Unified Communications

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Unified Communications ( UC ) ( English for "unified communications") (English for "real-time communication"), often also called Real-Time Communication (RTC), a marketing -term and describes the integration of communications media in a single application environment . The idea behind Unified Communications is to bring together all communication services and integrate them with presence functions, as they are known from instant messengers , to improve the availability of communication partners in distributed work and thus to accelerate business processes. UC can be used as an extension of Unified Messagingto be understood; The latter relates to the integration of messages in a portal and thus to asynchronous media , while UC aims to integrate synchronous media .

background

Distributed work in teams and projects is often characterized by poor availability of team members and the lack of so-called context awareness in teamwork ( CSCW ), the knowledge of what other team members are doing or whether they can be reached. In addition, communication in the workplace today is often complex and dominated by interruptions and disruptions. At the same time, the number of media and devices available to the average user is increasing. The paradox of this situation is that in spite of expanded communication options, accessibility continues to deteriorate while complexity continues to increase.

UC as a technical solution to the problems mentioned

Unified communications systems (also called real-time communication systems) are positioned by their manufacturers in response to the situation described above. These systems are the result of the convergence of groupware, new communication media ( VoIP and instant messaging ) and information and communication technology (ICT). These are integrated communication infrastructures that aim to improve communication between people. The manufacturers promise relief in the management of their own communication (and its complexity), the improvement of accessibility in distributed work and more awareness of accessibility (keyword presence).

UC building blocks

Unified communications as a technology and concept can be divided into four sub-areas, i. H. There are four core functionalities which, in combination, make up what is commonly described as Unified Communications. It is unclear whether one should only speak of UC when solutions support all four areas, or whether the four areas are to be seen more as modules that describe the UC market, whereby manufacturers can offer individual modules.

Media integration

UC is based on the idea of ​​media integration, i.e. H. the integration of (especially synchronous) media by means of a logical, technical control layer. This is intended to relieve the user of managing communication media and devices, depending on the context. UC is technically based on IP technology , but can also integrate traditional and mobile telecommunication devices and systems (keyword ISDN , GSM and PSTN ). A rule-based management system supports the user in their administration and in the selection of the appropriate media in each situation. A logical control layer ensures that incoming communication processes are automatically forwarded to the terminal devices currently available and preferred by the user. For this, the media (text, audio, video), devices ( mobile phone , IP telephone, etc.) and software clients ( instant messenger , video and audio clients) must be configured registered in the UC system. The stored rules can be complex: They can relate to individual callers, times of day and different end devices.

Presence information

Presence information is known from instant messaging tools; There they signal the availability of a contact with a corresponding icon. In a distributed work context, traditional signals, such as the physical presence and body language of recipients, that signal availability for communication, are missing. The aim of UC systems is to compensate for this lack of awareness through technically mediated signaling. The awareness created through presence information is intended to help improve the management of availability in groups. In contrast to instant messaging, UC can enable much more complex forms of signaling. On the one hand, the presence status can be determined and displayed in detail at device level; so an initiator can see whether a recipient is currently z. B. can be reached by phone. In addition, the presence status of people can be aggregated at group level or attached to any objects (e.g. files) in other software applications. A presence status at group level enables e.g. B. to be specifically informed about the availability of all group members, if z. B. a conference call should be called.

Context integration

UC solutions only develop their full benefit when they are integrated into the user's work context. Such an integration means e.g. B. the provision of presence information in third-party applications and processes and the possibility of triggering communication directly from third-party applications ( ERP , CRM, etc.). The idea is that whenever the name of a user registered in the UC system appears in the application (e.g. as the author of a document), the presence status is also displayed there and communication can be triggered with a click. For this purpose, the request is transferred to the UC system and z. B. set up an IP-based video conference.

Second, context integration means an integration of the work context in the opposite direction: the connection of relevant data, tools and processes with communication. An example of this is the automatic provision of customer data for incoming communication by the customer. If the customer calls z. B. via the telephone connection stored in the system, the person called receives the customer data displayed on his monitor. This makes work easier, especially in call centers , since all information about previous customer contact is directly available and does not have to be requested again.

Further cooperation functions

The fourth component is the enhancement of communication in UC with cooperation functions. The idea here is that real-time communication becomes collaboration in this way . This is also known as e-collaboration . Typical cooperation functions that can be activated by the system are: web conferencing , interactive whiteboard and application sharing . In this way, z. B. enables ad hoc collaboration on documents from the work context.

Well-known providers of UC

The providers of UC solutions have different, historically grown technical backgrounds. The relevant areas are primarily network elements (such as routers, switches), telephone systems and IT applications (such as groupware, office suites). Since the individual providers, with the exception of Cisco, cannot deliver all the necessary elements for a UC solution from a single source, they are dependent on cooperation on the one hand. On the other hand, they compete with some very similar solutions. The market is therefore strongly characterized by coopetition . Well-known UC providers include:

Depending on the technical background of the provider, they pursue different strategies when developing and implementing their UC solutions. For example, as a network supplier, Cisco focuses on network-based services. For traditional providers of telecommunications systems such as Panasonic, Unify or Avaya, private branch exchanges and voice communication are still essential parts of their UC portfolio. Network operators such as A1 Telekom Austria , Colt Technology Services , Swisscom , T-Systems International (Deutsche Telekom) or Verizon offer UC as hosting solutions.

See also

Online literature sources

literature

  • Jochen Nölle: Voice over IP: Basics, protocols, migration . 2nd Edition. VDE-Verlag, Berlin, Offenbach 2005, ISBN 3-8007-2850-8
  • André Liesenfeld: Unified Communication Practical Guide Hanser, 2010, ISBN 3-446-41834-2 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ K. Riemer, S. Klein, F. Flößler. (2007) "Towards a practice understanding of the creation of awareness in distributed work." Proceedings of the Twenty-Eighth International Conference on Information Systems, 2007.
  2. ↑ T. Rybczynski, M. Shetty (2005) "Unified Communications: Where the World is heading," Financial Executive June, Sp. 31-33.
  3. ↑ a b c Kai Riemer, Frank Frößler (2007): Introducing Real-Time Collaboration Systems: Development of a Conceptual Scheme and Research Directions, in: Communications of the Association for Information Systems (CAIS), Volume 20, 2007, p. 204 -225.
  4. ^ Arnold Picot, Kai Riemer, Stefan Taing (2008): Unified Communications, in: Enzyklopädie der Wirtschaftsinformatik.
  5. ↑ a b Kai Riemer (2007): Presence-based real-time communication - A prototype-based investigation of the usability in a management consulting context, in the 8th International Conference on Business Informatics, Karlsruhe, February 28th-March 2nd, 2007.
  6. ^ J. Rennecker: Promoting Awareness in Distributed Mobile Organizations: A cultural and technological challenge. Proceedings of the GROUP'05. Sanibel, Florida, USA, Nov 6-9.
  7. ^ A b Kai Riemer, S. Klein (2009): Presence Signaling in Unified Communication Systems - A Framework for Adaptation in Context, in: International Conference on Business Informatics, Vienna, Feb 25-27, 2009.
  8. ↑ D Yedwab (2007) "What does UC mean?" Telephony 05/02/2007, p. 40.