UniCom becomes new way to communicate at IU
Unified communications -- UniCom for short -- is a new way to interact with colleagues, staff and students at IU. UniCom provides a fully featured unified communications client that combines E-mail, voice mail, instant messaging (IM), video conferencing, enhanced presence, Live Meeting (web collaboration) and remote call control all in one easy-to-use platform on the desktop.
UniCom is an opt-in service that has three options, so people can choose which mode will work best for them. UniCom is a better way to communicate because it integrates with Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Office to provide real-time presence management and availability. It is location-independent, so it allows people to stay connected wherever they are working.
"UniCom has helped my team actually work as a team. We've been able to overcome the challenge of being physically separated by taking advantage of the UniCom tools to work virtually together," said Michael Vaughn of the IU School of Nursing.
The UniCom service integrates Microsoft Office Communications Server (OCS) 2007 with telephone service for IUB and IUPUI. UniCom Basic service is available on all eight IU campuses. UniCom service comes in three configurations:
• UniCom Basic is free and includes all features except remote call control.
• UniCom with Telephone Integration adds the ability to place calls from a computer to other Unicom users or external phone numbers. People can keep their existing phone or replace it with a USB headset. At IUPUI, this configuration requires an IP phone. (one-time setup charge)
• UniCom with Outlook Voice Mail replaces the desk phone completely. This configuration requires an IP phone or a USB headset that plugs into a computer. (one-time setup charge)
IU faculty, staff and students who want to get started using UniCom can learn more at this web site: https://kb.iu.edu/data/awif.html.
The project first began in pilot phase in June 2007 and became widely available September 2008. As of March, IU has over 2,800 active UniCom accounts.
"I have given over 20 live demonstrations of the UniCom service at both the Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses over the last year," said Jennifer Van Horn, UniCom project manager. "People are very impressed with the presence availability integration with Exchange and with the web collaboration found in Live Meeting."
IU's University Information Technology Services (UITS) implemented UniCom to have one desktop client that supports voice over IP (VoIP) and takes advantage of the value-added capabilities of unified communications. On the Bloomington campus, users can keep their existing phone and still use the remote call control features.
The UniCom initiative at IU is reflected in Empowering People, IU's strategic plan for IT, that calls upon IU to "provide systems and connections to devices that support communication in a variety of forms -- text, voice, audio, images, video, chat, virtual presence -- to overcome the productivity challenges of location."
Some of the goals for implementing UniCom were to:
• Hold technology costs steady
• Make the university more attractive to current and prospective students, faculty, and staff
• Streamline and optimize administrative processes
• Maintain IU's position as a technology leader
• Provide a platform that encourages multimedia collaboration
• Enhance productivity
The UniCom project was recently recognized by the Association for Information Communications Technology Professionals in Higher Education as an honorable mention winner of its 2009 Institutional Excellence in Information Communications Technology Award.
