“The birth of UC solutions is for the sole purpose of saving costs”

You have a strong presence in the UC space. What are your observations and how is the Indian market evolving vis-a-vis the global marketplace?

The birth of unified communication (UC)solutions is for the sole purpose ofsaving costs, improving operationalefficiency and allowing users toenjoy a more convenient andfast communication. Therefore,the outbreak of the financialcrisis actually accelerateddeployments.

A research study conductedby Datamonitor in conjunctionby GN Netcom found out thatbusinesses and contact centersincreased their investment inUC technologies in 2009 despitethe global downturn in theeconomy. Interestingly theanalyst firm also recommendsthat companies who currentlyview the total cost of a UCsolution as prohibitive shouldinvest in the accompanying UChardware such as headsets,which can deliver significantproductivity gains but with littlefinancial outlay.

According to a report byFrost & Sullivan the total sizeof the UC markets in India isclose to $670 million. Themajority of this includesenterprise IP telephony (almost50 percent) and applications likepresence, mobility and con-ferencing and collaboration arearound 10 percent. The highestgrowth area is around applica-tions which add maximum valueto end users. Worldwide, thiscoming together of communi-cations and technologypresents a lucrative market ofclose to $40 billion. 2010 willbe a breakthrough year for UCand 2011 will see mass deploy-ments across the globe.

According to you, what are the emerging trends that will impact the UC market?

Currently headsets play animportant role in the field ofUC with the key emergingtrend being the increased takeup rate in multi-use productswhich combine (unify) legacytwo-wire deskphone, soft-phone and mobile phone intoa single wireless audio endpoint to allow users to answercalls from any one of thesedevices.

Also vendors and solutionproviders alike are grappling with the fundamental market forces thatare shaping the industry and shapingcustomer focused strategies around this.I have observed that the context of UCin the contact centre space marketforces are rapidly changing customercommunication preferences and this isleading to vendors expanding solutionsaround multi-modal communica-tions. This will further lead tochange in the demographics andexpectations.

MINAKSHI SHETTY

(minakshis@cybermedia.co.in)

(Read full interview at dqchannels.com)