Unified Communications (UC) adoptions will continue to grow in NA in 2011 but future investment plans show a significant decline over the prior two years. Constellation Research partnered with Computer Economics to survey UC decision makers and found a steady growth in the adoption of UC among companies with earnings greater than fifty million dollars annually for the current year. This survey revealed a steady uptake in UC adoption from a 25% adoption rate in 2009, a 27% adoption rate in 2010 and a 34% adoption rate this year. However, the survey also found a sharp decline in short term plans to invest in UC during the next 18 months. In 2011, 18% of respondents planned short term UC investments compared to 40% in 2010 and 35% in 2009.
While the overall market outlook for UC remains positive, it is evident that the current economic slowdown has put a damper on UC investments for many organizations, where tight budgets limit spending. This same survey also revealed that the majority of companies investing in UC had a positive ROI on their investment, so decision makers understand the benefits of UC deployments. With a slow economy it is up to vendors to do more to demonstrate quantifiable savings for specific industries to help prioritize the adoption of UC solutions. Providing customers with tools to better quantify realistic savings will facilitate business case development and help organizations move forward with their UC upgrades. For full survey results see Constellation Research Group’s report, “2011 Unified Communications Adoption Trends”.
