Unified messaging

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Unified Messaging (or UM) is the integration of different streams of messages (e-mail, Fax, voice, video, etc.) into a single in-box, accessible from a variety of different devices. It differs from simple multimedia email in that UM systems typically try to integrate telephone-based voicemail as well, and to make the UM mailbox accessible from a conventional or cellular phone.

Unified Messaging was expected by many in the telecommunications industry to be a popular product, first augmenting and eventually replacing voicemail. UM systems were expected to take advantage of the ubiquity of personal computers, and eventually of smartphones and 3G networks. However, UM was slow to gain consumer acceptance, and UM vendors such as Lucent and Comverse were badly hit when the slowdown in the telecommunications industry in 2001 made carriers wary of spending large amounts of money on technology with little proven consumer demand.

Today, UM solutions are increasingly accepted in the corporate environment. The aim of deploying UM solutions generally is to enhance workflows and improve processes as well as services. UM solutions targeting professional end-user customers integrate into the existing IT infrastructure, i. e. into CRM, ERP and mail systems (e. g. Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Notes, SAP, etc.)

[edit] Indistinct Definitions

Unified Messaging is an indistinct term that can refer to the typical definition^[1] of simple inclusion of incoming faxes and voice-mail in one's email inbox, all the way to dictating a message into a cell phone and the intelligent delivery of that message to the intended recipient in a variety of possible formats like text email, fax, or voice recording. Because of the nebulous definition of UM, it was number one on the 1998 Wired Magazine "Hype List".^[2]

[edit] References

1. ^ PC Magazine Unified Messaging definition The Computer Language Company Inc.
2. ^ 6:06 Hype List Wired.com