TMCnet News

Views on Unified Communications Remain Highly Varied
[May 23, 2007]

Views on Unified Communications Remain Highly Varied


TMCnet News
 
With most of the major voice platform providers using the term Unified Communications (UC) in the positioning of their solutions, we were interested to see how our TMC (News - Alert) subscribers and Web site visitors viewed the term.  In our latest research survey conducted in partnership with IntelliCom Analytics, we asked our readers to describe their understanding of the main attributes and benefits of UC.


 
The results suggest that the vendors have significant work to do in more clearly describing the major capabilities of Unified Communications (News - Alert), as well as in communicating the tangible benefits that businesses can expect when adopting UC applications.

 
Of the 897 business decision makers participating in this survey, 24.4% — the highest single response — indicated that vendors have not yet articulated the capabilities of Unified Communications in a tangible way.  This perspective was most strongly held in businesses with more than 1,000 employees. 
 
Reader responses were highly varied when it came to perceived benefits.  22.2% view UC primarily as a means for enhancing personal productivity through the use of Presence and Personal Call Management tools.  12.8% see improved internal and external collaboration as the main benefit, while 11% believe UC will deliver business benefits in both Presence and Collaboration.  20% see Unified Communications as broadly encompassing all of these benefits.
 
Although some providers are including the integration of communication and business applications within their definition of Unified Communications, less than 10% of the respondents currently associate this capability with UC.  As vendor solutions and associated messaging surrounding Unified Communications continue to mature, we will check back periodically to see how business perspectives on UC are stabilizing or shifting.
  
“Which best describes the capabilities and benefits of Unified Communications?
 
IntelliCom Analytics and TMC Unified Communications Survey Graph
 
Category Definitions:
  • Presence/Personal Call Management – We believe that Presence and Personal Call Management tools will improve the personal productivity of our employees
  • Collaboration Applications – We believe that new Collaboration applications will improve interaction both within our organization and with our customers
  • Business Process Integration – We expect that tightly integrating our voice infrastructure with specific business applications will improve process performance
  • Presence and Collaboration – We believe that both sets of capabilities and benefits apply
  • All of the above
  • None of the above – Vendors have yet to define these capabilities in tangible terms

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