The Avaya Flare™ experience and Avaya Desktop Video Device(ADVD) were announced on 9/15/2010 and changed the game and face of business communications. There are many sources for information on the Flare experience and the Avaya Desktop Video Device. I won't focus on the complete feature description or the demonstrations. A great starting point for that is to visit the guided tourdemo if you haven't already.
The development of the Flare experience and the Avaya Desktop Video Device (ADVD) was quite an experience to be involved in; starting with the early concepts study, the definition of its capabilities and objectives, and through to its first phase of fruition. I'd like to share some perspective and background on that experience and some of the influences behind it.
Trends In Communications Today
There were many conversations, studies and observations that influenced what my, the development team, project sponsors and others concept of what the Flare™ experience and the ADVD needed to include and address. One of the ways I engaged in conversation and validation was through blogs on the future of Unified Communications here on theAvaya Connected blog and at my personal blog. In fact, these blog posts, engaging others in the industry, and the interactions I've had with people were a major form of validation that I used in product definition discussions with the team. Unified Communications, gadgets, smart phones, collaboration, video, conferencing, and social networks in the enterprise were the main subjects and use cases on the Flare and ADVD landscape and the evolution of communication in general.
There were many conversations, studies and observations that influenced what my, the development team, project sponsors and others concept of what the Flare™ experience and the ADVD needed to include and address. One of the ways I engaged in conversation and validation was through blogs on the future of Unified Communications here on theAvaya Connected blog and at my personal blog. In fact, these blog posts, engaging others in the industry, and the interactions I've had with people were a major form of validation that I used in product definition discussions with the team. Unified Communications, gadgets, smart phones, collaboration, video, conferencing, and social networks in the enterprise were the main subjects and use cases on the Flare and ADVD landscape and the evolution of communication in general.
A few major themes surfaced from these conversations, and other forms of validation. These themes and trends have driven the need for a fundamental change in what Enterprise class communication and collaboration needs to be.
Changing communication preferences - Do we ever "talk" to one another anymore?
Admittedly that may be a bit extreme but there's no denying that "communication" is far more than voice these days. Our social communication behavior is shifting. Mobility, smart phones, social networks and being connected 24/7 have been major drivers in the communication modes we're using. There have been numerous studies and reports indicating that "texting" is popular and preferred especially in the younger age groups and moving up. Much of this has to do with being able to have non-dedicated or asynchronous communication unlike what voice or video conversation requires. Social networks are another form of asynchronous communication. Again, studies are showing that use of these nets continues to increase and that it's moving up in age demographically.
Admittedly that may be a bit extreme but there's no denying that "communication" is far more than voice these days. Our social communication behavior is shifting. Mobility, smart phones, social networks and being connected 24/7 have been major drivers in the communication modes we're using. There have been numerous studies and reports indicating that "texting" is popular and preferred especially in the younger age groups and moving up. Much of this has to do with being able to have non-dedicated or asynchronous communication unlike what voice or video conversation requires. Social networks are another form of asynchronous communication. Again, studies are showing that use of these nets continues to increase and that it's moving up in age demographically.
Social Networks For The Enterprise
If communication preferences are changing in personal communications, shouldn't we expect them to change in the Enterprise as well? There is a place for social network integration into enterprise communication.
If communication preferences are changing in personal communications, shouldn't we expect them to change in the Enterprise as well? There is a place for social network integration into enterprise communication.
Flare included social networking, allowing enterprise employees to communicate with customers, business partners, professional contacts as well as personal contacts and family. Social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, are not just for personal conversation. I validated that first hand when using them to monitor and engage in conversations on topics related to concepts we were considering for Flare and ADVD.
The Expanded Meaning of Contacts
Supporting the changing preferences in communication modes required that the definition of what a "contact" is had to change. The old view of name, phone numbers, and email addresses no longer meets enterprise or personal needs. A more complete people-centric view of who the contact is and how to reach them were key influences.
Supporting the changing preferences in communication modes required that the definition of what a "contact" is had to change. The old view of name, phone numbers, and email addresses no longer meets enterprise or personal needs. A more complete people-centric view of who the contact is and how to reach them were key influences.
Flare expands the meaning of contact to include social networks, IM, and video choices along with presence information. The main objective was to make it easier for the user to see what options are available to reach a contact along with providing presence information to assist in choosing a communication mode most likely to reach them. The touch screen interface of the ADVD makes navigating through these choices a snap, getting you connected with ease!
Another key attribute around contacts was the ability to blend them all into a dashboard view regardless of source. It gives the user a searchable single total view of who they know, their last interactions with them, and a one touch visual view of communication modes and available to reach them. My personal and business worlds can be blended making it easy to find my golf buddies or my professional colleagues with expertise in user interface design.
Call History
Many of us are used to the traditional call log or history; calls made, received and missed. Since communication is far more than voice, Flare evolved the call log to be a communication and contact history. I can see my recent communication with that person, be it email, IM, or social network, providing me better context on why I communicate with that person. I think of it as my personal screen pop similar to what contact center agents see about a callers contact history as they answer the call.
Many of us are used to the traditional call log or history; calls made, received and missed. Since communication is far more than voice, Flare evolved the call log to be a communication and contact history. I can see my recent communication with that person, be it email, IM, or social network, providing me better context on why I communicate with that person. I think of it as my personal screen pop similar to what contact center agents see about a callers contact history as they answer the call.
HD Video
Video has been around for years and up until recently wasn't being adopted as a major communication mode. That's changing now for a few reasons starting with more use in the consumer space. Another is that businesses are becoming more global in nature. This demands a more engaging form of communication and collaboration than voice conferencing alone. Cognitive presence is a key factor in long distance communication effectiveness increasing the importance and adoption of video in the enterprise.
The Flare experience and ADVD bring point to point and video conferencing into the mainstream with easy one-touch call establishment, drag and drop conference formation, HD quality video right on the users main communication device. The ADVD form factor (screen size) was chosen to support high quality video and overall user interface experience.
There's a lot more I can discuss and I will in future posts. I'd appreciate hearing your comments on Flare and the Avaya Desktop Video Device. What do you like, and why? This is just the beginning. What else would you like to see to better support your communication and collaboration needs and use cases?
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