Tips

Tips

• How to monitor application performance in the cloud

  As you move real-time applications to the cloud, you might relinquish some network control. However, several mechanisms are available to monitor application performance.  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

• GDPR rules have big effect on UC applications

  The European Union General Data Protection Regulation sets tighter controls on businesses and how they handle customers' personally identifiable information.  Continue Reading

• AV1 video codec carries clout with royalty-free status

  Industry giants, including Cisco and Microsoft, have backed AOMedia's new royalty-free codec. So, what does this mean for royalty-bearing video coding standards?  Continue Reading

• Will social messaging apps and Apple Business Chat supplant SMS?

  The limitations of SMS are starting to emerge. Meanwhile, social messaging apps and Apple Business Chat offer richer interactions between customers and contact centers.  Continue Reading

• Software for team collaboration presents deployment challenges

  When organizations evaluate team collaboration apps, should IT or lines of business implement the service? The answer might be somewhere in the middle.  Continue Reading

• Communication API vendors offer serverless architecture benefits

  A serverless architecture benefits communication developers in several ways, including fewer maintenance tasks, automated scalability and quicker time to market.  Continue Reading

• Which business messaging app will prevail in the contact center?

  Apple, Facebook and Google are rolling out messaging apps that connect businesses and consumers. As a result, contact centers should consider an omnichannel messaging strategy.  Continue Reading

• Is the virtual SBC market poised for rapid growth?

  Recent market developments and research indicate virtual SBC products could see a significant upswing, as companies find success with virtualized offerings.  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

• Room-based video conference software aids workflows, management

  Huddle rooms, or small meeting rooms, can benefit from room-specific video conferencing software that enhances collaboration workflows and IT management.  Continue Reading

• Microsoft Teams integration with Cisco Spark presents challenges

  Microsoft and Cisco interoperability does exist in unified communications. But, for team collaboration, Microsoft Teams integration with Cisco Spark adds another wrinkle.  Continue Reading

• How to navigate the enterprise collaboration market

  When evaluating enterprise collaboration services, first look inward at your company needs. Some key collaboration criteria include scalability, security and uptime.  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

• Five predictions for communication and collaboration trends in 2018

  In the new year, watch for team collaboration tools to become the primary user interface. And one UC vendor might mark the end of life for its on-premises platform.  Continue Reading

• Virtual assistant apps not quite geared for businesses, yet

  While popular among consumers, virtual assistant tools are not exactly deployed in enterprises. But IT leaders are showing interest in this emerging business technology.  Continue Reading

• Video conferencing usage gets new analytics to gauge ROI

  Instead of assuming video ROI success, enterprises can now see a correlation between video conferencing usage and productivity with the help of new analytics tools.  Continue Reading

• Is a communications API SLA strong enough for enterprises?

  When downtime occurs, an API service-level agreement should pinpoint customer and vendor responsibilities. Enterprises will need to monitor their API SLA closely.  Continue Reading

• Apple Business Chat looks to polish customer messaging

  Harvesting the power of the iPhone, Safari web browser and other search assets, Apple is looking to cultivate integrated chat between businesses and customers.  Continue Reading

• UCaaS providers reap the benefits of changing attitudes toward cloud

  Many organizations are viewing UCaaS as a more secure alternative to their on-premises technologies. Is it time for you to consider unified communications as a service?  Continue Reading

• Unified communications platforms lack security scrutiny

  As UC platforms become more open to the outside world, IT leaders need to heed newer threats, including guest-access features, federation capabilities and cloud services.  Continue Reading

• Messaging platforms flout traditional real-time telephony

  Business messaging defies traditional telephony-centric, real-time communications. The persistence and efficiency of web-based messaging offers a new way to collaborate.  Continue Reading

• How UC channel partners can capitalize on communication APIs

  IT teams often lack developer resources to integrate communication APIs. But UC channel partners can step in to help customers embed communications into their workflows.  Continue Reading

• WebRTC market expected to see more gradual changes

  In the new year, track these WebRTC market trends -- the proliferation of API platforms, the adoption of live broadcast streaming, and whatever Microsoft and Apple decide to do.  Continue Reading

• Decoding the CPaaS market: A look at vendors, products and customers

  Communications platform as a service, or CPaaS, came to life in 2016. The evolving market exudes a dual nature with two kinds of customers, products and vendors emerging.  Continue Reading

• Integrate contact center and unified communications platforms

  The lines are blurring between contact center and unified communications platforms, as team messaging capabilities help agents collaborate and resolve customer issues.  Continue Reading

• Cisco Spark, Slack ignite fledgling team messaging market

  Emerging team messaging platforms have great potential. Cisco Spark, in particular, is poised to affect the UC market, but widespread enterprise adoption remains unclear.  Continue Reading

• Voice gateways provide powerful connectivity options

  Voice gateways connect VoIP networks to telecom providers and analog phones, while also providing backup call support. But these sensitive devices need proper security.  Continue Reading

• Design redundancy into VoIP communication systems

  Implementing redundancy at the VoIP and network infrastructure levels is an integral part of VoIP communication, ensuring call and business continuity.  Continue Reading

• Five techniques for getting a robust VoIP infrastructure

  A VoIP expert stresses the importance of a separate voice VLAN setup, quality-of-service enablement and edge routers for a robust VoIP infrastructure.  Continue Reading

• Calculating VoIP bandwidth needs for SIP trunk services

  Part three of our series, SIP Trunking Explained, looks at the amount of VoIP bandwidth you'll need to avoid latency for SIP trunk services via a dedicated line or an Internet connection.  Continue Reading

• The truth about five nines availability in unified communications networks

  Five nines availability is attainable with traditional telecommunications networks, but is it attainable with a unified communications network? This tip explains how to calculate availability and how it relates to unified communications software and...  Continue Reading

• How silence suppression saves WAN bandwidth

  Silence suppression, or voice activation detection (VAD), technology is used to save WAN bandwidth used by VoIP traffic, while comfort noise generation (CNG) counteracts negative affects on VoIP speech quality.  Continue Reading

• VoIP bandwidth: Calculate consumption

  The bandwidth needed for VoIP transmission depends on compression technology, packet overhead and the network protocol used. In this tip, learn how to calculate how much bandwidth your VoIP implementation will need.  Continue Reading

• How voice compression saves bandwidth

  Compression of voice traffic can save bandwidth on your IP network, but can cost quality or cause delays. Learn more about the CODECs or standards for voice compression -- and their effect on call quality -- in this tip.  Continue Reading

• Defining traffic telecommunications style

  There are three types of traffic: voice, data and image -- each with its own set of requirements for transmission. Find out here how these different types of traffic are quantified.  Continue Reading

• Turning analog phones into VoIP phones

  How an ATA or broadband phone works and what kind of features and performance you can expect from them.  Continue Reading

• Working with the Layer 2 data link layer in an IP telephony deployment

  This IP telephony deployment article provides solutions to performance issues in Layer 2, the data link layer.  Continue Reading

• Policing and shaping within QoS

  Learn about the policing and shaping methods within QoS that allow IT professionals to smooth traffic flows for VoIP transmission.  Continue Reading