Desktop phones: on the way out?

TELEPHONY While desktop telephones are a mainstay for business, their future may change as employees increasingly use alternative communication devices as their basic communication tool.

"Workers today often manage multiple devices, including a desktop telephone, mobile phone, smart phone, pager and softphone," says Elizabeth Herrell of Forrester Research.

"As e-mail and text messages outpace voice calls for internal business communications, the need for a desktop telephone becomes less important for mobile employees," Herrell offers. Trends that will affect desktop phones, Herrell says, include:

Smart phone and mobile devices. Mobile employees may prefer to use their smart phones with a docking station at their desktop for voice communications. Smart phones allow employees to rely on one device that fully supports business phone features, offers flexibilit,/and convenience, and makes them reachable from any location.

UC desktop features. Integrating voice into the UC desktop provides call-control features directly from the PC or laptop computer. Users can see the availability of teammates, launch conference calls from their desktop, and view voice, e-mail and fax messages in a consistent manner without toggling between appliances.