January 23, 2013
By Art Rosenberg, The Unified-View/ UC
Strategies Expert
Back in
the early days of UC, I wrote an article about end user communications needs
when “standing up or sitting down.” This was when mobile business users had only
laptops and cell phones to communicate when away from their desks. I was
then thinking about the user interface experience when an end user is on the go, but
still needs communication and information access while away from their PC
and telephone desktop.
I
later blogged
about the role of wireless tablets for UC, when mobile users need larger
screens for online information access from portable devices, better than could be
provided by small, handheld smartphones or heavy laptops. The “softphone”
interface of tablets without keyboards, however, although very flexible, doesn’t really
lend itself to fast, error free performance in quickly handling incoming phone
calls, messaging or video exchanges. With the recent “UC
Keyboard” announcement by PC desktop accessory provider Logitech, initially
for use with Cisco’s Jabber soft client, they have updated a standard USB
keyboard with new “hard keys” to directly control nine basic real-time
communication functions.
Logitech’s UC Desktop Accessories – More “Nails” In The Desktop Phone Coffin
Although
desktop “hard” phones are relatively easy to use, they don’t really do too much
for a multi-modal UC environment. What made them “easy” to use, especially for
incoming call control, were the simple feature buttons for telephony
control functions. As those telephony functions became integrated with
“contextual” intelligence (“click-to-call”) and multimedia UC enablement of PCs
and multi-modal smartphones, the call controls became more complex and
difficult for fast, ease of use. It was time to bridge the gap between the
simple button set of TUI controls and the screen-based “smarts” of UC-enabled
software interfaces. That is precisely the gap that the Logitech “UC Keyboard”
fills for desktop PCs and portable wireless tablets.
Besides
simplifying inbound call control functions for a desktop PC, the Logitech
offering also extends such controls to audio and video conferencing with its
basic nine “hard” control keys. To further expand its UC capabilities when you
are sitting down to conference with remote participants, Logitech also offers a
portable, HD-capable webcam for video conferencing.
At
our recent UC Strategies Experts podcast
discussion with Eric Kintz, Senior VP and GM at Logitech for Business, he
indicated that their solution would eventually support a variety of wireless
tablets that are starting to replace portable laptops for mobile users. While
not as “mobile” as handheld smartphones, portable, wireless tablets have a
strong role for mobile users in sitting down to do business, including using
all forms of communication interactions. The tablet market is exploding rapidly
for both business users and consumers, and is therefore in need of convenient,
UC-enabled services and user interfaces.
Business Use Cases
There
are obviously several types of business activities where end users can benefit
from the increased ease of use and operational efficiency that Logitech’s new
portable UC Keyboard and webcam offer. In addition, remote teleworkers, as well
as mobile consumers, who have to stay in touch wherever they are, will like
these devices as part of their personal adoption of tablets. I consider
Logitech’s offering as part of the “BYOD” syndrome, where all end users will
decide how they want to control their communication interfaces.
As
I have long been advocating, one of the biggest targets for UC enablement and
therefore for the UC Keyboard offering, will be around the “Interaction
Center,” where it will be critical customers to integrate online self-service and
mobile applications with on demand, multi-modal contact with live assistance.
Customers may be sometimes mobile, standing up or sitting down, customer
service agents will probably always be sitting down, and field support
personnel will probably always be on the move. Therefore, having the
flexibility for supporting these different end users consistently across
desktops and mobile tablets, will benefit everyone involved in a customer
service process.
Vertical
markets,where fast and simple communication controls for shared PCs by
employees will be of interest, include:
·
Health care
·
Financial services
·
Retail operations,
where personnel are moving around
·
Education
·
“Hot Desking” for any
business where some employees don’t have permanent “office” desk
This
first offering only integrates with Cisco’s Jabber (IM and Presence), but we
would expect that Logitech will eventually provide support for other popular UC
clients (MS Lync, Avaya). The lack of adequate standards, of course, is still a
big part of the problem, but with the advent of WebRTC,
things will get better.
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Unified-View, All Rights Reserved Worldwide
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