Sunday, 21 March 2010
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| Wednesday, 03 June 2009 | |
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Vendors plug benefits of enterprise unified communications…
Following the recent announcement that HP and Microsoft Corp were mounting a four-year strategic global initiative to deliver an end-to-end unified communications (UC) and collaboration solution, Cisco Systems has unveiled new programmes, packages and products designed to enable its channel partners to better participate in the expanding collaboration market. For vendors the UC/collaboration hook is lower enterprise costs and improved productivity. “Today's business environment is accelerating the demand for collaboration solutions to reduce travel, improve productivity and reduce expenses,” judges Richard McLeod, senior director of worldwide channels at Cisco. “As we enter the upturn, globalisation, consolidation and innovation will emerge as the major business imperatives with collaboration as the key enabler.” To help partners capture the market opportunity – valued by Cisco at US$34bn – the company is introducing new IP telephony endpoints, (Cisco Unified IP Phone 6900 Series) and video systems (Cisco Unified Videoconferencing 7.0), expanded opportunities for partners to sell Cisco TelePresence systems, and new Cisco collaboration and Unified Communications solutions and licensing options. Cisco Unified Communications channel partners can also address additional sales opportunities with the new Cisco Unified Workspace Licensing Entry Edition, a bundled offering designed for customers who require pure dial-tone capabilities and basic mobility. In some markets a mobility element is becoming a big part of the UC proposition, and one which the Ovum consultancy now places high on the vendor agenda. In a recent posting on the Ovum ‘Straight Talk’ service senior analyst Claudio Castelli notes: “There are many different types of player involved in providing end-to-end UC solutions to mobile users. Carriers, IP telephony vendors, handset manufacturers, application developers and system integrators all have a role to play in mobile UC. Vendors are currently taking the lead. Several have recently launched mobile UC products and are now promoting the ecosystem required to drive their solutions into the market.” “Cisco has announced Collaboration in Motion, which expands its enterprise mobility strategy introduced last year with Cisco Motion. The approach combines its own products with a new programme for third-party vendors and partners,” continues Castelli. “Another new offering comes from Research in Motion (RIM). Unlike Cisco, it favours its carrier channels. As an important player in enterprise mobility, RIM is also working to solve the puzzle behind mobile UC. It has repositioned its Mobile Voice Solutions (MVS), acquired from Ascendent in 2006, and recently announced deeper integration with Cisco Unified Communication Manager.” Hosted UC services are also on the up, with The Radicati Group’s new study ‘Hosted Unified Communications Market, 2009-2013’ suggesting that revenues for this sector could reach US$2.3bn this year, and grow to nearly US$5bn by 2013. So, together to gather. John Williamson |
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