The desire to reduce IT costs and improve business productivity, by consolidating networks and migrating to IP telephony, as well as the need to replace legacy voice messaging systems and increased support for mobile work force are driving enterprise implementation of Unified Communications solutions.

However, implementation can be complicated with broad implications for the organization's IT infrastructure today and in the future.

This paper addresses the challenges, costs-benefits, and ramifications that are critical to making an informed decision when selecting one system architecture over another. 10 important factors to consider when you undertake this evaluation are explored.