In an interview, Turek said she believes unified communications' IT will center on Microsoft and IBM, with other companies playing strong supporting roles. And, although still nascent, session initiation protocol, or SIP, is becoming more important. "IT people should be aware that SIP is the standard," she said.
IBM's Akiba Saeedi focused her presentation on IBM Lotus Sametime 7.5, which has been shifting from a single product to a platform. "Some people live in Word, some people live in e-mail, some people live in portals," she said as she explained that Sametime as a platform can accommodate a wider variety of users than a product could.
"The extensibility of the Lotus Sametime 7.5.1 client provides access not just to people, but to information and resources," she said. Saeedi is program director for unified communications and collaboration products in the IBM Software Group.
Microsoft's Paul Haverstock indicated the software provider is centering much of its UC effort on Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 and Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. Haverstock, program management architect at Microsoft, observed that the company also is moving aggressively into voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP.
Turek said that Microsoft also could be intent on playing a dominant role in the telephony side of UC in addition to the IT side.
Subsea cable alternatives can provide a level of comfort for those concerned about disruptions. Realistically, they will continue to play a small, but critical role in the short term.
Maintaining existing network infrastructures often incurs huge technical debt before newer technologies are adopted over time.
Amid ongoing regional uncertainties, telecom infrastructure in the Middle East has expand to include terrestrial low-latency network infrastructure, which offers resilience and agility in navigating political complexities without relying solely on undersea networks.
