Unified Messaging capabilities have emerged a while ago, and allow users to consolidate their voice mails, emails, faxes into a single resource. In other words, you can get all these at one place and you do not have to go here and there in order to listen to voice mails or send a fax. This is one of the best ways to bring communication closer and enhance customer service, as well as boost your efficiency and competitiveness.

Unified Communication is now de facto in all business telecommunications offerings regardless if they hardware based (i.e.: Cisco, Avaya, Vertical Communication) or services oriented platforms (i.e. Whaleback Systems, OneBox). It has various advantages which include the following:

• Ability to receive, send and edit voicemails and faxes along with your emails in one mailbox and retrieve them when you need them on-the-go using smart phones. 
• 
  
• You can augment the efficiency of your organization by providing enhance customer service and response time.
  
  
• You can reduce costs associated with maintaining fax machines.
  
  
• Ability to be reached with one single phone number. Find Me/Follow Me functionality has been available on some PBXs as early as 1997.
  
  
• You can meet cost-cutting measures with precise calculations.
  
  
• Business continuity is an important factor today. Backing up your email mailbox along with faxes, voicemail gives you ability to archive and access these important documents. 

However, today Unified Communication offering, once again, is a moving target as social networks mesh into business operations on the daily basis. Facebook, Twitter, Google Wave are the next generation of communication tools, which will require integration from telecom industry. This is one of the next milestones we should be expecting from unified communications offerings from the major communication platform vendor and providers.

In September 2009, a peer-to-peer VoIP service Jajah ( www.jajah.com) released a limited Beta product which allows you to make free phone calls using microblogging giant Twitter. Jajah@Call allows you to make a short call to other Jajah@Call users just by hitting them with 140 character tweets. Your Tweets now have a voice!
Obviously this is no commercial application, not it is vendor-agnostic, but it is a good start on on the road to marry your PBX's and Twitter.