Mobility, not Unified Communications, top priority for businesses

Unified Communications (UC) is getting a lot of publicity in the tech media these days. But the big push by manufacturers to integrate chat and presence with existing communication systems may not drive sales as much as initially expected.

A recent Forrester survey of 2,187 North American and European companies stated there is "confusion about the value" of unified communications for their company. It seems that UC is regarded as a "nice, but not critical" application for communication systems. In fact, UC is not even the number 1 priority for corporations, mobility is. 64% of the respondents in the Forrester survey indicate that "providing more mobility support to employees is a priority", with 23% citing it as a critical priority.

Unfortunately, mobility is a trickier topic than UC for many communication systems due to the complexities of multiple cellular carriers, mobile devices, and operating systems. Getting all 3 pieces of that puzzle to work together is a daunting task. However it does generate a call to action for future investment and upgrading of communication technology. Extending the desktop to the mobile space adds many levels of value and an enhanced ROI to a communication system.

Unified Communication could find a niche spot in the marketplace riding the coat tails of mobility. As UC becomes more common, many manufacturers will begin to offer it as a standard feature and not an enhanced (think more money) add-on with true enterprise mobility becoming the featured enhancement. UC can provide a nice complement to mobility extending enterprise chat, presence, and even GPS personnel location to a mobile device.

Soon, users will have access to UC apps as easily as traditional e-mail and unified messaging (voice mail merged with e-mail). Remember, these features were once heralded as high-end cutting edge applications as well.

Somebody let me know when they merge mobility with video conferencing, that will be interesting.

Increased Travel Costs Driving Demand for Video Conferencing

It's no shocker that higher oil and energy prices are putting pressure on business travel. CNBC.com is reporting that these increased travel costs are beginning to reflect on the bottom line of technology companies that can provide video conferencing and collaboration products.

The article reports that "Manpower has ramped up use of its video conference equipment in the last couple of months" and "office furniture maker Herman Miller has encouraged employees to use video conferencing in addition to conference calls and car-pooling to cut operating costs".

Manufacturers that focus on unified communication, video conferencing and teleworking can offer businesses enhanced cost savings and increase ROI in these difficult times. However, until the recent spike in energy pricing, demand for these applications was lukewarm at best. Many IT managers looked at these features as a burden on the network and as a low priority item due to cost and difficulty to deploy.

Amazingly enough, these ROI driving features are not a terrible burden on the network, overly expensive or difficult to deploy, depending on the product of course. VoIP communication developer ShoreTel's latest software release, ShoreTel 8, provides video conferencing and teleworking functionality right out of the box. ShoreTel 8 also supports integration with Microsoft OCS to provide presence and chat functionality integrated with PBX features.

Economic predictions do not foresee travel and energy costs going down anytime soon. IT directors get ready, the CEO might be knocking on your door and asking about video conferencing sooner than you think.

ShoreTel 8 demo video

ShoreTel has posted a ShoreTel 8 demo video on YouTube and we have it for you on this site. You can check out the video in the left hand column.

We will keep the video up for a while so everyone has a chance to view it. The demo is only about 9 minutes long and showcases ShoreTel's newest features including video conferencing, presence and chat at the user desktop.

Check it out and send us your thoughts.

ShoreTel upgrades its call manager and adds new voice switches

Network World has posted an article about the ShoreTel 8 release that was reported here back in April. The article gives an overview of the new ShoreGear switches and Personal Call Manager software. You can find some of it below and the remainder here.

Credit: NetworkWorld.com

ShoreTel earlier this week announced several software and hardware upgrades and two new voice switches. Included in the announcement are enhancements to the ShoreWare Call Manager product line, more open interfaces for integration, and adds two new voice switches: the ShoreGear 24A and the ShoreGear 30.

The ShoreWare Personal Call Manager has been upgraded to provide more intuitive interfaces. Added features include an integrated client user interface with a main display for calling features and tabs for messages and history; simplified access to features designed to be easier to use and find; quick and easy dialing with exchange and phone directory along with just in time telephony presence; and a simplified, single-level user interface with personal and advanced merged options.

The ShoreWare Professional Call Manager has added improvements to its basic voice communications and it now provides automatic and on-demand video communications. The Instant Messaging interface upgrades include easy sidebar conversations; on the phone communications; and interfaces for a third party presence server. The unified communications suite has added improved call control, video calling and IM access and a rich presence integration; the suite now also supports a softphone.

ShoreTel partner brings HD videoconferencing for less to marketplace

This is an article from Networkworld.com regarding LifeSize Communications. LifeSize is a ShoreTel development partner that recently developed ShoreTel's IP8000 conference phone. LifeSize's recent development of HD video conferencing should blend well with ShoreTel's enhancements in their platform regarding video conferencing.

ShoreTel's latest software release, 8.0, already supports embedded video conferencing through the Personal Call Manager application. This feature allows users to simply click a button and create an ad-hoc video call at the desktop. With a strong partnership between LifeSize and ShoreTel already in existence, it seems logical to conclude that we may see HD video conferencing supported by the ShoreTel system in the near future.

Credit: Networkworld.com

LifeSize Communications has a new high-definition IP audio/video package that drops the previous lowest price of its gear for one site by $1,000.

Called LifeSize Focus, the bundle consists of an HD fixed-focus camera and dual omni-directional microphone integrated in a single device as well as a video coder-decoder.

The $5,000 price tag knocks $1,000 off the previous low-end LifeSize offering, LifeSize Express, whose camera and microphone come separately.

The company says the less-expensive gear is an alternative to full telepresence systems that include multiple cameras, screens, microphones, custom designed rooms and matching furniture that can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per site.

While the LifeSize packages don't provide the same telepresence atmosphere, they do produce high quality audio and video that can be deployed at small sites or even home offices where the cost of a full telepresence system would be prohibitive.

Conferencing consultants say an approximation of telepresence without building dedicated rooms to house the equipment can deliver 80% of the effect of a full system. Businesses are adopting telepresence as a way to cut travel budgets and reduce their contributions to greenhouse gasses by flying fewer employees around the globe.

The camera supports 1280 x 720 video images at 30 frames per second, and can focus from 8 inches to infinity in a range of lighting conditions.

ShoreTel 8 Update!

ShoreTel 8 was released under "controlled release" terms on March 31. The newest version of ShoreTel's software features an overhaul for the Personal Call Manager software as well as built in video capabilities, internal chat, and presence server integration. ShoreTel continues to raise the bar on functionality and user experience and ShoreTel 8 will no doubt be a big success with all customers new and existing.

Check back later as more information is released regarding ShoreTel's newest enhancement.