For me, the last few weeks have been marked by a flurry of shows and speaking engagements. ANPI has spoken on the subject of Hosted Unified Communications to audiences at COMPTEL PLUS, BroadbandVision, MATSS, Great Lakes Technology Showcase and BroadSoft Connections. Most of the attendees have heard of UC, but still find it difficult to boil down the primary reason for implementing the solution. I find it very important to speak to these attendees without assuming they understand UC, and, thus, my objective is to deliver definitions and value propositions that resonate with them, their business and the businesses of their customers.

Unified Communications is actually fairly simple. It begins with VoIP, or transitioning phone calls from the PSTN to an IP-based network, either the Internet or a private IP network. The next layer is a PBX. It must service the business in the same way a premise-based PBX platform does, but with lower cost and better UI for management of the solution and end user features. It is the next layer – Presence and Instant Messaging (IM) – that is frequently described too quickly, because those of us with knowledge of UC assume the concepts are intuitive. However, clearly explaining these two features is very important, as they provide the key to understanding the power and value of UC.

Presence is the ability to know the state of each employee. Are they available, busy, on a call or in a meeting? Knowing the Presence of an individual allows others to use the most appropriate mechanism to contact them. If they are in a meeting or busy, for example, then a phone call would be disruptive. But the individual may be able to receive and respond to an instant message. It is this combination of information and speed of communication that drives time saving and improvements in productivity.

UC may be more alluring when video, video conferencing and desktop sharing are added to the mix, but these features do not dramatically improve the benefit of implementing a UC solution. They are an incremental value. 

The results of a recent BroadSoft focus group identified Presence as the top rated feature, followed by voice calls and IM. On a scale of 1-10, Presence was rated 6.37, with calls a close 6.32, and IM at 5.5. When Presence and IM are adopted by users, they become indispensable and are used daily to accomplish business tasks. So, it is much more important to pause and explain what they are, as well as provide examples of how they can be applied in everyday business situations.

According to Infonetics, Hosted PBX and unified communications services are a growth market that has moved well beyond the early stages, with revenue on track to grow 13% this year (2014). As members of the IP community and UC ecosystem, we can accelerate this revenue growth by connecting better with what businesses are looking for to solve issues and create new opportunities. Clearly communicating Presence and IM is the best way to get this accomplished.