Unified Communications is Migrating to ‘The Cloud’

(Business News & Technology News, 24 Nov 2009)

Unified communications is migrating to ‘the cloud’, as vendors begin positioning it as a service rather than a product, reports In-Stat. Infrastructure providers like Cisco, Broadsoft, and Microsoft are now working closely with providers of hosted VoIP services.

“Several flavors of unified communications are emerging from the ‘cloud’” says Dave Lemelin, In-Stat analyst. “There are versions that operate as a hybrid mix of customer-owned equipment with managed/hosted services targeting mid-size businesses, those that act as fully hosted offerings with smaller businesses in mind, and those that are revamped broadband telephony services targeting SOHO users.”

Unified communications has yet to achieve its full potential. However, two trends are poised to enhance the richness of unified communications:
1) SIP Trunking, now touted as a cost saving mechanism, will ultimately enable the interconnection of unified communications islands.
2) The wireless industry’s evolution toward higher data rates is extending unified communications to smartphones and other wireless data devices.
Recent research by In-Stat found the following:
• As the world economy rebounds, so will unified communications with total revenues (product + service) growing to $39.7 billion in 2013.
• Avaya, Cisco, and Nortel continue to trade places for the lead in the unified messaging market, although Avaya will soon have the clear lead upon completion of its Nortel acquisition.