October 31, 2007
First Returns on Microsoft OCS Launch: No Significant Change in Business Deployment Plans for UC
This past June, we asked TMC (News - Alert) subscribers and Web site visitors to describe their plans for deploying Unified Communications. With over 900 decision makers participating worldwide, the majority of respondents (63% in North America and 54% in the other Global Regions) indicated that they had no current plans to deploy Unified Communications (News - Alert) in their businesses.
On October 16th, Microsoft officially launched — with considerable media attention — their long-awaited Office Communication Server (OCS). Billed as a highly secure and reliable way for companies of all sizes to bring Unified Communications to the desktop, our latest research survey conducted in partnership with IntelliCom Analytics took a look at whether the Microsoft (News - Alert) media blitz has had any impact on decision-maker thinking regarding UC.
With more than 1,300 responses coming in from all Global Regions, 53% of decision makers worldwide signaled that — despite Microsoft’s high-profile Unified Communications push — they still have no current plans to adopt UC. Line of Business decision-makers represented the largest single group that appeared unimpressed with the Microsoft solution, with 60% of those respondents registering a “no plans” vote. This sizable segment of LOB decision makers strongly suggests that Microsoft faces the same challenges as the other major industry players in effectively communicating a compelling business value proposition for UC.
As a counterpoint to the LOB perspective, 30% of IT Management were impressed with the Microsoft solution and would consider deploying OCS for both UC and core telephony in the near-term. Among all respondents that are actively considering UC, nearly 25% have concerns regarding Microsoft’s ability to actually deliver enterprise-grade reliability in this initial release of OCS.
With only 6% of respondents indicating that they would not consider Microsoft as a potential UC and/or core telephony provider, the results also sound a threatening note for traditional telephony providers in underscoring Microsoft’s potential for significant competitive disruption.
