AI is already reshaping unified communications, from meeting hardware to software assistants, but only when it is tied to a clear use case. In this Eye on Tech conversation, senior editors Sabrina Polin and Katherine Finnell unpack where unified communications (UC) is actually headed, and what should be left behind.
Finnell is pretty blunt about it. When teams chase AI without a clear reason, they do not just burn budget. They end up creating work no one asked for and then spending time dealing with the side effects.
To deploy it just to be like 'we're on the bleeding edge, we're using AI' without a clear-cut use case and a reason for employees to want to use it, AI's not going to work for you.
Katherine FinnellSenior site editor, Informa TechTarget
You hear many versions of this in UC right now. Employees aren't complaining about missing features. Most teams already have more tools than they want. The frustration comes from things that still break in ordinary ways. Meetings that look fine when you are sitting in the room, and fall apart if you are not. "Helpful" features that add summaries, alerts and layers, but do not actually save time. Platforms that should connect, but somehow still don't when people are trying to get work done.
Some of the features getting attention feel disconnected from that reality. Digital twins and AI avatars are one example. The reaction is not complicated. People want to show up to meetings themselves. They don't want something else to show up for them.
What people keep asking for is more basic. They want to hear what is being said, see who is talking and have fewer tools open at once. They also want security and privacy handled quietly in the background, not pushed onto them as extra steps.
If there is an opening for UC over the next couple of years, it probably looks less exciting than vendors would like. It is not about adding another layer. It is about cleaning things up. Fixing rooms that still don't work well for hybrid meetings. Making personalization useful instead of noisy. Reducing the number of platforms teams have to juggle just to sit through a call.
James Alan Miller is a veteran technology editor and writer who leads Informa TechTarget's Enterprise Software group. He oversees coverage of ERP & Supply Chain, HR Software, Customer Experience, Communications & Collaboration and End-User Computing topics.
