Some of the most overly used words in telecom are VoIP (voice over IP) and unified messaging. It seems like every vendor is trying to develop a full suite of products and solutions for unified messaging. Buy why? With today's mobile devices, most of the advantages Unify Dropshipping service of unified messaging are available without having to invest in expensive equipment that needs to be managed and updated.
What is unified messaging?
It is combining voice features with instant messaging, email, fax, video messaging, etc. Cisco offers a click-to-dial solution that allows users to dial directly from Microsoft Outlook's contacts list and allows voicemail messages to go directly to the user's inbox. Salesforce.com has integrated with Skype to offer direct chats and calls from their CRM system. Many other vendors like 3Com and Nortel are offering some type of integrated solutions.
When it comes to email and voice integration, the typical options are to get your voicemail via email and to call directly from your contacts' list. It can be from Microsoft Outlook or from some CRM application. The other integration option is to get your email read to you on your phone. It converts text to speech. These are "cool" features, but are they really necessary?
As more and more people switch from landlines to mobile phones, and emails are delivered on the mobile phones, the typical office phones will not be needed. Most businesses communicate via email, Skype, or IM and use less landlines. One of the perceived advantages of unified messaging is that employees can leave one voicemail or email, and the recipient will get it in their mail's inbox. It is supposed to increase productivity among the workers, because they do not need to Unify Dropshipping service leave an email and a voicemail. Most workers these days have mobile phones and can be reached anywhere around the world via phone, text or email. All you need is a wi-fi connection which is available just about anywhere.
So, why invest in a unified platform when any collaboration is available on a mobile device?
Collaboration among not only employees but also businesses has become much easier with video conferencing, Skype calls, and email. Partnering with companies from around the world without meeting them in person is normal and does not require travel expenses. Integration of these applications would not increase productivity for a typical employee. There are many tools/applications that increase productivity without unifying the communication applications.
Unified communication is more than just about integrating the applications. Multiple hardware devices and software operating systems must be integrated before the actual applications are added. As these proprietary systems grow, managing and maintaining these products become complex and expensive. If you do not have an in-house team who knows how to implement multiple unified messaging systems, you will need to hire outside experts to implement and maintain the environment on a daily basis. Also, because these systems are proprietary, you will need to invest more resources if you want to change to another system.
For practical purposes, most companies should use their mobile devices and get their email and phone calls on one device. Unless you are a telemarketing company or doing a lot of telemarketing where clicking on your contacts to make phone calls would increase the productivity of an employee, it does not seem to cost justify adding a unified solution to your already complex network infrastructure.