April 2, 2010
Forrester: The State Of Collaboration Software AdoptionAccording to Forrester, firms continue to turn to Collaboration Software after recession. Executive Summary
Collaboration software adoption grew during the recessionary years of 2008 and 2009, and we anticipate this continuing. Why? Changes in how businesses work internally and with their customers and partners are increasing the emphasis on tools to facilitate collaboration. As vendors move to take advantage of this new investment, it is important to note a couple of things. First, businesses take a phased approach to deploying collaboration software, starting with email, moving to document collabortion technologies, and finishing with unified communications. Second, despite marketing messages trumpeting information worker efficiency, the real value business leaders see in collaboration are cost reductions. Thus, in marketing to this post-recession market, vendors need to take the lead in shaping how business leaders think about the importance of collaboration software and how these tools affect their businesses. Order report online
March 9, 2010
Forrester: The Next Decade Of Enterprise CommunicationsEnterprise communications will continue to undergo significant changes during the next decade, as multimodal cloud services invade traditional communication products and services. Today's infrastructure and operations (I&O) leaders need to understand 10 emerging trends that will influence enterprise communications. These include technology innovation for multimodal communications and collaboration, business imperatives for worker real-time connectivity, and enhanced cloud services for lower cost delivery of applications. Technology advances include innovative applications based on session initiation protocol (SIP), multimodal devices that displace landline phones, increased adoption of open source software, widespread video adoption, and mobile unified communications (UC) for contextual collaboration. Although these changes will occur gradually, it's important to plan today for which technologies will have the broadest impact on your organization. Order report online
February 9, 2010
Frost & Sullivan: Cost efficiency of VoIP/IP Telephony too large to ignore TMC wrote in an article about a new Frost & Sullivan report, that more businesses realize the value of IP solutions over legacy infrastructure, and as more value-added applications are being introduced. "IP has emerged as the foundation for a number of technologies designed to build a new cost-efficient infrastructure for the enterprise." Collaborative tools drives innovation and productivitiy and together with cost savings, IP is essential to corporates' strategy. The market is likely to generate $7.6 billion in 2014 as in 2008. Line shipments will continue to grow from 46.8 mio. in 2008 to 52.3 mio. in 2024. TMC article
December 4, 2009
Forrester: "Predictions 2010: What's In Store For The Telecom Industry?"
4 predictions of Forrester related or with an effect on desktop softphones: - Convergence will move from collision to explosion.
- Green will be back on the telco agenda in a big way.
- The boundaries between work and home will continue to blur.
- Broadband will go universal. Order report online
November 20, 2009
Forrester: Understanding Information Worker Smartphone UsageExecutive Summary
Understanding how information workers use smartphones and applications enables marketing executives across the mobile value chain to successfully develop products and services to address the needs of these workers. Forrester expect this segment to grow significantly as more employees work away from their desk or telecommute. 59% of employees' work time is at places in the office other than own desk, at home, at a client site or other places and 41% telecommute. 54% are using their smartphone for more than 1 hour daily - a huge cost reduction potential when moving some of these calls to VoIP and use integrated softphones. Order report online
August 7, 2009
Forrester: The State Of Enterprise Networks And Telecommunications: 2009Executive Summary
Even given the current economic crisis, enterprises recognize the importance of network and telecommunications (N&T) products and services. What are the top investments and interest areas? Mobility, unified communications (UC), and managed services. A new addition to this survey includes questions about how economic conditions are affecting N&T spending, as well as where purchasing power lies within the IT organization for specific technologies such as UC, landline data, voice, and enterprise mobility. More details in our Blog .
August 7, 2009
Forrester: The State Of SMB Networks And Telecommunications: 2009Executive Summary
Even given the current global economic crisis, small and medium-size businesses (SMBs) recognize the importance of networks and telecommunications (N&T) products and services — although spend is not as abundant as in earlier years. What are their investment and interest areas? Wireless and mobility and unified communications (UC). A new addition to this survey includes questions about how current economic conditions are affecting SMB N&T spending and where purchasing power lies within the organization for specific technologies. More details in our Blog .
June 29, 2009
Forrester: Enterprises Need Innovative Telecom Service Options And Flexibility To Address Cost PressuresExecutive Summary
The global economic recession is extracting a heavy toll on enterprise IT budgets. As a result, sourcing and vendor management executives at multinational firms responsible for network and telecommunications (N&T) are looking for improved flexibility and innovation in service pricing and delivery, along with concessions to help them justify their vendor and service choices. To help clients set expectations on how far they can reasonably push their service providers to be more attentive, responsive, and flexible, we interviewed 29 reference customers of nine major international telecom operators about customer satisfaction. We also used data from two recent Forrester surveys to: 1) identify global multinational enterprise (MNC) N&T service buyers' priorities over the next year; and 2) compare enterprise customers' biggest vendor relationship challenges with some of the largest North American and European network operators. Based on our analysis, Forrester recommends vendor consolidation to remove extraneous players and create a strategic N&T environment and the use of specialists and smaller or regional players for innovative, lower-cost service delivery options. Order report online
March 25, 2009
Forrester: Demand Insights - Collaboration Market Healthy Despite Slumping EconomyExecutive Summary
Although 2009 is shaping up to be a tough year for technology vendors, the collaboration market is proving to be vibrant. The tough economy is forcing companies to restrict travel while keeping distributed teams in touch. In addition, changes in the composition of the workforce mean enterprises must find ways to capture the knowledge of retiring Baby Boomers and provide Gen Yers with their favored tools to work efficiently. These trends have created opportunities for collaboration vendors not just at the enterprise level but also among small and medium-size businesses (SMBs). Collaboration vendors should capitalize on these smaller companies' interest by providing software-as-a-service (SaaS) offerings and flexible pricing models. Order report online
| January 20, 2009
Forrester: Predictions 2009: What's In Store For Unified Communications?Executive Summary
2008 saw most firms finally understand what unified communications (UC) means. Now, the conversation has shifted to the specific value UC provides firms — particularly in a tight economic environment. Today and into 2009, we expect UC trials at firms to continue to prove and showcase the value of UC. What do we expect in 2009 for UC? A merged market between UC and collaboration, even more trial activity, business executives getting more involved with UC selections and deployments, IT managers continuing to demand interoperability based on standards, and UC managed service adoption. All these elements support growth to a $2.8 billion market by the end of 2009 — even amid economic uncertainty. Order report online
January, 2009
Forrester: On-The-Go Broadband, 2008 To 2013 Executive Summary
Road warriors with laptops can already tap into Wi-Fi hotspots and other broadband networks for rich Internet-delivered experiences. Meanwhile, US mobile phone users are only just beginning to do anything other than calling or texting. But that's starting to change. JupiterResearch projects that cell phones will dominate laptops in terms of broadband access and deliver a critical mass audience — 40 million to 50 million users — by 2010. That means marketers should remain experimental, focusing campaigns on mobile experiences that are small-screen and SMS-like and that take advantage of local and social information. Order report online
January 7, 2009
Forrester: Which UC Vendor Offers The Best Value Proposition? Executive Summary
Selection of a unified communications (UC) vendor requires organizations to look closely at each provider's approach to market and value proposition. All leading UC vendors offer diverse portfolios, which lets organizations compare UC solutions and decide which one best meets the needs of their business. This report looks at vendors' pricing models and approaches to marketing to enable organizations to better determine the best UC platform for their business. Most vendors offer basic and premier UC solutions that bundle several applications under one license fee. However, many UC applications, such as conferencing, messaging, video, and mobility, may be purchased independently as point solutions from separate vendors and interoperate with the core UC platform. Therefore, it's important to evaluate a vendor's total solution, associated services, and partnerships to determine the right choice for your organization. Ultimately, the true test of UC's value proposition is to measure its effect on how it improves the business processes. Order report online
January 6, 2009
Forrester: Take A Close Look At UC Applications - How Vendors Compare On Integrated Messaging, Collaboration, And Presence Executive Summary
A major concern for organizations planning unified communications (UC) projects is how to justify their cost during times of budget constraints. By fully understanding the capabilities of UC applications, IT managers can better determine how these applications deliver value to their organization. Presence, integrated messaging, and collaboration are fundamental UC applications that facilitate business processes and enable companies to collaborate more effectively. Integrating these applications on a UC platform provides new benefits such as reducing time to reach critical project milestones and enabling real-time collaboration among knowledge workers. This report examines how leading UC vendors support this group of UC applications, either directly or through partnerships. This is part two in a series on UC applications. Part one of this series considered UC applications for conferencing, mobility, and desktop call control, and part three provides insight in vendors' pricing methodology. In addition to product features, IT managers should look at the total integrated solution when building an effective strategy for UC upgrades. January 5, 2009
Forrester: Predictions 2009: Recession Still Provides A Favorable Climate For Green IT Executive Summary
Worldwide implementation of green initiatives in enterprise IT organizations and their suppliers will accelerate in 2009, notwithstanding the gloomy economic environment. Green IT will spread in several dimensions: from hardware to software and services, from data centers to distributed IT to IT-enabled public infrastructure, and from energy efficiency to life-cycle accounting of IT's carbon footprint. What won't accelerate next year: capital-intensive projects like new data center build-outs. Order report online
December 23, 2008
Forrester: Evaluating UC Vendors On Key Applications - How Vendors Stack Up On Voice/Desktop Call Control, Mobility, And Conferencing Executive Summary
Organizations considering unified communications (UC) solutions often find the vendor landscape overwhelming. During an economic slowdown it's more important than ever to invest in solutions that mirror the short-term and long-term goals of your company. This means mapping your UC strategy to the goals of your business. With many vendors offering UC products, IT managers need to choose between an integrated application environment with a mix of vendor products or purchase an all-inclusive product suite from a single vendor. A major trend among vendors is to provide greater functionality within their UC solution but also continue their partnerships with collaboration and communication providers. This report evaluates UC providers on their desktop call control features, mobility support, and conferencing solutions. Part two of this report series evaluates presence, collaboration, and messaging applications, and part three examines vendors' pricing methodology. By better understanding how providers support UC solutions, IT managers can make informed decisions on developing a strategy and investing in the solutions that are right for their business needs. Order report online |
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