Conferencing: A Strong Driver for Unified Communications Platforms

As the buzz around unified communications, web based SaaS call centers, and web based conferencing  in the corporate and small business environment builds, there are certain technologies that may come to mind. Consumers may quickly think VoIP or Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and even Skype.

One thing that has remained obvious is the consistent drive for communications-enabled business processes. To keep streamlined communications on the forefront of doing business, players have to be provided with the necessary tools. According to industry research firm IDC, such tools include conferencing and collaboration applications.

Conferencing and Collaboration as Lead ApplicationsWhile not typically considered to be an important element of unified communications, conferencing and collaboration are instead considered to be more lead applications instead of those that unify the activities within the enterprise. This approach is rapidly changing as conferencing and collaboration are demonstrating their worth to the enterprise.

IDC notes that the unified communications market in Europe will grow at a cumulative average growth rate of 39 percent to 2013 to reach $13.5 billion. This is a significant increase from $2.6 billion in 2008.

Short Term Expense Reduction a Key Focus

In a challenging marketing where spending tends to be plummeting, solutions that can reduce expenses in the short term will remain a top priority. Such solutions include video and audio conferencing, as well as collaboration applications.  On the call center front;  virtual call center and skype based call centers have become the norm.  For instance, see OnState.

For those operating in the European market, the drivers for conferencing growth go beyond merely cutting travel and reducing costs. Business owners are more concerned about their environmental impact and making internal changes to reflect their approach to their carbon footprint.

Conferencing and Environmental Responsibility

According to Chris Barnard, IDC research director, European Telecoms and Networking, “Not only can UC reduce an organization’s travel budget; it can also reduce that company’s carbon footprint and improve its corporate social responsibility standing.”

While industry analysts believe the long-term opportunities lie in communications event management platforms that enable for the build out of new applications, the enhancement of existing applications with better communications will continue to be a key focus for a number of companies. In addition, the near-term focus is continuing to shift to conferencing and collaboration.

Web Conferencing Will DominateFor the Asia-Pacific market, similar trends tend to be emerging. “In the future, the adoption of Web and video related collaborative applications will take precedence over voice related collaborative applications,” said Shalini Verma, IDC Research Manager for IDC’s Asia/Pacific Communications Group.

One obvious shift throughout the global market is the increase in telecommuting. Companies the world over are assessing the possibility of implementing such a platform, but must have the proper communication tools in place to make it viable.

As unified communications and more specifically, conferencing and collaboration, take a stronger foothold in the market, growth for both telecommuting and unified communications through conferencing and collaboration is imminent.