TMCnet's Unified Communications Week in Review

It’s Friday, and here in the Northeast we’re preparing for the second snowstorm of the year, which is pretty impressive since we’re well into winter and usually by now we’ve had a few more. To that end, it’s a good time to stay home and catch up on the latest goings on in unified communications.

This week, the iV2VIP Video Softphone became available over at the iTunes store, and as it was reported, can be used to visually connect mobile staff from different locations, such as airports or conferences, to special clients, remote offices and colleagues who have desktop videophones.

The app provides video calling over any Wi-Fi connection through the iPhone (News - Alert).

CEO John Monahan said that, “The iV2VIP Video Softphone, when combined with the V2VIP service, operates affordably and reliably over existing network infrastructures, even firewalled environments. Eliminate huge upfront costs and complexities in video telephony. V2VIP service is a fully managed voice-and-video solution.”

Also this week, AltiGen (News - Alert) and Eurodata partnered up to bring MaxACD, a call center solution, to Microsoft (News - Alert) Lync.

Officials at Eurodata said they went with AltiGen because they’re the only company who provide contact center solutions and mobility, all while being able to integrate with Microsoft Lync.

Features include skills-based routing, multi-level auto attendant, a flexible and adaptable IVR with CRM integration capabilities, call recording, and monitoring and reporting.

In healthcare news, Polycom is helping UK-based NHS Cumbria & Lancashire Cardiac and Stroke Network (CSNLC) to provide “telestroke.” What the service does is connect patients with specialists during the most important time of a stroke, known as the “Golden Hour,” which ups the chances of survival.

“Thrombolysis treatment can only be given to patients within four hours of the onset of their stroke – so time is crucial, and Telestroke helps improve the speed of patient diagnosis,” said Dr. Mark O’Donnell, Stroke Consultant at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals, NHS Foundation Trust and Clinical Lead for the CSNLC, in the press release. “We are using Polycom (News - Alert) video collaboration technology to take the stroke specialists to the patient, rather than moving the patient long distances, around rural areas, to where the specialists work. In an acute stroke, time is of the essence and the sooner treatments can be provided, the better.”

Last but not least in this week’s round up of unified communications news, Mimecast’s Unified-e-mail-Management (UEM) solution was given a nod by the Tech Awards Circle, as well as from Best in Biz Awards for its customer service.

“These awards are just two more pieces of evidence as to why Mimecast is one of the strongest, most well-respected companies in the email management space -- we're focused on creating what our customers need and delivering it flawlessly,” said David Goldberg, vice president of product strategy at Mimecast.

Mimecast's UEM was given gold recognition in the “Midrange Service.”

That’s it for this week’s unified communications recap here on TMCnet. Be sure to stay safe if you’re located in the area about to get hit with some snow, and as always, pass the time by keeping up to date with TMCnet’s Unified Communications community.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO East 2012, taking place Jan. 31-Feb. 3 2012, in Miami, FL. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO registration, click here.

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