I am confused by all the terms. What are the ones I should understand?
VoIP refers to a way to carry phone calls over an IP data network, whether on the Internet or an organization's own internal network. One of the primary attractions of VoIP is its ability to help companies reduce expenses because telephone calls travel over the data network rather than the phone company's network.
IP telephony encompasses the full suite of telephony services enabled by VoIP, including the interconnection of phones for actual communications; related services such as billing and dialing plans; and basic features such as conferencing, transfer, forward, and hold. These services might previously have been provided by a private branch exchange (PBX).
IP communications evolves the concept another step to include business applications that enhance communications to enable applications such as unified messaging, integrated contact centers, and rich-media conferencing that combines voice, data, and video.
Unified communications takes IP communications a step further by using such technologies as Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and presence along with mobility solutions to unify and simply all forms of communications, independent of location, time, or device. Users can reach one another at any time based on their preferences, and can communicate through any media using whichever device they prefer. Unified communications brings together multiple phones and devices, along with multiple networks (fixed, Internet, cable, satellite, mobile) to enable geographical independence, facilitate the integration of communications with business processes, streamline operations, and improve productivity and profitability. |