A Cooperative Project of VoiceCon and UC Strategies

This issue of Unified Communications eWeekly is sponsored by Aastra:

Aastra is a global leader in IP communications products including IP-PBX systems, standards based telephones, unified communications and contact center applications. With 29 years experience delivering integrated voice and data communications services to some of the most demanding companies in the world, Aastra Intecom has developed deep industry expertise in solving the telecommunications challenges faced by large enterprises. Our unique perspective allows us to deliver highly reliable, scalable systems, deployed on time and professionally supported.

Those who have attended my “State of the UC Market” sessions at VoiceCon for the past several years know that I’ve deferred a market report and forecast until the shape of things became clearer. Well, that study, called “Unified Communications 2007-2012,” is now completed, and I wanted to share one of the many highlights.

Although the Unified Communications market is still relatively new, the future looks bright, as the market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 65% from 2007 to 2012. This growth rate is typical of a new, but broad-based market segment.

But while growth appears likely, the market is so new that it’s difficult to predict exactly when enterprises will move from a “wait-and-see” attitude to more aggressive deployment. That said, the research suggests that seeds have been planted and that UC will enjoy significant growth starting in 2010. We’ll see enterprises move from trials and pilots of capabilities such as presence, premises-based conferencing/collaboration and mobile UC, to integrating UC with business processes and applications.

One challenge in measuring this market is that UC solutions comprise various elements that can also be used in non-UC implementations. Elements including presence, IM, conferencing/collaboration, call control, mobility and unified messaging are not UC in and of themselves. If someone purchases an IP-PBX and a conferencing/collaboration product, even if from the same vendor, does this constitute a UC sale? Not necessarily.

The most common way of measuring is to look at the market size of the various components that make up a UC solution and add all of them up together. We have seen more than one such chart in VoiceCon keynotes from Avaya, Cisco, IBM and Microsoft, but that doesn’t really tell you the size of the UC market, mainly because most of the component elements are markets in and of themselves (PBXs and unified messaging, to name a few).

So, a different methodology is required to identify the “True” UC market, rather than the much larger “UC-capable” market. The study presents several methodologies–one way is to use a formula to identify the percentage of the total gross UC sales and seat shipments that will be implemented for UC solutions. Based on this, the Net True UC market is forecast to grow from $200.8 million in 2007 to $2.433 billion by 2012 (this is the High-Growth Scenario, a Mid-Growth Scenario is also presented).

Other issues of interest in the report include analysis of the challenges facing both users and vendors, examination of how UC is being rolled out and implemented in enterprises, and assessments of what is needed to help the UC market succeed. You can check out the Executive Summary here. If you have any questions about this new market study, contact me at bpleasant@commfusion.com.

Blair Pleasant
COMMfusion LLC & UCStrategies.com

Posted in Blair Pleasant, Market Trends, Unified Communications |

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