Adapting to Apple’s Growing Space in Business
Jeff Holton, Vice President of Technology
The consumer market is increasingly driving what products we are using in businesses – a movement our industry is calling “consumerization of the enterprise.” More and more employees are finding a way to translate products they use at home into their work life. We want to use devices that we want to use – not what our company says we can use. This has been true even for me. I’m a Mac user but my company primarily uses PCs, which can cause some compatibility headaches at times. Apple users seem to be an under served population in the enterprise when it comes to business communications.
Macs aren’t limited to schools and ad agencies anymore, and the iPhone… can you walk a block without seeing someone who has one? It’s the most popular and hyped mobile device on the market. Then there’s the iPad: that one caught everyone off guard. A device you never knew you needed until you started seeing other people with it.
But why is it so difficult at times to merge these popular consumer products with our business applications, especially when your company has typically been running with PCs and Blackberries?
Avaya recognized this pain point. Earlier this year, they released one-X Mobile SIP for iOS. This software adds the capability of Voice over Wi-Fi on a corporate wireless-enabled Avaya Aura SIP environment. Now your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad device can access your corporate directory, sync to your desk phone and work voicemail, and make calls on the company’s wireless network (which avoids costly cell phone minutes.)
Polycom’s CMA desktop video collaboration solutions for Mac OS X also offers seamless interoperability with existing Polycom CMA desktop for windows – further enabling video collaboration with anyone, any time, and on any device.
Polycom also just recently announced its RealPresence Mobile app. It’s a free application on iTunes that gives you enterprise-grade video communications on your iPad 2.
These are a couple examples of how our industry is adapting to demands and keeping their promises of interoperability and open standards. Now with new iPads and iPhones on the horizon, we expect to see solutions focused on Apple products continue to evolve in the next 12-18 months.
Note: As I completed this entry, I read – on my iPhone – about the passing of Steve Jobs. His impact on the industry I call home has been incredible, and his legacy will carry on for generations to come.
Tags: Apple, Avaya, iPad, iPhone, Polycom, Technology
Posted in: General,Technology,Videoconferencing