time.Technologyasenableddifferenttypeof communicationith eamsofiendispersed crosseveral ontinents.hevirtualorkspaces notusthedomainfthe argeorporation.mall nd mediumsizedusinessesreusingechnologyndvirtualeams oexpand heireachandbusrnessctivities.Collaborationoolshaveevelopedapidlynrecentearsndmostof us have sed hemnoneof heirvariousormsConvergencendmobilityare thefutureforeCollaborationools. We've

Howwegotownereearetoday,here eare-gbingext.

BY CAROLDAUNT,TEARNTEL

seenconvergencef technologiesverthepastelvyears,but convergenceftechnologyithpeoplewillbe ihe wayof the future.'dliketostart lookingforwardby ookingack.Whatwerehedevelopmentshat broughtus to whereweare andwhere willhey leadus intheuture?

THESTRATEGICATHTOCONVERGINGOMMUNICATIONS

TECHNOLOGIESNDDIRECTIONSTTHE DESKTOPA varietyf forcesare comingogetheronthe desktop,mpactinghefuture ofconferencingndcollaborationt boththeper$onalandgrouplevel. Perhapsnothings moresignificanthan he entryofCisco,MicrosoftandlBl\linto theunified ommunicationspace.llofhesecompaniesave Presencengine1 heheartof theiroffering ndthena varietyofpartner-providedndself-developedapplicationshat enablethePresenceengineolaunchaudio,ideoand datacollaborationessions,oihpoint-to-pointandmultipoint.ecauseheseechnologyindustryiantshave heeyesandearsoflTprofessionals,heyarebringingnifiedcommunicaiionso theforefrontof thecentralisednetworkarchitectureandbusinesslanningrocess.Onewayto look atihe develoPmentsoccurringnthe marketodays to lookatthe ntegrationfreal{imeommunicationswiihthe enterprisenfrastructurendconsiderow thiswill be deliveredotheenduser.hreeptionsremostikely:.Launchingcollaborationessionsingthe lPPBX asthe centralserverandthe lPtelephoneandset rcomputersoftphoneshe usernterface.oUsinga dedicatedomputerprogramfor communicationshatprovidesanenvironmenthaisupporismixedmediato mixeddevices,ossiblyvermixednetworks,ncludingSTN,Pandmobile.This pproachsknown sa collabrorationportalordashboard,nd alsosupportsnon-real-iimeharedworkspacesordocumentontrol,tc.'Embeddingollaborationithinhigh-levelproduciivityoftwareapplicationsuchas CRM,Purchasing,R, oraccounting.ith his approach,voiceor video essions aunchedirectlyromwithin hehigherpplication;heuserneveras oeaveheoriginal pplicatlonor earnnewprogram.All hreeof theseapproachesrovidedifferent lgorithmor callcontrolndmayflow throuEhdifferentreseller/integratorchannelso the end user,but allhreeelyonnetworkservicesandinfrastructurecomponentshat are controlledythelTdepartment.Thenon-real{imeomponento a unifiedcommunicationsrchitectureconsistsof unifiedmessaging(asynchronousvoice, email,ax,videomail allmadeavailablehroughninboxorportal)ndasynchronousontenidocumentsnd ilesthatepresentrchivedontentr worksnprogressontainednportalsike VicrosoftSharePoint,ocumentumRoom,etc.)meanto supporteamcollaboration.anyof theenalrlinglatformsre comprisedofa blendofnon-realtimeapabilities(webhosting, ocumenitorage,ndexingandhierarchicaliling)ndrealtimeoruser-facing)apabilities.monghesearealertshat notifyuserswhen changesremadeo relevantnformaiion,ocuments,or applications;ingle ign-onor entireenterpriseapplicationntegration,andpersonalisation.omeRoomechnologieshave addedPresence,chat andwebconferencingapabilitiesswell ofurtherpromoteeamcollaboration.THEAGEOFCONVERGENCEThisears heirst nwhichmoreaptopswillshiphandesktopCs,whicheinforcesiheentire conceptofdata andworkermobility.imilarly,ythe endof 2006therewillbe morehan2 billion ellphonesubscribersworldwide.RememberingMetcalfe'saw,he valuef he universefPCs,mobilehones,andheldsndotherdevicesncreasesxponentiallysheyareconnectedndemainersatile.Theidea of convergenceakesonanothermeaninghenoneconsidersowknowledgeorkersmaximiseroductivity.Typicallyuchworkersmigraterom askotask,projectoproject,ftennterruptingtheirworkio seekout colleaguesithknowledgerdecisionmakingauthoritynecessaryor them to completethetask athand Tomaximisehe abilityoremainroductiveequireshe abilityofindandcommunicateithothers,encethe conceptofthePresence ngine.Presencengines,utsimply,redirectoryserverson steroidshatenableworkersto find,determinevailabilityndinitiatecommunicationsiih colleagues.o dateMicrosoftlaimsmorehan10million sersof OfficeCommunicationserverOCS)and BMclaimshatmore han20millionSametimeeatshavebeendeployed.hepoints thatPresence nd availabilityrehereo stay asmetaphorsor launchingcollaboration;verylT departmentwillai somepointneedo concerntselfwithpolicy,security,federation andotherissuesurroundingpplicationfPresenceengrnes.Onereasonor the risingpopularityfPresencenginess hat heyrovidenstantaccessto others.The other capabilityknowledgeworkersseek s ihe abilityoaccessothershroughontentnavarietyofways,otsimplyasedn PresencendlM.ThoughMwillbeaprimaryethod fclickingoa) all,) chedule,) aunchwebconferencervideoconference,nowledgeworkersncreasinglyill seekways toachievewhat's breencalled'always-on'coliaboration.heuryssiill utconcerninghow hiswillbeachievedutt ikely illbebasedonmergingmediaypes, content,archivaloolsandPresence nginesntoavariety formats ndapproaches.All of thetechnologiesndservicesdiscussedrenow front andcentren lTorganisations.verime theywill requiregreatermindshareandarger mountsfresources.heenterprisehat beginstsplanningodaywill be betterpositionedtoaddressconstantlyluciuatingroupof servicesanduserrequirementshilealsofosteringmprovedproductivityndenhancedorkenvironmentsorknowledgeworkers.