Thanks to increasing demand, as well as competition from wholesalers, which allow consumers to purchase separate components and build customized computers themselves, retail prices for computers have come down significantly over the years, making a computer an affordable investment for virtually anyone who wants one. What was exclusively a tool for businesses or governments only a generation ago can now have a place in every home. However, even the relatively low prices of today’s electronics market are beyond the reach of some. That is where computer financing comes in.

Think of the way we buy our cars, our homes, anything we need which carries a high price tag. With computer financing, you can buy your desktop or laptop computer the same way. A wide variety of programs are available, placing the power of computers – word processing, email, the world wide web, streaming video, and more – within the reach of almost anyone.

Computer or laptop financing works the same as car or home financing: You, the consumer, promise to pay the full price in monthly installments over a period of time agreed upon by both you and the seller. This way, you need not worry about finding money to pay the full price of your computer right away; you need only concern yourself with making the monthly payment, which, depending on how your financing deal is structured, can be as much or a little as you could reasonably afford to pay per month.

In addition, like financing for a home or a car, computer financing can even be secured for those of you with bad credit, or no credit. Many organizations exist which specialize in providing financing for buyers with bad or no credit, though the interest you are asked to pay in addition to the initial cost of the computer may be higher than for someone with better credit, due to the higher risk on the part of the lender.

The internet is filled with websites offering computer financing, and most retailers will also allow you to take home the computer of your choice in exchange for regular monthly payments. Thanks to computer financing, the world of computers, with its opportunities for commerce, communication and creativity, is now open and accessible to virtually anyone!

What is unified messaging?
It is combining voice features with instant messaging, email, fax, video messaging, etc. Cisco offers a click-to-dial solution that allows users to dial directly from Microsoft Outlook’s contacts list and allows voicemail messages to go directly to the user’s inbox. Salesforce.com has integrated with Skype to offer direct chats and calls from their CRM system. Many other vendors like 3Com and Nortel are offering some type of integrated solutions.

When it comes to email and voice integration, the typical options are to get your voicemail via email and to call directly from your contacts’ list. It can be from Microsoft Outlook or from some CRM application. The other integration option is to get your email read to you on your phone. It converts text to speech. These are “cool” features, but are they really necessary?

As more and more people switch from landlines to mobile phones, and emails are delivered on the mobile phones, the typical office phones will not be needed. Most businesses communicate via email, Skype, or IM and use less landlines. One of the perceived advantages of unified messaging is that employees can leave one voicemail or email, and the recipient will get it in their mail’s inbox. It is supposed to increase productivity among the workers, because they do not need to leave an email and a voicemail. Most workers these days have mobile phones and can be reached anywhere around the world via phone, text or email. All you need is a wi-fi connection which is available just about anywhere.

So, why invest in a unified platform when any collaboration is available on a mobile device?
Collaboration among not only employees but also businesses has become much easier with video conferencing, Skype calls, and email. Partnering with companies from around the world without meeting them in person is normal and does not require travel expenses. Integration of these applications would not increase productivity for a typical employee. There are many tools/applications that increase productivity without unifying the communication applications.

Unified communication is more than just about integrating the applications. Multiple hardware devices and software operating systems must be integrated before the actual applications are added. As these proprietary systems grow, managing and maintaining these products become complex and expensive. If you do not have an in-house team who knows how to implement multiple unified messaging systems, you will need to hire outside experts to implement and maintain the environment on a daily basis. Also, because these systems are proprietary, you will need to invest more resources if you want to change to another system.