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Is Unified Communications Right For You?: Just as a symphony conductor transforms a host of musicians into a finely tuned orchestra, so too is unified communications turning disparate technologies into a cohesive and powerful business tool.

In only a short time, technology has given workers a myriad of ways to communicate and be entertained. The average IT professional has watched videos and listened to his playlist on an iPod, read blogs and wikis online, and caught up with friends through Instant Messaging. At work he's checked several locations to get messages, participated in conference calls, shared electronic files with colleagues, and taken calls on his cell phone whilst on the go.

However, as communications options increase, users have to remember more and more telephone numbers and passwords. Instances of voicemail jail and telephone tag also arise. These constraints actually hinder productivity, not help it. In the end, people waste a lot of valuable time trying to track down answers and information. Consequently, communications methods often failed to live up to their potential as productivity-enhancing tools.

To add to the challenges, behaviour within companies is changing. Workers no longer spend all their time at their desks. They use the web, video and audio Conferencing, mobility, instant messaging, and Presence information. And they want the same tools they use in their personal lives, pressuring IT resources to respond, despite limited budgets. At the same time, IT professionals are being challenged to improve response times and increase productivity and revenue.

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“CIO’s and IT executives must shift their thinking from bits and bytes to productivity and profits,” says Zeus Kerravala, analyst at the Yankee Group. “This shift in the industry is imperative to IT's evolution within the enterprise if it is to become truly strategic to business”.

Although IT professionals are tasked with simplifying company-wide communications, a lack of resources, limited funds, and insufficient time often thwart such goals. And introducing more technology isn't the solution, either. Jeff Raikes, president of Microsoft's Business Division agrees. He believes that the answer is simple and within reach, claiming that “software will unite today's disconnected communications”. He is not alone in this opinion.

Unified communications, the blending of software, the media, telephony and data into one easy-to-use solution, is rising above the noise. And insightful technology vendors are embracing unified communications to reduce the complexity of their clients' communications.

Mitel offers a portfolio of solutions that can improve business processes for everyone in an organisation. The key here is that Mitel can tailor communications to fit the organisation's people, job functions and applications. Mitel's unified communications solutions allow a customer, a supplier or a co-worker to get in touch with others at their organisation easily and quickly, no matter where they are.

To put this approach into context, consider a team working on a high-value proposal due by the weekend. The senior bid manager needs answers fast from in-house experts, but many of her colleagues are usually difficult to track down.

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With unified communications, however the various communications options (phone, instant messaging, e-mail and video for example) are blended seamlessly and securely. She can view the “presence” and availability of these experts in real-time and immediately contact them via the most appropriate communications method. No need to waste time calling people who are unavailable, no need to leave voicemail, no wasted e-mails to colleagues who are logged off.

“Ultimately, unified communications is about delivering a new way of doing business that recognizes that people are more important than processes” Microsoft's Jeff Raikes says.

This is all possible with a unified IT network. While, from the front end everyone can communicate in one click using a desktop, the back end ties it all together within one easier-to-manage network.

In switching the focus from technology to people a better way is provided to unite communications throughout companies. By unifying communications, IT departments regain control and the obtain means to meet business objectives, increase revenue and decrease costs.