TechCheck on Existing Communications Technology

Papers speak of the expected hikes in worldwide revenues for the unified communications market in the next few years-citing remarkable figures in excess of a billion dollars within just 2 years!

Fortunately, there seems to be a great deal of truth amidst all the noise. The Indian market, for instance, is likely to follow suit. And just how do we learn that? Besides being 'the most telecommunication-friendly country' India earned the highest 'Return on Collaboration' last year in this interesting report by Frost & Sullivan where the other countries surveyed included the US, the UK, Germany, France, Sweden, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, and China. One may easily assume, and rightly so, that it wouldn't be surprising at all if the Indian market touches that golden number or even surpasses it, duly, for that matter.

Let us zero in on the current state of affairs in communications technology in the vicinity of UC&C. It perhaps is one of the most important reasons why UC has picked up so well in such a short while-the significant and quantifiable reduction in opex that comes with an always-on availability, decisiveness, responsiveness, and collaboration typical of UC. There's a sea change in opex matters when integrated UC functions unify the scattered communication channels and devices; sometimes without even replacement-as in the case of Open Standard based solutions. Be it the travel costs, attached expenditures, and hosted conferencing fees or the recurring communication charges paid to carriers; with a smart UC infrastructure in place they don't bother at all, especially the SMBs. And today, a reduction of up to 45% should be an easy mark. In terms of the key industry verticals driving UC market growth, there are just so many today; and the number is growing rapidly. Of these, the public sector, travel and hospitality, energy, education, healthcare, media, and manufacturing are very important though.

Among the key communication offerings with equal traces of technomorphosis, long term existence, and acceptance are communications enabled business process (CEBP), cloud computing, web & audio conferencing, smart contact center solutions, unified and instant messaging, presence, remote connectivity and mobility and fixed mobile convergence. Communication-as-a-service (CaaS), for example, has gained great momentum lately and with advancements in security and performance of CaaS one may expect a momentous switch in the 'bought versus hosted' IT usage patterns among enterprises across industries and verticals. Of course, there are certain privacy and security concerns typical of cloud communications such as unsolicited or unauthorized interception that is delaying the mass adoption of this technology-but we have measures both at hand and in the making.

A lack of Open Standards and compatibility among players is one big issue apart from security and the future-proofing of solutions and technology. Better flexibility and security will guarantee quick and easy decision and acceptability for enterprises, and that, should be some achievement for one and all.

Apparently, the latest developments in communication trends and technologies are going to accelerate and get better acceptance from various industry verticals. For sheer practical reasons and motivation-both financial and otherwise, these technologies should fare relatively well and transform the way we connect today.

Asheesh Pandia

The author is manager,

communications, Siemens

Enterprise Communications

vadmail@cybermedia.co.in