Cloud-Based Unified Communications Gaining More Traction

Unified communications (UC) is a technology gaining momentum among the reseller community as companies large and small strive to gain more productivity from a shrinking workforce. Couple the power of UC with the flexibility and robustness of the cloud, and you’ve got the attention of VARs and MSPs.

This week has seen a bevy of cloud-based unified communications announcements, including Esna Technologies’Office-LinX Cloud Connect edition software, which integrates Cisco Unity Connection with cloud groupware applications such as Google Apps and VMware Zimbra as well as on-premise products such as Lotus Notes and Novell Group Wise to create a collaborative communications environment.

According to the company, Office-LinX Cloud Connect:

“… leverages the Cisco Jabber SDK to integrate with Unity Connection and transforms groupware applications such as Google Apps and VMware Zimbra into a live communication and collaboration hub. Office-LinX Cloud Connect enables full bi-directional synchronization of messages, message waiting indicator (MWI), read/unread message status synchronization and contact resolution.”

Channel partners can click here to read about Esnatech’s partner program.

Also on the UC front, Avaya announced its new Collaborative Cloud hybrid cloud communication suite, which Avaya is touting as a “strategic framework” for the UC world by essentially linking the outside world to a hybrid cloud communication suite. The Collaborative Cloud currently consists of two key platforms, and fall under the AvayaLive moniker. They are:

• AvayaLive Connect: The video communication suite you’ve always been waiting for — in the cloud — supports video, voice messaging and presence across PC, Mac, iOS and Android devices. Mobile and remote employees can rejoice, while VARs can take a breather — the entire solution can be downloaded from the Internet.
• AvayaLive Engage: Once Avaya’s “web.alive” platform, this collaboration suite seems more like a game, with 3D avatar-based environments for “creative sessions” and personalized events such as training seminars and more. AvayaLive Engage doesn’t support iOS or Android, but Mac OS X is supported.

For a deeper dive on Collaborative Cloud, check out Dave Courbanou’s post on our sister site, The VAR Guy.

Plus, UC-as-a-Service provider (UCaaS) Votela touted its recent deployment of the Siemens OpenScape Cloud Service into a “national trade industry association located in Arlington, Va.” Votela distributes OpenScape and worked with resellers MSGI Telecom Solutions on the deployment.

The trade industry association now using OpenScape is now enjoying features that include one-number service, voicemail-to-e-mail, click-to-call, audioconferencing, video connections, multimedia web collaboration, mobile desktop and instant messaging.

For more information on Votela’s partner program, visit the Votela website.