DeviceGuru

Five key trends are converging to make unified communications (UC) the “next significant frontier for technology growth,” according to IBM. The company expects the global UC market to be worth $17 billion by 2011, it said in a statement this week.

UC involves the integration of communications, media, devices, and applications. Microsoft, also a strong advocate unified communications, describes UC as “bridg[ing] the gap between telephony and computing to deliver real-time messaging, voice, and conferencing to the desktop environment.” This includes capabilities such as voice, video, and multimedia over IP; real-time presence data; and interactive voice response.

In his keynote talk at the recent VoiceCon tradeshow, Mike Rhodin, GM of IBM’s Lotus software division, reportedly listed the five most significant factors driving the growth of UC as…

1. The Virtual Workplace will become the rule. No need to leave the office. Just bring it along. Desk phones and desktop computers will gradually disappear, replaced by mobile devices, including laptops, that take on traditional office capabilities. Social networking tools and virtual world meeting experiences will simulate the feeling on being there in-person. Work models will be changed by expanded globalization and green business initiatives that reduce travel and encourage work at home.
   

2. Instant Messaging (IM) and other real-time collaboration tools will become the norm, bypassing email — Just as email became a business necessity, a new generation of workers has a new expectation for IM as the preferred method of business interaction. This will fuel more rapid adoption of unified communications as traditional IM becomes the core extension point for multi-modal communications.
   

3. Beyond phone calls to collaborative business processes — Companies will go beyond the initial capabilities of IM, like click-to-call and online presence, to deep integration with business processes and line-of-business applications, where they can realize the greatest benefit.
   

4. Interoperability and open standards will tear down proprietary walls across business and public domains — Corporate demand for interoperability and maturing of industry standards will force unified communications providers to embrace interoperability. Converged, aggregated, and rich presence will allow businesses and individuals to better find and reach the appropriate resources, removing inefficiencies from business processes and daily lives.
   

5. New meeting models will emerge — Hang up on routine, calendared conference calls. The definition of “meetings” will radically transform and become increasingly adhoc and instantaneous based on context and need. 3-D virtual world and gaming technologies will significantly influence online corporate meeting experiences to deliver more life-like experiences demanded by the next generation workers who will operate more efficiently in this familiar environment.

In its statement, IBM cited IDC data forecasting that the worldwide UC market will grow 38 percent annually, achieving $17 billion by 2011

IBM’s UC web page is located here, while Microsoft’s is here.