Is Unified Communications the Next Stage of Mobility?

While mobility applications are rapidly being deployed around the world, Unified Communications (UC) is still in its early-adoption stage. Most analysts and vendors define UC as the integration of numerous applications including presence, collaboration, conferencing, unified messaging, contact center and mobility. However, UC should be thought of in business terms as a technological advance that answers business needs. Unlike UC, mobility is not strictly an application, and it is far more than just a subset of UC. Rather, it is a catalyst that leverages the value of all UC applications. Thus, when making a business case for UC, applications that involve mobility-such as softphones, smartphones, fixed-wireless dual-mobility devices and mobility clients-usually contribute the most significant ROI.