Research: Unified Communications
State of Unified Communications 2012
In our InformationWeek 2012 Unified Communications Survey, we elicited responses from more than 300 business technology professionals on plans for advancing their companies' UC initiatives. We asked about factors respondents consider critical for a successful implementation, major technical and business drivers, obstacles to deployment, and how well they think UC technology is delivering on its promise. Of those surveyed, 71% work for companies with 500 or more employees, and roughly one-third work for companies with 10,000 or more.
Using last year's survey as a baseline, we found some interesting trends in adoption rates, applications employed and vendor preferences. The percentage of respondents reporting that they have deployed and are using UC jumped from 30% when we last ran the survey, in April 2010, to 36% now; an additional 31% say they plan to deploy within the next 24 months—that’s the same percentage as planned to deploy last year. And Skype seems to be making headway in enterprises; can we thank Microsoft?
We realize that money is still tight, but advances in UC technology make it a smart way to help the business do more with less—and you don’t even need an IP PBX. (R3591211)
Survey Name InformationWeek 2012 Unified Communications Survey
Survey Date September 2011
Region North America
Number of Respondents 302
Purpose To examine the challenges and progress around unified communications
Table of Contents
3 Author's Bio
4 Executive Summary
5 Research Synopsis
6 Did We Say 'UC'? We Meant 'Collaboration'
10 Identifying the Value of UC
12 I Can Do UC Without an IP PBX?
12 Emerging Areas in UC: Collaboration and Social Networking
16 The End User Disconnect
17 Top Savings Opportunities From UC
19 UC Applications and Preferred Vendors
21 Who's on Top?
22 So What Does It All Mean?
25 Appendix
38 Related Reports
Figures
6 Figure 1: Unified Communications Deployment Plans
7 Figure 2: Primary Developer of Unified Communications Strategy
8 Figure 3: Percentage of User Base With UC Capabilities
9 Figure 4: Top Business Drivers of Unified Communications Deployment
10 Figure 5: Reasons for Not Using Unified Communications
11 Figure 6: Elements of ROI Calculation
12 Figure 7: UC-Only Cost Per User Per Year
13 Figure 8: Top Network Concern
14 Figure 9: Top Three UC Providers
15 Figure 10: Barriers to Unified Communications Adoption
16 Figure 11: Primary UC Training Methodology
17 Figure 12: Voice Technologies Used for Communications Outside of UC Environment
18 Figure 13: Use of Hosted Telephony Services
19 Figure 14: Key Technologies for Unified Communications Success
20 Figure 15: IM Applications Used
21 Figure 16: Vendors Used for Web Conferencing
22 Figure 17: Preferred Method for Defining UC Requirements
23 Figure 18: Post-Deployment ROI Analysis?
25 Figure 19: Top Unified Communications Technology Driver
26 Figure 20: Estimated Cost Per Employee
27 Figure 21: Top Communication Methods
28 Figure 22: Deployment of Collaboration Technologies
29 Figure 23: Deployment of Collaboration Technologies: 2012 Vs. 2010
30 Figure 24: Average Time Spent Using Applications
31 Figure 25: Vendors Used for Desktop Videoconferencing
32 Figure 26: Vendors Used for Room-Based Videoconferencing
33 Figure 27: Vendors Used for Voice
34 Figure 28: Job Title
35 Figure 29: Company Revenue
36 Figure 30: Industry
37 Figure 31: Company Size
About the Author
Michael Finneran is an independent consultant and industry analyst specializing in wireless technologies, mobile unified communications and fixed/mobile convergence. He has more than 30 years in the networking field and is the author of Voice Over Wireless LANs: The Complete Guide (Elsevier, 2008). His expertise spans the full range of wireless technologies, including Wi-Fi, 3G/4G cellular, WiMax and RFID.
In the consulting area, Michael has provided assistance to carriers, equipment vendors, end users and investment firms in the United States and overseas. He has appeared at hundreds of trade shows and industry conferences, including Enterprise Connect (formerly VoiceCon) and Interop; he now serves as the program chair for wireless and mobility at Enterprise Connect.
Michael is also prolific writer; for 23 years he wrote the Networking Intelligence column for Business Communications Review. He now contributes on wireless and mobility to numerous publications. As an educator, he has conducted more than 2,000 seminars on networking topics globally, including the graduate telecommunications program at Pace University and programs at the Center for the Study of Data Processing at Washington University in St. Louis. His programs are now offered through Telecom+UC Training. A longtime member of the Society of Telecommunications Consultants, Michael holds a master's degree in marketing and management information systems from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.
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 Thank YouComment by HROY700 Feb-27,2012 7:49:23 AMThanks a lot for the article. Was very helpful for me Reply |
