unified communications - News, Features, and Slideshows

• How a hail storm spurred Makita's IT transformation

  After a massive loss of IT systems during a hail storm, power tools retailer Makita learnt to pick itself up and achieve greater flexibility, standardisation and cost savings.

• In Pictures: 15 screen-sharing apps for easy collaboration

  Need to hold a virtual meeting complete with screen sharing? Or maybe you just need to remotely access a colleague’s computer to help him with a quick fix. Here are 15 ways to get the job done -- for free.

• Zoos enhance efficiency, patron experience with Skype

  Zoos South Australia has enhanced operational efficiency, animal care and customer experience with new video-based collaboration tools.
  

• ATO renews voice and data contract with Optus

  The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has chosen to extend its managed services contract with Optus Business until June 2018.
  

• Unify adds connectors, features, Android app to its unified comms service Circuit

  When Unify invited visitors at last year's Cebit to test a new unified communications service, Project Ansible, it was nothing but a tightly scripted demo.

• The ABCs of VoIP

  Given the importance of telephone systems, refreshing the technology can be daunting. However, for small and midsized businesses who consider upgrading from a PBX to VoIP, the benefits are clear and, with proper planning, the implementation is not very frightening. Consider these three steps:

• Could Facebook be your next phone company?

  <em>This vendor-written tech primer has been edited by Network World to eliminate product promotion, but readers should note it will likely favor the submitter's approach.</em>

• Law Firm CIO Makes the Case for Microsoft Lync

  Law firm Holland & Knight already had a who's who of best-of-breed communications products deployed when the firm's IT team decided it needed to replace the tangled mess of PBX systems that provided voice lines at its many offices. It chose to jettison them all in favor of an infrastructure built on Microsoft Lync Server 2013.

• Why HP's successful turnaround Is closer than it looks

  Hewlett-Packard's turnaround effort under CEO Meg Whitman, like an object in the rearview mirror, is closer than it appears. Credit the impending success on strategic partnerships, good hires and a broad view of the future of tech.

• Opinion: How do you manage your social networks?

  I recently decided, somewhat randomly, to experiment a bit more with social networking. I was on LinkedIn and at some point the service asked me if it could access my Gmail contact list.

• Online video a must-have for these four businesses

  Adding video to the company website can set retailers and other businesses apart from the competition -- and ultimately boost the bottom line.

Whitepapers about unified communications

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  True cost of ownership for unified communications: How vendor selection impacts ROI

  Nemertes’ annual study on IP Telephony/Unified Communications real-world Total Cost of Ownership finds organizations spending less on their on-premises IP telephony and UC deployments driven by competition between vendors and by improved knowledge among IT staffs. This paper provides the details on how vendor selection impacts ROI.

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  5 reasons your phone system may be outdated

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  Managed telephony discussion paper

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  Unified communications, efficient IT