According to the Butler Group, an IT research and advisory company, there is a fundamental shift in the way organizations communicate with a shift towards one-to-many communications. As a result, companies have to deploy integrated communication and collaboration tools to enjoy the enormous benefits in productivity and innovation that is now possible. A report "Communications and Collaboration Report – Laying the Foundations for Business Process Flexibility" highlights the changing scenario and how organizations have to respond to capitalize on the convergence of communication technologies, be it SMS, fax, e-mail, teleconferencing or videoconferencing. “The reach and range of business processes continues to increase as organisations extend and expand their interactions with partners, suppliers, and customers; and so the need to integrate geographically dispersed teams into complex business processes presents something of a challenge for the IT manager. Fax, e-mail, pager, SMS, Web conferencing, video conferencing, and conventional teleconferencing are all in use today, yet many business processes are still hampered by ineffective collaboration. Organisations must therefore re-examine their corporate communication and collaboration strategies in order to better support business activities and objectives,” according to a review of the aforementioned report.

More details about the report can be found here.

Packet8 broadband VoIP, videophone and mobile VoIP communication services provider 8x8 has introduced the Packet8 Virtual Office Tango Video Terminal Adapter (VTA). The adapter is a desktop videoconferencing solution to improve the functionality of the Packet8 Virtual Office hosted iPBX phone system.

Besides unlimited local and long distance calling, enterprise class PBX features and on-demand hosted call center capabilities, the Packet8 Virtual Office subscribers can enjoy global videoconferencing from their virtual office extension. This helps reduce travel expenses and boost in office productivity, get better results from meetings and maintain close contacts with important clients.

The Packet8 Virtual Office Tango replaces the Broadband Phone Adapter (BPA) that normally connects to the Virtual Office business class speakerphone and a business' high speed Internet network.