IDC Identifies AT&T as Top Company in Telephony-Based Hosted Unified Communications

International Data Corporation’s latest analysis of the trends in the market have recognized AT&T as the top company in the telephony-based hosted Unified Communications (News - Alert) or UC space.

Hosted UC providers that "bring something interesting to the market" were investigated by the report, IDC MarketScape: U.S. Telephony-Based Hosted Unified Communications, 2010 Vendor Analysis. AT&T (News - Alert) has extensive relationships with UC vendors like Cisco, Microsoft and Avaya. The unified experience is focused by AT&T through its own clients, which can be delivered via a number of AT&T telephony solutions. These key strengths have been highlighted by IDC (News - Alert) in the report which is available at http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=222897.

AT&T has further strategic advantages in the hosted UC arena, noted IDC. The advantages include control over quality of service and strong service-level agreements are possible with AT&T’s ownership of its network. The ownership also enables control over security and privacy services. The integration of AT&T's wireline and wireless services is undergoing strong progress. Customers will be delivered a more seamless AT&T experience. The last advantage is the availability of impressive PBX (News - Alert) functionality and AT&T solutions like OfficeReach.

In a release, Carrie MacGillivray, program manager, Mobility and IP Communications program, IDC said, "While the hosted UC space is still evolving, the solutions on the market today are strong indicators of just how powerful the hosted UC space will be going forward. What goes on in this corner of communications is going to change how we do business from here on out. As an industry, we need to pay close attention to ensure the roads being paved today will lead us to a better tomorrow."

Solutions like AT&T Connect are included in AT&T’s UC offering. Unlimited conferencing and collaboration; audioconferencing; videoconferencing; and web conferencing are possible with the combination of voice, web and videoconferencing in one product. Visit http://www.att.com/gen/general?pid=7490 for more information.

In a release, Frank Zvi, VP, AT&T Unified Communications said, "AT&T's global IP network is the lynchpin in delivering a rich set of Unified Communications applications at the scale needed by global enterprises. Our array of innovative conferencing and messaging solutions help businesses strengthen their efficiency and effectiveness in the dynamic global environment."