A selection of interesting articles and blog posts we’ve spotted this week. Happy reading!
Unified Communications: It’s Coming Around Again by Jo Disney discusses the how Unified Communications (UC) in the future must be driven by consumer need, rather than designing technology to try to drive a need.
How to Gain Insight into the Cost Saving Benefits of Your UC Solution by Curtis Johnstone highlights that, despite many organizations deploying UC solutions with the goal of saving money, over half of these organizations don’t know if they were successful in achieving any of their goals. The article delves into the complexity of assessing cost savings, but proposes – at a high level – some approaches for doing so. Worth a read if you’re currently considering a UC solution.
Cloudy with a Chance of Synergy by Guy Clinch uses an extended meteorological analogy to explore the benefits – or synergies – that the cloud brings, despite the author’s initial skepticism a few years ago.
6 Steps to a Better Meeting (Erik Sherman) and Redesign Your Worst, Most Unproductive Meetings (Ilan Mochari) both offer tips and techniques to improve the productivity of your meetings. The former speaks generally about meeting best practices, while the latter seeks to improve attendee engagement by taking lessons from the way people transfer information at science fair.
Finally, Put your phone away, you’re in a national park! by Dylan Baker is a light-hearted look at the New Forest National Park’s new “Tech Crèche” for visitors to store their phone or other electronic devices so that they can enjoy the nature around them without the distraction of technology. It’s a welcome reminder that, no matter how much we may love technology, sometimes we need to stop and smell the roses.