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• 8 best practices for adopting cloud video conferencing services

  Ready to migrate to cloud video conferencing? Keep these eight best practices in mind to pick a service that employees will use so you can achieve adoption success. Continue Reading

• Make VoIP the starting point for hybrid communications

  Moving to VoIP is the first step toward creating a hybrid unified communications architecture. Learn how to test and maintain voice quality for a successful migration. Continue Reading

• unified communications and collaboration (UCC)

  Unified communications and collaboration (UCC) is the collection of technology and software that combines enterprise communication with real time, asynchronous cooperation capabilities. Continue Reading

• How to deploy team collaboration platforms successfully

  How an organization deploys team collaboration tools depends on its overall UC strategy and end-user needs. Discover the deployment options available and how to ensure adoption. Continue Reading

• How does embedded communication work with an IP PBX infrastructure?

  Adding communications capabilities to your web browsers or mobile apps? Be sure to use the right protocols for successful interoperability with your IP PBX or telephony infrastructure. Continue Reading

• Definitions to Get Started

  • real-time application (RTA)
  • inbound call
  • Indefeasible Right of Use (IRU)
  • podcasting

  • Erlang C
  • greenfield deployment
  • codec
  • telegraph

  View All Definitions

• Improve the contact center experience with 3 key integrations

  Organizations that want to offer a modern contact center experience can turn to AI, messaging apps and UC to improve agent productivity and customer service.Continue Reading

• Understanding MOS for voice quality

  Looking to improve the quality of voice calls? Learn which mean-opinion-score models measure and rate the user experience and the factors that influence voice quality.Continue Reading

• What are speech technology applications beyond contact centers?

  Speech technology applications aren't confined to contact centers. Our expert explains the use cases for the technology, including personal digital assistants and knowledge management.Continue Reading

• Test your knowledge of VoIP fundamentals

  Do you want to test your knowledge of VoIP fundamentals and how VoIP works? Take this VoIP quiz and see what areas of voice technology elude you.Continue Reading

• 7 steps to select the right product for deploying SD-WAN for VoIP

  Ready to deploy SD-WAN for VoIP? Networking expert Terry Slattery offers seven tips for selecting the right product to support real-time voice needs.Continue Reading

• How chatbot AI in contact centers can improve self-service

  Deploying AI in contact centers can address IVR pain points and improve customer self-service with chatbots that create a conversational and streamlined customer experience.Continue Reading

• 4 ways to prep the network when planning to implement VoIP

  Before deploying VoIP platforms, make sure you have the infrastructure to support your communications needs. Learn what factors influence the network technology you'll need to support VoIP.Continue Reading

• Should you use CPaaS vendors or develop communications in-house?

  While some organizations prefer to develop communications capabilities in-house, deploying vendors' communications APIs offers benefits. Two factors can influence the best approach.Continue Reading

• Best practices for large video conferencing room design

  Large-room video conferencing systems are seeing renewed growth, as corporate mandates and employee demand drive enterprise deployments. Following best practices ensures the right design for large room video.Continue Reading

• 4 ways AI services can improve video meeting room technology

  AI is making its way into meeting rooms to improve productivity and enhance collaboration. AI services are addressing employee collaboration needs in four ways.Continue Reading

• What is the difference between UC platforms and UC apps?

  Platform and app are not interchangeable terms in a unified communications deployment. UC expert Jon Arnold explains how to differentiate between UC platforms and UC apps.Continue Reading

• Five steps for a successful video conferencing strategy

  When deploying video conferencing successfully, you simply can't install a video client and give users a webcam. Organizations with a robust video conferencing strategy see more deployment success ...Continue Reading

• Design huddle rooms to mirror team collaboration workflows

  Different teams conduct different types of meetings. As a result, small conference rooms should be customized to accommodate specific collaboration workflows.Continue Reading

• Use cases for IoT and UC integration starting to emerge

  The convergence of IoT and UC technologies seems to be emerging. IoT tools, for example, could track the use of meeting rooms and interact with collaboration apps.Continue Reading

• Integrated communications extends UC capabilities

  Organizations that want to drive greater value from their unified communications deployment should look to integrate communications into other parts of their business. Integrated communications ...Continue Reading

• What are the steps to ensure SIP implementation success?

  A robust strategy and several steps are needed to deploy SIP successfully. Networking expert Carrie Higbie Goetz explains the pieces that comprise a SIP strategy, from creating an RFI to documentation.Continue Reading

• CPaaS vs. UCaaS platform: Which should you choose?

  While the CPaaS vs. UCaaS debate might focus on overlapping features, the two technologies can be complementary, according to industry analyst Michael Brandenburg.Continue Reading

• Conference rooms of the future target meeting efficiency

  When overhauling your meeting room technology, don't forget the basics, such as high-speed network connectivity and power accessibility for all end users.Continue Reading

• The evolution of unified communications technologies

  Over the years, unified communications tools have evolved to incorporate different modes of collaboration. Enterprises need to be receptive to this ongoing innovation.Continue Reading

• How to configure VoIP on a network

  VoIP configuration requires significant preplanning to meet the requirements of voice traffic. Learn the steps to take when configuring VoIP on your network.Continue Reading

• Video conference hardware simplified, affordable for huddle rooms

  Video conferencing vendors have aimed to simplify deployments with cost-effective kits that include cameras and audio peripherals for small meeting rooms.Continue Reading

• Should your unified communications strategy include UCaaS?

  Unified communications-as-a-service offerings are getting better, but it's a complex market that requires understanding your company's true needs.Continue Reading

• UCaaS (Unified Communications as a Service)

  Unified communications as a service (UCaaS) is a cloud delivery model that offers a variety of communication and collaboration applications and services.Continue Reading

• 4K video resolution

  4K video resolution is high-definition (HD) video that has four times the resolution of 1080p HD video.Continue Reading

• Video conferencing standards, protocols and interoperability

  Irwin Lazar explains what video conferencing standards and protocols are and why they are necessary to enable interoperability and promote successful video communications.Continue Reading

• Take this WebRTC architecture quiz to boost your tech skills

  The WebRTC architecture demands widespread knowledge of different computer science disciplines. Take this quiz to test your WebRTC technical expertise.Continue Reading

• web conferencing

  Web conferencing is a form of communication that enables real-time sharing of computer screens, applications or web-based content among two or more devices.Continue Reading

• This CCNP Collaboration quiz tests your Cisco UC smarts

  The Cisco Collaboration certification covers several technological components from ports to protocols. Take this quiz to test your knowledge of Cisco UC technologies.Continue Reading

• ORTC (Object Real-Time Communications)

  ORTC (object real-time communications) is an open source component of WebRTC that enables mobile endpoints to talk to servers and Web browsers with real-time communications capabilities. ORTC is under development by a W3C community group that is ...Continue Reading

• virtual meeting room

  A virtual meeting room is a cloud-based collaboration space that allows people in disparate geographical locations to meet in real time.Continue Reading

• Video as a Service (VaaS)

  Video as a Service (VaaS) is a delivery model where video conferencing capabilities are outsourced to a managed service provider and delivered over an IP network.Continue Reading

• T.38 fax over IP (FoIP protocol)

  T.38 is a protocol for sending faxes over a voice over IP (VoIP) network or the Internet in real time.Continue Reading

• Skype protocol

  Skype protocol is a peer-to-peer Internet telephony protocol used to move encrypted voice over IP (VoIP) traffic between Skype members' computers (peers).Continue Reading

• Session Announcement Protocol (SAP)

  Session Announcement Protocol (SAP) is a protocol used to define the format and describe the information that will be exchanged during a multicast conferencing session. Continue Reading

• Real-Time Transport Control Protocol (RTCP)

  Real-Time Transport Control Protocol (RTCP) is a protocol that works with Real-Time Protocol (RTP) to monitor data delivery on large multicast networks, mainly for streaming media, telephony and video conferencing.Continue Reading

• What is a jitter buffer used for?

  Telecom expert Matt Brunk explains the uses for a jitter buffer on a VoIP network and the importance of configuring it properly.Continue Reading

• Message Session Relay Protocol (MSRP)

  Message Session Relay Protocol (MSRP) is a protocol for exchanging a series of related instant messages across an IP network in the context of a session.Continue Reading

• Open Settlement Protocol (OSP)

  Open Settlement Protocol (OSP) is a client-server protocol that manages access control, accounting, usage data and inter-domain routing to make it easier for Internet service providers to support IP telephony.Continue Reading

• How do media servers differ from media gateways?

  Expert Carrie Higbie explains how media servers differ from media gateways and how media servers are useful in video and voice environments.Continue Reading

• How does a volts direct current signal relate to telecom?

  Expert Matt Brunk explains how a volts direct current signal is used in telecommunications.Continue Reading

• What is a UC client?

  What do vendors mean when they refer to a UC client? Learn what a UC client is and how it is used.Continue Reading

• scalable video coding (SVC)

  Scalable video coding (SVC) is an extension of the H.264 (MPEG-4 AVC) video compression standard for video encoding.Continue Reading

• data transfer rate (DTR)

  Data transfer rate (DTR) is the amount of digital data that is moved from one place to another in a given time.Continue Reading

• analog telephone adapter (ATA)

  An analog telephone adaptor (ATA) is a device used to connect a standard telephone to a computer or network so that the user can make calls over the Internet.Continue Reading

• Wi-Fi cell phone (cellular-Internet phone or cell-Internet phone)

  A Wi-Fi cell phone (also called a cellular-Internet phone or cell-Internet phone) is a wireless telephone set that can automatically switch between conventional cellular and Wi-Fi VoIP modes, even during the course of a conversation... (Continued)Continue Reading

• eavesdropping

  Eavesdropping is the unauthorized real-time interception of a private communication, such as a phone call, instant message, videoconference or fax transmission.Continue Reading

• voice-to-text

  Voice-to-text is a type of speech recognition program that converts spoken to written language... (Continued)Continue Reading

• G.711

  G.711 is the default pulse code modulation (PCM) standard for Internet Protocol (IP) private branch exchange (PBX) vendors, as well as for the public switched telephone network (PSTN).Continue Reading

• find me / follow me

  Find me and follow me are two call forwarding services that are commonly used in conjunction with each other... (Continued)Continue Reading

• communication portal

  A communication portal is a service that allows individuals, businesses, schools and government agencies to share information from diverse sources using unified communications (UC) media. The most common modes are e-mail, texting, Voice over IP (...Continue Reading

• Ethernet/IP (Ethernet Industrial Protocol)

  Ethernet/IP (Ethernet Industrial Protocol) is a network communication standard capable of handling large amounts of data at speeds of 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps, and at up to 1500 bytes per packet.Continue Reading

• rich presence technology (RPT)

  Rich presence is an enhanced form of presence awareness in which participants can determine if other users are online and if so, observe to a limited extent what they are doing and how they are doing it... (Continued)Continue Reading

• SDP (Session Description Protocol)

  SDP (Session Description Protocol) is a set of rules that defines how multimedia sessions can be set up to allow all end points to effectively participate in the session. In this context, a session consists of a set of communications end points ...Continue Reading

• CoIP (communications over Internet Protocol)

  CoIP (communications over Internet Protocol) is a set of standards defining the transmission of multimedia over the Internet. CoIP can be considered an expansion of VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) to include text, images, video and other forms ...Continue Reading

• H.245

  H.245 is a protocol for the transmission of call management and control signals in packet-based networks using H.323 equipment.Continue Reading

• media gateway

  A media gateway is any device, such as a circuit switch, IP gateway, or channel bank that converts data from the format required for one type of network to the format required for another.Continue Reading

• call control

  Call control is a process that is used in telecommunications networks to monitor and maintain connections once they have been established.Continue Reading

• call signaling

  Call signaling is a process that is used to set up a connection in a telephone network.Continue Reading

• call deflection

  Call deflection is a feature of voice over IP (VoIP) that automatically redirects a call from the called endpoint to another endpoint (usually a voice mailbox) when the called endpoint is busy.Continue Reading

• call detail record (CDR)

  A call detail record (CDR) in voice over IP (VoIP) is a file containing information about recent system usage such as the identities of sources (points of origin), the identities of destinations (endpoints), the duration of each call, the amount ...Continue Reading

• dial peer (addressable call endpoint)

  A dial peer, also known as an addressable call endpoint, is a device that can originate or receive a call in a telephone network.Continue Reading

• call admission control (CAC)

  Call admission control (CAC) is the practice or process of regulating traffic volume in voice communications, particularly in wireless mobile networks and in VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol, also known as Internet telephony)... (Continued)Continue Reading

• VoIP trunk gateway

  A VoIP trunk gateway is an interface that facilitates the use of plain old telephone service (POTS) equipment, such as conventional phone sets and fax machines, with a voice over IP (VoIP) network.Continue Reading

• tcpdump

  Tcpdump is an open source command-line tool for monitoring (sniffing) network traffic.Continue Reading

• E911 (Enhanced 911)

  In the United States, E911 (Enhanced 91 is support for wireless phone users who dial 911, the standard number for requesting help in an emergency.Continue Reading

• registration, admission, and status (RAS)

  Registration, admission, and status (RAS) is a component of a network protocol that involves the addition of (or refusal to add) new authorized users, the admission of (or refusal to admit) authorized users based on available bandwidth, and the ...Continue Reading

• SPIT (spam over Internet telephony)

  SPIT (spam over Internet telephony), sometimes known as vam (voice or VoIP spam), is unsolicited bulk messages broadcast over VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) to phones connected to the Internet.Continue Reading

• hop off

  Hop off is a term used in telecommunications that refers to a point at which a signal or call leaves a network and moves to another network.Continue Reading

• Skinny Client Control Protocol (SCCP)

  Skinny Client Control Protocol (SCCP) is a Cisco proprietary standard for terminal control for use with voice over IP (VoIP).Continue Reading

• presence technology

  Presence technology is a type of application that makes it possible to locate and identify a computing device wherever it might be, as soon as the user connects to the network... (Continued)Continue Reading

• Carrier Sensitive Routing (CSR)

  Carrier Sensitive Routing (CSR) is a network solution that allows Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) subscribers to determine and manipulate the routing of individual calls... (Continued)Continue Reading

• hairpinning

  In general telecommunication, hairpinning is returning a message from an origin endpoint back in the direction it came from as a way to get it to its destination endpoint.Continue Reading

• Signalling Connection Control Part (SCCP)

  Signalling Connection Control Part (SCCP) is a portion of International Telecommunication Union (ITU) recommendation Q.711, which is the routing protocol for Signalling System 7 (SS7), a set of protocols used to set up calls in telephony networks.Continue Reading

• hundred call second or centum call second (CCS)

  The hundred call second -- also known as the centum call second (CCS) -- is a unit of telecommunications traffic density that is the equivalent of one call (including call attempts and holding time) in a specific channel for 100 seconds in an hour.Continue Reading

• jitter buffer

  In voice over IP (VoIP), a jitter buffer is a shared data area where voice packets can be collected, stored, and sent to the voice processor in evenly spaced intervals.Continue Reading

• ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier)

  An ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) is a telephone company in the U.S. that was providing local service when the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was enacted.Continue Reading

• centrex (central office exchange service)

  Centrex (central office exchange service) is a service from local telephone companies in the United States in which up-to-date phone facilities at the phone company's central (local) office are offered to business users so that they don't need to ...Continue Reading

• VoiceXML

  VoiceXML is an application of the Extensible Markup Language (XML) which, when combined with voice recognition technology, enables interactive access to the Web through the telephone or a voice-driven browser.Continue Reading

• IP PBX (private branch exchange)

  An IP PBX is a private branch exchange (telephone switching system within an enterprise) that switches calls between VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol or IP) users on local lines while allowing all users to share a certain number of external phone ...Continue Reading

• virtual phone number

  A virtual phone number is a telephone number is used to route calls to the user's actual phone number or numbers.Continue Reading

• regional Bell operating company (RBOC)

  Regional Bell operating company (RBOC) is a term describing one of the U.S. regional telephone companies (or their successors) that were created as a result of the breakup of American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T, known also as the Bell...Continue Reading

• Q.931

  Q.931 (also called Q93 is a signaling protocol for Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) communications that is used in voice over IP (VoIP).Continue Reading

• Q signaling (QSIG)

  Q signaling (abbreviated QSIG), a protocol for Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) communications based on the Q.931 standard, is used for signaling between digital private branch exchanges (PBXs).Continue Reading

• Vonage

  Vonage is a communication platform as a service (CPaaS) provider for consumers and businesses that makes it possible for customers to connect and communicate on any device through cloud-hosted voice, video, chat and short message service (SMS).Continue Reading

• softphone (soft client telephone)

  A softphone (software telephone) is an application program that enables voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone calls from computing devices. In the enterprise, softphones are sometimes referred to as soft clients.Continue Reading

• video telephony

  Video telephony is full-duplex, real-time audio-visual communication between or among end users.Continue Reading

• voice activation detection (VAD)

  In Voice over IP (VOiP), voice activation detection (VAD) is a software application that allows a data network carrying voice traffic over the Internet to detect the absence of audio and conserve bandwidth by preventing the transmission of "silent ...Continue Reading

• CLEC (competitive local exchange carrier)

  In the United States, a CLEC (competitive local exchange carrier) is a telephone company that competes with the already established local telephone business by providing its own network and switching.Continue Reading

• dedicated line

  A dedicated line is a telecommunications path between two points that is available 24 hours a day for use by a designated user (individual or company).Continue Reading

• vishing (voice or VoIP phishing)

  Vishing (voice or VoIP phishing) is an electronic fraud tactic in which individuals are tricked over the phone into revealing critical financial or personal information to unauthorized entities.Continue Reading

• hyperconnectivity

  Hyperconnectivity is a state of unified communications (UC) in which the traffic-handling capacity and bandwidth of a network always exceed the demand... (Continued)Continue Reading

• click-to-talk (CTC)

  Click-to-call (CTC), also called click-for-talk, is a technology that converts Web traffic into voice telephone connections using VoIP (Voice over IP)...(Continued)Continue Reading

• off-peak

  Off-peak, in a call center context, describes a time period with fewer calls than are handled in a busy period... (Continued)Continue Reading

• outbound call center

  An outbound call center is one in which call center agents make outbound calls to customers on behalf of a business or client... (Continued)Continue Reading

• Erlang B

  Erlang B is a modeling formula that is widely used in call center scheduling... (Continued)Continue Reading