The global unified communications and collaboration market is poised to experience a compound annual growth rate of 12.3 percent between this year and 2020, according to a new study by Research and Markets.
Much of that growth will be driven by the proliferation of enterprise client devices and the increasing use of unified communications as a service by small and medium enterprises, according to the study. While there were an estimated 5.8 million terminal clients and thin client devices shipped in 2014, Research and Markets anticipates that number will surpass 8.1 million by the end of next year, representing a CAGR of 10.7 percent. As for SME use of UCaaS, says Research and Markets, that is enabling organizations to connect their clients, employees and suppliers with greater ease; allowing them to leverage virtual client solutions to enjoy new efficiencies; and otherwise make better use of their resources.
The Global Unified Communication and Collaboration Market 2016-2020 study also estimates the size of the market, UC&C services revenue and assesses the solutions provider landscape. Among the vendors discussed are Avaya, Cisco, IBM and Microsoft, as well as 8x8, Aastra Technologies, Huawei, Alcatel-Lucent, BroadSoft (News - Alert), Configure and others. The study also covers such topics as business process integration, BYOD, contact center, enterprise collaboration, enterprise telephony, mobility, social media, telepresence and videoconferencing, and WebRTC.
While the above-mentioned study comes courtesy of Research and Markets, analyst firm Infonetics (News - Alert) forecasts that VoIP and its related unified communications applications market will grow to $88 billion by 2018, as noted by Jason Chaffee of NetScout in the May issue of INTERNET TELEPHONY magazine. Chaffee goes on to discuss the importance of VoIP monitoring in enabling organizations to get the most out of their telephony and UC solutions.
“Always-on, high-quality communications is an essential requirement for corporate success,” he writes. “It’s a primary means for delivering results in customer satisfaction, achieving sales success, advancing competiveness, building corporate credibility, and maintaining reputation. When call availability is intermittent or call quality is poor, the business consequences can be huge.”
Edited by Alicia Young