Enterprise communications goes consumer: Skype takes Aussie ...

Australian enterprises are using more public telephony and softphone services as part of their voice and video communications mix, leading to consumer-grade services like Skype gaining good traction in the business sector

Tuesday March 13, 2012

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA ? Australian enterprises are using more public telephony and softphone services as part of their voice and video communications mix and software-based and cloud systems beginning to disrupt established communications practices , according to new research from local emerging technology analyst firm Telsyte.

The Telsyte Australian Enterprise Communications Market Study 2012 surveyed more than 300 CIOs and business leaders on their use of enterprise communications technology ? from public softphones to cloud and corporate unified communications (UC) and videoconferencing systems.

Key trends in the Australian enterprise communications space are the consumerisation of IP-based communication products, the increasing use of software-only telephone systems, uptake of cloud services for voice and mobile unified communications.

Telsyte senior analyst Rodney Gedda said long upgrade and implementation cycles for traditional enterprise telephony equipment will be challenged by fast-paced consumer products and services which are available on people?s devices of choice.

?Advancements in cloud and consumer-grade systems allow workers bypass an organisation?s existing investments in enterprise communications systems and software,? according to Gedda. ?The use of mobile devices instead of company handsets can also impact enterprise communication requirements. For example, if a consumer-grade UC app is available on a smartphone and an enterprise vendor app is not, people will choose what is available.?

Telsyte found this trend is leading to consumer-grade services like Skype being used for videoconferencing in 30 per cent of companies which have adopted the technology. Skype, now owned by Microsoft, also has a leading position for public VoIP software indicating a strong trend towards the consumerisation of voice communication.

?With more software-only communications systems available today, we looked at how comfortable IT leaders are using software and cloud systems instead of a traditional hardware PABX,? Gedda says. ?CIOs are quite receptive to these changes so the market is wide open for new players.?

?About 30 per cent of the hosted telephony market is now defined by CIOs as ?cloud? telephony. As cloud telephony services mature and more business processes can be performed in the cloud, CIOs will have fewer compelling reasons to invest in on-premise systems.?

The market opportunity for telephony vendors and service providers remains tied to a lengthy sales cycle as organisations on average upgrade their telephone systems once every five years, according to Telsyte.

?A high 37 per cent of organisations have no plans to deploy UC and a further 6 per cent have a five-year roadmap. This indicates there remains some reluctance from CIOs to take on a UC project,? Gedda says. ?As a result, the public communications tools are filling the void.?

Mobile UC is the next frontier and Australian businesses are already looking to extend the corporate tools outside the office walls.

More than half of organisations have integrated mobile devices with their UC implementations, but this is low on the scale of total number of deployments so the opportunity for enterprises to exploit mobility remains high, Gedda says.

?The leading type of videoconferencing is software on a regular PC or notebook with a video camera. This indicates a preference to use videoconferencing alongside regular applications instead of a dedicated system.?

According to Telsyte, Microsoft?s acquisition of Skype is a big endorsement of the reach of consumer-oriented communications software. The company has started to integrate its Lync server with Skype and other UC vendors can increase their relevance but integrating with consumer communication services as they become popular.

About The Telsyte Australian Enterprise Communications Market Study 2012

The Telsyte Australian Enterprise Communications Market Study 2012 is a comprehensive 70 page report which provides subscribers with key market insight across enterprise communications priorities, spending, telephony technology use, VoIP client use, videoconferencing, vendor market share, mobile UC, on-premise and cloud and UC applications.

Telsyte?s enterprise communications research covers the Australian enterprise communications industry, with more than 25 companies considered including: Google, Skype, Microsoft, Telstra, iVision, Samsung, Mitel, Cisco, Polycom, LG, Panasonic, Apple, LifeSize/Logitech, Alcatel-Lucent, HP, Tandberg, NEC, Ericsson, Aastra, Nortel, Avaya, Siemens and ShoreTel.

For further information on the report or media inquiries contact:

Rodney Gedda
Senior Analyst
Telsyte
Tel: +612 8297 4691
Twitter: @rodneygedda
Email: rgedda@telsyte.com.au

For sales and consulting enquiries please contact Sam Yip on +612 8297 4607 (syip@telsyte.com.au).

About Telsyte?s Digital Enterprise research program

The Telsyte Australian Enterprise Communications Market Study 2012 is part of Telsyte?s Digital Enterprise program alongside separate studies covering? digital workplace, IT security, workforce mobility, infrastructure and cloud computing and applications and software.

About Telsyte

Telsyte is Australia?s leading independent emerging technology analyst firm. Telsyte?s services help organisations make informed decisions and succeed in the Australian market. Telsyte analysts take pride in providing accurate, reliable and actionable insights and advisory services. Telsyte is a business unit of UXC Limited (ASX:UXC). For more information see www.telsyte.com.au.

Source: http://www.telsyte.com.au/?p=1318

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