UC from a Mobile Applications Perspective

Track: Leveraging UC to Optimize the Customer Experience

ITEXPO West 2009, Los Angeles

Lew Roth

VP Business Development

Unified Communications

• ... is the integration of non real-time communication services such as unified messaging (integrated voicemail, e-mail, SMS and fax) with real-time communication services such as instant messaging (chat), presence information, IP telephony, video conferencing, call control and speech control

• … is not a single product, but a set of products that provides a consistent unified user interface and user experience across multiple devices and media types

Enterprise POV• One number to be reached on• One voicemail box • All the features of desk phone

and delivered to a mobile end point

• Push out applications that access presence and messaging

• Push out support for conferencing, video, social and professional networking

employees / customers

Enterprise

Example Enterprise-Centric Solution

• Mobile extensions to enterprise VOIP systems – e.g. Cisco Mobile Connect - Unified Mobility Features

• Single number reach and a single business voice mailbox:– consolidate all incoming business calls into a single business phone

number, receive wherever they are working – stores unanswered calls in a single business voice mailbox

• Transparent movement during ongoing calls: – support for dual-mode devices– Support users who move between wireless campus environments and

external cellular network environments.– least-cost routing of mobile calls across the company's IP

communications infrastructure while in the office.– transparent transition of ongoing calls from mobile phones to desk

phones, and conversely– continue a conversation without needing to hang up even when

they switch phones. • Other companies include – Nortel, Avaya, Alcatel Lucent, Siemens

Enterprise Communications …

Mobile Devices and UC• Smart Phones bring together non-realtime

communications channels with realtime communications channels.– Phone, email, SMS, Contacts, Dialers– Instant Messaging, VOIP, Data Apps, video apps

• They may not be all integrated in a unified manner but users have applications on devices that can be used individually or together.

Mobile-centric View• All the convenience of mobile or smartphone as the

initiator of services not just an end point.• Enterprise communication and identities only one of

many managed identities from the users device and may not be the primary calling identity. User has multiple roles and associations.

• Users want to access their personalized spectrum of web, social, and cloud-based communication services.

• Expectation is that device becomes primary remote control for voice, data, media, and app automation.

• OS and Applications need to support the behavior

Conflict between the user’s mobile and enterprise mobile views.

Mobile OS/APl Silos Constrain UC App Development

• Device/OS dependent• APIs may/may not exist • APIs may be restricted to

internal access• OS may not provide equal

access for 3rd party apps• Multitasking may not be

available• Device reliability/battery life

trumps functionality• Privacy and access to user

data are certification issues.

PhoneDialer

SMS

BrowserData

Radios

Contacts

OS Memory

Apps

Projects that have movedUC forward on Mobile

1. Accessing multiple IM networks and presence engines simultaneously from a mobile device.

2. Using presence to drive VoIP on mobile phones.

3. Using presence to drive voice and video conferencing.

4. Managing alerts on mobile devices across voice, SMS, and email.

5. Streaming and personalizing video news in near real-time to mobile devices

1) Multiple IM Identities in a Single App• Converged consumer and enterprise

IM identities in a single mobile UI– AOL, Yahoo!, MSN, Skype– Jabber, OCS, Lotus Sametime, Reuters

• Enterprise-side server with unified IM protocol

• Network gateways for aggregation of RT presence with push to device

• Cross platform RIM, WM, Symbian, Palm and J2ME Delivery

2) Adding VoIP to Unified IM

• Adding SIP servers to IM and Presense• SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) based

VoIP to support HD voice, video,• Click-to-connect requires SIP devices on

both ends of the connection.• Service allows users to make telephone

calls to other users of the client around the world.

• Through limited connections to the PSTN, users can receive direct-dialed calls from landline users, as well as place calls to toll-free numbers in the U.S. and other countries.

• Available on Windows Mobile as FWD

3) Evolving to UC and Collaborative Suites

• Enterprise Grade IM– Integrate contacts from AIM,

Yahoo!, Google Talk, MSN, Cisco's Jabber, and Reuters into one app

• HD Audio Conferencing and Web Meetings

4) Managing Identities Inbound Across Multiple Communications

Modes• Powerful rules and filters processing

phone, mobile email and SMS messages puts use back in control of communications on mobile

• Rules-based interception of inbound messages is applied to categorize and prioritize them

• Define personal filters using rules that are automatically applied to incoming phone, e-mail and SMS messages

• Be alerted to just what is needed through user-defined alerts to include your custom MP3 audio files

An Outlook style rules engine for message alerting

5) Personalizing Video News Consumption

• Mobile video – Pandora for video news casts

• Core mobile components for a cutting-edge video news aggregator

• Support on iPhone, Android, and Windows Mobile and PC

• Flex application for ad monitoring and reporting

• Integration with number one social networking site. The product was launched in November 2008.

• 1Cast.com

Lots of other great UC apps on mobile phones

• Great Apps: VoIP– Available solutions

• Truphone (WiFi), • iCall (WiFi)• Nimbuzz (WiFi, 3G announced)

– Some are not yet available• Google Voice on iPhone, citing data privacy and

other issues• Certification is uncertain

Conclusions• Is mobile ready for UC?

– Yes. Better applications being developed all the time– Mobile-centric view needs to be integrated/reconciled with

enterprise-centric view.

• What type of applications are available?– Spectrum of UC apps including unified messaging, mobile VoiP,

identity management, mobile social, video and media sharing, smart dialing, voice-to-web search, …

• What would we like to see as app developers?– Opening of the API and OS silos on the devices– Removal of certification uncertainty at the device level– More freedom to build true UC solutions