Gartner Questions Strategic Relevance of Unified Communications
Unified communications has been one of a small handful of dominant IT technologies–or at least buzz words–for the past couple of years, but analysts debate whether it is still worthy of so much attention. Gartner senior analyst Nick Jones told an audience at the Gartner Symposium in Sydney that unified communications has lost its luster and that the technology did not even make Gartner’s Top 10 list for strategic priorities for CIO̵

Tweeting Your Presence
One of the keystones of unified communications is ‘presence’. Another word for presence might be status, but presence is a status–plus a little bit more. Of course, that is only if it is done right and kept up to date. Social networking tools like Twitter and Facebook could be leveraged to update presence in real time. The difference between presence and status is a matter of detail. With the status in a traditional instant messaging program you can generally tell if someone is online, or offline, and whether they are actively using thei

Google Becomes a VoIP Provider with Gizmo5 Purchase
Google announced its 4th acquisition of the year with the purchase of Gizmo5. Gizmo5 gives Google the ability to connect VoIP calls from the Internet or from mobile devices, changing the game for Google Voice and Google Wave. AT&T recently filed a complaint with the FCC charging that Google was violating communications guidelines by blocking phone calls to certain areas. Google’s response was that because Google Voice does not actually provide the backbone that carries the actual calls Google is not subject to those same guidelines. Gizmo5 p

LifeSize Acquisition Moves Logitech into Video-Conferencing
Logitech is a name that most people are familiar with. It is a virtual household word when it comes to things like keyboards, mice, PC game controllers, and webcam equipment. Logitech is not a name, however, typically associated with enterprise-class video-conferencing. That is about to change. Logitech announced the purchase of LifeSize Communications for $405 million. LifeSize has an established presence providing high-definition equipment for corporate video-conferencing systems. With 9,000 customers spanning 80 countries, LifeSize is not a newcome

Cisco Launches 61 New UC and Collaboration Products
Cisco announced 61 new unified communications and collaboration products today. The massive unveiling demonstrates Cisco’s commitment to the concept. A Computerworld article on the product launch says: Allen Cohen, vice president of enterprise solutions, said told Computerworld that today’s new products and Cisco’s recent agreement to buy videoconferencing vendor Tandberg for $3 billion demonstra