Cisco has created a new IP-based architecture for employees that combines telephony, video and data systems.
The Cisco Unified Communications system allows staff to contact each other by voice, data, video or mobile where appropriate.
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A key feature of the architecture is the Cisco Unified Personal Communicator, available in two versions on Microsoft Communicator and Linux, that enables staff search existing internal directories to locate contacts via a graphical interface and "dynamic presence".
"IP telephony used to be about cost. Now it is much more about simplification and virtualisation," Tim Stone, Cisco's European Marketing manager for Unified Communications, told ZDNet.
Another key part of the architecture is the Cisco Unified Presence Server, which collects information about a user's status, such as whether they are connecting on the telephone, personal computer or video terminal. The aim is to help people use their time more efficiently.
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Charles Giancarlo, chief development officer for Cisco, said the new architecture is "the first true second-generation IP communications system providing... a rich communications environment that seamlessly integrates voice, video and data collaboration in one system".