Science & Technology
Science and Technology
Science and Technology
Thu, May 20, 2010
Wed, May 19, 2010 Plantronics Joins Newly Launched UCIF to Advance Unified Communications Interoperability
SANTA CRUZ, CA--(Marketwire - May 19, 2010) - Plantronics (
Plantronics is joined by founding members HP, Juniper Networks, Logitech/LifeSize Communications, Microsoft and Polycom, as well as Acme Packet, Aspect, AudioCodes, Broadcom, BroadSoft, Brocade, ClearOne, Jabra, RADVISION, Siemens Enterprise Communications, and Teliris. Recognizing that seamless interoperability based on open standards is one of the key requirements to drive UC further into today's enterprises, UCIF members will collaborate to overcome existing interoperability barriers to widespread UC adoption and deliver a reliable and rich UC experience, with the goal of propelling worldwide enterprise UC adoption.
"As unified communications gain momentum, businesses are experiencing the challenges of integrating hardware and software solutions from multiple vendors, making the UCIF initiative critical for successful deployments," said Gunjan Bhow, vice president of Unified Communications at Plantronics. "By eliminating interoperability issues, the UCIF and Plantronics will help IT departments speed UC deployments and eliminate costs, while delivering exceptional end-user experiences."
"Interoperability is not only critical to customer success for deploying unified communications but intrinsic to the delivery of legacy, current and next-generation UC tools, services and infrastructure from multiple vendors. Until now, efforts to achieve interoperability have appeared ad-hoc, which has given customers little assurance that their existing and planned investments are protected and will deliver the value promised," said Jonathan Edwards, research analyst, Unified Communications, IDC. "I'm delighted to see Plantronics take a leading role by joining the UCIF. Together, these companies will help drive industrywide adoption of open standards and develop programs that put accountability on the vendors and provide peace of mind and investment protection for end customers -- something that will surely accelerate adoption of UC technologies."
The UCIF will work with existing industry standards, identifying and filling the gaps between current protocols and interoperability issues that have stalled broad adoption and deployment of valuable communications methods. UCIF membership is open to hardware and software solution providers, service providers and network operators. For more information or to join the UCIF, visit [ www.ucif.org ].
About the Unified Communications Interoperability Forum
The Unified Communications Interoperability Forum (UCIF) is a non-profit alliance of worldwide communications technology leaders working together to realize the potential of unified communications (UC) by increasing efficiency, decreasing implementation costs and improving the interoperability experience for UC customers. The UCIF's vision is to enable interoperability of standards-based UC hardware and software across enterprises, service providers, and consumer clouds, as a means of generating incremental business opportunity for all stakeholders in the ecosystem and of increasing the business use of UC technologies and services. The UCIF creates and tests interoperability profiles, implementation guidelines and best practices for interoperability between UC products and existing communications and business applications. Visit [ www.ucif.org ] to learn more.
Plantronics -- The Voice of Unified Communications™
Plantronics offers the industry's most complete portfolio of corded and wireless Unified Communications audio endpoints. Widely recognized for their sound quality, reliability and simplicity, Plantronics' audio solutions help companies broaden the benefits of IP communications throughout the extended enterprise, fostering better business communications and efficiency regardless of where professionals are working. For industry views on unified communications, visit: [ http://ucblog.plantronics.com ].
For more information about Plantronics' UC-ready products, visit [ www.plantronics.com/uc ].
About Plantronics
Plantronics is a world leader in personal audio communications for professionals and consumers. From unified communication solutions to Bluetooth® headsets, Plantronics delivers unparalleled audio experiences and quality that reflect our nearly 50 years of innovation and customer commitment. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100 and is the headset of choice for air traffic control, 911 dispatch and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit [ www.plantronics.com ] or call (800) 544-4660.
Plantronics and The Voice of Unified Communications are trademarks or registered trademark of Plantronics, Inc. The Bluetooth trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of the mark by Plantronics, Inc. is under license.
