<p>When looking at a UC deployment, most companies focus first and foremost on the platform or the technology. However, unless you have considerable in-house UC resources, your UC system will be implemented by a value added reseller (VAR), Systems/Solutions Integrator (SI) or some other entity that designs the system, buys the technology from the manufacturer, and then coordinates the configuration and installation. Choosing your UC partner carefully could be the difference between a UC success and a "career-limiting situation."</p><p>There are many qualities to look for in a VAR. The most important is the VAR's breadth of experience because of all the elements that have to come together in a UC system (network, hardware, software, integration, training and so on). If you work in a large organization with multiple locations across the country (or around the world), you must choose a VAR with the resources to support geographical diversity.</p><p>If you are looking at a UC system from one of the IP PBX providers, they will typically have an extensive line-up of distributors who are trained in the providers' core voice, voicemail and contact center offerings. You may want to augment the distributors' knowledge with a VAR that has experience with unified messaging, video conferencing, and most importantly, integrated applications.</p><p>As I noted in an earlier blog, a lot of the value of UC comes from the ability to embed communications capabilities inside of other applications, so that users can initiate voice calls, texts, emails or even conferences directly from the screens they are working in. A company that has been selling PBXs for twenty years can make your phones ring predictably, but application integration calls for a whole different set of expertise.</p><p><a href="http://www.networkcomputing.com/unified-communications-tech-center/a-uc-deployments-most-important-ingredie/240144070">Keep reading...</a></p>