With the unified communications market already hard at work digesting the significance of Microsoft’s recently announced strategic pact with Polycom, rumours are emerging that Cisco is preparing to spring a surprise bid for Internet phone operator Skype.

According to TechCrunch, Cisco made a formal offer to acquire Skype just before the company’s recent SEC filing of its intent to make an initial public offering (IPO). Read the full story

Microsoft has announced a multi-year strategic partnership with Polycom, the unified communications and video-conferencing pioneer, which promises to intensify both companies’ already fierce competition with Cisco.

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Corporate IT spending may still be lagging the levels of two years ago, says a new Computer Economics study, but recovering is coming lead by strong demand for Microsoft Windows 7, and growing interest in desktop virtualisation and unified communications.

According to Computer Economics’ latest Technology Trends 2010/ 2011 study whilst only 3% of IT organizations have so far migrated to Windows 7, 31% said they had ear marked funds for migrating to the new desktop operating system in their latest IT budgets. Read the full story

Last week Rob Grieg, Director of ICT and Operations from Leicester Theatre Trust (LTT) travelled down to London to explain how NEC Philips provided a Unified Solutions which has revolutionised Leicester’s new Curve theatre – a £61million state-of-the-art cultural project which was opened by Her Majesty The Queen on 4 December last year. Based around a service-orientated Unified Communications architecture – NEC Sphericall – the solution integrates the communications technologies with business applications providing a flexible and open infrastructure to support its current and future development plans.

View Rob Grieg presentation – Listen to Rob Grieg’s presentation – Read the case study