February 09, 2012
Verizon Lays Out Unified Communication and Collaboration Vision in New Video
By Beecher Tuttle, TMCnet Contributor
The rivalry between Verizon and AT&T (News 
- Alert) heated up this past week as both carriers made a greater push into the Unified communications (UC) space.
AT&T got the ball rolling by launching a new series of cloud-based UC services designed with today's mobile workers in mind. The AT&T UC Services portfolio integrates tools like IM/chat, email, VoIP calling, unified messaging, mobility with presence and web/audio and video conferencing, and makes them available from nearly any device regardless of location. Users can even transfer sessions between PCs and compatible mobile devices.
Verizon struck back by releasing a white board-style YouTube (News - Alert) video that details its own vision for Unified communication and collaboration (UC&C). Unlike AT&T, Verizon isn't introducing new solutions – a point that it makes very clear. Rather, UC&C is being positioned as a strategy to help enterprises to leverage existing mobility and visual communications assets and integrate them in a new ways.
Aimed to enable a highly interactive workforce, UC&C brings all communication and collaboration into a singular, secure and intuitive interface, says Verizon (News - Alert). Similar to AT&T's offerings, UC&C leverages the cloud to minimize hardware and connections and to bring innovative communication applications outside the physical walls of the enterprise.
"It brings everything together for secure use – virtually anywhere, anytime," says Verizon. "It will help your employees share information faster, reduce travel, shorten sales cycles, multiply productivity – it will enable huge competitive advantages."
However, Verizon is quick to point out that UC&C is not a revolution, but rather an evolution, as the company has been delivering UC tools and un-tethering workplace communications for some time.
"At Verizon, we don't look at UC as a suite of products that you need to buy," Verizon stresses. "Unified communications and collaboration is a strategy, and what businesses most need is a plan to take them from where they are right now to their unified future."
Verizon notes that it leverages existing IT assets and infrastructure and combines them with its own cloud, security, private IP and mobility solutions. Whether or not this is an actual differentiator from AT&T's new UC services, it seems as if Verizon is trying to position it as one. Let the battle begin.
In addition to the video, Verizon has scheduled a webinar for Feb. 15 to further explain its UC&C vision.
Beecher Tuttle is a TMCnet contributor. He has extensive experience writing and editing for print publications and online news websites. He has specialized in a variety of industries, including health care technology, politics and education. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Rich Steeves
