Enterprise Communications Featured Article

Enterprise telephony (ET) is in the midst of many technological advances that are changing the way companies communicate. These changes are so profound, however, that it may be misleading to categorize them only as telephony. A growing number of businesses support many types of communication as demonstrated by the popularity of the unified communications (UC) market.

According to a recent report by Telecommunications Market Research, government and healthcare sectors top the list of ET consumers. They both serve an overwhelming majority of the public and both typically have complex organization structures with numerous departments. ET gives government offices a structure that makes it easier for departments to communicate with each other. For the healthcare industry, it helps the decision-making process. Banks and education are also among the larger ET users.

Infonetics Research (News - Alert) recently found that the ET industry went through a period of consolidation, fueled by a tight market. Mitel completed a merger with Aastra (News - Alert) back in January; Alcatel-Lucent sold its enterprise unit to China Huaxin and although not a merger or buyout, Siemens rebranded its UC division, changing its name from Siemens Enterprise (News - Alert) Communications to Unify, an obvious acknowledgement of UC popularity. The report found that the global PBX market contracted, totaling $7.4 billion in 2013, a nine percent drop from the previous year.

In terms of communications beyond telephony, the market is more optimistic. Transparency Market Research (not to be confused with Telecommunications Market Research) predicted that UC would nearly triple from $22.8 billion in 2011 to $61.9 billion in 2018. A desire to reduce costs and improve efficiency along with a more mobile workforce has driven the demand. 

Business communications is going through a transformation that extends beyond the domain of enterprise telephony. BYOD, omni-channel customer support and a proliferation of mobile devices have made it so. The new enterprise communication solution that’s in demand doesn’t just provide better phones, it also supports video, chat and other means of communication.