Cisco Systems aims to achieve omnipresence
Single interface for voice, data and video gives end user virtual access to every device anywhere
Cisco Systems has launched a new set of voice and communications products aimed at enterprises with workforces spread over multiple locations.
That is yet another example of the widespread convergence of internet protocol (IP) networks and telecommunications.
Dubbed Cisco Unified Communications, the new system combines voice, data and video applications into a single interface that allows users to flick between instant messaging, voice calls, videoconferencing and file transfers when they are connected to the internet.
The system also combines a Unified Presence Server to provide information on a user's status and preferred method of communication.
'The average individual owns 6.4 communications devices,' said Gary Coman, head of IP communications and wireless for Cisco Asia Pacific.
'We can all communicate, but managing these devices has turned us all into human middleware. Unified Communications takes human middleware out of the equation.'
In fact, the individual technologies have been around for many years.
Voice-over-IP has been long trumpeted as the answer to enterprise demands for cost savings, as has been video-conferencing. Internet protocol PBX systems emerged as a way to handle a firm's internal communications over internal computer networks, while the concept of presence has long been a mainstay in instant-messaging applications. Combining them is the next logical step.
'It is the network that touches every part of the business, so it is at the network level that business transformation can begin,' said Sharat Sinha, director, product and technology group, Asia Pacific, Cisco Systems.
'Creating a platform where voice, data and video can be handled with ease, where all devices are talking to each other and the end user has virtual access to every device anywhere - that is a business advantage,' he said. Cisco's presence technology is based on four criteria: availability, location, device compatibility and user preferences.
'This gets some interesting negotiating to take place about which device to use,' said Cisco's director of engineering Joe Burton.
'Communicate on a BlackBerry rather than a mobile phone, for example, if the recipient is listed in a meeting.'
Mr Coman said the idea of always-connected communications was not always appealing to workers, but user control was of paramount importance in the system.
'Just because I am listed as being on my mobile does not mean I am available - I may have simply forgotten to log off my VPN. You can't become slaves to this ... but eventually acceptable etiquette will evolve.'
