Presence a big trend for unified communications

The CIO-level business angle on the latest tech

Is your company implementing unified communications? If so, consider how "presence technologies" can add value to your enterprise applications. Dave Hart, CTO of systems integrator Presidio Networked Solutions, says presence technology enables collaboration and mashups in ways that weren't possible before. 

I recently had the opportunity to chat with Dave Hart about the trends in unified communications. Hart oversees technology and strategy for Presidio Networked Solutions, a value-added solutions provider with an extensive portfolio that comprises unified communications, wireless, security, storage, and network infrastructure solutions. Presidio is immersed in numerous unified communications projects for corporate and government clients, and Hart shares his observations of how those organizations are using unified communications to create business efficiencies.

“In the past decade, unified communications has transformed from simply putting your voice on the IP network to where we are today,” says Hart. Where we are, in fact, is at the stage of integrating disparate communications systems, media, devices and applications. The result is that there is greater potential for people to collaborate and for companies to automate the workflow of sophisticated business processes.

Hart is especially excited about what “presence” can do to help us work in new or better ways. Hart defines presence as “real-time information about a person’s availability to communicate and the modes and preferences for reaching that person.” A presence engine holds the rules and drives the communications based on what a person defines as his preferences.

To continue reading, register here to become an Insider. You'll get free access to premium content from CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World. See more Insider content or sign in.

Is your company implementing unified communications? If so, consider how "presence technologies" can add value to your enterprise applications. Dave Hart, CTO of systems integrator Presidio Networked Solutions, says presence technology enables collaboration and mashups in ways that weren't possible before. 

I recently had the opportunity to chat with Dave Hart about the trends in unified communications. Hart oversees technology and strategy for Presidio Networked Solutions, a value-added solutions provider with an extensive portfolio that comprises unified communications, wireless, security, storage, and network infrastructure solutions. Presidio is immersed in numerous unified communications projects for corporate and government clients, and Hart shares his observations of how those organizations are using unified communications to create business efficiencies.

“In the past decade, unified communications has transformed from simply putting your voice on the IP network to where we are today,” says Hart. Where we are, in fact, is at the stage of integrating disparate communications systems, media, devices and applications. The result is that there is greater potential for people to collaborate and for companies to automate the workflow of sophisticated business processes.

Hart is especially excited about what “presence” can do to help us work in new or better ways. Hart defines presence as “real-time information about a person’s availability to communicate and the modes and preferences for reaching that person.” A presence engine holds the rules and drives the communications based on what a person defines as his preferences.

A presence-aware application such as an IM client can tap into the presence information and assist in making the communication happen, such as "click to dial" to call a cell phone or office phone, or to set up a PC to PC video call.

As an example, here’s how an integrated presence-enabled communication system could work. Say you want to reach a coworker who defines his regular “in the office” hours as 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. You simply call his desk line, and the communication system will find him, whether he’s at his desk or not. The system will call his desk line first, unless his calendar indicates he is at an off-site appointment, in which case it will call his mobile line or send an IM text. If the coworker is unavailable, the call can route to a colleague. The rules can be defined in many ways to ensure that calls or tasks are attended to promptly.

Hart says presence systems aren’t just for locating a specific person, but also can be helpful to find particular expertise. This could be especially helpful in the field of telemedicine. Say a rural doctor needs to speak to a specialist in pediatric cardiology to respond to an emergency situation. This doctor can access a directory that has an “expertise” attribute for each person listed. The call can go to the closest expert, or to the doctor with the most relevant experience, so the two medical professionals can collaborate real-time to help the patient. If the two professionals had access to a presence-enabled collaboration system, critical data such as results from an EKG can even flow automatically from one person to another to support the task at hand – in this case, diagnosing a medical condition. Hart adds that regulatory issues would need to be worked out, but “in its purest form, this is a much more efficient way to work.”

Linda Musthaler is a principal analyst with Essential Solutions Corporation.