Unified communications is one of the most promising and powerful business technologies around. As its name implies, UC integrates multiple methods of communication such as e-mail, faxing, instant messaging, voice and video calling and conferencing, mobile communication and even desktop sharing so that they can work together rather than operating as entirely separate processes. The resulting efficiencies and improved communication can bring enormous benefits to companies of all sizes.
Top vendors provide a variety of unified communications capabilities. Those of Avaya, Cisco, Interactive Intelligence, Mitel and ShoreTel are particularly impressive. Naturally, each vendor defines UC based on its own products and technological strengths. Still, it's possible to compare the competing offerings based on selected criteria. This paper focuses on three key areas of comparison. Although this represents a far from comprehensive list, it provides insights into the most important ways vendors can differentiate their products.