Unified communications

Unified communications (UC) is an umbrella term for the integration of multiple enterprise communication tools -- such as voice calling, video conferencing, instant messaging (IM), presence, content sharing, etc. See complete definition.

News 02 Dec 2022
Communications runs in his blood

Symbio Connect CEO Giorgio Mihaila has spent more than two decades in a career dotted with roles at major communications technology providers Continue Reading
News 08 Oct 2021
How Zoom is growing its APAC business

Zoom is driving its growth in Asia-Pacific by embedding business processes into video communications, supporting the hybrid workplace and expanding its headcount in the region Continue Reading

Feature 04 Jan 2023

Building culture within collaboration to make hybrid work pay

As hybrid working evolves, some firms are struggling to support non-office-based workers and management is unclear of its new responsibilities. What is being done to address this evolution? Continue Reading
News 03 Jan 2023

Cutting-edge contact centre means experience is everything for Bayview

Offering a variety of support, back-office and IT services to companies and customers around the world would present a variety of challenges to any firm. To ensure it could offer acceptable experiences for customers and employees at every touchpoint, IT-enabled BPO Bayview Technologies saw the solution as Avaya OneCloud CCaaS Continue Reading
News 03 Jan 2023

Remote workers shun return to work

Study from UK gigabit broadband service provider reveals that despite received wisdom of home workers wanting to make at least partial return to pre-Covid working practices, stark contrast exists between employers and employees in their desire for staff to hit the office once more Continue Reading
News 15 Dec 2022

BT boosts network monitoring to improve customer experience

Comms tech provider’s analytics software selected by leading UK network provider in five-year deal to improve operators’ fixed access customer experience Continue Reading
News 14 Dec 2022

Almost two-thirds of businesses fear IT estate incapable of supporting hybrid workforce

Research from managed workplace services provider finds current IT setup is preventing effective collaboration, putting remote workers at a disadvantage and driving up cyber risks Continue Reading
Opinion 12 Dec 2022

Hybrid work: How cloud PCs can drive collaboration

Organisations around the globe are grappling with remote working and are looking at various technologies to support flexible working practices Continue Reading
News 02 Dec 2022

Communications runs in his blood

Symbio Connect CEO Giorgio Mihaila has spent more than two decades in a career dotted with roles at major communications technology providers Continue Reading
News 01 Dec 2022

Expectation gap appears between users and managers with hybrid working IT

Research from Canon Europe finds that while more than three-quarters of IT decision-makers believe their company provides the right technology to enable people to do their jobs regardless of location, a fifth are providing their own IT equipment and struggling to get remote IT support Continue Reading
News 30 Nov 2022

SMEs put faith in communications technology

Study from orchestration and digital platform provider shows a ‘new’ kind of small and medium-sized enterprise market, with companies already adopting connectivity technology for business resilience Continue Reading
News 25 Nov 2022

CityFibre identifies massive economic gains for Cheltenham, Portsmouth areas through full fibre

Leading independent gigabit broadband provider reveals positive economic and productivity impacts in Gloucestershire and south-coast cities where it has introduced full fibre, running to £145m and £335m respectively Continue Reading
News 24 Nov 2022

Profits fall but Zoom maintains revenue momentum in Q3

Breakout collaboration service maintains momentum for rising revenues in third fiscal quarter of 2022 with significant rise in number of customers contributing more than $100,000 Continue Reading
News 09 Nov 2022

Qualcomm, Renault go up a gear in electric vehicle partnership

Leading car manufacturer and mobile technologies firm announce plan to enter a strategic long-term cooperation, encompassing co-development of high-performance computing platforms based on Snapdragon Digital Chassis Solutions for next generation of software-defined vehicles Continue Reading
News 01 Nov 2022

UK hybrid workers feel the strain

Survey reveals that UK homeworkers suffer most in Europe from a poor working experience, in turn leading to knock-on negative effect in customer experience due to lack of space Continue Reading
News 28 Oct 2022

Webex looks to enhance customer experiences for digital era

Leading collaboration technology provider reveals what it claims is a unique functionality that can deliver a fully integrated UCaaS, CCaaS and CPaaS portfolio to improve customer experience Continue Reading
News 27 Oct 2022

Webex claims ‘breakthrough’ advances for hybrid work with innovations, partnerships

Collaboration tech provider announces major updates to the Webex Suite with new collaboration device and new partnerships to expand its footprint Continue Reading
News 21 Oct 2022

Execs feel leadership strain in the new normal of work

Research finds flexible work policies as the leading factor that has improved company culture over the last two years, but burnout is on the rise globally and executive experience scores for overall satisfaction at work have dropped markedly Continue Reading
News 21 Oct 2022

Orange reveals digital future with 5G innovations

Operator unveils latest in next-generation infrastructure applications and technologies, including what is said to be a first in Europe – a reflective surface intended to improve network speeds and coverage inside buildings Continue Reading
Podcast 19 Oct 2022

Work in the metaverse: A Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast

In this special edition of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, we speak to Wipro CTO Subha Tatavarti about the business metaverse Continue Reading
News 14 Oct 2022

Gitex 2022: Florius takes AI-powered CCaaS speech analytics to transform customer experience

Changed workloads during the pandemic have driven Netherlands-based mortgage lender to use AI and CCaaS technology Continue Reading
E-Zine 13 Oct 2022

CW Middle East: Qatar strengthens cyber defences ahead of FIFA World Cup

Being the first Arab country to host the World Cup is pressure enough on Qatar, but there is also a massive cyber security challenge associated with any event of this magnitude. Read about its preparations. Also in this issue, find out about the unique challenges of hiring IT professionals in Saudi Arabia. Continue Reading
News 12 Oct 2022

UK Atomic Energy Authority makes call on new UC telephony

National nuclear-based research facility replaces inflexible cloud-based system to add agility to enable staff to collaborate more effectively in a hybrid working approach Continue Reading
News 12 Oct 2022

Meta presents vision for business metaverse

How can hybrid teams collaborate seamlessly? Meta believes virtual reality tied to business applications is the way forward Continue Reading
News 11 Oct 2022

Gitex 2022: Avaya aims for innovation without disruption as it reveals cloud comms partners

Global communications and collaboration firm showcases business outcomes at leading expo and announces new strategic partnership with conversational AI provider and cloud telecoms and technology solutions company Continue Reading
Feature 05 Oct 2022

Hybrid working: Preventing damage to company culture

The hybrid working model is still a work in progress, and most employers are at an early stage in learning and finding their way towards achieving its benefits Continue Reading
News 04 Oct 2022

Harrison Drury elevates its employee, customer experience with Avaya OneCloud UCaaS

Solicitor’s transition to cloud-based unified communications-as-a-service platform modernises communications and sets up platform to support business’s strategy of providing a hybrid workplace Continue Reading
News 03 Oct 2022

Three-quarters of business professionals want to embrace the metaverse

Study from networking systems, services and software company reveals business professionals’ interest in metaverse pointing to utilising more immersive and connected digital applications in the workplace Continue Reading
News 29 Sep 2022

BSH Home Appliances takes on Twilio to revamp digital customer engagement

Customer engagement platform partners with Deloitte Consulting to support plan by home appliances firm to revamp its entire digital infrastructure within customer service organisation Continue Reading
News 22 Sep 2022

Ofcom turns its attention to the hyperscalers

The regulator sees its role expanding into emerging areas of communications technologies and public cloud services Continue Reading
News 21 Sep 2022

Mobile operators work on holographic calling pilot

Thanks to 5G, it may soon be possible add a third dimension to video calls using ‘realistic’ holograms Continue Reading
News 01 Sep 2022

Oracle Red Bull Racing gets into gear with Zoom to power team unified communications

Collaboration technology provider’s Chat, Events and Meetings products taken up by championship-leading Formula 1 team to enhance key communications and hybrid experiences on and off the track Continue Reading
News 01 Sep 2022

Swedish Electronics Protection Act coincides with major cyber spend

Swedish cyber security law comes at a time of heavy government investment Continue Reading
News 23 Aug 2022

Continued major customer rise fuels strong second quarter for Zoom

Post-Covid boom may have subsided, but conferencing and comms company keeps on track with increased total revenues in second fiscal quarter, when its product diversification strategy focused on delivering better intelligence Continue Reading
News 18 Aug 2022

Jabra, Lenovo expand collaboration to claim first full Microsoft Teams rooms system

Purpose-built, modular room kit provides enhanced business productivity and collaboration capabilities for companies looking to upgrade their meeting room technology for the hybrid working world Continue Reading
News 12 Aug 2022

SMEs overwhelmed by distraction of comms technology, networking platforms

Study from collaboration workspace and targeted networking platform provider reveals small and medium-sized enterprises are becoming overwhelmed by the noise and distraction of social media channels Continue Reading
News 09 Aug 2022

Tata teams with Genesys to boost enterprise engagement with enhanced InstaCC Platform

Global digital ecosystem enabler partners with cloud-based customer experience orchestration to further transform customer engagement across platforms ranging from social to mobile Continue Reading
News 04 Aug 2022

Work-from-home slows in US but remains important part of hybrid workplace

Deloitte survey shows the ways in which people are using connected devices and technology to improve and enhance their lives, in particular dealing with the balance of hybrid work Continue Reading
News 28 Jul 2022

Digital HQs fundamental to making hybrid work successful, say UK workers

Business messaging app provider finds cost-of-living crisis is eased by hybrid work, but 66% of employees would look for a new job immediately or within three months if hybrid or remote working was not an option Continue Reading
Feature 18 Jul 2022

Holding the line in the world of hybrid work

The role of line managers is evolving and changing as the shift towards hybrid working increases, and it would appear the secret to success in a hybrid context is to treat all staff members as if they were working remotely, even if they are based in the office Continue Reading
News 15 Jul 2022

Cloud comms provider 8x8 claims visual, ‘effortless’ customer experience through CPaaS

Integrated cloud communications platform provider announces availability of communications management service in bid to allow array of user roles in organisations Continue Reading
News 13 Jul 2022

Freight forwarding and logistics firm gains extra mileage through CallSwitch UCaaS

International logistics firm achieves improved business efficiency by replacing legacy VoIP system with hosted telephony solution supporting unified collaboration and communications platform Continue Reading
News 12 Jul 2022

UK homeworking more than doubles since 2019

Office for National Statistics roundup of the latest data and analysis on the UK economy, business and jobs finds the number of people working from home in the UK increased by 108.8% between October to December 2019 and January to March 2022 Continue Reading
News 28 Jun 2022

Organisations struggling to support remote and hybrid employees

Digital workplace productivity report reveals limited workplace technology availability sees average worker operating at 60% capacity Continue Reading
News 22 Jun 2022

Packaging, translation to the fore in Zoom platform evolution

Collaboration and conferencing company brings together options for persistent chat, phone, meetings, whiteboard and other features into a single, scalable package Continue Reading
News 17 Jun 2022

Organisations struggle to support IT in a hybrid work model

Study from digital employee experience tech firm finds 95% of professionals face disruptive IT issues that hinder productivity, with particular problems regarding remote workers Continue Reading
09 Jun 2022

Next generation of collaboration and communication services

Continue Reading
Feature 07 Jun 2022

A new design for the new world of work

Widespread forecasts at the height of the pandemic about the death of the office have largely failed to come to pass, but its role is definitely changing as part of a wider, but as yet still mainly experimental, shift to hybrid working Continue Reading
News 01 Jun 2022

Executive interview: Jeetu Patel, general manager of collaboration and security, Cisco

Anyone with an idea can help solve a problem if geography and distance don’t matter when bringing in talent, says Cisco’s collaboration and security chief Continue Reading
Feature 01 Jun 2022

The state of Australia’s national broadband network

Australia’s national broadband network promises to improve broadband connectivity across the country but has been plagued by pricing issues. Here’s a look at where it is today and what lies ahead Continue Reading
News 30 May 2022

Swim England takes the plunge with CaaS to reap remote work benefits

England’s national body for swimming deploys communications-as-a-service platform to support remote work for employees and sees benefits such as 35% reduction in monthly platform costs Continue Reading
Blog Post 25 May 2022

Proof is in the pasty

With the opening of the new Elizabeth Line there was always going to be questions about value for money. At a cost of £25bn, will it deliver value, 13 years after the project to build it began? The ... Continue Reading
News 25 May 2022

Zoom boom continues as it delivers billion-dollar first quarter

Despite partial return to work and adoption of hybrid rather than permanent home working, collaboration technology provider sees first-quarter total revenue up 12% year on year and +$100,000 customers rise by 46% Continue Reading
News 23 May 2022

Reimagining the cities of the future in Finland

New ideas around new space: Helsinki not only imagines, but can see, the cities of the future Continue Reading
News 19 May 2022

Marsden building society deploys UCaaS to enhance employee, customer experiences

Regional financial services leader chooses unified communications as a service offering for more agile, flexible and scalable communication to support both immediate needs and long-term growth Continue Reading
News 16 May 2022

Zoom furthers contact centre expansion with Solvvy acquisition

In the next step of progression from being the pandemic’s breakout collaboration services leader, Zoom makes strategic buy to add advanced conversational AI and automation capabilities Continue Reading
News 16 May 2022

Cisco enhances Webex for hybrid with ChomeOS, wellbeing support

Network and collaboration technology provider enters into partnership with IT giant to build the Webex Meetings PWA for all Chrome OS devices, and introduces collaboration services that support wellbeing Continue Reading
Feature 16 May 2022

Evolution of unified comms services

Post-pandemic ways of working are forcing organisations to rethink their comms – we look at the growth in cloud-based services to support hybrid working Continue Reading
News 10 May 2022

Avaya extends CCaaS reach on Microsoft Azure

Avaya and Microsoft expand partnership by pairing CCaaS with Azure to provide more options to increase productivity and customer engagement by accelerating digital transformation initiatives in the cloud Continue Reading
Feature 09 May 2022

CPaaS – a technology for the future

There is a received wisdom that as businesses flock towards the cloud, they are looking for a single platform on which to manage all their communication needs, leading to boom times ahead for communications platform as a service Continue Reading
03 May 2022

Next generation of collaboration and communication services

Future comms systems may look and feel rather different from what exists today – we look at the journey for communications services Continue Reading
E-Zine 03 May 2022

A prescription for digital accessibility at Boots

In this week’s Computer Weekly, millions of people have difficulties when using websites – we find out how Boots is making its e-commerce offering fully accessible. Our new buyer’s guide examines communications as a service. And we talk to Trainline’s CTO about how the rail app provider survived and thrived post-pandemic. Read the issue now. Continue Reading
Feature 02 May 2022

Next generation of collaboration and communication services

Future comms systems may look and feel rather different from what exists today – we look at the journey for communications services Continue Reading
News 29 Apr 2022

European employers missing the opportunity to automate processes for hybrid work

The transition to hybrid work has stimulated a shift among employees looking to their business to streamline their workflows, but research finds just a tenth have access to automation tools Continue Reading
News 28 Apr 2022

Vercom plots ‘spectacular’ entry into global CPaaS market with MailerLite acquisition

Communications platform-as-a-service market continues hot streak as Polish solutions provider enters the world stage by acquiring global provider of tools for email communication Continue Reading
News 27 Apr 2022

Disappointing earnings at Google, but cloud still strong

Google posts first-quarter 2022 revenue of $68bn, but growth is not as fast as last year Continue Reading
News 21 Apr 2022

Zoom adds new round of cyber security enhancements

Videoconferencing platform Zoom adds multiple third-party security certifications and service enhancements Continue Reading
News 20 Apr 2022

Flexible return-to-office policies are hammering employee experiences

Research shows work-related stress and anxiety is skyrocketing among office workers and those without flexibility, stressing that trusting teams to work where and when works for them will lead to better results Continue Reading
Feature 19 Apr 2022

Positive benefits in the new experience economy

While creating a positive employee experience (EX) has been on the agenda of companies for years, the concept – and that of the experience economy in general – has come of age in the Covid-defined working arena Continue Reading
News 14 Apr 2022

Zoom unveils platform innovations to elevate customer experience

Breakout videoconferencing leader announces conversation intelligence service and enhances online events offering, with aim to modernise how businesses engage with customers Continue Reading
News 14 Apr 2022

Cisco and Venywhere reimagine the future of hybrid work in Venice ‘living lab’

Cisco employees live and work remotely in Venice for three months as part of a pilot programme to help the city reinvent itself as a work-from-anywhere destination Continue Reading
News 04 Apr 2022

Office Wi-Fi may not cope with hybrid work

Continued growth of online meetings is triggering disruption across the employee productivity technology market, research from CCS Insight has found Continue Reading
News 01 Apr 2022

Singapore enterprise comms and collaboration spend set for steady growth

The widespread enterprise adoption of remote operations that bolstered the demand for comms and collaboration products and services is set to persist Continue Reading
News 30 Mar 2022

Hybrid work offers markedly positive improvements to culture

Study finds effects that hybrid working is having on business culture, with nearly half of study across the globe feel diversity and inclusion has improved during the pandemic. Continue Reading
News 29 Mar 2022

Manufacturers reveal concerns over tech readiness for hybrid work

Research reveals manufacturing firms must address both human and tech barriers relating to visibility of networks and the digital experience to create a sustainable and high-performing hybrid workplace Continue Reading
News 29 Mar 2022

Webex aims to reimagine hybrid work experiences

After one of the biggest shifts of how we work in decades, collaboration technology firm adds functionality innovations to help organisations personalise the hybrid work experience for employees and customers Continue Reading
News 24 Mar 2022

Under-investment in hybrid work threatens successful return to the office for European workers

Research from Ricoh Europe shows staff are looking to their employers for clarity and innovation in their new hybrid workplace, but a lack of planning and investment threatens to derail the success of a widespread return to the office Continue Reading
News 22 Mar 2022

Kurmi brings UC, CC provisioning automation to the cloud

Software developer takes on-premise platform to a hosted model to deliver faster and easier access to the tools required to streamline and optimise the day-to-day administration of Unified Communication platforms Continue Reading
News 21 Mar 2022

Wellness essential as hybrid work to see total redesign of the office

Almost one-fifth of companies are asking employees to return to the office full-time, as new workspaces with quiet zones, Zoom pods and wellness areas are seen as key to retaining and attracting talent Continue Reading
News 21 Mar 2022

Mavenir makes business communications software pivot

Network software provider transitions from radio access network software solutions towards offering SaaS portfolio of business communications for CSPs, channels and systems integrators Continue Reading
News 17 Mar 2022

Verizon Business enriches mobile endpoint for Microsoft Teams

Business solutions provider becomes one of the first operators to join forces with IT giant to enable enterprise customers to experience the full power of communications and collaboration system Continue Reading
News 14 Mar 2022

UK businesses struggling to support flexible work

Research reveals that as hybrid becomes the norm, a clear majority of firms say the pandemic caused them to re-evaluate what they value in the workplace Continue Reading
Feature 14 Mar 2022

Ratcheting down the tension in the hybrid world

Employers who reject the trend towards adopting more flexible, hybrid ways of working may struggle with staff retention - and CIOs have more to win or lose than most in a hybrid world Continue Reading
News 10 Mar 2022

Hybrid cements place in working life as employees choose flexibility

Research from automation platform advises that focusing on technologies that improve employee and IT experiences is critical for future of work success and retaining talent in the hybrid world Continue Reading
News 07 Mar 2022

Ukrainian engineers fight to keep internet online

IT professionals in Ukraine are working tirelessly and at great risk to keep the country connected to the internet during the Russian invasion Continue Reading
News 24 Feb 2022

Workers demand universal high-performance broadband to succeed with hybrid work

Cisco Broadband Index finds just more than two-fifths of UK workers now rely on their home internet to work from home or run their own business, but almost three-quarters think broadband services need to dramatically improve to enable them to work from anywhere Continue Reading
News 23 Feb 2022

IT leaders primed to drive innovation and hybrid work

As organisations move beyond the pandemic, survey shows IT leaders are being given greater levels of responsibility Continue Reading
News 22 Feb 2022

Mondelēz moves global operations to digital workspace with Orange Business Services

Snack giant transforms legacy infrastructure to digital platform, enabling communication and collaboration on a global scale, with analytics and AI used to improve customer experience and personalise service for employee workplace needs Continue Reading
News 21 Feb 2022

Zoom gains NCSC Cyber Essentials Plus and NHS security badges

Video platform Zoom has added a number of UK-specific cyber certifications to help it demonstrate its platform is safeguarded against common threats Continue Reading
News 21 Feb 2022

RealWear enables remote nuclear plant inspection

Augmented reality headsets from RealWear have been deployed by TÜV SÜD for certifying technical systems during the pandemic Continue Reading
News 17 Feb 2022

Unified communications and collaboration set for automation surge in hybrid world

Research reveals hybrid working world unified communications and collaboration now seen as improving productivity, but challenge exists for organisations managing UCC at scale to provision users across multiple apps and communications platforms Continue Reading
News 15 Feb 2022

New world of work sees emergence of hybrid holiday

Research from Virgin Media O2 suggests 2022 will be the year when working from anywhere becomes a reality for businesses across the UK Continue Reading
Feature 10 Feb 2022

Hybrid working in the metaverse

Few topics have attracted more headlines over the past year than hybrid work and the metaverse. How can these realities fit together and become productive in the new normal of work? Continue Reading
News 09 Feb 2022

CPaaS key to enabling customer experience to drive digital transformation

IDC study shows nearly four-fifths of enterprises are set to implement conversational customer engagement to improve customer experience Continue Reading
News 04 Feb 2022

Vodafone Business teams with RingCentral to deliver cloud communications

New cloud-based comms platform set to enable UK operator’s mobility and 5G capabilities to give customers more choice, flexibility and simplicity in workforce collaboration and remote working Continue Reading
News 04 Feb 2022

Cisco pitches into private 5G, reveals hybrid work technology slate

Comms and collaboration technology services giant introduces new technologies to help businesses rapidly scale networks and digitise operations Continue Reading
Blog Post 01 Feb 2022

Companies need to embrace voice to promote empathy and intentionality at work

This is a guest blogpost by Oliver Palihes, CEO at Aircall. It seems that, in recent years, messaging and video have become the de facto modes of communication for businesses looking to optimise ... Continue Reading
News 21 Jan 2022

Majority of UK employees prefer hybrid work

Survey reveals the importance of hybrid working and shows a degree of WFH fatigue following Omicron, with firms assessing when it will be possible to return to in-person work Continue Reading
Feature 14 Jan 2022

What does 2022 have in store for hybrid working?

The Omicron coronavirus variant has brought a return of working restrictions. Can we be optimistic about the resilience of organisations as they try to get the best out of their workforce? Continue Reading
News 13 Jan 2022

BT appoints MD of advanced enterprise comms division, inks ABB contract

Managing director appointed for what is regarded as a likely key growth engine for UK incumbent telco’s enterprise business, moving it from a telco to a techco by expanding into services that go beyond traditional calls and lines Continue Reading
E-Zine 13 Jan 2022

CW Middle East: What does Saudi Arabia’s autonomous vehicle agenda mean for the world?

If all goes according to plan, within a few years, one million people will live in Saudi Arabia’s ‘city of the future’ – and every one of them will depend on a fleet of self-driving cars. Also in this issue, read about the UAE's bid to become a world-leading location for artificial intelligence innovation. Continue Reading
News 10 Jan 2022

Qualcomm announces Microsoft collaboration to boost AR in the metaverse

Mobile chipmaker enters into collaboration with Microsoft to design custom augmented reality chips and integrate software platforms Continue Reading