IP, UC market to top $1 billion by 2013

 NEW YORK, USA: Worldwide revenue from unified messaging platforms and communicator software clients is expected to drop by four percent in 2009, a relatively mild decrease compared to the decrease in overall enterprise telephony spending. The is according to Infonetics Research's report, 'Unified Communication and IP Contact Center Market Share, Size, and Forecasts'.

Alcatel-Lucent ups IP router market share

The related Unified Communication Deployment Strategies and Vendor Ratings: North American Enterprise Survey focuses on end-user perceptions and plans, and names Microsoft, Cisco and AT&T the top communication providers.

Matthias Machowinski, directing analyst for enterprise voice and data at Infonetics Research, said: “Against the backdrop of significant enterprise spending reductions on all kinds of products, the unified communication market is holding up remarkably well. Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise, as these tools are designed to allow users to communicate and collaborate more effectively."

"But the provider landscape is far from being set in stone; organizations are going beyond their traditional communication suppliers and considering offerings from the likes of Skype and Google, making this an interesting market to follow in coming years,” he notes.

Select Market Share Report Highlights

Shipments of communicator clients grew almost 1,000 percent between the first half of 2008 (1H08) and the first half of 2009 (1H09), reaching 5.4 million, with revenue nearly tripling, mainly due to aggressive bundling of communicator clients with core telephony system sales.

In 1H09, Avaya shot to the top vendor spot for communicator licenses after running an aggressive One X upgrade promotion.

The IP contact centre and unified communication markets are forecast to return to strong double-digit annual growth once the world's economies recover, with sales surpassing $1 billion by 2012 and 2013, respectively.

Survey Highlights

Microsoft and Cisco are the most widely deployed unified communication suppliers among survey respondents, enjoying high buyer awareness and receiving high marks from buyers on the most important buying criteria.

AT&T and Cisco lead the list of VoIP equipment and services providers.

Cost, complexity, and network capabilities are the leading barriers to deploying unified communication.

The focus of unified communication is transitioning to mobility, multimedia, and collaboration, with respondents looking to integrate cell phones, IM, video, and conferencing.