There’s a new alternative to the traditional desk phone for UB employees who want a better way to communicate in real time at work. Meet Cisco Jabber.

Jabber turns your Windows or Mac machine into a full-featured alternative to your phone. In addition to sending and receiving calls, getting voicemail, participating in conference calls and more, Jabber adds the ability to use instant messaging and set custom status updates.

If you’re using it on a laptop, you can essentially take the functionality of your desk phone with you wherever you are.

Departmental IT support teams at UB have been working together with central IT to make Jabber a reality for faculty and staff.

“We’ve been reaching out to partners across campus during this entire process,” says Adam Pawlowski, UBIT communications systems engineer. “Their input has been critical.”

As with other new technology services being introduced to campus, UBIT is incorporating feedback from campus partners by including them early in the process. Everyone on campus with an interest in learning about and providing feedback on collaboration tools like Jabber are invited to join the Collaboration Tools listserv.

Setting up Jabber may be different, depending on your departmental unit or role. If you’re a UB employee who wants to try out Jabber, talk to your IT support team about how to install the software and provision your UBITName account for voice services on your computer.

More information about Jabber is available under the UBIT service guide for phones. UB employees can request help with their phones, or any IT services, by contacting the UBIT Help Center, by phone at 716-645-3542 or online at buffalo.edu/ubit/help.