CIO Research Library

In most enterprises, Unified Messaging is now the best solution for telephone call answering. The use of voice mail has declined in recent years because of better alternatives for communications, including Presence, Instant Messaging, E-Mail, Conferencing and Collaborative Workspaces. In many organizations, the residual value of voice mail is now limited to the few callers who don't have other options. Enhanced user productivity and reduced costs are possible now by combining the remaining voice mail workload with e-mail (as with Microsoft Exchange Server 2007).

Meanwhile, business and regulatory processes continue to evolve, also changing the requirements for voice mail systems. A Unified Messaging (UM) solution that answers telephone calls and then stores the voice recordings in the users' e-mail inboxes is one of the best business process options for most enterprises, providing improved business outcomes.

This White Paper highlights the evolutionary forces and the major business value gains that are possible with the new UM solutions. By implementing UM, organizations not only improve end user productivity and business outcomes, but reduce costs compared to traditional voice mail systems. This White Paper also provides decision-making criteria for moving to a UM solution. The Microsoft UM solution, Unified Messaging in Exchange Server 2007, is discussed in light of the decision-making criteria, showing that Microsoft UM is an effective solution to deliver business value for most enterprises. The Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) analysis shows the TCO for Microsoft UM can be as much as 40% below either traditional voice mail or the two-vendor UM solutions common in the market today.