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Welcome to the latest edition of TMCnet’s Unified Communications (News - Alert) Software Week in Review, where you’ll find a brief rundown of all the top stories related to UC from the past week.

NBA Atlantic champions, the Boston Celtics made UC headlines this week when it announced switching from a back office UC solution running on a legacy Avaya (News - Alert) system to a ShoreTel offering that helps management to better manage their phone systems and speeds up their communications during crucial seasonal times.

Another well known franchise, Applebee's also announced it was able to improve customer service thanks to a managed UC solution from Whaleback.

Using WhaleBack’s CrystalBlue offering, the franchise is able to more quickly and efficiently communicate with customer and employees.

In other news, Windstream (News - Alert) announced it will be offering its customers LifeSize high definition conferencing services as part of a newly signed contract with the company.

The high def. video experience will offer complete HD 1080p video on the desktop and for conference room needs to help customer improve productivity and strengthen their relationships while reducing travel costs.

On the topic of video calling – an article this from TMCnet’s Robbie Pleasant, looks at the need for video calling solutions to be easier and more interoperable for user adoption to increase.

The article highlights a Cisco survey that found 80 percent of 1,000 U.S. voters want to see video calling become as easy to use as making a phone call—and 90 percent saying interoperability is key.

"Video is the most engaging medium and its use in every aspect of our lives is growing exponentially,” says Marthin De Beer (News - Alert), senior vice president of Cisco Video and Collaboration Group. “Consumers and business users alike today are demanding that video communications solutions work together and that making a video call be as seamless and easy as making a phone call. This is about freedom of choice, and we the technology industry must rally around open standards, as we did so effectively with telephone service, the Internet and email. Only with a truly open video community will we fully reap the economic and social benefits of this transformational technology."

That’s all for this week. Be sure to check back with TMCnet throughout the week for the latest in Unified Communications Software news as it happens. Until next week…

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