<s>
Unified	B-Protocol
communications	I-Protocol
(	O
UC	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
business	O
and	O
marketing	O
concept	O
describing	O
the	O
integration	O
of	O
enterprise	O
communication	O
services	O
such	O
as	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
(	O
chat	O
)	O
,	O
presence	B-Protocol
information	I-Protocol
,	O
voice	O
(	O
including	O
IP	B-Application
telephony	I-Application
)	O
,	O
mobility	O
features	O
(	O
including	O
extension	B-Protocol
mobility	I-Protocol
and	O
single	O
number	O
reach	O
)	O
,	O
audio	O
,	O
web	O
&	O
video	B-Application
conferencing	I-Application
,	O
fixed-mobile	O
convergence	O
(	O
FMC	O
)	O
,	O
desktop	B-Device
sharing	I-Device
,	O
data	B-Application
sharing	I-Application
(	O
including	O
web	O
connected	O
electronic	O
interactive	B-Application
whiteboards	I-Application
)	O
,	O
call	O
control	O
and	O
speech	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
with	O
non-real-time	O
communication	O
services	O
such	O
as	O
unified	O
messaging	O
(	O
integrated	O
voicemail	O
,	O
e-mail	O
,	O
SMS	B-Device
and	O
fax	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
UC	O
is	O
not	O
necessarily	O
a	O
single	O
product	O
,	O
but	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
products	O
that	O
provides	O
a	O
consistent	O
unified	O
user	O
interface	O
and	O
user	B-Application
experience	I-Application
across	O
multiple	O
devices	O
and	O
media	O
types	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
its	O
broadest	O
sense	O
,	O
the	O
UC	O
can	O
encompass	O
all	O
forms	O
of	O
communications	O
that	O
are	O
exchanged	O
via	O
a	O
network	B-Architecture
to	O
include	O
other	O
forms	O
of	O
communications	O
such	O
as	O
Internet	O
Protocol	O
television	O
(	O
IPTV	O
)	O
and	O
digital	O
signage	O
Communications	O
as	O
they	O
become	O
an	O
integrated	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
network	B-Architecture
communications	O
deployment	O
and	O
may	O
be	O
directed	O
as	O
one-to-one	O
communications	O
or	O
broadcast	O
communications	O
from	O
one	O
to	O
many	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
sender	O
is	O
online	O
according	O
to	O
the	O
presence	B-Protocol
information	I-Protocol
and	O
currently	O
accepts	O
calls	O
,	O
the	O
response	O
can	O
be	O
sent	O
immediately	O
through	O
text	O
chat	O
or	O
a	O
video	B-Application
call	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
varying	O
definitions	O
for	O
unified	B-Protocol
communications	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
basic	O
definition	O
is	O
"	O
communications	O
integrated	O
to	O
optimize	O
business	O
processes	O
and	O
increase	O
user	O
productivity	O
"	O
,	O
but	O
such	O
integration	O
can	O
take	O
many	O
forms	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
:	O
users	O
simply	O
adjusting	O
their	O
habits	O
,	O
manual	O
integration	O
as	O
defined	O
by	O
procedures	O
and	O
training	O
,	O
integration	O
of	O
communications	O
into	O
off-the-shelf	O
tools	O
such	O
as	O
Thunderbird	B-Application
,	O
Outlook	B-Application
,	O
Lotus	B-Operating_System
Notes	I-Operating_System
,	O
BlackBerry	B-Operating_System
,	O
Salesforce.com,	O
etc.	O
,	O
or	O
purpose-specific	O
integration	O
into	O
customized	O
applications	O
in	O
specific	O
operating	O
departments	O
or	O
in	O
vertical	O
markets	O
such	O
as	O
healthcare	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unified	B-Protocol
communications	I-Protocol
is	O
an	O
evolving	O
set	O
of	O
technologies	O
that	O
automates	O
and	O
unifies	O
human	O
and	O
device	O
communications	O
in	O
a	O
common	O
context	O
and	O
experience	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
UC	O
system	O
may	O
include	O
features	O
such	O
as	O
messaging	O
,	O
voice	O
and	O
video	B-Application
calls	I-Application
,	O
meetings	O
,	O
team	O
collaboration	O
,	O
file	O
sharing	O
,	O
and	O
integrated	O
apps	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
history	O
of	O
unified	B-Protocol
communications	I-Protocol
is	O
tied	O
to	O
the	O
evolution	O
of	O
the	O
supporting	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Originally	O
,	O
business	O
telephone	O
systems	O
were	O
a	O
private	B-Device
branch	I-Device
exchange	I-Device
(	O
PBX	O
)	O
or	O
key	O
telephone	O
system	O
provided	O
and	O
managed	O
by	O
the	O
local	O
phone	O
company	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
unified	B-Protocol
communications	I-Protocol
arose	O
in	O
the	O
mid-1990s	O
,	O
when	O
messaging	O
and	O
real-time	O
communications	O
began	O
to	O
combine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
companies	O
began	O
to	O
deploy	O
IP	O
networks	O
in	O
their	O
environment	O
,	O
companies	O
began	O
to	O
use	O
these	O
networks	O
to	O
transmit	O
voice	O
instead	O
of	O
relying	O
on	O
traditional	O
telephone	O
network	B-Architecture
circuits	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
vendors	O
such	O
as	O
Avaya	O
and	O
Nortel	O
created	O
circuit	O
packs	O
or	O
cards	O
for	O
their	O
PBX	O
systems	O
that	O
could	O
interconnect	O
their	O
communications	O
systems	O
to	O
the	O
IP	O
network	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
vendors	O
such	O
as	O
Cisco	O
created	O
equipment	O
that	O
could	O
be	O
placed	O
in	O
routers	O
to	O
transport	O
voice	O
calls	O
across	O
a	O
company	O
network	B-Architecture
from	O
site	O
to	O
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
termination	O
of	O
PBX	O
circuits	O
to	O
be	O
transported	O
across	O
a	O
network	B-Architecture
and	O
delivered	O
to	O
another	O
phone	O
system	O
is	O
traditionally	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
Voice	B-Application
over	I-Application
IP	I-Application
(	O
Voice	B-Application
over	I-Application
Internet	I-Application
Protocol	I-Application
or	O
VoIP	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
design	O
required	O
special	O
hardware	O
on	O
both	O
ends	O
of	O
the	O
network	B-Architecture
equipment	O
to	O
provide	O
the	O
termination	O
and	O
delivery	O
at	O
each	O
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
created	O
a	O
new	O
technology	O
,	O
now	O
called	O
IP	B-Application
telephony	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
system	O
that	O
uses	O
IP-based	O
telephony	O
services	O
only	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
a	O
legacy	O
PBX	O
or	O
key	O
system	O
,	O
is	O
called	O
an	O
IP	B-Application
telephony	I-Application
solution	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
advent	O
of	O
IP	B-Application
telephony	I-Application
the	O
handset	O
was	O
no	O
longer	O
a	O
digital	O
device	O
hanging	O
off	O
a	O
copper	O
loop	O
from	O
a	O
PBX	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
,	O
the	O
handset	O
lived	O
on	O
the	O
network	B-Architecture
as	O
another	O
computer	O
device	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
transport	O
of	O
audio	O
was	O
therefore	O
no	O
longer	O
a	O
variation	O
in	O
voltages	O
or	O
modulation	O
of	O
frequency	O
such	O
as	O
with	O
the	O
handsets	O
from	O
before	O
,	O
but	O
rather	O
encoding	O
the	O
conversation	O
using	O
a	O
codec	B-General_Concept
(	O
G.711	B-Algorithm
originally	O
)	O
and	O
transporting	O
it	O
with	O
a	O
protocol	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Real-time	B-Protocol
Transport	I-Protocol
Protocol	I-Protocol
(	O
RTP	B-Protocol
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
the	O
handset	O
is	O
just	O
another	O
computer	O
connected	O
to	O
the	O
network	B-Architecture
,	O
advanced	O
features	O
can	O
be	O
provided	O
by	O
letting	O
computer	O
applications	O
communicate	O
with	O
server	O
computers	O
elsewhere	O
in	O
any	O
number	O
of	O
ways	O
;	O
applications	O
can	O
even	O
be	O
upgraded	O
or	O
freshly	O
installed	O
on	O
the	O
handset	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
considering	O
the	O
efforts	O
of	O
Unified	B-Protocol
Communications	I-Protocol
solutions	O
providers	O
,	O
the	O
overall	O
goal	O
is	O
to	O
no	O
longer	O
focus	O
strictly	O
on	O
the	O
telephony	O
portion	O
of	O
daily	O
communications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Given	O
the	O
wide	O
scope	O
of	O
unified	B-Protocol
communications	I-Protocol
,	O
there	O
has	O
been	O
a	O
lack	O
of	O
community	O
definition	O
as	O
most	O
solutions	O
are	O
from	O
proprietary	O
vendors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
March	O
2008	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
several	O
open	O
source	O
projects	O
with	O
a	O
UC	O
focus	O
such	O
as	O
Druid	O
and	O
Elastix	B-Algorithm
,	O
which	O
are	O
based	O
on	O
Asterisk	B-Language
,	O
a	O
leading	O
open	O
source	O
telephony	O
project	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
aim	O
of	O
these	O
open	O
source	O
UC	O
projects	O
is	O
to	O
allow	O
the	O
open	O
source	O
community	O
of	O
developers	O
and	O
users	O
to	O
have	O
a	O
say	O
in	O
unified	B-Protocol
communications	I-Protocol
and	O
what	O
it	O
means	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
entered	O
the	O
unified	B-Protocol
communications	I-Protocol
marketplace	O
with	O
several	O
products	O
,	O
beginning	O
in	O
2006	O
with	O
the	O
updated	O
release	O
of	O
a	O
unified	B-Protocol
communications	I-Protocol
middleware	O
platform	O
,	O
IBM	B-Protocol
Lotus	I-Protocol
Sametime	I-Protocol
7.5	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
related	O
products	O
and	O
services	O
such	O
as	O
IBM	O
WebSphere	O
Unified	O
Messaging	O
,	O
IBM	O
Global	O
Technology	O
Services	O
-	O
Converged	O
Communications	O
Services	O
,	O
and	O
more	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
2007	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
entered	O
the	O
UC	O
market	O
with	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
Office	B-Protocol
Communications	I-Protocol
Server	I-Protocol
,	O
a	O
software-based	O
application	O
running	O
on	O
Windows	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2008	O
,	O
Unison	O
Technologies	O
launched	O
Unison	O
,	O
a	O
software-based	O
unified	B-Protocol
communications	I-Protocol
solution	O
that	O
runs	O
on	O
Linux	B-Application
and	O
Windows	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2010	O
,	O
the	O
Unified	B-General_Concept
Communications	I-General_Concept
Interoperability	I-General_Concept
Forum	I-General_Concept
(	O
UCIF	B-General_Concept
)	O
was	O
announced	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
UCIF	B-General_Concept
is	O
an	O
independent	O
,	O
non-profit	O
alliance	O
between	O
technology	O
companies	O
that	O
creates	O
and	O
tests	O
interoperability	O
profiles	O
,	O
implementation	O
guidelines	O
,	O
and	O
best	O
practices	O
for	O
interoperability	O
between	O
UC	O
products	O
and	O
existing	O
communications	O
and	O
business	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
founding	O
members	O
were	O
HP	O
,	O
Juniper	O
Networks	O
,	O
Logitech	O
/	O
LifeSize	B-Protocol
,	O
Microsoft	O
,	O
and	O
Polycom	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
some	O
debate	O
about	O
whether	O
unified	B-Protocol
communications	I-Protocol
hosted	O
on	O
an	O
enterprise	O
's	O
premises	O
is	O
the	O
same	O
thing	O
as	O
unified	B-Protocol
communications	I-Protocol
solutions	O
that	O
are	O
hosted	O
by	O
a	O
service	O
provider	O
,	O
or	O
UCaaS	O
(	O
UC	O
as	O
a	O
Service	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
both	O
offer	O
their	O
respective	O
advantages	O
,	O
all	O
of	O
these	O
approaches	O
can	O
be	O
grouped	O
under	O
the	O
single	O
umbrella	O
category	O
of	O
unified	B-Protocol
communications	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unified	B-Protocol
communications	I-Protocol
is	O
sometimes	O
confused	O
with	O
unified	O
messaging	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
is	O
distinct	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unified	B-Protocol
communications	I-Protocol
refers	O
to	O
both	O
real-time	O
and	O
non-real-time	O
delivery	O
of	O
communications	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
preferred	O
method	O
and	O
location	O
of	O
the	O
recipient	O
;	O
unified	O
messaging	O
culls	O
messages	O
from	O
several	O
sources	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
e-mail	O
,	O
voice	O
mail	O
and	O
faxes	O
)	O
,	O
but	O
holds	O
those	O
messages	O
only	O
for	O
retrieval	O
at	O
a	O
later	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unified	B-Protocol
communications	I-Protocol
allows	O
for	O
an	O
individual	O
to	O
check	O
and	O
retrieve	O
an	O
e-mail	O
or	O
voice	O
mail	O
from	O
any	O
communication	O
device	O
at	O
any	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
unified	B-Protocol
communications	I-Protocol
,	O
multiple	O
modes	O
of	O
business	O
communications	O
are	O
integrated	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unified	B-Protocol
communications	I-Protocol
is	O
not	O
a	O
single	O
product	O
but	O
a	O
collection	O
of	O
elements	O
that	O
includes	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Presenceknowing	O
where	O
intended	O
recipients	O
are	O
,	O
and	O
if	O
they	O
are	O
available	O
,	O
in	O
real	O
timeis	O
a	O
key	O
component	O
of	O
unified	B-Protocol
communications	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unified	B-Protocol
communications	I-Protocol
integrates	O
all	O
systems	O
a	O
user	O
might	O
already	O
use	O
,	O
and	O
helps	O
those	O
systems	O
work	O
together	O
in	O
real	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
unified	B-Protocol
communications	I-Protocol
technology	O
could	O
allow	O
a	O
user	O
to	O
seamlessly	O
collaborate	O
with	O
another	O
person	O
on	O
a	O
project	O
,	O
even	O
if	O
the	O
two	O
users	O
are	O
in	O
separate	O
locations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
user	O
could	O
quickly	O
locate	O
the	O
necessary	O
person	O
by	O
accessing	O
an	O
interactive	O
directory	O
,	O
engage	O
in	O
a	O
text	O
messaging	O
session	O
,	O
and	O
then	O
escalate	O
the	O
session	O
to	O
a	O
voice	O
call	O
,	O
or	O
even	O
a	O
video	B-Application
call	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unified	B-Protocol
communications	I-Protocol
enables	O
that	O
employee	O
to	O
call	O
an	O
expert	O
colleague	O
from	O
a	O
real-time	O
list	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
such	O
benefits	O
can	O
be	O
important	O
,	O
enterprises	O
are	O
finding	O
that	O
they	O
can	O
achieve	O
even	O
greater	O
impact	O
by	O
using	O
unified	B-Protocol
communications	I-Protocol
capabilities	O
to	O
transform	O
business	O
processes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
people	O
associate	O
presence	O
with	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
(	O
IM	O
"	O
buddy	O
lists	O
"	O
)	O
the	O
status	O
of	O
individuals	O
is	O
identified	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unified	B-Protocol
communications	I-Protocol
&	O
collaboration	O
(	O
UCC	O
)	O
is	O
the	O
integration	O
of	O
various	O
communications	O
methods	O
with	O
collaboration	O
tools	O
such	O
as	O
virtual	O
white	O
boards	O
,	O
real-time	O
audio	O
and	O
video	B-Application
conferencing	I-Application
,	O
and	O
enhanced	O
call	O
control	O
capabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Before	O
this	O
fusion	O
of	O
communications	O
and	O
collaboration	O
tools	O
into	O
a	O
single	O
platform	O
,	O
enterprise	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
service	O
vendors	O
and	O
enterprise	O
communications	O
service	O
vendors	O
offered	O
distinctly	O
different	O
solutions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unified	B-Protocol
communications	I-Protocol
&	O
collaboration	O
as	O
a	O
service	O
(	O
UCCaaS	O
)	O
is	O
cloud-based	O
UCC	O
platforms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Compared	O
to	O
premises-based	O
UCC	O
solutions	O
,	O
UCCaaS	O
platforms	O
offer	O
enhanced	O
flexibility	O
and	O
scalability	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
SaaS	B-Architecture
subscription	O
model	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unified	B-Protocol
communications	I-Protocol
provisioning	O
is	O
the	O
act	O
of	O
entering	O
and	O
configuring	O
the	O
settings	O
for	O
users	O
of	O
phone	O
systems	O
,	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
,	O
telepresence	B-Application
,	O
and	O
other	O
collaboration	O
channels	O
.	O
</s>
