It would be a logical question to wonder about whether the iPad and tablets have implications for unified communications.
Mobile devices in general, and the smart phone in particular, have become a huge shaper of consumer and enterprise thinking about unified communications. Exposing services available on a desktop to mobile devices now is a major trend in both consumer and business markets.
“The first time I held a friend’s iPhone, my immediate reaction was, “Wow, this would be perfect if it were just a little bigger,” says Chris Sullivan, director of training and documentation for AVST.
“The iPad isn’t a game changer, but it’s essentially a more human version of a laptop,” he says. The important thing is that Sullivan is thinking about the iPad and tablets in general as having implications for unified communications.
But if you look at what Sullivan points to as examples of how the tablet, as a device, might set the stage for more use of UC, you will notice right away that very little of what he thinks is important about UC has to do with “voice” or “using phones,” though that is what most people were thinking was at the core of UC some years ago.
Some might argue that most of what is important about the evolution of UC has to do with all sorts of applications other than voice, or phones. It is still about “communications,” of course. It is just that “communications” now includes many different modes these days.
One might argue that the tablet only means PC-based services will be portable, in more scenarios, than they have been. That would be helpful, but might not represent a huge change in the importance of “mobility.”
What the iPad Means to Unified Communications
