People who deal with unified communications on a daily basis take it as an article of faith that these platforms benefit users in a number of ways. What is changing is that vendors -- including the big vendors -- increasingly see UC as the next logical step and companies are deploying it based on hard-nosed business scenarios. The days of "build it and they will come" are gone.
The emergence of a wide variety of communications channels -- many of which are not under the direct control of the organization -- creates serious security and compliance issues for IT departments. Kailash Ambwani, the President and CEO of FaceTime Communications, tells Unified Communication Edge's Carl Weinschenk that the average desktop supports 3.5 UC and collaboration clients. The dangers inherent in this, Ambwani says, are from both malicious people and folks who mean no harm.
Unified Communications Edge Advisory Board member Hyoun Park, the Communications Research Editor in the Information Technology Group at Aberdeen, writes that video is a far more potent tool -- and one that is used far more often -- when it is structured within a unified communications platform. Tying video into UC also paves the way to fast and verifiable ROI, Park contends.
Few areas match up as well as UC and health care. There is great promise both within institutions and as a way to extend benefits to patients in their homes. The challenge is that in many cases these cutting edge applications must be rolled out on legacy infrastructure.
Reliability is a key to any telecommunications or IT initiative. It is vital to keep systems up and running and, if there is a problem, restore service quickly. The challenges could grow in an UC environment, however, as more services and applications sit on a common infrastructure. Unified Communications Edge asked disaster recovery/business continuity experts what questions organizations should pose to vendors and service providers to ensure that the job is being done correctly. 
Other companies making news this week include Plantronics, Redshift Networks, RTS Unified Communications, Polycom, Siemens IT Solutions and Services, SimpleSignal, Vidtel, Aruba Networks, Motion Computing, Comdasys, TELES, Cisco, GENBAND, Forrester and Nortel.
In its second annual tracking poll of IT folks involved in unified communications, CDW finds that the category remains strong. The poor economy, Senior Manager Kevin DeMers tells Unified Communications Edge, is leading companies to focus first on projects that will save money in the short term. IT planners still are thinking about the big picture, but want to attract decision makers with quick wins. (Podcast time: 18:19) Carl Weinschenk
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