Today both Logitech and HP made announcements showing support for Microsoft’s Unified Communications (UC). Unified Communications lets businesses put their phone, fax, e-mail, instant messaging and video conferencing -“ on a single platform. With third party support, even legacy hardware, such as PBXs, can be part of the mix.
Logitech
Logitech’s announcement focused on video conferencing in the office communication space – announcing today four Logitech for Business webcams are now available as optimized for Microsoft Office Communicator products
The webcams are Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 for Business, Logitech QuickCam Communicate MP for Business, Logitech QuickCam Pro for Notebooks for Business, and Logitech QuickCam 3000 for Business.
“With more businesses looking for ways to compete in an uncertain economy, unified communications offers a clear way for businesses to cut costs and foster global synergies,” said Huib Ponssen, Logitech’s director of product marketing for business products. “Now, adding a Logitech webcam to your Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 setup -“ and leveraging the power of video calling -“ not only can help conserve travel, it’s an effective strategy for getting co-workers, teams, even whole departments, working more collaboratively.”
HP
At Interop Las Vegas 2009, HP and Microsoft today announced a four-year strategic global initiative to deliver an end-to-end unified communications and collaboration solution.
As part of their Frontline Partnership, the two companies expect to invest up to an additional $180 million in product development, professional services, as well as joint sales and marketing, to help organizations lower costs and improve productivity.
Demand for unified communications and collaboration technologies is growing rapidly. According to an independent report from Forrester Research, 84 percent of enterprises in North America and Europe are currently evaluating, piloting or implementing unified communications and collaboration solutions, and the market is expected to grow at a rate of 35.9 percent through 2015.
“Together, we are offering the extensive breadth of capabilities of our respective technologies to deliver a truly unified communications and collaboration solution to help our customers improve business productivity,” said Stephen Elop, president, Microsoft Business Division, Microsoft. “This means one click to communicate, one click to conference, one click to collaborate.”
Part of the agreement means HP will obtain Microsoft Unified Communications qualification for new IP desk phones, HP dx9000 TouchSmart Business PC and select smartphones.
