The Unified Communications Solutions curriculum provides a thorough foundation of what Unified Communications is, how it can solve business communications challenges, and how best to approach and implement Unified Communications enablement within an organization. The course provides the student with a clear understanding of the evolution of communications and demonstrates how key performance indicators can be mapped to a financial return-on-investment model. The curriculum also explains how to solve business challenges, implement Unified Communications solutions using a proof-of-concept pilot project and secure VoIP and SIP protocols for Unified Communications applications.

Upon successful completion of this course, a student will be able to:

• Describe key terms and definitions used in Unified Communications.
• Understand the evolution of messaging from voicemail to unified messaging to Unified Communications and its integration with business applications.
• Identify vendors participating in the Unified Communications marketplace.
• Compare features and functions and distinguish between unified messaging and Unified Communications.
• Match a list of Unified Communications features and functions and map them to the specific business communications challenges they solve.
• Understand the impact of convergence and how SIP-enabled applications like Unified Communications lead to the convergence of applications.
• Identify the business value Unified Communications deployment can bring to customer service, customer relationship management, supply chain management, enterprise resource planning, and sales force automation.
• Describe how Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) coupled with Unified Communications can streamline processes and reduce human latency.
• Identify Key Performance Indicator (KPI) metrics that can be mapped to a financial Return on Investment (ROI) model.
• Scope a Unified Communications proof-of-concept pilot project with measurable KPIs and a financial ROI model.
• Understand best practices for Unified Communications system integration configurations and implementations regarding heterogeneous voice communications infrastructures.
• Understand what applications, features and functions are supported on end-point devices, PDAs and cell phones.
• Identify VoIP and SIP risks, threats and vulnerabilities.
• Understand how to implement VoIP best practices for security in an IP infrastructure.
• Understand how to implement SIP best practices for security and specifically for end-point devices and PDAs that may be transporting customer private data and information.
• Describe how to implement a layered security solution to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of VoIP and SIP-enabled applications like Unified Communications and end-point and PDA devices.

None.