Qwest Communications is the latest company to offer a hosted UC (unified communications) platform. Qwest on April 7 unveiled its iQ HUCS (Hosted Unified Communications Service) to help businesses bring together the various pieces of their communications infrastructure—from voice and video to email, instant messaging and presence—under a single, hosted umbrella. UC offers businesses the ability to derive greater benefits from the various forms of communications they traditionally use, and to take advantage of the growing number of IP communications avenues coming into the market, according to Eric Bozich, vice president of product marketing at Qwest.