Cloud communications market set to reach $650 million: Telsyte
That's according to new research from Telsyte which has forecasts Australia's Cloud communications market to reach $650 million as businesses move to software, Cloud and mobile apps.
Most organisations (88 per cent) have staff that use a softphone at least once a week and Skype is the most popular application, well ahead of the softphone that vendors ship with their PABX systems.
A further 40 per cent of organisations are evaluating docking solutions to enable mobile devices to act as a desk phone replacement while in the office. There is also a shift in how enterprise communications services are being procured.
Telsyte has forcast Cloud communications -- where the customer does not own or manage PABX equipment -- will exceed 30 per cent penetration by 2020.
This is being driven by more options from traditional telco and non-telco service providers and will represent a market value exceeding $650 million. The Australian Enterprise Communications Market Study 2015 examines the impact of emerging technologies on business communications and how organisations can prepare for future disruption. Telsyte senior analyst, Rodney Gedda, said organisations needed to find the best ways to integrate services for holistic enterprise communications that will increasingly involve mobile devices and wearables. "Instant messaging, presence and email integration are the most deployed unified communications (UC) applications, but Web collaboration and BYOD integration are becoming more important as organisations look to modernise their business and support next generation employees," he said. Telsyte forecasts UC to grow strongly in 2015 as organisations look to refresh both legacy TDM and IP-based infrastructure. Gedda said CIOs know UC can reduce costs, which is a key driver.
"However, UC is increasingly as a path to optimising IT and enhancing business flexibility," he said.
"This indicates a marked change from communications being seen as a cost centre to more of a productivity platform." Less than five per cent of Australian enterprises are "mobile only" and don't have fixed line infrastructure, however, these organisations can still take advantage of unified communications through fixed-mobile convergence and cloud services. The Australian Enterprise Communications Market Study 2015 covers the key vendors and service providers in the communication and collaboration market including: AAPT, Alcatel-Lucent, Amcom, Apple, Avaya, BlackBerry, Cisco Systems, Google, LifeSize, Macquarie Telecom, Microsoft, MyNetFone, Mitel, NEC, Optus, Polycom, ShoreTel, Siemens, Telstra, TPG, UXC Connect, Vidyo and WebEx.
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