For those that don't know...
Unified Communications (UC) refers to a phone system that integrates (or “unifies”) multiple communication methods within a business.
Your business probably communicates in a number of ways: phone calls, video conferencing, instant messaging, email, SMS, fax – the list goes on and on.
A UC solution brings together all the ways your business communicates and lets them “talk” to each other so they can work together in one system – making your business much more efficient.
Who makes UC devices? What does UC
really mean?
When you see stories about Microsoft Teams and Zoom applications, that's probably the most forward facing part of the UC world. That's what you see and hear, how you control the communication. It's simply put as the application layer.
People used to buy expensive hardware (codecs) for these communication efforts but have 'soft codec' options now. They would spend 20/30k on the codec hardware, another pile of cash on the rest of the meeting rooms equipment, another pile of cash on engineering and design, more cash to install and even more cash to program it all. After all that they would have to spend another few thousand every year just to licence the codec box out and keep it up and running. Now, if you have a tech issue you even have to pay the manufacturer to help troubleshoot and fix it. Even more expense.
Sounds crazy, right? All that cash for that? It's cheap compared to sending executives around the world on planes, putting them up in hotels and then adding entertainment expenses on top of that! Whoa boy, entertainment accounts used to be wicked fucking stacked. Imagine taking a potential client out for a 5/6k night at a peeler joint after a perfect steak dinner at the top end place in any major metro area. Throw in a bunch of cocaine and a hooker maybe. That's how a lot of business was run prior to the advent advent of telecommunication. Do that a few times a month for a handful of executives and high end sales staff, it's going to add up fast.
So, the term UC really just simplified (and ended) the hardware codec era. We've removed physical hardware and turned it into software driven applications. This removes almost all of the overhead regarding physical components. Users have their own laptops, so we're all able to play in the same sandbox without issue. Simple as that.
Plenty of companies want into this arena. Yamaha is trying to make a good push, they will fail in 2020. Polycom and Cisco will also end up on the back burner, but will continue to stay relevant on the back end with media centric devices to support the infrastructure. Believe it or not, not all networking gear is workable with this stuff. Lots of restrictions depending on what you're trying to do.
The front runner, and my personal favorite is a company called Crestron. Unreal UC solutions, quality hardware used, built in house (USA! USA! USA!), a constant effort from them to push the software forward even after the sale (firmware upgrades to improve) and a warranty like none other. It's a billion dollar media hardware company that nobody has ever heard of. Zero debt and 500 million annual revenue, plenty of room to grow and play for their engineering team.
Guys, if you're in the market for a new career take a serious look at A/V and control systems. It's legit pay, has a pile of educated directions to head in and you want recession proof? The only thing that's going to collapse this industry is another real world war. It's staying power is that guaranteed. We all dictate that media is a prevalent thing in our lives from phones to car to tv to computes to video game systems and so on. It's not going away for generations because of what we want as consumers.
I also like the fact that I can wear whatever I want to work, and never shave lol. Ever walk into a boardroom full of crisp clean suits and they all pay attention to you as you teach them how to use their new UC system, as you're wearing a red Sox t-shirt and cargo shorts? All while making sustainable money?
Its a cool job
