Info-Tech Research Group finds Avaya, Cisco, Microsoft, Siemens Enterprise Communications and IBM Champions of the Unified Communications market while the rise of bring-your-own-device initiatives will continue to drive innovation and mobile offerings.
London, ON 8, May, 2012 – By mid-2013, 35% of the workforce is expected to be using personal devices for work-related tasks, with 89% of organizations surveyed by Info-Tech Research Group already allowing personal device to be used for email. Bring-your-own-device (BYOD) programs and the general rise in mobile device usage have driven the need for Unified Communications (UC) vendors to support a variety of devices. Info-Tech Research Group’s recently released Unified Communications Vendor Landscape report names Avaya, Cisco, Microsoft, Siemens Enterprise Communications and IBM as Champions in this evolving market.
“The UC market is no longer limited to presence and messaging; UC now includes rich communication tools like video, voice, and document sharing, all working together seamlessly or at least with fewer and fewer seams every day,.” says James McCloskey, Senior Research Analyst, Info-Tech Research Group. “It’s more than just seeing if someone is on the phone: UC allows you to communicate in the right way at the right time, whether it’s through instant messaging on a desktop or video conferencing on a tablet.”
Ranking as a Champion in this report, Avaya’s Aura platform has rich features and is architected to enable UC in organizations with multi-vendor IP telephony systems. According to the report, Avaya compliments its impressive IP telephony systems with its high-end, IPT-agnostic UC solutions.
Cisco also received a Champion ranking in the report. With interoperable IP telephony, UC, video conference, mobility and collaboration solutions, Cisco is noted as having the most comprehensive strategy for enterprise communications. Their Cius tablet and VXC line of thin clients are designed for UC, optimizing the real-time communications experience while supporting desktop virtualization.
Microsoft ranks as a Champion in the report and offers a well-rounded “over-the-top” UC solution suitable for integration with competitors’ IP telephony systems. The report recommends Microsoft Lync for organizations with few mobile device requirements, as there is an absence of social media capabilities, however it’s federation between cloud and on-premise systems enables great flexibility.
Also a Champion, Siemens Enterprise Communications makes a strong case for OpenScape UC interoperability. Siemens’ feature-rich set of UC tools can be deployed in any architecture required, with full ability to run on mobile devices.
IBM has a strong focus on the collaboration aspects of UC and also ranks as a Champion in the report. While IBM is not in the telephony business, they provide Sametime as an “over-the-top” UC solution that works with virtually any IP telephony system.
For the full list of Info-Tech Research Group’s recommendations for selecting a Unified Communications vendor, visit: https://www.infotech.com/research/ss/vendor-landscape-unified-communications-as-a-service
Info-Tech Research Group Vendor Landscape reports recognize outstanding vendors in the technology marketplace. Assessing vendors by the strength of their offering and their strategy for the enterprise, Info-Tech Research Group Vendor Landscapes pay tribute to the contribution of exceptional vendors in a particular category.
About Info-Tech Research Group
With a paid membership of over 25,000 members worldwide, Info-Tech Research Group (www.infotech.com) is the global leader in providing tactical, practical Information Technology research and analysis. Info-Tech Research Group has a fourteen-year history of delivering quality research and is North America's fastest growing full-service IT analyst firm.