Cloud computing and unified communications have been rapidly making their way into small and medium businesses. In response, eight vendors have formed the Cloud Communications Alliance, whose goal is to work cooperatively and develop a nationwide high-definition enterprise voice and data network.Eight vendors, Alteva, Broadcore, Callis Communications, Consolidated Technologies Inc., IPFone, SimpleSignal, Stage 2 Networks and Telesphere, are backing the initiative. The group plans a number of joint developments:

 Nationwide peering with interconnected switches and gateways  Support for multiple end devices, such as computers, office phones and cellular phones.  Development of a common support infrastructure.  Joint product development, including the evaluation of new technologies and vendors, development of new products and applications, standardization on the third-party platforms, and joint introduction of new features and services.  Disaster recovery support.  Shared best practices.  Collaboration for enhanced customer video conferencing capabilities.

All eight CCA founding companies use BroadSoft software to provide businesses with a range of UC services. The work would not seem to benefit suppliers relying on other vendors UC platforms.

UC cloud services have been gaining a great deal of attention recently. A variety of vendors (collaboration suppliers, telcos, video conferencing vendors, and VoIP companies) have been moving into this space. As the market evolves, vendors size will become more important. This group is firmly behind Broadsoft, which has carved out a sizeable portion of the burgeoning marketplace. How much cooperation will be seen among the eight vendors - -who essentially are vying for the same customers -- is open to question. If they can work together, the Broadsoft platform could emerge as a key option as the cloud UC market evolves in the next few years.