Hands up for smarter UC

In a previous post I wrote about the emergence of touch screen tablets and how CIOs can integrated them into an overall UC strategy. Sure, tablets are all the rage, however let's not forget the other rapidly developing research - smartphones.

The ways CIOs can leverage smartphones for UC

Before I discuss some of the ways CIOs can leverage smartphones for UC, the first and most obvious point to make is mobile handsets already have integrated voice support. Tablets, in exchange, either ship with Wi-Fi-only or with Wi-Fi and GSM data. Voice and video is typically transmitted over IP and not GSM.

Incorporating today's smartphones into a UC program has many challenges nevertheless also presents opportunities. Let's consider the smartphone UC landscape from all angles.

Regarding the definition of a "smartphone" I'll stick to the mantra that the device must have and upgradeable operating system to fall into that category.

With so many smartphone handsets coming onto the market over the past two years a big challenge of CIOs is dealing with multiple platforms and devices. Until recently, Nokia and BlackBerry handsets dominated the enterprise space, however the market has shifted very rapidly in response to the iPhone and the wave of Android-based devices from many different manufacturers.

Add to this trend people's desire to bring their own smartphone of choice to work and another dimension the mobile UC game. This leads us to the possibility of business applications.

Having a heterogeneous device environment may not be the ideal scenario for a CIO planning a mobile UC project, nevertheless the benefit of smartphones is good support for apps.

Advantage over other portable devices

FMC is one aspect of UC where smartphones have an advantage over other portable devices. A good "first step" to mobile UC might be the ability for employees to set call diversions to their mobile when away from their desk. Letting the IP-PABX do the work as well negates the challenge of device inconsistency.

Of course, with the proliferation of smartphones for business rapidly approaching 100% saturation a lot of the interaction between staff and third-parties will be mobile-to-mobile. The question for CIOs at the time becomes how to provide employees with the best experience when the mobile device is the primary method of voice communications.

The need for integration with corporate UC

The need for integration with corporate UC and backend systems doesn't go away, however CIOs need to be aware that standard features like voicemail may be provided by carriers instead of an IP-PABX.

Then there is the interesting opportunity of mobile mesh networks and peer-to-peer between devices however that's nevertheless an emerging innovation.

There's no doubt the rapid paradigm shift to smartphones presents challenges for CIOs and their UC strategies, however the right mix of innovation and applications is sure to deliver a multitude of business benefits. Smartphones will raise the UC bar over the at once decade.

Today, users are the content. Driving the growth, and together being driven by it, the explosion in mobile computing is expanding the impact of the social web.