Unified Communications is the integration of communication services, including unified messaging (such as e-mail, fax, SMS or short message service, and integrated voicemail) with real-time communication services like Internet Protocol telephony, instant messaging, call and speech control, presence information, and video conferencing. Unified Communications is not simply one product, but a collection of products that offers a uniform unified user interface and user experience across multiple media types and devices.

Still confused? Simply put, Unified Communications – at its most elementary level – occurs every time one of your communications tools becomes cognizant of another of your communications tools. For example, if your voicemail system notifies you via email with an attached file of the message, that is considered Unified Communications. If your phone’s included directory lets you peruse to find a person’s telephone number that is also Unified Communications.

To break it down even further, let’s establish our own vocabulary for this article:

• For starters, let’s just say that anything that does the work of a telephone (i.e. speaking with another in real-time using your voice) is called “telephony.” Many would like to limit this to Internet Protocol telephony or Voice over Internet Protocol, but that is unnecessary
• Secondly, we’ll call everything involving multimedia, image, text, or voice messaging transmission between parties that is not in real time (including texting, voicemail, fax, and email) “messaging”
• Thirdly, we’ll call everything involving multiple party communications in real-time, such as web, video and audio conferencing “conferencing and collaboration”
• And finally, let’s call that which allows you to see who is accessible or available “presence”

Now that we have established our vocabulary, we can define Unified Communications as telephony, united with messaging, conferencing and collaboration, and enabled by presence. Simple as that!

Unified Communications can be acquired in one swoop, or one piece at a time; either way, it is an essential launch pad to the next telecom buzz-word knows as CEPB, or Communications Enabled Business Practices.” There you have it! When it’s broken down to its simplest form, Unified Communications is much easier to understand.

Additional Resources
To find out more about Unified Communications, and Unified Communications providers, contact one of our professional account managers today! We can also answer any questions you might have, so give us a call!

Until recently, data solutions came in a one-size-fits-all offering with very limited choices for fairly high prices. Fortunately, AireSpring Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) provides you with the high-speed Internet bandwidth your business requires today, and the flexibility to buttress tomorrow’s expansion.

Features include:
- The broadest nationwide coverage over 6 tier one networks
- A complete range of Internet products up to Gig E:

• OC3
• OC12
• Fast Ethernet
• Gigabit Ethernet
• 10  Gigabit Ethernet
• 10 Mbps to 1000 Mbps
• DS3  (Full Port and Fractional)
• Dedicated Internet Access (DIA)
• Available with optional managed router
• DS1 – 1.5 Mbps, Bonded 3.0 to 12 Mbps
• Ethernet over Copper available in expanded coverage areas

Bandwidth equals business. Without enough of it, your business can suffer. The three most common pitfalls companies can fall into are:

• Failing to estimate the proper amount of bandwidth required for your business to operate
• Ignoring the signs of too little bandwidth. Slow Internet speed that results from not enough bandwidth can bring your business operations to a crawl – or a complete halt – resulting in a loss of productivity
• Consenting to a one-size-fits-all solution that provides little to no scalability without costly upgrades, and either leaves you with too little bandwidth during peak hours, or paying for bandwidth you never use

AireSpring DIA is designed to fit every customer’s specific situation, giving you precisely what you need. As an acknowledged leader in the fields of SIP and high speed IP trunking, AireSpring is continuously developing their products and services to adopt the most recent technology while maintaining their reputation for passing the savings onto their clients.

Benefits:

• Fast turn up
• One point of contact
• Exceptionally competitive rates
• Optional burstable data consumption
• Comprehensive range of bandwidth options
• A single bill – even for businesses with multiple locations
• Guaranteed bandwidth with core access to tier-1 internet backbone
• Seamless, streamlined connections for multiple location data routes
• Multiple and diverse network routes and carriers for maximum security
• Dependable and reliable throughput of data for both up and down stream data traffic
• Available customer support to help determine the proper amount of bandwidth needed based on existing usage and equipment

The fast-paced world of business and commerce needs a communication system with enormous speed and flexibility to cope up with its demand. The use of digitized traffic and fiber optic cables increases speeds to over 60 times faster than that of a conventional phone system. T1 lines can be used for a diverse number of applications as they are comprised of 24 channels. This highly flexible circuit is designed ideally for businesses that need to run multiple services over the same line. Common applications for integrated T1 services include Frame Relay, dedicated long distance, and Internet point-to-point.

Integrated T1 is often confused with a fractional T1; however, it is actually made up of multiple fractional T1 services. Simply put, the channels are gathered into a pool, and whenever a line is needed, a channel is taken out of the pool and put to use. The moment the channel becomes free again, it reverts back to the pool and can be used by another user in the system.

With Long Distance T1 service, callers are directly connected to the long distance service provider without passing through the local telephone provider. Calls using long distance dedicated T1 services are typically toll free, meaning the caller does not have to pay for the service. Also, stiff competition among long distance providers causes lower phone rates.

Businesses can profit from Integrated Access services, especially those with clients and consumers abroad. Integrated Access services use cutting-edge VoIP technology for voice transmissions. VoIP allows analog voice data to be sent through the Internet in its digital form. VoIP also lets users utilize wireless and fiber optic technology for long-distance calling functions. The use of the World Wide Web for long distance calling has greatly reduced the costs for such voice transmissions; hence, businesses with international contacts can take advantage of the cheap calling functions offered by Integrated Access.

Moreover, Integrated Access allows businesses to reach bandwidth connection speeds of up to 4.5 Mbps to allow the simultaneous transmission of voice, video, and data during critical business processes such as conferences and webinars. The most advanced Integrated Access services also feature dynamic bandwidth allocation to automatically shift bandwidth to more critical business applications, such as voice transmissions.

A decade ago, DSL was the dream for online residential and business connectivity. Today, with the advent of next-generation Internet technologies such as Integrated Access, DSL is a thing of the past. A decade from now, businesses may very well require the installation of Fractional T1 lines to keep up with the ever evolving market