Office Communicator

Jabra Unveils USB Plug-n-Play Handset for Office Communicator

It looks pretty cool. I guess it will all depend on the retail price- which I haven’t been able to find yet. Since I can buy an actual Polycom CX700 desk phone for $450 then I probably don’t want to spend more than $200 on this device.

But, at the right price it is cool. The Jabra DIAL 520 OC is optimized to work with Office Communicator. The integration with Communicator means that you get all of the features and benefits of OCS, but you can have an ‘old-fashioned’ phone instead of using the microphone and speakers of your computer.

For mobile workers it provides an advantage over a standard Tanjay phone in that it is slim and portable. Road warriors can carry this phone in their laptop bag and have an OCS / Communicator compatible phone wherever they go.

Based on the brochure, I like it. Now, if I could just find out how much it costs.

Nortel Interactive Communications Platform

One of the next big frontiers for Unified Communications is integrating UC functionality into call centers or customer support departments. Granted, most organizations are still struggling to manage the original frontier of how to deploy UC in the first place and realize the values and benefits it delivers. But, the ability to leverage those same benefits and increased efficiency can really translate to ROI when you are talking about how hundreds or thousands of calls are routed for customer support centers. Nortel has introduced their Interactive Communications Platform, or ICP, which provides Web 2.0 style widgets that companies can incorporate into their web sites which will provide customers with the ability to initiate instant messaging sessions with company representatives, or use a click to call function which will automatically initiate a call back from the customer support center to the customer. Evangelyze Communications has also developed a click to chat utility that links with the Office Communicator instant messaging functionality to allow customers to chat in real-time with Evangelyze Communications representatives and get answers to their questions.

Information Overload

Unified Communications helps companies to communicate more effectively and efficiently. It is also seen by many as being always connected and never being able to be unavailable. By phone, email, voicemail, instant messaging, from your computer, your cell phone, your laptop, or any web-based portal, workers can access tools and communicate. But, what happens when they don’t want to be available? This article from TechTarget’s SearchUnifiedCommunications examines the issues and some potential solutions. In my opinion, education is a key ingredient. Many organizations jump on the technology bandwagon, but don’t give their workers the information and the education they need to use the tools effectively. Tools like Microsoft’s Office Communicator (and its portable counterpart Office Communicator Mobile) enable workers to communicate anywhere, any time. However, users can also control that access. They can set their Presence to Do Not Disturb. They can configure the level of access for their contacts so that key people- team members, managers- can see their true availability, while the rest of the world sees their Away. When calls come in via Microsoft UC Voice, the worker can send them straight to voicemail, or right-click and port them to email or voicemail if they are not available to take the call. In order to realize the benefits of effective and efficient communications, organizations need to provide end-user training in the proper use of the tools and how to work with the more advanced capabilities as well.