Mobile Telephony Industry: Unified Communications: Trend Analysis to 2012 (Strategic Focus)

• Publication date: May 2008
• Report size: 41 pages

Introduction Unified communications (UC) is evolving from a concept to a more mature solution stack. However, there is still a lot of confusion in the industry about what actually constitutes UC. This market research report is going to define UC and provide clarity to vendors and investors, by identifying the key industry drivers and projecting future growth opportunities. Scope Identifies penetration of UC solutions by vertical indu...

Introduction
Unified communications (UC) is evolving from a concept to a more mature solution stack. However, there is still a lot of confusion in the industry about what actually constitutes UC. This market research report is going to define UC and provide clarity to vendors and investors, by identifying the key industry drivers and projecting future growth opportunities.

Scope
Identifies penetration of UC solutions by vertical industry s and highlights the markets which are planning the most Greenfield investments.

Forecasts the growth potential of different regions by estimating enterprise unified communications expenditure within those regions.

Defines the unified communications portfolio of applications and sets out the technology evolution.

Analyzes the key competitors by evaluating vendor strategies and determining their position in the industry .

Report Key Market Facts
The industry for unified communications solutions is undoubtedly growing but a comprehensive analysis of the industry reveals that growth is being hindered by enterprise pain points not being completely addressed, and vendors’ industry ing strategies not clearly demonstrating a return on investment.

There is a diverse key competitors with traditional communication vendors and new entrants all claiming to offer the leading unified communications solution. Partnerships between these new entrants and the established communication vendors is behind some claims from vendors to offer a ‘end-to-end’ solution.

Channel to industry is important and vendors should consider enterprise preferences for a hosted or on-premise solution, and make full use of resellers and partners. It is also important to target key messages at the right individuals within enterprises and be aware of budget constraints and a desire to adopt UC technologies in a piecemeal manner.

Why Should You Buy This Report?
Identifies the major trends affecting the industry and predicts how those trends will evolve.

Offers insight into the unified communications industry based upon primary data and perceptive analysis.

Covers the breadth of the UC industry, helping decision makers understand industry opportunities and the best ways to address those opportunities.

Call Center Industry

Overview 1
Catalyst 1
Summary 1
Key Messages 2
The industry for UC solutions is set to grow considerably 2
The cost of implementation is the biggest inhibitor of investments in UC 2
Instant messaging and enterprise mobility are judged the largest security threats 2
Unified communications has not made a significant impact on flexible working 2
Partnerships and mergers are defining the competitive landscape for UC solutions 2
The majority of enterprises prefer to purchase through a reseller and deploy on-site 2
Data table of Contents 3
Data table of figures 4
Data table of tables 4
Market Opportunity 5
Unified communications can improve productivity and reduce human latency 5
Defining unified communications 5
The industry for UC solutions is set to grow considerably 6
The penetration of UC solutions is increasing steadily 7
Similar numbers of greenfield investments are being made in all four UC technology areas 7
Messaging has the highest current penetration 8
Rates of investment and penetration vary by geography, market and industry player size 9
North America and Western EUR pe will show the largest growth in absolute terms 9
Voice/data network convergence was not enterprises' largest area of spending in 2007 10
Penetration of voice/data convergence is highest in the financial markets, particularly distribution banking 12
Healthcare is planning the most greenfield investments in UC technology 13
There are differing levels of penetration and growth rates between large and small enterprises 13
Technology Evolution 16
Unified communications is emerging from voice/data convergence 16
The migration of telephony from TDM to IP is relatively slow 17
Key technologies and applications which comprise the UC solution are evolving 18
Contact centers are monitoring developments in unified communications 19
Unified communications has not made a significant impact on flexible working 20
Most UC technologies will be adopted in the medium term 21
Customer Impact 22
There are four types of workers that can benefit from UC 22
Customer experience is driving investments in convergence solutions 23
Standardizing systems and infrastructure is also a consideration for enterprises 24
The increase in flexible working could be a driver of demand for UC 24
Vendors need to prove return on investment of flexible working 24
The cost of implementation is the biggest inhibitor of investments in UC 24
Legacy hardware is both a driver and an inhibitor for growth in the UC industry 26
Instant messaging and enterprise mobility are judged the largest security threats 26
Vendors have to prove return on investment 27
Key Competitors 28
Partnerships and mergers are shaping the vendor industry for UC solutions 28
Microsoft and IBM have burst into the unified communications industry 28
IBM 28
Microsoft 29
Cisco, Siemens Enterprise, Avaya, and Nortel are UC industry leaders 29
Cisco has the greatest mindshare of the leading vendors but there are regional variations 31
Cisco has the largest degree of mindshare but five other vendors have an established presence 31
Regional mindshare reflects vendors' industry strengths 32
Microsoft Office Communicator leads IM mindshare 32
Go to Industry 34
Vendors should utilize partners and resellers to address enterprise requirements 34
The majority of enterprises prefer to purchase through a reseller and deploy on-site 34
Vendors should target the CEO and CIO when industry ing their solutions 35
Both the CEO and CIO are likely to have some degree of influence over investments decisions 35
Go to industry recommendations 36
UC adoption is increasing but will remain a low priority for many enterprises 36
Vendors should industry UC as improving productivity and reducing human latency 36
Financial institutions are more receptive to new technologies 36
There will be a slow migration from TDM PBXs to IP PBXs 37
Partnerships are key in vendors' route to industry 37
APPENDIX 38
Definitions 38
Methodology 38
Further reading 38
Ask the analyst 39
Datamonitor consulting 39
Disclaimer 39
List of Tables
Data table 1: UC global enterprise spending ($ millions) 7
Data table 2: Do you have the following UC solutions? Which would you invest in next 6-24 months? 8
Data table 3: Enterprise spending on UC solutions by region ($ millions) 10
Data table 4: Which area of investment was your single biggest IT project this budget year? 11
Data table 5: Do you use voice/data convergence? Would you invest in next 6/24 months (vertical)? 13
Data table 6: Do you use voice/data convergence? Would you invest in next 6/24 months (size)? 15
Data table 7: Does your organization use IP telephony and when was it implemented? 18
Data table 8: Which technologies do you support for flexible working? Like to offer in 24 months? 21
Data table 9: Please rate the importance of the following objectives to your UC investment 24
Data table 10: What issues prevent your organization from investing in UC technologies? 26
Data table 11: How do you assess the security risk posed by these technologies? 27
Data table 12: Vendor summary scores for Voice/Data Convergence Decision Matrix 30
Data table 13: Please pick two companies which you believe to be 'leaders' in UC 32
Data table 14: Which vendor do you consider a leader in the instant messaging industry ? 33
Data table 15: What is your preferred approach to buying UC technologies? 35
Data table 16: Rank the most influential person for purchasing decisions on voice/data convergence 36
List of Figures
Chart 1: Revenues will increase rapidly in the unified communications industry 6
Chart 2: Similar levels of greenfield investments across technologies 8
Chart 3: North America and Western EUR pe will show the largest growth 9
Chart 4: UC is unlikely to be enterprises' largest project 11
Chart 5: Healthcare is set to make the most greenfield investment in UC 12
Chart 6: Small enterprises will be making the most greenfield investments 14
Chart 7: Voice/data convergence has allowed unified communications to emerge 16
Chart 8: Enterprises are installing IP telephony in stages 17
Chart 9: Telephone and email are key technologies supported for flexible working 20
Chart 10: Raising productivity and increasing customer satisfaction are key aims of enterprises 23
Chart 11: Cost is the largest inhibitor of UC 25
Chart 12: Instant messaging is considered the largest security risk 26
Chart 13: Cisco is the leading vendor with the highest total score 30
Chart 14: Cisco is a industry leader in terms of mindshare in a competitive field 31
Chart 15: Microsoft has a commanding mindshare in the enterprise IM industry 33
Chart 16: Enterprises prefer to purchase from resellers 34
Chart 17: CEOs and CIOs are the key decision makers for voice/data convergence 35