So much gets written and said about unified communications (UC), that sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of what this technology can do and how it can make our lives easier. One company that’s not losing sight of UC’s utility, rather than its hype, is U4EA (News - Alert), a provider of multi-service business gateways. The company recently revamped its entire product line to better suit the actual needs of small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

 

I asked Ken Epps (News - Alert), CEO at U4EA and his colleague (vice president of products and marketing) Jim Greenway to elaborate on what UC means to them. Epps said he envisions that at least one aspect of UC, fixed-mobile convergence, will become so ubiquitous that it won’t even be necessary to refer to this technology name — but rather by what it enables people to do.

 

Epps and Greenway also shared their views on the impact of the iPhone, Google’s (News - Alert) continuing influence on the market, the progress being made toward truly seamless communications, and more.

 

Greenway will be elaborating further on these topics next week during INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference & EXPO West 2008 in Los Angeles, as co-presenter of the “Unified Communications Round Table: The Future of the Industry” panel on September 17 at 1:45 p.m. (Pacific Time).

 

KE: The biggest achievement is how we’ve expanded our product line to more effectively match the whole SMB category and, in doing so, how we’ve strengthened our position to be a provider of multi-service business gateways (MSBGs) to SMBs. First, we redesigned our entire product line to be more customized to the needs of SMBs. Then we announced products to fit that with the Fusion 200, 210, and 500. Now we are bringing wireless integration to the product line, not only down at the low end, where all companies have some wireless on their small SOHO devices, but we’re bringing it to the entire product line up to small-and medium business users.

 

KE: We are putting a lot of emphasis on expansion. Look for announcements that talk about adding a whole wireless aspect to the business. I believe strongly that the integration of our wireless capabilities will differentiate U4EA in a very powerful way, versus some of the other players who provide MSBGs. You can also look for more high profile announcements around partner and distribution agreements and capabilities to serve this category that will be significant.  

 

KE: I think ubiquitous communications will become more and more likely. That is the ongoing evolution of the communications sector. Providers in this category are all looking for ways to deliver capabilities that make communications available no matter where you are or what type of device you use to communicate in whatever form or fashion you wish. That will be the continued evolution of the category.

 

An example is fixed-mobile convergence (FMC). We will see an evolution to the point where we will no longer use this phrase; the notion of “FMC” will be a thing of the past. Instead, you will have a device that you can pick up and use anywhere. Software capabilities on the device will enable you to walk into your office, and the device automatically hops onto your corporate network and allows you to use those facilities. When you leave, it transitions back to the wireless network. If you are at hotspot, such as a Starbucks, you’ll be able to have voice over WiFi when you walk into that location. The net net is that there will truly will be more capabilities to enable seamless communications in the future.

 

KE: Apple; the iPhone (News - Alert) has made the biggest contribution to communications this year. The iPhone has the potential to prove to be a disruptive technology. Apple brings a combination of access to the Internet, telephone, video, calendar, e-mail, entertainment, etc. all into one box. iPhone has, from a consumer standpoint, the best all-in-one capability available. Apple has some work to do to attack the business market, but as a device for unified communications (UC), the iPhone is a disruptive device from a consumer standpoint.

 

KE: Google has done with its search engines what Apple has done with the iPhone. Google has revolutionized the industry in terms of information requirements and content  — and the need to have that content delivered. The company has created further demand in the market that will help push UC as a need. At the end of the day, we are all seeking information, however we derive it. Google has dominated the data form of gathering/compiling/using information. It has created a whole lot more demand for bandwidth and everything else because of that.

 

KE: Apple has always owned and will continue to own the regular and high-powered consumer market. But, because RIM has had such a long start and corporate IT departments have standardized on RIM/BlackBerry, it will be hard to move into that segment. People who’ve been using BlackBerries are comfortable with them and unlikely to change that pattern anytime soon.

 

KE: BlackBerry (since late 90’s)

 

KE: Apple will win the consumer segment. RIM will win the business users.

 

KE: The closer you get to the edge of the network or an edge device, we’re all trying to do something that makes communications ubiquitous or seamless, enabling you to communicate from wherever you are. You will see a continued progress toward seamless communications. You will see movement towards standards at all levels, so it’s easier for manufacturers of devices and enabling technologies to provide for seamless mobility.

 

Ultimately, one year or many years from now, there will be no such thing as wireless/fixed, etc.: it will just be, “do you have a communications device?” If you do, you can use that device to communicate in every form — data, voice or video. The limiting factor right now is form factor as much as anything else. A lot of the enabling technologies are there. Handset/device manufacturers are either struggling to integrate it all from a capabilities standpoint or holding off to avoid losses. Standards that drive pure seamless mobility is the path for the future.

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KE: Customers should choose U4EA because we have a focus on the specific needs of SBMs reflected in our Fusion Series of MSBGs that enables Unified Communications better than any product on the market. End user customers will recognize the operational savings, ease of use and enhanced performance of integrated voice, data, video , multimedia and wireless communications device provided in the Fusion MSBG. By investing in a product provided by U4EA, SMBs can put the focus on their core business instead of investing in unnecessary infrastructure and support.

 

JG: Attendees will learn about how UC is being deployed in a hosted environment for SMB customers. They will gain insight into the services that UC offers to SMBs and the deployment methodology. They will also learn how multi-service business gateways enable the service from a single box (system) solution.

 

JG: Service providers that are targeting SMBs for VoIP, hosted services and unified communications. Also, VARs and resellers that want to enable these services working with service providers should find this session very useful.