Independent Communication

What if all of your business communication worked like MSN Messenger or AOL IM? These easy-to-use instant-messaging technologies let you set up “away” messages, work on multiple devices such as a laptop or cell phone, support rich media such as video and voice, and are “technology independent” in that they work on PC or Mac, PalmPilot or Pocket PC. The interface is highly intuitive because the point is more about quick chat sessions, not the power of the technology itself. They make internal and external business communication easier.

Many executives would never consider instant messaging with an important business client across town, but instant messaging technology parallels a development in business telecommunications. The trend, known as fixed mobile convergence or fixed-to-mobile convergence (FMC), involves the melding of disparate technologies so that the transmission method (wired or wireless) and the platform (desktop or mobile) are not as important as the communication itself.

True access to all applications as if we were sitting in the office is the reality we try to give our customers.

The precursor and momentum builder for this new mobile convergence is high-speed Internet access and voice over Internet protocol (VOIP). This technology has penetrated the business market and turned telephony on its ear, so to speak. Companies can use Internet protocol data networks for both voice and data transmission, which leads to better efficiency and cost savings, since there is just one server to manage, instead of two. FMC extends these capabilities to more devices, including those you use at your desk, at home, and on the road.

“Fixed-mobile convergence provides more flexibility by [providing a way] to call people, not places,” says Trent Gifford, the senior manager for business solutions at Sprint Nextel in Edina.

FMC is essentially a network-switching technology. Think of it this way: In the future, you might be able to use a cell phone that supports high-speed data networking (such as the Verizon EV-DO), plugs directly into a wall outlet when you are at your desk for Internet and voice access, works over Wi-Fi networks in the office, at home, or at Starbucks, and also supports standard cellular calling over the standard Global System for Mobile Communications or GSM network, by far the most common mobile network for voice.

The real beauty of this convergence, though, is that it can make it easier for your customers to communicate with your company, because it requires just one phone number or one e-mail address. Also, FMC is advanced enough that you can set certain parameters that are similar to instant messaging options. You can set unavailability periods (at lunch, away from desk), enable options for routing voice-mail notifications as text, and use instant reply so that a customer knows you’re traveling, can’t take a phone call, or even that your mobile device is not within service range. You can communicate with customers when you’re available without worrying where you will be.