System and Structure of Unified Communication - Coursework Example

Running head: Unified Communications Unified Communications Affiliation November 2009 Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 3 Unified communication 3 History 6 System and Structure of Unified communication 7 Conclusion 9 Bibliography 9 Abstract The emergence of Internet and information technology has offered enormous benefits to all the fields of life. The ways of carrying out business activities, management, resource handling, communication, information transfer have completely transformed. This era is most significant regarding new technology evolution and automation of all the business sectors. With the passage of time, extensive transformations and revolutions have appeared in the sector of communication and networks. Unified communication is also one of the new emerging paradigms. Voice is simply one part of the huge communication puzzle. For example, we might have directly established a business deal with a business client or partner; however we up till now require sending or receiving a quotation on fax or email. Today voice communication is still very expensive; we might make a decision to take a lengthier dialog on chat. In this way we can have more expensive overall business processes and management structure. In its place we want a new and more useful communication and networking technology that can offer all the facilities of communication and data transfer at the same place and also need to be less expensive. This research is aimed at providing a detailed analysis of such type of technology that is intended to offer all the facilities and quality of better communication at the same place and package. This technology is called Unified communication. Unified communication According to Unuth (2009), in this age technology is everywhere. At the present, we have communication tools and applications in office, home, car, park, restaurant, and even on bed. There is need to interlink and combine them at some central platform. There is also need for such technology because it is fact that businesses are turning out to be more and more virtual, that demonstrates that a workers or their business are not essentially restricted to have one physical address or office (Unuth, 2009). At the present time, business might be operational by a lot of decentralized elements, the majority of which exist simply online. The utilization of these diverse communication technologies is not optimized. As a consequence, while communication can be effectual, it is far from being well-organized, both economically and technically. Contrast, for instance, having split hardware and services for fax, instant messaging, video conferencing, phone etc., as well as having the entire of these incorporated into one similar service and less hardware (Unuth, 2009). International Engineering Consortium has given the definition of unified communications, according to International Engineering Consortium unified communication is an industry term employed to explain the entire shapes of cross-media/multimedia message-management and call functions managed through an individual user intended for both social and business purposes (TechTarget, 2009). This comprises some transactional or enterprise informational application procedure that follows a human user and utilizes a single, content independent personal mailbox or messaging channel for contact access (TechTarget, 2009). Pleasant (2008) has defined the Unified communications as an integration of real-time communication services like that presence of information, instant messaging (chat), video conferencing, IP telephony, speech recognition and call control by means of non real-time communication services is acknowledged as unified messaging (e.g: fax, SMS, combined form of e-mail, integrated voicemail). Unified communications is not a single product; on the other hand this is a combination of products that presents a consistent unified user interface and user experience although multiple devices as well as media types (Pleasant, What UC is and isnt, 2008). Unuth (2009) articules that Unified communication is a modern and up-to-date technological structure in which communication applications and tools are integrated as a result together individuals and businesses would be able to control entire communications in one thing in its place of independently. In more simple words, Unified messaging or unified communication links the gap among Voice over IP (VoIP) and other computer associated communication technologies (Unuth, 2009), (McCabe, 2009), and (Pleasant, What UC is and isnt, 2008). According to (Andrews, 2001), the mostly the accomplishment of any system depends on its usability. This is principally factual for a Unified Communication System, which is utilized by people with incomplete computer knowledge to send and receive messages of different types. If this type of system is not easy to use, then annoyance and irritation will dishearten several from learning how to make use of its dominant services. Fortunately, since a unified communication is basically the union of a lot of well-known applications, the common interfaces for each device can be reused (Andrews, 2001) and (Steinmann, 2007). Unified communication facilitates an individual to transmit or distribute a message on one medium and get on another. It should be probable to simply transfer every message or activity to another medium. For instance, one is able to obtain a voice mail message and select to access it using a cell phone or email. If the message sender is online and allows calls, the reaction would be sent instantly in the course of video call or text chat. Otherwise, it can be transmitted like a non real-time communication message that can be accessed by means of a variety of media (nortel, 2009) and (Wang & Katz, 2001). Figure 1- UC/UM Structure-Source [http://www.readytalk.com/community/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/hinhoc1.jpg] History According to Haskin (2007), the evolution of the Unified communications is linked with the development of the supporting information technology. In the beginning, business telephone structures were a PBX (private branch exchange) or KTS or (Key Telephone System) offered as well as handled through the local phone business. These systems utilized digital or analog circuits supplied by the phone corporation so as to carry phone calls as of the CO or Central Office to the client. The structure, a Key Telephone System or PBX, would then recognize the call as well as handle routing the call to the suitable extension or line appearance on the phones at the clients’ office (Haskin, The brave but speculative new world of unified communications, 2007). Since corporations started to organize IP networks in their setting, businesses started to utilize these networks structures to transmit voice in its place of depending on customary telephone network circuits. Another new type of system was also emerged knows as the VoIP or Voice over IP. This arrangement incorporated unique hardware on all ends of the network tools to offer the stopping and offering at every site. After this the technology of the Unified Communication has emerged (Haskin, The brave but speculative new world of unified communications, 2007). System and Structure of Unified communication Unified communication demonstrates a concept where numerous forms of business communications can be seamlessly incorporated. Unified communications is not a particular product on the other hand it is a solution that is composed of a variety of elements, encompassing, unified messaging, call control and presence, multimodal communications, speech access, instant messaging, personal assistant conferencing, mobility, collaboration tools, business process integration (BPI) as well as a software solution to facilitate business procedure integration (NEC, 2008). The term of existence is as well a factor, knowing where one’s planned receivers are and if they are obtainable, in real time, as well as is itself a main part of unified communications. To place it plainly, unified communications puts together the entire systems that a user could previously be utilizing and facilitates those systems work mutually in real time. For instance, unified communications technology could permit a user to faultlessly work together with another person on a project, nevertheless if the two clients are in detached locations. The user could rapidly position the required person by contacting an interactive directory, utilizing in a text messaging session, as well as then goes up the communication session to a voice call, or still a video call, all these processes are completed within minutes. In one more instance, a worker receives a call from a client who needs to know or inquire. Unified communication could facilitate that employee to access a real-time list of obtainable specialist colleagues, and then formulate a call that would arrive at the specific person, allowing the worker to answer the client more rapidly, and getting rid of rounds of phone-tag and back-and-forth emails (NEC, 2008). In this system we need a local WAN structure that communicates with the help of the small LANs structure. In this scenario the whole network is linked through the internet and offering the combination and strumming at the same time. Figure 2- Physical Structure of UC- Source-[ http://webconferencingcouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/unified-communications-2.jpg] Cost benefits analysis The implementation of the unified network aims to diminish the overall cost of implementation of various distinctive networks. Through the UC structure organizations would be able to get the facility of all types of the communication technologies at the same place and operational in an extremely enhanced way. The overall cost of phone, fax, and other mobile communication can be reduced in a significant way. This will take the investment of the implementation but there will be considerable reduction in overall long term cost and bills of these communication technologies implementations. This type of structure is really effective for the large and medium size business. Conclusion Unified communication is a wonderful technology that can provide different communication solutions to the organizations and individuals. In this research I have presented a detailed analysis of the Unified communication technology. I have outlined some of main aspects of this technology structure and assessed the implementation and working seniors. In this paper, I have described the history, main structure, benefits and lot of other operational areas. I hope this report will provide a deep insight into these areas of new communication and network technology. Bibliography Andrews, C. (2001). Unified communication systems. Crossroads Volume 8 , Issue 1 , 13-17. Haskin, D. (2007, May 23). The brave but speculative new world of unified communications. Retrieved 11 08, 2009, from ComputerWorld.com: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9020921/The_brave_but_speculative_new_world_of_unified_communications McCabe, L. (2009, August 07). What is Unified Communications, and Why Should You Care? . Retrieved November 08, 2009, from IT-Director.com: http://www.it-director.com/blogs/Laurie_McCabe/2009/8/what_is_unified_communications_and_.html NEC. (2008, March). Unified Communications. Retrieved 11 08, 2009, from A NEC White Paper: http://www.necunifiedsolutions.com/Downloads/WhitePapers/UC_WP.pdf nortel. (2009). Unified Communications. Retrieved 11 08, 2009, from http://www2.nortel.com/go/solution_content.jsp?segId=0&catId=U&parId=0&prod_id=59040 Pleasant, B. (2008, July 28). What UC is and isnt. Retrieved 11 08, 2009, from TechTarget.com: http://searchunifiedcommunications.techtarget.com/generic/0,295582,sid186_gci1322973,00.html Steinmann, M. J. (2007). Unified Communications with SIP. Queue Volume 5 , Issue 2 , 50-55. TechTarget. (2009, August 04). Unified Communications. Retrieved 11 08, 2009, from TechTarget.com: http://searchunifiedcommunications.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid186_gci1239583,00.html Unuth, N. (2009). Unified Communications - What Is It? Retrieved 11 08, 2009, from About.com: http://voip.about.com/od/unifiedcommunications/a/UnifiedComm.htm Wang, H. J., & Katz, R. H. (2001). Mobility support in unified communication networks. Proceedings of the 4th ACM international workshop on Wireless mobile multimedia (pp. 95-102). Rome, Italy : ACM New York, NY, USA. Read More