Unified Communications Sector Gets a Boost from Cloud & BYOD, Heavy Reading Finds

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The growing use of cloud-based services and the need to accommodate "bring your own device" (BYOD) mobile usage is triggering new interest in unified communications (UC) among enterprise customers, according to the latest report from Heavy Reading IP Services Insider (www.heavyreading.com/entvoip), a subscription research service from Heavy Reading (www.heavyreading.com).

Cloud & BYOD Give a Boost to Unified Communicationsexamines the cloud UC market, analyzing the most lucrative verticals of cloud UC, and discussing drivers and challenges in the industry. It includes a comparative analysis of solutions and applications available from nine leading suppliers of UC platforms and identifies trends that will likely affect the UC sector over the next 18-24 months.

For a list of companies covered in this report, http://img.lightreading.com/evi/pdf/ipsi0912_companies.pdf

"UC is in a unique position to take advantage of the cloud," says Denise Culver, research analyst with Heavy Reading IP Services Insider and author of the report. "Enterprises want what UC offers – access to multiple, often disparate, product components that, when used together, provide a unified user interface and experience across devices and media types."

UC isn't simply a list of capabilities accessed through a single interface, Culver says. "To ensure that UC continues to attract and retain users, vendors must continue focusing on interoperability, security and making UC as mobile as possible," she continues. "As focus is placed on integrating UC with BYOD, it will drive higher adoption of readily available UC features and capabilities to all devices, including smartphones, PCs, tablets and readers."

Key findings of Cloud & BYOD Give a Boost to Unified Communications include the following:

• Cloud UC technologies improve response times, result in better collaboration and embrace a work-from-anywhere mentality.
• Replacing legacy equipment is critical, as social media and mobile integration become impossible with TDM and PSTN technologies.
• Cloud-based UC enables enterprises to implement solutions incrementally, solving the ongoing ROI challenge that traditional UC has been unable to address.
• The availability of reliable, feature-rich offerings with demonstrable ROI will continue to drive usage across all regions over the next two years.
• One expected trend is for UC services to be bundled increasingly into product offerings from carriers, cable operators and other service providers.

Cloud & BYOD Give a Boost to Unified Communications is available for $900 (single-user license). Enterprise licenses also are available. For more information, please visit: www.heavyreading.com/entvoip. For more information about other Heavy Reading Insider research services, please visit: www.heavyreading.com/research.

To request a free executive summary of the report, or for details on multi-user licensing options, please contact:

Jeff Geddes
Account Manager
Heavy Reading
303-997-9135
geddes@lightreading.com

Press/analyst contact:
Jennifer Baker
Marketing Director, Light Reading Communications Network
617-871-1910
jbaker@lightreading.com

About Heavy Reading (www.heavyreading.com)
Heavy Reading is an independent research organization offering deep analysis of emerging telecom trends to network operators, technology suppliers, and investors. Its product portfolio includes in-depth reports that address critical next-generation technology and service issues, market trackers that focus on the telecom industry's most critical technology sectors, exclusive worldwide surveys of network operator decision-makers that identify future purchasing and deployment plans, and a rich array of custom and consulting services that give clients the market intelligence needed to compete successfully in the global telecom industry. As a telecom research arm of the Light Reading Communications Network (www.lrcn.com), Heavy Reading contributes to the only integrated business information platform serving the global communications industry.

About Light Reading Communications Network (www.lrcn.com)
The Light Reading Communications Network combines the most trusted telecom research brands with award-winning online communities and a rich events portfolio to deliver the only integrated business information platform serving the global communications industry.   With the power of this platform, leaders who build, deploy, finance, and regulate next-generation telecom networks are able to make more informed decisions on emerging market and service opportunities.  Light Reading Communications Network is a division of UBM TechWeb (www.ubmtechweb.com), the global leader in technology media and business information. 

SOURCE Heavy Reading