Integration may be necessary because customers have legacy gear they can't rip out, so products based on accepted interfaces, operating systems and standards -- SIP, Eclipse, Linux, Windows -- are important. So is support for popular directories such as LDAP and Active Directory and codecs for voice and video, Morse said.

He rounded out his keynote with demonstrations of conferencing set up via Lotus Notes that used shared applications and presence to determine who was available, and drag-and-drop capabilities to bring new people into the conference.

The demonstration also showed how an instant-message chat could be used to find knowledgeable people to solve problems, and how to upgrade an IM conversation to an audio conference call with a mouse click.

On the cost-savings front, UC can reduce the need for travel so groups can work together, Morse said. It can also be used to cut telephony costs by reducing the need for calls.

Business customers are looking for ways to weather tight budgets and UC can help, Morse said. "The question is: How do you extract more business value from what they already have?"