With the ability to initiate presence aware communication from within an application or work stream and escalate that communication to richer tools as needed, UC is about as close to an in-person collaboration as one can get via technology. Many tools and platforms for Unified Communication exist today, however not all manufacturers’ systems are compatible with each other.

A UC session can begin as an instant message to a colleague that you see is on-line and available. It can then escalate to instant messaging with screen sharing and document collaboration, and/or a video chat with that colleague as you both create the needed work.