News

• CIOs extend unified communications to mobile devices

  By Lauren Brousell | 31 May, 2012 19:15

  A survey finds that IT leaders are accelerating their plans to invest in unified communications and collaboration technologies. But the systems aren't cheap.

• Are CEOs getting the social media thing?

  By Michael Cooney | 24 May, 2012 13:33

  IBM says a study it did of some 1700 Chief Executive Officers worldwide found that many indeed - or should be - grasping social media as a key enabler of collaboration and innovation.

• Unity Systems to distribute Jabra solutions

  By Mike Gee | 22 May, 2012 09:57

  Jabra A/NZ has appointed Unity Systems to distribute the company’s complete range of Call Centre and Office products.

• Avaya lays out roadmap for unified software management

  By Brandon Butler | 22 May, 2012 07:30

  As Avaya continues its transition from a hardware company into a communications and collaboration software provider, it is going through some growing pains, including a shakeup of executives and uncertainty around a potential initial public offering that's been rumored for months.

• Ian Ross leaves Cisco for Logicalis

  By Nermin Bajric | 18 May, 2012 16:39

  Former Cisco head of businesss and market innovation, Ian Ross, has left the networking vendor to join IT solutions and managed services provider, Logicalis, as strategic solutions director.

• Open-source messaging at (nearly) the speed of light

  By Jon Gold | 18 May, 2012 06:25

  Felix Ehm, a member of CERN's beams control group, has always had a curious and scientific bent.

• Doctors warned not to use social media with patients

  By Ellen Messmer | 18 May, 2012 05:31

  Doctors are being cautioned by hospitals they work with to avoid interacting with patients on social media, and that they reject any overtures by patients to interact on the likes of Facebook and Twitter.

• Social media bring business, but add security quagmire

  By Ellen Messmer | 18 May, 2012 04:27

  Social media - Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and so forth - has become a way of life for companies and their employees to interact with the public, but beating back the fraudsters that try to prey on customers, not to mention keeping employees from spilling sensitive data, is becoming a full-time job for many.

• 'Thelma & Louise,' 'Beetlejuice' star Geena Davis wins major telecom award

  By Bob Brown | 18 May, 2012 02:32

  Actress Geena Davis, President of Argentina Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Huawei Chairman Sun Yafang have been named winners of the 2012 ITU World Telecommunication and Information Society Award for their efforts promoting information and communications technology (ICT) to empower women and girls.

• SMS a killer app at 20; irrelevant at 25?

  By Scott Bradner | 15 May, 2012 05:26

  The first SMS-capable mobile phones were approved for sale in Europe 20 years ago this month. By any measure, SMS has become a huge success, at least for the telephone companies, with more than 6 trillion SMS messages sent worldwide in 2010, generating more than $110 billion in revenue. But the future may not be anywhere near as bright because of increasing use of "free" Internet-based services such as Facebook, Apple's iMessage and WhatsApp.com.

• Survey: BYOD sparks enterprise investment in Unified Communication and Collaboration

  By Network World staff | 15 May, 2012 06:03

  The 2012 IDG Enterprise Unified Communications and Collaboration (UC&C) survey was completed with the goal of gaining a better understanding of current and future UC&C investments. The survey highlights the uptick in UC&C adoption and investments in the coming three years — specifically in enterprise organizations — demonstrating the value organizations place on technologies that enable consistent and connected communications between employees, customers and partners. 

• American moms love Facebook, Nielsen survey shows

  By Brad Reed | 12 May, 2012 03:33

  If you're looking for a last-minute gift for Mother's Day, don't bother sending her a Facebook invite - chances are, she's probably already on it.

• Bing will tap Facebook, Twitter in answering queries

  By Tim Greene | 11 May, 2012 07:26

  Microsoft is introducing a phone-a-friend feature into its Bing search engine, allowing searchers to ask their Facebook and Twitter contacts to supplement information gathered by the search engine itself.

• Cisco offers API to fight call fraud

  By Jim Duffy | 09 May, 2012 00:31

  LAS VEGAS -- Cisco this week at Interop 2012 released an API for its branch routers designed to enable third-party developers to write applications to enhance the security of phone calls over the router network.

• Thwarting employers asking for Facebook access

  By Mark Gibbs | 07 May, 2012 14:39

  If your employer or a potential employer asked you to hand over the keys to your house so they could search your possessions looking for something unspecified, I suspect you would be a little surprised and not a little outraged. Well, over the last few months there has been a significant number of reports of employers and colleges doing the digital equivalent of asking for your house keys by requesting Facebook passwords from employees, applicants and students.