Let’s think about this for a moment.
Typically the question is about the chicken and the egg. The endless dilemma that torments everyone at some stage of their lives. What came first? And why? And how? You cannot have one without the other.
Likewise with Unified Communications. If you have the product – and are hence the vendor – you need a client to validate it. However, you are unlikely to have the product in the first place unless the demand was there, ie originating from the client.
So, what came first?
Look at the definition of UC itself.
That font of all knowledge (I use the term loosely) that is Wikipedia states that UC is “An evolving communications technology architecture which automates and unifies all forms of human and device communications in context, and with a common experience. Its purpose is to optimize business processes and enhance human communications by reducing latency, managing flows, and eliminating device and media dependencies”.
Wikipedia is definitely a client.
No one in their right mind would write such a convoluted set of explanations, reminiscent of many an RFP, where every bell, whistle, balloon, candelabra and dancing fairy is required to acquiesce the customer’s ‘needs’.
By the time you whittle it all down to the bare bones of what they are really looking for, the scene is reminiscent of a ‘How to look good naked’ candidate minus all the slap. Painful, but honest.
Of course, at Orange Business we are far more concise, simply stating that UC is the “integration of all communication tools through a single end-user client on desktop, mobile or web”.
It seems pretty obvious that OBS is the vendor. Straight-talking, no messing, budget-conscious delivery, on time, every time.
Guess who came first? We did. We win.
Reformed investment banker who saw the telecoms light.