The Technology Boost We've Been Hoping For

It seems that whenever I stand up in front of a crowd of solution providers, whether it's at one of our XChange conferences or another industry event, one of the questions is bound to be which technology I think is going to be hot in the coming months.

ROBERT FALETRA Can be reached at (781) 839-1202 or via e-mail at rfaletra@cmp.com.

For the past few years, that has been a very difficult question to answer because, quite frankly, there just hasn't been much in the "really exciting" category.

But during that time, there has been a slow build surrounding unified communications. It is such a potentially big market that it really is something solution providers need to look at because there is going to be lots of business and profit involved.

The beauty of unified communications is that if you are an infrastructure VAR, this burgeoning market fits right into your expertise because it requires a top-notch network. But it's more than infrastructure and it comes with better margins because, in order to do it right, you have to take a consultative approach to the sale.

The concept is rather simple. Knowledge workers are bombarded with information coming at them from a dozen different directions. Being able to manage information that comes in multiple modes is difficult. Unified communications makes it easier by allowing you to integrate information with business process. I think we can expect amazing things to happen in this area from a technical advancement standpoint in the next few years.

Cisco's TelePresence product, for instance, is an incredible offering.

I'm a big user of videoconferencing, but when I sat through a demo of Cisco's new product, I was amazed at how different the experience truly can be. While it's very expensive today, if Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers' prediction that this capability will be in the home in three years proves to be true, then we all are heading toward a completely new environment in the way we communicate with people who are not in the same room as us.

In addition, more companies than ever are entering worldwide markets. That fact, plus the reality that we all have so much information coming at us in so many different forms, is creating the need for products and services to unify communications and make it manageable and more productive by integrating it into the business process.

If you're interested in reading more about this opportunity, go to the Unified Communications Special Report" on ChannelWeb.com, written by CRN sister publication, VARBusiness.

We will continue to cover this emerging market in the pages of our print publications and on ChannelWeb.com.

Are you up for the unified communications challenge Make something happen. E-mail CMP Channel Group President Robert Faletra at rfaletra@cmp.com.