Unified Communication integration: a confrontation between a single vendor and a multi-vendor Environment

The integration of Unified Communication is most important to users. Enterprises must make a choice: whether to continue to maintain the environment of a single vendor to meet the needs of Unified Communication, or to establish a multi-vendor environment focusing on the best features and functions.

The former is tempting because it can reduce many interoperability and complex issues related to integration. However, the multi-vendor environment allows enterprises to select the technologies most suitable for users and their business needs.

Because of the size of each enterprise and the different choices of the industry. Some enterprises will choose a single vendor environment, because of its ease of use, it also ensures the interoperability among all email, voice, video conferencing, mobile and real-time communication, and collaboration platforms. Other enterprises may have business units with different requirements, and require a Unified Communication Platform with specific functions for their users to choose from.

Integration of Unified Communication needs to overcome interoperability problems

Interoperability is crucial for Unified Communication because users want their communication tools to communicate with each other without any connection. Senior Analyst at Wainhouse Research and partner Ira Weinstein pointed out that although some companies have been able to ignore multi-vendor environments in the past, some CIOs have begun to review their strategies, consider how a supplier can make their unified communication products coexist with the products of other vendors. He said: "integration is the top priority of unified communication. This is why vendors are so difficult to expand it ."

According to a recent study by Osterman Research, an analytics firm in Washington, the United States, there are currently several vendors that have some experience in the Unified Communication Market and can provide cloud services, existence, interoperability, and other functions. "Speaking of interoperability, there is great potential for some vendors that cannot work collaboratively," said Michael Osman, president of the research firm. Enterprises must learn how to make good choices-how to choose the right suppliers and integrate them ."

Brian mundi, the network operation manager in the cities of Virginia, USA, recently integrated communications in the collaborative application server from the Esnatech system, it integrates the Google Apps used in the city and the SIP Activation Program of the Mitel telephone system. Esnatech system products use the city's Gmail, Google Talk, and existing services to integrate Mitel's IP phone system. Mundi said: "users are absolutely satisfied with the flexibility to access voice mail directly from Gmail ."

Osterman pointed out that the city has saved costs due to the use of hybrid cloud services and the establishment of multi-vendor environments, other enterprises can also use the mixed vendor method to save a lot of money on Unified Communication and telephone costs.

Integration of unified communication may be easier for large enterprises

Osman pointed out that large enterprises tend to adopt multi-vendor environments in their unified communication strategies. He added: "starting from the mindset of decision makers, this is to make the best technology revenue at a preferential price."

Irwin razal, Vice President and service director of Nemertes research, pointed out that multiple vendors are attractive to large-scale enterprises, because it has multiple business units to meet the diversified needs of Unified Communication for applications and functions. He said: "different teams in enterprises may have different requirements. Some teams may need voice platforms, while other teams may need video conferencing platforms ." Departments in large enterprises are actively seeking the best features for their business processes, which is not a one-size-fits-all solution.

The emergence of managed Unified Communication Service Products provides an alternative way for enterprises to adopt multi-vendor environments.

"From the customer's perspective, managed Unified Communication seems to be a single vendor, although it is not ." The reason is that these managed unified communication service providers provide excellent frontend Unified Communication integration and client support, so that multi-vendor services are similar to a single vendor environment.

Ira Weinstein said: "As the manufacturer continues to work on its own product line, hosting Unified Communication will attract the attention of enterprises with a vendor environment ." He added: "vendors are aware that they are not currently locking every function. Currently, merchants are competing to catch up in the Unified Communication Field and work with the acquirer or partner to fill the gaps ."

Lazar pointed out that manufacturers have also begun to form strategic alliances to better integrate with other vendor platforms for Unified Communication, while providing the best breeding methods for enterprises.