving it presence awareness and unified messaging.

• March 22, 2007 22 Mar'07

  Hosted VoIP improves portfolio, company functionality

  Hosted VoIP helped one company improve intra-office communications and team spirit.

• March 15, 2007 15 Mar'07

  Cisco buys WebEx for $3.2 billion

  Cisco today announced plans to buy WebEx, maker of hosted, on-demand collaboration applications.

• February 20, 2007 20 Feb'07

  Unified communications, messaging revamp productivity

  Unified communications and messaging helped the East Central division of AAA upgrade its aging voicemail system.

• December 21, 2006 21 Dec'06

  Cisco, Citrix pair for application-based click-to-call

  Cisco and Citrix teamed up to bring click-to-call to applications.

• September 05, 2006 05 Sep'06

  Instant messaging boom brings security concerns

  Instant messaging (IM) has made significant inroads to the enterprise, but using public IM applications may open up security holes in the network

• August 08, 2006 08 Aug'06

  News column: Presence future depends on interoperability, with or without Microsoft on board

  Presence software could move from fledgling to mainstream technology once vendors get on board with federating (making products interoperable). Most are cooperating, but fingers are pointing to Microsoft as the one not playing nice in the sandbox.

• July 31, 2006 31 Jul'06

  Guide to Microsoft-Nortel alliance: What it means to you

  Microsoft has teamed with Nortel to take on Cisco. In this guide, you'll find a compilation of SearchVoIP.com's coverage of the Microsoft-Nortel alliance. We cut through the hype and lay out how this merger ultimately impacts enterprise ...

• June 20, 2006 20 Jun'06

  Presence debate heats up at Catalyst

  Presence is still lagging when it comes to enterprise deployments. Some blame the lack of federation. A panel of experts at last week's Catalyst Conference touched on the technology and debated where it is and where it should go.