New research commissioned by Azzurri Communications and carried out by Vanson Bourne has found that most medium and large-sized UK businesses are already using or planning to use Unified Communications.

In total, 76% of respondents said they were pursuing a UC strategy.

Mark Bridge writes:

Back in the 1960s, Hertz was the number one hire car company in the USA. Avis was trailing a long way behind. Looking for a new advertising campaign, CEO Robert Townsend spoke to Bill Bernbach - the ‘B’ in ad agency DDB - and a few months later “We try harder” became the Avis tagline.

“Avis is only No.2 in rent a cars” the headlines admitted. “We try harder. When you’re not the biggest, you have to.”

It’s a message I was reminded of when I met Andreas Bernström at Mobile World Congress last month. Andreas is CEO of Rebtel, the world’s second-largest mobile Voice-over-IP company. With Skype seen as market leader for VoIP services, I asked Andreas whether Rebtel also needed to try harder.

The GSMA made a series of announcements about Rich Communication Services at last week’s Mobile World Congress, including the creation of a new consumer-facing brand called joyn.

Rich Communication Services - also referred to as Rich Communication Suite, Rich Communications and RCS - refers to a combination of voice and messaging services. For example, a customer could share photos or documents while making a voice call.

Mark Bridge writes:

Happy New Year and welcome to the travelling circus better known as the Carnival of the Mobilists. If you’re looking for the best mobile-related blog posts from the past couple of weeks, you’ve come to the right place. (If you’re wondering about the name of Beyonce’s baby, you need to try somewhere else).

Everything Everywhere has started offering a version of its ‘Orange Shots’ service to T-Mobile UK customers.

The new service will be called ‘You Choose’. Customers who choose to participate are asked about their interests and then receive tailored news, information and offers from relevant brands.