Unified Communications Interoperability Forum

The group includes also Juniper and Logitech companies (the last is the owner of the supplier of means of video conferencing of LifeSize now). Besides, at least 12 other members will take part in work of new consolidation. Invitations to be its part received also Cisco Systems and Avaya companies — two largest players in the market of unified communications, however they decided not to join the organization. The message about alliance appeared approximately in a month after acquisition of Tandberg company by Cisco corporation which allowed it to increase considerably the share in the market of corporate video technologies.

Technologies of unified communications represent a combination of means of processing of a voice, video and text allowing to support joint work both to the staff of one enterprise, and representatives of the different organizations. The problem of the systems of unified communications is in providing smooth transition from one mode of interaction to another and to integrate the different modes within one communication session according to features of those tools which are used by each of participants of process.

Finally the UCIF group intends to provide interoperability of the majority of the systems of unified communications that will make possible simple and fast transition from text messaging to carrying out video conferences based on desktop computers and connection to a video session of other users in rooms of telepresence. It is going to select the list of tasks which the enterprises would like to solve using the systems of unified communications and to provide support of these tasks with the products offered by members of the group of UCIF.

Within the next three years of UCIF will begin to certify products on compatibility with other means at the solution of specific objectives. In the nearest future it is going to organize testing sessions regarding interoperability. It will save suppliers from need of creation of own test platform and will facilitate them a problem of ensuring interoperability.

UCIF does not define standards, and creates the "profiles" describing specific methods of creation of the products meeting the selected specifications.

Representatives of companies Broadcom, Siemens Enterprise Communications, Plantronics and Brocade will take part in work of UCIF.

For the systems of the unified communications working in a cloud (in particular, for Cisco WebEx), questions of interoperability are not so relevant, however such solutions will suit not each organization.