When we heard that Microsoft used its B2B Worldwide Partner Conference to show off phones, an iPad-like slate, and motion sensors for the Xbox video game system, it confirmed one of our latest theories and one of our customers' biggest challenges: Consumerization has hit the corporate mainstream.

Jason Hiner, editor of TechRepublic, calls the consumerization of IT one of the industry's key trends. When the topic first arose, 'It was primarily an annoyance involving a few power users who were bringing their own Palm Treos into the enterprise and using some unauthorized Web tools to get their work done.'

But these days, corporate IT

So you've moved from being 'interested' in Unified Communications (UC) to actively considering UC. Here are a few UC best practices to think about before you implement. Together, they may save you hours of headaches, not to mention significant amounts of time and money.

• Define UC - Define terms and requirements. Vendors use 'unified communications' to describe strategies that vary widely: on-premise, in the cloud or both; centered on email, telephony or a media server; single vendor or partnership. The benefit: Being clear on specific business and technology needs will save a lot of time during the proposal stage.
• Stay grounded - Validate key business drivers. Listen to your internal customers to make sure requirements for UC map back to business needs. Some users may not need - and will never use - all t