Former Cisco and Tandberg executives, who created a collaboration startup called Acano, have announced a new virtual conferencing platform that is expected to sell 100 percent via the channel.
This week, Acano coSpaces was introduced to the channel; these are virtual meeting rooms which are able to join video, Web and audio technologies, and will enable users to connect no matter what devices or collaboration solutions are already used.
Collaboration is one of those funny words that we use all the time with an assumption we agree on its meaning. Collaboration comes in many forms; it isn't even particularly new. What's put it on the front burner is distributed and flatter teams. Two things we don't have as much as we once had are 1) Everyone at the office and 2) Excessive Middle Management.
One of the highlights of Enterprise Connect was getting an up-close demo of SMART Technologies' SMART Room System for Microsoft Lync. At the Microsoft Lync conference a couple months ago, Microsoft introduced the Lync Room System (LRS) client, which bridges the gap between the desktop- and room-based collaboration experiences, making it easier for users to schedule and join Lync-based conferences.
Anyone else notice that the "what's UC?" question has finally died down? Just when we thought we had it licked, the term is increasingly being replaced with UC&C - or unified communications and collaboration. In case you missed the memo, everyone agreed on the change last month, and this site will be changing its name soon to UCCStrategies.com.
VoIP and Unified Communications are confusing techno-speak, but Collaboration is a common word found in common dictionaries. To collaborate simply means one or more working toward a goal. It isn't even one or more people; bees collaborate on honey making. Collaboration is about as non-technical as it gets. People were collaborating before electricity, computers and telephones were ever imagined.
Parks Associates made a study uncovering the predicted yearly growth rate of over 14 percent for the tech support of U.S. small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) from 2012 to 2016. Moreover, by 2016, the adoption of cloud services, growing network complexity, and the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) shift will drive the demand for "sophisticated tech support solutions" expected to grow to around $25 billion.
Mitel has introduced the Mitel UC360 Collaboration Point, a device for the personal office meeting space. This all-in-one multimedia collaboration appliance was created in response to demand for easy and cost-effective collaboration tools, and combines multi-party HD video and audio, in-room presentation display, and document sharing for remote participants.
En Pointe Technologies has announced the launch of En Pointe Collaboration Solution (ECS), a hosted, subscription-based service that combines voice, mobility, audio, web and video conferencing, presence technology, and a call center into a single solution. This new solution is built upon Cisco's Hosted Collaboration Solution platform, combined with the technology from various vendors to create a single, comprehensive solution offered on a predictable, monthly cost.
Today, the New York Times ran an article on Google's investment in wearable "heads-up" display eyeglasses, with the headline: Behind the Google Goggles, Virtual Reality. Seems that Google may be less than a year away from marketing eyeglasses, or spectacles, which will let the wearer see dynamic information without looking at a screen - smartphone, tablet or computer display.
Cisco has announced the release of its new unified communications application: Cisco Jabber. Revealed at the Enterprise Connect 2011 trade show, Cisco Jabber combines presence, instant messaging, voice, video, voice messaging, desktop sharing, and conferencing into a single experience for PCs, Macs, tablets, and smart phones. With Jabber, business workers can easily find the people they need and collaborate using whichever method or device they prefer.