Dimension Data and Microsoft held a joint event to review how organizations are collaborating using unified communication. The event gave an outlook on how unified communication systems have helped to reduce business costs through technology communication solutions and having operational innovation.
 

Communication trends are moving towards interoperability – from desktop to telepresence. Unified communication breaks the boundary between voice and video communication. There is consolidation of call processing and companies are having single directory and management regime.
Unified communications supports collaboration efforts by shifting communications, as appropriate, from asynchronous channels (email, voicemail) to synchronous modes like instant messaging, PC-to-PC audio and video, electronic whiteboarding, web conferencing, application sharing, and mobile access.
“With unified collaboration, nobody will have an excuse of being out of the office,” says Edwin Kiiru, Line of Business Manager at Microsoft-Dimension Data.
Solutions like Microsoft Lync 2010 allow organizations to have a unified communication environment.  Microsoft Lync communication server integrates collaboration technology such as calendaring, email, web conferencing, team rooms and instant messaging, with communication tools, which include telephones (landline and mobile), audio video and voice messaging.
“The solution offers single user identity on unified communication. It eliminates the need for workmates to know office line extensions for them to communicate with each other,” says Hardeep Sound, Microsoft Business Productivity Solution Specialist. Microsoft Lync is also configured to work with other Microsoft applications like Office, Sharepoint and Microsoft Outlook.
The collaborative nature of today’s business decisions has made business fabric and processes run in parallel with organization collaboration systems. Collaboration processes eventually bring about organization and business transformation.