Unified Communications are a staple of the Smarter Working office, and it appears UC is on the rise. Infonetics Research has released a study indicating a 16% expansion in the market for unified communications. The consulting firm COMMFusion has estimated that the UC market will be worth $20.8 billion within the next four years.
The UC market has its ups and downs, but with the need to communicate with mobile workers rising, the market is starting to reflect the demand, and the demand has never been greater. This increase in a time of thin wallets is a testament to how important UC is to our business practices. As we narrow down the future goals we want to reach, building better communication seems to always be in the top tiers. One of the best ways to reach that goal is to have a set of tools that allow us to communicate without gaps or limitation by device. UC allows us to bring together multiple systems of communication such as instant messaging, video conferencing, and phone calls into a single system.
By 2013, one-third of the workforce will be able to work remotely, and that is something businesses are considering when planning out future budgets. UC is a necessity in mobile businesses, and that market is growing. In fact, 57% of UK workers say they will be working from home this summer. By 2015, it’s predicted mobile cloud computing will deliver annual revenues topping 20 billion dollars. When your data can move, you can move, but you still need to be able to communicate. By the same year the total mobile apps and services market value will be 54.6 billion.
Unified Communications are going to continue to evolve to meet user’s needs and wants. Vendors are consistently adding services and upgrading their products beyond our expectations. So keep your eyes on the UC market as it’s bound to climb to new heights in the coming months.