Three out of every four IT and telecom decision-makers are actively seeking to move towards a unified communications (UC) infrastructure in the next 12 months, according to MDS.
This is one of the findings of a research conducted by the managed revenue solutions provider, despite 61% of respondents admitting they are uncertain of the value UC will bring to their business.
The findings are the result of a survey of 205 participants in the UK.
Promisingly for operators, 93% of respondents believed that IT and communications services received through the same provider are seen to be “of value,” providing some insight into the appetite for UC,].
However, 57% believe this increasing convergence makes it more difficult to review their telecom infrastructure.
The findings hint at confusion among buyers and suggests that many operators are missing a trick in terms of communicating value to their customers.
“Clearly businesses, especially SMEs, are keen to receive IT and communications services under a single umbrella offering, but operators in some cases are failing to deliver a compelling and clear proposition for an integrated customer experience,” said Matt Hooper, CMO for MDS.
MDS cited an earlier study by The Radicati Group, which found that the value of the UC market is expected to reach $7.7 billion in 2015 or almost double the value in 2011.
“In order to demonstrate the touted value of UC, operators must look to provide clear propositions, with transparent pricing and ensure salespeople are able to highlight the proposition benefits of UC,” Hooper said. “With market changes driven by cloud and consumptive business models, communications and IT services are being pushed ever-closer together, providing a great opportunity to offer bundled UC packages that will be attractive to the enterprise segment.”
Hooper added that operators must better educate the enterprise market if they are to unify services under a single package and deliver the services that businesses have the appetite for.