Unified Communications
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Evolved Office Assistant Toolbar – UC Services
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Unity Desktop Presence Client
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Microsoft Lync Integration
What is Unified Communications? Simply stated, Unified Communications (UC) refers to the concept of consolidating phone, email, fax, chat, video, and collaboration into a single unified channel, either on a device or on a computer. The Evolved Office offers multiple UC options from basic PC control to full–fledged presence, IM, video, and collaboration. The purpose of UC is to reduce communications latency, or in traditional terms, telephone tag. It aims to decrease the amount of time it takes to respond to a communication by making all available “return call” methods available at a single click, without having to look up phone numbers or type out email addresses.
Unified Communications strives to increase the likelihood that the other party will be available to receive a communication by sharing information about their availability and preferred method of communication – called “presence.”
The challenge for businesses looking to deploy UC is to integrate these multiple communication methods, equipment, and software into a seamless user experience while keeping capital expenditures and administration under control. The Evolved Office solves this challenge by offering multiple, fully-integrated UC options.
Evolve IP offers three options for bringing true Unified Communications to your organization, allowing you to choose the best fit:
Standard Features
This represents the standard UC capabilities of The Evolve IP Phone System. By utilizing the Evolved Office Assistant Toolbar, in addition to the OSSmosis Portal, you get advanced UC features including PC Call Control, Voicemail-to-Email, Click-to-Dial, and more.
Unity Client Software
Unity is a desktop client application that provides additional features including Instant Messaging and presence.
Microsoft Lync
The Evolved Office fully integrates with Microsoft’s Lync, which offers many advanced presence and collaboration features from within the Microsoft Office suite of products.
Please see the feature comparison chart below for more information:
| Evolved Office UC Options | Standard Features | Unity | Microsoft OCS/Lync |
|---|---|---|---|
| Integrated IP PBX | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PC Call Control (Hold, Transfer, Conference) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Email (Messaging) | Yes, Optional | Yes, Optional | Yes, MS Exchange |
| Voicemail in Email | Yes, Forwarded | Yes, Forwarded | Yes, Unified |
| Fax in Email | Yes, Forwarded | Yes, Forwarded | Yes, Unified |
| Instant Messaging | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobility (find me, follow me) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Sharing | Yes | ||
| Video Conferencing | Yes | ||
| Audio Conferencing | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Presence | Yes, in Unity | Yes, in MS Office Apps | |
| Communication Profiles (Available in office, available out of office, Busy, DND) |
Yes, User Managed | Yes, User Managed | Yes, based on calendar |
| Platform Availability | Windows, Mac | Windows | Windows |