<p>Unified Communications (or UC) describes an integrated, real-time type of communication. It's everything from video conferencing to instant messaging to telephony. Examples include things like Skype, Microsoft Lync, or Google Voice.</p><p>This technology ecosystem allows companies, both small and large, to communicate across vast distances as though meeting face-to-face. For enterprises, UC has long been on the radar. Orange Business Services reported in 2009 that 15 per cent of multinational corporations were trialling or evaluating a UC system. For SMBs, studies (such as this one by Jim Metzler) have shown that UC results in increases in productivity and large cost savings. Throughout my professional career, I've increasingly seen offices adopting UC.</p><p>There have been numerous articles written on the amazing, and very real, potential of UC. Far less is said about the risks of UC adoption. One major risk exists in the impact UC traffic flows have on the Wide Area Networks (WANs), which, in turn, impacts the performance of other business critical systems.</p><p>Let me explain this using one of my favourite metaphors: think of your networks as roads. Networks are what connect your office to other branches of the office, or to the cloud, or to your home. UC travels across these network 'roads'. It's real traffic albeit in bytes.</p><p><a href="http://www.itproportal.com/2013/03/13/unified-communications-and-network-danger/">Keep reading...</a></p>