With UM, mobile professionals can view, listen, copy and forward messages from most any device--even a public phone. They can use a Web browser to check e-mail, faxes and voicemail and manage account preferences, such as routing important calls to their current locations (presence management). Calls made to their offices while they're on the road can follow them and ring their cell phones or pagers. Using caller ID, the user can decide to accept the real-time communication or move it to voicemail. This elegance of simplicity means more than just streamlining your business cards with one phone number. Think seamless access to contact information and customer data that can lead to other business applications from an easy-to-use telephone interface.
For example, telephones are ubiquitous, and cell phones have become standard fare for a remote sales force. These phones are becoming capable of receiving graphical data and streaming media. Speech access to a UM store can make for a highly productive and efficient tool for mobile workers to receive critical business data. In fact, they may need only a cell phone and an overnight bag on their next sales calls.
And better support for your employees is only the first step. These same services can be extended to customers and partners. For example, preferred customers and urgent support needs can be routed to specific individuals for immediate response. This will increase sales and make for happy customers.
Given these benefits, why hasn't UM been embraced in the enterprise? Clearly there's a disconnect because, of readers polled for this article, only 15 percent have implemented a UM system that combines e-mail, voicemail and fax messages into a single store. Of the 85 percent that are hanging back, just 37 percent indicated that they have investigated or plan to implement UM within 18 months; a majority said that they had no plans for UM or have decided not to implement it.
Why? Our readers stepped in with some answers. Reasons cited include the economy--with limited funds, many enterprises do not consider UM a high priority. Others indicated that the technology has not matured enough to warrant implementation, and some said UM systems will not integrate with their existing communication infrastructures.
We beg to differ. Although it's difficult to second-guess enterprise priorities for IT investment, the efficiencies of centralizing corporate communications and making knowledge accessible from multiple devices and remote locations are compelling arguments for UM.
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