* Reader response to the promise of unified communications
I received the following in response to my recent article entitled, “The real promise of unified communications”:
“I prefer to use e-mail almost exclusively to communicate and receive communications. In fact, I find the telephone and my physical accessibility to other people largely responsible for the amount of unplanned work or frequent interruptions throughout the day. I find that those who almost insist on communicating either by face-to-face or telephone/fax tend to generally be very disorganized, unproductive and huge consumers of my time.
I can make a valid argument for improving my productivity by not working from my normal workspace. Gently requesting that others communicate with me by my preferred method of communication (e-mail or instant messaging) would allow me to regain some control of my time and to achieve my workday goals according to my list of top priorities, not everyone else’s. Frequent interruptions by walk-ups or telephone calls usually lends itself to a forced ‘last in-first out’ prioritization of my personal to-do list.”
Clearly, the individual who sent this e-mail would benefit significantly from a unified communications platform, since communications of all types would be funneled into his inbox, allowing him to have more control over the priority he assigns to each communication.
How many of you feel this way, as well? Would a unified messaging system allow you to be more productive by converting face-to-face communications and telephone calls into messages in your inbox? How about converting in-person meetings to Web conferences that allow you to meet from your desk instead of walking across a campus for a meeting? Or do face-to-face communications and telephone calls make you more productive by allowing you to resolve problems more quickly? Do they give you the body language and other non-verbal clues you need to more effectively do your job?
These corporate culture issues and personal preferences are some of the fundamental issues that need to be addressed by any organization that is considering the not insignificant expense of deploying a unified communications system.
Please drop me an e-mail with your thoughts and where you stand on this.
