While the ITEXPO East in Miami, Fla. this week provided interesting panels, presentations and product launches, the unified communications (UC) community also witnessed acquisitions and partnerships to keep the momentum going.

One exciting panel highlighted by TMCnet contributor Michelle Amodio was  concerning virtualized unified communications. It was presented by an array of experts, including Vertical Communications’ Jon Young, wrote Amodio. At this panel discussion, titled “The Business Benefits of Virtualized UC,” Young’s focus was on how virtualization can enable unified communications capabilities that can deliver tangible and positive impacts on business performance.

Amodio quoted TMC CEO Rich Tehrani (News - Alert), as saying, “We are pleased to have Jon join us for this timely and valuable program at ITEXPO East… As more communications services become virtualized or move into ‘the cloud,' enterprises are seeking ways to increase network efficiencies and reduce capital expenditures while leveraging these powerful new technologies. This session will provide an excellent dialogue for helping these companies stay ahead of the curve,” asserted Tehrani.

TMCnet web editor Tammy Wolf wrote about another session at the ITEXPO entitled “Building the Unified Communications Business Case.” Since UC adoption is growing rapidly, the tools for gauging implementation success are also emerging in the market, wrote Wolf. According to Wolf’s report, several of today’s heavyweight UC experts participated in this session where the focus was on the obstacles companies are facing in their development of a thriving UC business environment.

TMC’s (News - Alert) executive editor Erin Harrison reported that the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based ShoreTel will acquire UC provider M5 Networks for up to 162.4 million in cash and stock. “As a result of the acquisition, company officials said ShoreTel (News - Alert) will be uniquely positioned to provide customers a choice between on-premise and hosted UC solutions,” wrote Harrison.

As the UC marketplace continues to grow and the need for effective solutions increases, companies like Siemens (News - Alert) Enterprise Communications are expanding their presence, wrote contributing writer Kerry Doyle. On Thursday, Siemens confirmed increased growth and expansion in the North American market, according to Doyle’s report.

Doyle wrote that the research firm Gartner has named Siemens a Magic Quadrant UC “Leader” in 2011, confirming the company’s position as a premier UC provider. “Recent new products, channel expansions and critical awards and accolades have all combined to boost Siemen’s momentum,” wrote Doyle. As per this report, Siemens is attributing this growth and expansion to recent strategic partnerships with other communications providers, such as ArrowS3, Ingram Micro, Black Box (News - Alert) and Verizon.

To address the requirements of companies looking to lower their costs without lowering their levels of service, Affant Communication released an efficient, cost-effective  unified communications system, wrote contributor Carolyn J Dawson.