3. The Classification of
Unified Communications Solutions

A variety of Unified Communications software is offered by the largest IP-telephony vendors, such as Cisco and Avaya.

Moreover, hundreds of software development companies all over the world develop IP-telephony solutions, aimed to cover the specific needs by introducing new features. Some of the 3rd party software solutions only work with an IP-telephony platform from a certain vendor, while others use the multi-vendor approach.

Leading IP-telephony solutions vendors pay close attention to independent IP-telephony applications developers that offer solutions, compatible with the platforms of the other vendors. To encourage 3rd party developers, IP-telephony vendors launch contests to generate new ideas for applications, form technology partner communities and grant their own marketing channels to promote third party solutions.

Let's list the solutions, offered by both IP-telephony vendors and 3rd party companies.

Customer Contact

• Contact Center
• Voice Portal / Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
• Call recording software

Group Collaboration

• Conferencing Solutions
• Presence service

Call Management and Dispatching

• Attendant Console
• Virtual Queuing

User Productivity

• Unified Messaging and Voice Mail
• XML-services for IP-Phones

IP-telephony Network Management

• Call accounting/call reporting
• IP PBX management

Another type of software to be considered is the integration tools, aimed to integrate enterprise IP-telephony with enterprise applications or external communications systems. The general integration issues are discussed in the “Integration Issues and Software to Cover them” chapter. Also, you can find the integration details related to a specific software solution in the appropriate chapter.

Also, there is often a need to build custom IP telephony software that meets specific business requirements. You can learn about when to consider building a custom designed solution in the «When to Consider Building Custom IP Telephony Software» chapter.

Read the next chapter: 4. IP Contact Center - the Advantages Over Traditional Call Center

Comments: