SMEs and the Public Sector Point the Way to Selling UC, as Vodafone UK Demonstrates

G. Barton

Summary Bullets:

• Large providers should think small and think hosted
• The public sector is a prime market for UC

The market for unified communications (UC) is an uncertain field. There are advanced solutions out there from multiple vendors, but developing a business proposition to win over customers remains an arcane art. This should hardly be surprising; even fundamental services such as IP telephony are still far from being universally adopted, although take-up is now fairly high. Part of the problem comes from convincing a CFO that the OpEx outlay on a UC solution (and often a small CapEx spend at the beginning) will deliver savings to more than cover its cost. Services such as collaboration tools and presence can seem like ‘gimmicks.’ It is up to the provider to educate decision-makers on the cost-saving benefits of features such as click-to-call IPT on an IM-style contact list window, or on how adding shared document collaborative tools into the mix can increase productivity and reduce the need for further calls and possibly travel.