Unified Messaging Books

This book will provide an overview of the AVVID architecture. It is not an implementation guide.

This book was written as an AVVID overview. There really aren't too many technical configurations, but it gives great scenarios on who you might implement an AVVID network. I wasn't sure what AVVID really was, after reading the book I've got an excellent idea. I still need some "hands on experience" with configuring the Cisco routers and Call Manager, but now I know how all of the pieces work together!

I thought this was a good overview of Cisco AVVID. The authors seem to know their stuff. I've been reading more about AVVID in Cisco World magazine and this is the only book I can find. If you're looking for a well-written book on the subject, this is your only choice! (So, it's a good thing that it's a decent book.) I also found it interesting that this was popular at Cisco...

I was looking for some help in rolling out an Avvid solution for a client. This wasn't the book. I read over 3/4 of the book found little if any answers to my questions

We did roll out Avvid and it works great with no help from the book.

As an FYI - I'm not technical. I'm a Sr. Level manager of a telecom & data division in a Fortune 100 company. My staff and the Cisco team has been trying to convince me that voice over tcp-ip is the way of the future and that Cisco AVVID is the best solution. After reading this book I was able to talk "intelligently" to the team regarding our strategic direction. The book, in my opinion, is an excellent refernence for someone who has no knowledge of AVVID or how it would fit into their system and company!

This is a good example of a brilliant idea poorly executed. The book shows lack of (any?) editorship, not only through its many typograhpic errors, but through the lack of stylistic editing. The authors are obviously genuinely keen and present a wide range of information. However their colloquial and often patronising delivery, together with the amateurish mixture of fonts and illustrations mar the delivery. There is a world of difference between simple and simplistic; the authors do not appear to appreciate this fact. Here are a few tasters: "Grandmother always told us that someone should start a project at the beginning of the project. And that's what our advice is to you." (p 224); "Warning! Hazardous biomaterial! Do not touch! Okay, Okay! So there's no hazardous biomaterial in this chapter! There are, however, a number of specific things that you dare not touch in this program lest the sky fall down and crush your computer!" (p 143).

This is a useful book because there are many excellent descriptions of unified messaging, and the walktrough of the MaiSoft system is thorough. It's just a pity that the presentation and writing style is so very poor. Get this book from the library, it isn't worth paying for!

This is the first book of its kind to define and describe the communication application that combines Email, voice-mail and fax. The first eight chapters sets the groundwork and should be read by anyone seeking to enter the world of Unified Messaging. Although it is basically an installation and user manual for Maisoft's Office Messenger product, it provides an excellent example of developing an Unified Messaging application. Understanding how this product is used illustrates the wide possibilities of Unified Messaging.

If you have ever read a good piece of work, this is another one. Technology is hard enough to understand, and most of the times, engineers do not convey the messages in a manner where you and I can grasp. This book is truly amazing. It taught my customers as well as my sales executives and technicians how simple and yet mind-boggling how voice and data is merging at the speed of thought. This book is so enjoyable to read and useful to teach our clients how to setup and maintain their Unified Messaging Server that we don't have any calls for support anymore. A truly amazing piece of work! . All the glory to the author and let's hope for a second edition soon that will emphasize on networking and phone secretive programming.

I am new to the technological world and don't need to a super highly technical book. All I want to do is read a book that introduces me to the newest technology that I can use in my business. This book was a breath of fresh air! It was a simple introduction to unified messaging, which I have heard about here and there. It made the issues and uses of a unified messaging system clear and concise, and presented it in a style that was somewhat entertaining. If only all introductory technical books could be this easy! Read this book if you want to learn about the unified messaging world but don't want to be lowered into all that technical mumbo jumbo that technical people seem to include in all their writing!

It was so ridiculously simple that it wasn't very interesting.There was no mention of messaging standards, the Internet's impact onmessaging or the future of messaging. This book was a combination of three things: a list of basic unified messaging features, a plug for the MaiSoft product and an installation guide for the product. The list of features is good first step for beginners, but many are pretty obvious for anyone who has used a voice mail system or e-mail system. The installation guide is only useful for people who purchase the MaiSoft software, and they get it with the product anyway. Going through the installation wizards taught me, a non-customer, very little about unified messaging. Also, the "cute" writing style gets very old, very quickly.