Unified Communications

Trend Analysis to 2012 (Strategic Focus)

Publication Date	May 2008
Publisher	Datamonitor
Product Type	Report
Pages	41
ISBN Number	not applicable
Product Code	DAT11506

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Summary

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 market about what actually constitutes UC. This report is going to define UC and provide clarity to vendors and investors, by identifying the key market trends and forecasting future growth opportunities.

Scope

Identifies penetration of UC solutions by vertical markets and highlights the industries 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 competitive landscape by evaluating vendor strategies and determining their position in the market.

Report Highlights

The market for unified communications solutions is undoubtedly growing but a comprehensive analysis of the market reveals that growth is being hindered by enterprise pain points not being completely addressed, and vendors' marketing strategies not clearly demonstrating a return on investment.
There is a diverse competitive landscape 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 market 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.

Reasons to Purchase

Identifies the major trends affecting the market and predicts how those trends will evolve.
Offers insight into the unified communications market based upon primary data and perceptive analysis.
Covers the breadth of the UC market, helping decision makers understand market opportunities and the best ways to address those opportunities.

Content

Overview
Catalyst
Summary
Key Messages
- The Market for Uc Solutions Is Set to Grow Considerably
- The Cost of Implementation Is The Biggest Inhibitor of Investments in Uc
- Instant Messaging and Enterprise Mobility Are Judged The Largest Security Threats
- Unified Communications Has Not Made A Significant Impact on Flexible Working
- Partnerships and Mergers Are Defining The Competitive Landscape for Uc Solutions
- The Majority of Enterprises Prefer to Purchase through A Reseller and Deploy on-Site
Market Opportunity
- Unified Communications Can Improve Productivity and Reduce Human Latency
- Defining Unified Communications
- The Market for Uc Solutions Is Set to Grow Considerably
- The Penetration of Uc Solutions Is Increasing Steadily
- Similar Numbers of Greenfield Investments Are Being Made in All Four Uc Technology Areas
- Messaging Has The Highest Current Penetration
- Rates of Investment and Penetration Vary by Geography, Industry and Company Size
- North America and Western Europe Will Show The Largest Growth in Absolute Terms
- Voice/Data Network Convergence Was Not Enterprises' Largest Area of Expenditure in 2007
- Penetration of Voice/Data Convergence Is Highest in The Financial Industries, Particularly Retail Banking
- Healthcare Is Planning The Most Greenfield Investments in Uc Technology
- There Are Differing Levels of Penetration and Growth Rates between Large and Small Enterprises
Technology Evolution
- Unified Communications Is Emerging from Voice/Data Convergence
- The Migration of Telephony from TDM to IP Is Relatively Slow
- Key Technologies and Applications Which Comprise The Uc Solution Are Evolving
- Contact Centers Are Monitoring Developments in Unified Communications
- Unified Communications Has Not Made A Significant Impact on Flexible Working
- Most Uc Technologies Will Be Adopted in The Medium Term
Customer Impact
- There Are Four Types of Workers That Can Benefit from Uc
- Customer Experience Is Driving Investments in Convergence Solutions
- Standardizing Systems and Infrastructure Is Also A Consideration for Enterprises
- The Increase in Flexible Working Could Be A Driver of Demand for Uc
- Vendors Need to Prove Return on Investment of Flexible Working
- The Cost of Implementation Is The Biggest Inhibitor of Investments in Uc
- Legacy Hardware Is Both A Driver and An Inhibitor for Growth in The Uc Market
- Instant Messaging and Enterprise Mobility Are Judged The Largest Security Threats
- Vendors Have to Prove Return on Investment
Competitive Landscape
- Partnerships and Mergers Are Shaping The Vendor Market for Uc Solutions
- Microsoft and Ibm Have Burst into The Unified Communications Market
- Ibm
- Microsoft
- Cisco, Siemens Enterprise, Avaya, and Nortel Are Uc Market Leaders
- Cisco Has The Greatest Mindshare of The Leading Vendors but There Are Regional Variations
- Cisco Has The Largest Degree of Mindshare but Five Other Vendors Have An Established Presence
- Regional Mindshare Reflects Vendors' Market Strengths
- Microsoft Office Communicator Leads Im Mindshare
Go to Market
- Vendors Should Utilize Partners and Resellers to Address Enterprise Requirements
- The Majority of Enterprises Prefer to Purchase through A Reseller and Deploy on-Site
- Vendors Should Target The Ceo and Cio When Marketing Their Solutions
- Both The Ceo and Cio Are Likely to Have Some Degree of Influence over Investments Decisions
Go to Market Recommendations
- Uc Adoption Is Increasing but Will Remain A Low Priority for Many Enterprises
- Vendors Should Market Uc as Improving Productivity and Reducing Human Latency
- Financial Institutions Are More Receptive to New Technologies
- There Will Be A Slow Migration from TDM Pbxs to IP Pbxs
- Partnerships Are Key in Vendors' Route to Market
Appendix
- Definitions
- Methodology
- Further Reading
- Ask The Analyst
- Datamonitor Consulting
- Disclaimer
List of Tables
- Table 1: Uc Global Enterprise Expenditure ($ Millions)
- Table 2: Do You Have The following Uc Solutions? Which Would You Invest in next 6-24 Months?
- Table 3: Enterprise Expenditure on Uc Solutions by Region ($ Millions)
- Table 4: Which Area of Investment Was Your Single Biggest IT Project This Budget Year?
- Table 5: Do You Use Voice/Data Convergence? Would You Invest in next 6/24 Months (Vertical)?
- Table 6: Do You Use Voice/Data Convergence? Would You Invest in next 6/24 Months (Size)?
- Table 7: Does Your Organization Use IP Telephony and When Was IT Implemented?
- Table 8: Which Technologies Do You Support for Flexible Working? like to Offer in 24 Months?
- Table 9: Please Rate The Importance of The following Objectives to Your Uc Investment
- Table 10: What Issues Prevent Your Organization from Investing in Uc Technologies?
- Table 11: How Do You Assess The Security Risk Posed by These Technologies?
- Table 12: Vendor Summary Scores for Voice/Data Convergence Decision Matrix
- Table 13: Please Pick Two Firms Which You Believe to Be 'Leaders' in Uc
- Table 14: Which Vendor Do You Consider A Leader in The Instant Messaging Market?
- Table 15: What Is Your Preferred Approach to Buying Uc Technologies?
- Table 16: Rank The Most Influential Person for Purchasing Decisions on Voice/Data Convergence
List of Figures
- Figure 1: Revenues Will Increase Rapidly in The Unified Communications Market
- Figure 2: Similar Levels of Greenfield Investments across Technologies
- Figure 3: North America and Western Europe Will Show The Largest Growth
- Figure 4: Uc Is Unlikely to Be Enterprises' Largest Project
- Figure 5: Healthcare Is Set to Make The Most Greenfield Investment in Uc
- Figure 6: Small enterprises will be making the most greenfield investments
- Figure 7: Voice/data convergence has allowed unified communications to emerge
- Figure 8: Enterprises are installing IP telephony in stages
- Figure 9: Telephone and email are key technologies supported for flexible working
- Figure 10: Raising productivity and increasing customer satisfaction are key aims of enterprises
- Figure 11: Cost is the largest inhibitor of UC
- Figure 12: Instant messaging is considered the largest security risk
- Figure 13: Cisco is the leading vendor with the highest total score
- Figure 14: Cisco is a market leader in terms of mindshare in a competitive field
- Figure 15: Microsoft has a commanding mindshare in the enterprise IM market
- Figure 16: Enterprises prefer to purchase from resellers
- Figure 17: CEOs and CIOs are the key decision makers for voice/data convergence