'Unified communication; The next big thing'

MUMBAI, INDIA: Trade Fairs and Conference International (TFCI), business and technology events producer, organised a summit ‘Voice Over IP 2008 Conference’ in Mumbai recently.

The one-day conference focussed on NextGen technologies, planning and implementing IP telephony, managing staff, technology and costs, unified communications and mobile/wireless.

Amit Mehta, director, unified communication, Microsoft India, said: “The biggest road-block that a unified communication process faces, today is the lack of awareness of next level of internet. There are many countries who are already venturing in to the next level, with the help of v6 Server”.

Jasjit S Sawhney, chairman & CEO, NET4India, said: "The world is going V, i.e. voice has been overtaken by video. At the same time, the market for unified communication is growing as well. By the year 2020, 87 per cent of the world would be using unified communication.”

Sukhvinder Ahuja, Director, Unified Communications and Channels, Nortel, said: “We are staying at an age, where communication happens 24 hours a day, and you cannot miss the action, if you miss the link. Nortel has signed a partnership with Microsoft with a view to keep communication, happening at every point of time. It is with this view that we are hoping to embed telephony in such a way that things happen without interruption, at the same time one doesn’t lose their vital link.”

Darayus Mehta, head broadband applications, Reliance Webstore, said: "Virtual presence is the way head, it is helpful, in the educational sector, where people are using this for distance learning, marriages, surgeries. IPTV segment is soon to hit the Indian market, with a view to stamp its authority in the global market.”

“The television market would see a revolution, where high definiton would come into the market and create a monopoly for itself with the ability to store and save data, using your TV,” he added.