The industry is buzzing about the Apple Callkit API Improvements in Apple’s iOS 10 SDK
The release of the CallKIt API in iOS 10 has been followed up by Cisco with the latest version of its Spark app, but there is no announced release yet for Jabber. The basic Spark service doesn’t include PSTN access and customers must purchase that service from a third-party partner or use an existing on-premises Cisco UC system with Spark Hybrid Services.
In a recent article “Cisco Takes the iOS Lead – In the Wrong Direction” by Michael F. Finneran, he notes that Apple and Cisco have been partnering since August 2015 to deliver solutions. Michael Finneran believes it is a short term solution and that all UC&C vendors who are focused on delivering a separate mobile UC app are “still flogging a dead horse” He reasons that:
Most people just use the native dialer in their iPhones for business calling, despite the fact that Cisco — and other providers of IP communications infrastructure — has mobile apps available that connect to their infrastructure. These mobile apps in many ways offer a superior experience for business calling… Yet, despite all of these benefits, people still use the native dialer instead of VoIP apps. Why? Because the native phone app is universal — allowing them to call and be called by anyone, not just work contacts.
Users vote with their feet (or their fingers in this case) and these non-integrated mobile UC apps lost — totally.
