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Cisco unveils Jabber unified communications
March 4, 2011 | 
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Work across PCs, tablets and smartphones.
Cisco has revealed its latest play into the unified communications space with a cross platform application dubbed Jabber.
The tool is aimed at business users and incorporates Cisco’s “presence” technology, instant messaging, desktop sharing, conferencing, video messaging and voice.
Jabber is already available or in development for Windows, iOS devices, as well as Nokia, Android and BlackBerry handsets, but will not launch on Macs until the second quarter of this year.
It can also link into Cisco’s own Unified IP devices, WebEx MeetingCenter and TelePresence.
“Regardless of whether customers are using Macs, PCs or mobile devices, they are looking for flexibility in how, where and on what device they can communicate using voice, video and instant messaging,” said Laurent Philonenko, vice president and general manager of the UC business unit at Cisco.
The use of the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) when using presence and IM allows for cross platform interoperability, and Cisco has also incorporated Microsoft Office applications to increase the potential reach of the tool.
Complex problems need a reassuring voice
The prolific growth of smart-phones and self-service websites has done little to diminish our desire to speak to a real person in a call centre, according to a new survey conducted by BT and Avaya. But as consumer queries become more complicated, many organisations are struggling to keep up with the new demands placed on their staff.
The research, The Autonomous Customer, shows that an overwhelming 90 per cent of smart-phone owners still expect to use call centres in the future. Meanwhile more than half (56 per cent) of those surveyed think the subjects of their calls are becoming more complicated as the vast majority (81 per cent) of them do their initial engagement with organisations online.
With the recent explosion in communication channels available for people to contact companies, almost two thirds (60 per cent) of the people surveyed admitted they constantly change the ones they use. However, given that wealth of choice, even the most connected generation of consumers see a call as the most obvious way of resolving an issue, particularly when it comes to complex queries.
When it comes to managing these queries many organisations are still falling way short of the mark. Despite a massive 86 per cent of consumers saying a good experience on the phone will make them more loyal, more than two thirds (69 per cent) said they felt that agents try to rush their calls to an early conclusion. Worse still, an astonishing 90 per cent of high-earning consumers said they were subjected to suggestions that they might be better off trying the website.
Avaya Launches Cloud-based, On-Demand Immersive Web Collaboration for Businesses
BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – Avaya Inc., a global leader in business collaboration systems, software and services, today announced the launch of new cloud-based, on-demand purchasing options and features for Avaya web.alive, the company’s innovative, immersive web collaboration platform designed for businesses and organizations.
Avaya web.alive is a secure, immersive collaboration platform that uses personalized avatars and rich, spatial audio and visuals to expand on current modes of conferencing and collaboration. Using high-quality voice, visuals and content sharing capabilities, Avaya web.alive helps solve a number challenges to business collaboration with an easy and fun to use environment.
The new purchasing options make Avaya web.alive available as a service through a monthly subscription for individual hosts or via annual concurrent user based pricing. Customers can also opt to install and manage the software on their own servers. The flexibility of purchase options enables any size business or organization to use Avaya web.alive for meetings, training, or sales and service opportunities involving both internal and external participants.
In addition to the purchasing options, new features and capabilities in Avaya web.alive include:
- New 3D audio engine for dramatic spatial audio that helps participants better identify and understand who is speaking and their location within the environment
- Built-in collaboration tools including desktop sharing and cooperative web browsing Read the rest of this entry »
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Avaya Introduces Collaboration Solutions to Help Healthcare Providers Enhance Patient Care
(Market Wire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) ORLANDO, FL — (MARKET WIRE) — 02/21/11 — HIMSS Conference and Exhibition — Avaya, Inc., a global leader in business collaboration systems, software and services, today announced new and enhanced communications solutions to help healthcare providers improve workplace collaboration and patient care. The solutions — to be demonstrated at the 2011 Annual HIMSS Conference and Exhibition — use mobility, automated outreach and other technologies to enhance care coordination, pre-admissions preparedness, and post-discharge care.
“Healthcare professionals need to be instantly reachable and quick to respond in order to deliver the most effective care,” said Sanjeev Gupta, general manager of Avaya’s Healthcare Solutions group. “Avaya’s solutions help speed up hospital clinical processes, and remove the barriers that can frustrate healthcare professionals. The tools we are showcasing today streamline communications in an industry where every second counts.” Innovative technologies will continue to play a central role in healthcare in 2011. Gartner estimates that “in 2011 healthcare providers worldwide will spend $87.7 billion on IT, including hardware, software, IT services, and telecommunications.”(1) Avaya will showcase its solutions in booth #2718 at the 2011 HIMSS Conference and Exhibition. This includes the new offerings: Avaya Mobile Device Checkout 3.0: This frees hospital staff from the nurse’s station by enabling communications from anywhere on hospital grounds using a personalized Wireless LAN mobile device. Read the rest of this entry »
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