* The drivers for unified messaging
A key theme in the history of human-facing technology is the integration of functionality over time. In consumer electronics, for example, discrete products eventually get combined into multifunction devices; computers have evolved into video and audio entertainment systems; cell phones have evolved into e-mail platforms and MP3 players.
The reason for this integration is simple and is the result of three converging factors: a) electronics design that permits the physical integration of silicon into the same or a smaller form factor coincides with b) consumer demand for having more functionality in the same device which coincides with c) vendors’ desire to sell new stuff.
The drivers for unified messaging are not really all that different: a) the greater availability of storage and bandwidth in most enterprises and in the home coincides with b) organizational demands for increasing the physical and operational flexibility of their workforce coincides with c) a growing number of vendors that want to sell newer and better systems.
There is a certain level of efficiency associated with having a separate e-mail, IM, voicemail and Web conferencing system. However, there is typically greater efficiency for the average user if all of this functionality can be combined into a single interface, which arguably makes (b) the most important driver for unified messaging of the three noted in the paragraph above. For example, a traveling user who can receive voicemails in his e-mail client can process these voicemails in less time than if accessing voicemail messages via a cell phone.
In short, unified messaging is really not much more than a continuation of the integration of functionality in the high technology space that we’ve seen over the past 50+ years. It’s a trend that I believe will finally take hold after many years of discussion, enabled in large part by more capable infrastructures and a strong push from vendors of these systems, not to mention the real advantages that it provides both to users and their employers.
