Unified Communications Featured Article

Travel Down UCC Maturely - It is All about Opportunities and Challenges

Effective communication and collaboration is the key business differentiator to any organization today. Businesses have started using enhanced collaboration tools, social media, messaging capabilities and mobile interaction, to match with the fundamental shift in customers’ expectations. By leveraging the rich functionality of converged network architecture, unified communications and collaboration (UCC) solutions are progressively being seen as the mature way of achieving a range of business benefits.

Although significant growth opportunities are seen for enterprise communication solutions in the U.S. and Europe, there are also a number of challenges, including regulatory issues and limited understanding of unified communications technologies and their benefits.

Vendors must educate customer organizations on the benefits of unified communications and collaboration, says a new study conducted by Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert), the company that has been offering market analysis and research.

Business fit is the key approach suggested by the company. Companies should take a more consultative approach to their sales efforts, and focus on their needs rather than the technology alone, says the company.

 “Presently, video, Web and audio conferencing as well as mobile applications are the most widely deployed enterprise communication solutions across the U.S. and Europe," said Elka Popova, program director at Frost & Sullivan's unified communications and collaboration.

“However, the use of more traditional video technologies and audio conferencing is expected to decline due to high costs and increased adoption of Web conferencing solutions. Among existing enterprise communications solutions, business-grade softphones, tablets and UC clients will witness the most significant increase in demand over the next three years," says the researcher.

Also the study mentions that IT decision-makers should consider this move as the primary challenge for their departments. New business requirements such as the need to support remote workers coupled with mobility and bring-your-own technology trends are driving IT investments and related costs. Growing customer demands for social networking, visual collaboration and a more personalized experience are also key factors influencing IT-related expenditures, the report said.

The cost impact of satisfying these additional needs is hitting IT decision-makers in the U.S., then their counterparts in Europe, concludes the study.


Edited by Cassandra Tucker