Unison is collaboration software aimed at small and medium businesses. It was developed by Unison Technologies, Inc., of New York City, which promotes the software as an alternative to consumer communications tools. Functionality includes instant messaging, voice and video chat, and private 'walls' where employees can post news and respond with comments.

Unison is distributed free of charge under a freemium

Freemium

Freemium is a business model that works by offering a product or service free of charge while charging a premium for advanced features, functionality, or related products and services...

 business model.

The software currently supports Microsoft Outlook running on Windows but is scheduled to be launched for Mac

Macintosh

The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...

 and for iOS, as well as Android and other mobile operating systems.

History

A previous version of Unison was released in in March 2008 and a commercial version in July, 2008. This version was deprecated, and a new version launched in 2011 as a hosted service.

Unison for Outlook

The first version of Unison launched in 2011 was Unison for Outlook, a plugin for Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Outlook is a personal information manager from Microsoft, available both as a separate application as well as a part of the Microsoft Office suite...

. It adds a right column roster into Microsoft Outlook, allowing users to click on a business contact to instant message, call or video chat with the contact. Unison for Outlook was launched in April 2011.