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Looking at some of the top unified communications software headlines recently, TMC noted that it takes time to foster collaborative relationships and to incorporate these processes into day-to-day business operations.

Users are often resistant to change. For some, it could be based on past experiences with a variety of CRM solutions or ERP systems that may have previously been rolled out by IT and offered little in the way of productivity. Now, with increased video bandwidth availability, videoconferencing has fundamentally changed how today’s workforce collaborates. The availability of cloud resources further enhances access capability as well as anytime/anywhere connectivity.

Avistar (News - Alert), the company that sells and licenses desktop and infrastructure products that combine to form video-enabled collaborations, announced the software-based Avistar C3 (News - Alert) Conference MCU. In many companies, keeping a balance between a secure and stable information structure and allowing users the freedom to exert their own control can be complicated. On top of this, collaborations are already occurring every day within your company.

Avistar's virtualized HD videoconferencing is in use today at enterprise clients around the world and its proven effectiveness can show you how best to enable those collaborations within your organization.

TMC (News - Alert) also reported that The Southern Co-operative, a regional co-operative society based in southern England, has recently signed a £1.8million ($ 2.8 million approximately) unified communications contract with Azzurri Communications (News - Alert). The investment is intended to support TSC’s critical business operations across all its stores.

TSC operates around 150 community stores in the counties of Berkshire, Dorset, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Somerset, Surrey, Sussex and Wiltshire. TSC plans to expand its store assets further and, as a part of this growth strategy, TSC recently implemented IP telephony at their HQ and all their stores.

The company has also invested in a digital print implementation. Under the contact, Azzurri will provide, manage and support TSC’s Wide Area Network (WAN) and their mobile and fixed lines. Under the unified communications contract, all the services will be delivered under a single commercial agreement.

And TMC reported that the rivalry between Verizon (News - Alert) and AT&T heated up this past week as both carriers made a greater push into the Unified communications (UC) space.

AT&T got the ball rolling by launching a new series of cloud-based UC services designed with today's mobile workers in mind. The AT&T UC Services portfolio integrates tools like IM/chat, email, VoIP calling, unified messaging, mobility with presence and web/audio and video conferencing, and makes them available from nearly any device regardless of location. Users can even transfer sessions between PCs and compatible mobile devices.

Verizon struck back by releasing a white board-style YouTube video that details its own vision for Unified communication and collaboration (UC&C). Unlike AT&T, Verizon isn't introducing new solutions – a point that it makes very clear. Rather, UC&C is being positioned as a strategy to help enterprises to leverage existing mobility and visual communications assets and integrate them in a new ways.