Google does UC... and other items of interest

Emerging from a week of turkey, pumpkin pie, football and yard work, I note a few recent items of interest in the realm of unified communications.

If you've already seen these, please feel free to ignore. This is intended to be more of a public service for those who, like me, tried to pay little or no attention last week.

First comes Clint Boulton's conjecture on eWEEK.com that Google has quietly unveiled its UC strategy versus Microsoft et al with the mid-November addition of voice and video chat to Gmail.

Myths about unified communications

Tim Passios, marketing director for Interactive Intelligence, lists his "Six myths about unified communications" in a Computerworld Canada article that breaks through the hype to identify the real value for enterprises.

It's an interesting article and a good read. But if you don't have time, here's a hint. Go directly to the last two paragraphs. That's where the answer is.

The real value, Passios says, comes when UC starts to automate business processes. Like claims handling, performance reviews, lead generation and so on.

More than meets the eye

"Recording Raises Issues for Telepresence," says the PCWorld headline on Stephen Lawson's piece about recording high-end enterprise video conferences.

Issues? I was surprised to learn there are any. Seems pretty straightforward to me. Nortel offers recording, archiving and playback as part of its managed telepresence services. Doesn't everyone?

Not so fast, says R. J. Bornhofen, who helps manage telepresence, video conferencing and other multimedia services for Nortel and its customers.

Seems there's more to this than meets the eye.

Managing telepresence

What does it take to really make telepresence work? For organizations to realize the promised benefits? To achieve sufficient return on a substantial investment in a reasonable period of time?

Reasonable, of course, being a) relative and b) subject to the ups and downs of a challenging global economy.

Perhaps more importantly, who gets it? Who understands what it takes and can deliver it?

To the latter, the answer is more companies every day. For evidence, check out Verizon Business' plan to offer managed telepresence services from Nortel.

Now is the time

As odd as it might sound, a struggling global economy may be just the catalyst needed for faster, more widespread adoption of unified communications.

This revelation is neither profound nor new. Alex Lewis wrote about it on this blog several weeks ago, and I'm sure he wasn't the first. But the chorus of consenting opinions is growing.

One of the latest comes from Scott Willard, an industry consultant who says the time for collaboration via UC is now.

Good week for broadband

This was a good week for those of us who believe more widespread broadband Internet access is essential to U.S. competitiveness in the global market. Not to mention necessary to help bridge the digital divide.

First, there was the election of Barack Obama, who has placed global leadership in broadband penetration and Internet access at or near the top of his technology agenda, as the 44th president of the United States.

Then there was the FCC's unanimous approval of a plan to use the 'white spaces' between broadcast TV channels to provide inexpensive if not free wireless Internet access across America.

Let them eat cake

Nortel CTO John Roese writes about the impact of Millenials (or Generation Y), hyperconnectivity and unified communications in a byline article on IT Today.

Citing a recent Nortel-sponsored IDC study on hyperconnectivity, he highlights the challenge created by the blurring lines between business and personal communications.

Enterprises benefit from empowering employees with laptops, iPhones and BlackBerry devices that allow them to work outside the traditional 9-to-5 business day. Yet many still try to enforce a policy of no personal communications on company time or using the company network.

How much longer can these companies continue to have their cake and eat it, too?

More ammo for telepresence

Video conferencing is not as effective as being there. That's the conclusion of a study by Penn State and Boston University published in the September issue of Management Science and reported by USA Today.

Researchers questioned medical professionals and peers on their impressions of attending seminars by video conference rather than in person. They found that video tends to emphasize the charisma of the presenter while face-to-face seems to put the focus more on the presenter's arguments.

"More ammunition for telepresence," says Howard Lichtman on Telepresence Forum.

One scoop or two?

First it was Wi-Fi at Starbucks. Now maybe WiMAX at Ben and Jerry's? Or how about on the factory tour at the Vermont Teddy Bear Company? That's right, it's WiMAX in Vermont!

Actually, it's WiMAX for thousands of folks in northern New England, including Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. (All gorgeous places to live, by the way.)

Of course, it's fixed wireless, not mobile. So I guess Ben, Jerry and the teddy bears will have to wait.

FairPoint Communications has announced what is expected to be the largest U.S. deployment of fixed wireless technology to-date, using WiMAX gear from Nortel and Airspan Networks. FairPoint is targeting rural Vermont, where DSL can't reach and satellite is the only alternative for broadband Internet access.

Polar bears beware

At least one sterotype is being put to the test as companies seek to save costs and reduce environmental impact with technology tools like telepresence.  That being the one about corporate types disliking business travel.

I don't travel on business much anymore. But when I did, I liked it. More often than not, it was a nice change-of-pace from the office routine. Apparently, I wasn't the only one according to Amy Sims of BusinessGreen, who writes on "How to... wean staff off corporate travel."