Unified messaging hits the big time

Unified messaging technology has hit the mainstream, according to industry analyst IDC, which has released research today indicating that revenue in the global unified messaging applications market grew by more than four per cent to $489.7m in 2003.

IDC expects revenue from unified messaging applications for both enterprises and service providers to further increase through 2008, with business users ultimately becoming the strongest market segment.

"Business users are gobbling up PDAs, multifunction cellphones, and email devices such as BlackBerrys as a way to make themselves more mobile," said Robert Mahowald, research manager at IDC's Collaborative Computing service.

"But these devices often are not linked to corporate email or voicemail systems, and can ultimately make business communications systems much more fragmented.

"Vendors of unified messaging products such as Cisco, Avaya and Nortel Networks need to reassert their strengths in the storage, management and integration of voicemail and email messages and as the primary architects of computer and telephony integration.

"2005 is shaping up to be a year of convergence, and the winning unified messaging products vendors need to lead any discussion about mobility and bringing IP voice to the desktop."

However, IDC added that, to take advantage of significant unified messaging market opportunities, vendors need to consider combating a growing perception among business users that mobile email on a BlackBerry is the best way to unify messages.

The analyst's study goes on to advise unified messaging vendors to confront market transitions, such as the shift to IP voice, head-on.

See also:

Communications breakdown

The irony of unified communications is that no two vendors seem able to agree on what it actually is. Now there's unity for you  31 Jan 2005

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