SINGAPORE--(Business Wire)--
A new study by Frost & Sullivan reveals that the need to enhance
productivity and achieve cost-savings through efficient communications
infrastructure rank as the top two drivers for UC (unified
communications) adoption among businesses in Singapore.
The end-user study by Frost & Sullivan
(http://www.enterprisecommunications.frost.com), Customer Insights on
Unified Communications in Singapore, surveyed 150 CIOs (chief
information officers), IT managers or directors, and technology
decision-makers of large enterprises and SMBs (small and medium
businesses) in Singapore. Respondents were mainly from the BFSI
(banking, financial services and insurance), government, utilities,
retail and wholesale, and manufacturing sectors.
If you are interested in an overview of the Singapore unified
communications end-user market study, then send an e-mail to Sarah
Lourdes at sarah.lourdes@frost.com, with your full name, company name,
title, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address. Upon receipt
of the above information, an overview will be sent to you by e-mail.
Other reasons for UC deployments include the convenience of a
single infrastructure for maintenance and support, and the ability to
integrate new communications applications. Nearly 75 percent of
respondents see the importance of integrating telephony and desktop
communication tools in their long-tem strategy.
Most enterprises however will deploy UC in a phased approach,
adding applications over time based on company requirements, with only
32 percent of respondents showing interest in implementing integrated
UC in the short term.
Apart from conventional telephony and e-mail applications, CIOs
view conferencing applications, instant messaging and mobility
solutions as the most important components of enterprise
communications infrastructure in the long-term. Many enterprises
believe that the use of these applications is vital to facilitate
stronger collaboration and anytime-anywhere communication for internal
users.
"Being a financial hub and the regional headquarters for many
multinational companies, Singapore is one of the more mature markets
in terms of adoption of UC applications," says Frost & Sullivan
industry manager Jay Tan, adding that the use of telephony and e-mail
as the main means of business communications is already widespread
among businesses in Singapore.
Tan says, "The survey also reveals a growing use of conferencing
solutions and services to meet the requirement for better
collaboration across large enterprises and SMBs.
"While the migration towards IP communications is well underway,
many local enterprises continue to hold on to their investments in
legacy TDM (time-division multiplexing) telephony systems and will
only gradually perform the migration towards IP when their current
systems reach end of shelf-life," observes Tan.
"As such, most companies are likely to adopt the various UC
applications on a standalone basis until the time comes for them to
migrate to IP telephony or upgrade their e-mail systems," he adds.
Among the top concerns of enterprises in UC deployments are
security, reliability of solutions, justifying cost of investment, and
interoperability with existing infrastructure and between various
applications.
"There continues to be significant doubts and lack of
understanding about the potential vulnerabilities that various UC
applications can bring into the enterprise infrastructure," notes Tan.
He points out that while most UC vendors tout the benefits of UC
in transforming business processes, enterprises have yet to see
significant evidence of tangible return on investments from their UC
vendors and resellers.
UC implementation potentially involves costs in overhauling part
of existing infrastructure, purchase of new application user licenses,
middleware servers, and also a rise in bandwidth requirements. "The
ability to integrate multiple vendors' solutions and leverage existing
infrastructure will be important attributes that enterprises look for
in their UC solution providers," says Tan.
He adds that the ability of UC solution providers to present a
gradual migration roadmap, address potential security challenges, and
ensure greater interoperability will be key in driving UC uptake among
enterprises.
In terms of purchasing behaviour and vendor preference, the study
shows that respondents are likely to have a strong preference for
existing vendors they are already using, and a little over 50 percent
of respondents prefer a multi-vendor approach to implement their UC
infrastructure.
The Customer Insights on Unified Communications in Singapore
market study is part of the Enterprise Communications Growth
Partnership Service program, which also includes research in the
following markets: UC quarterly trackers, UC end-user studies
(selected countries), enterprise telephony quarterly trackers and
annual study, and managed telephony services. All research services
included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and
industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive
interviews with market participants. Analyst interviews are available
to the press.
Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, partners with
clients to accelerate their growth. The company's TEAM Research,
Growth Consulting and Growth Team Membership empower clients to create
a growth-focused culture that generates, evaluates and implements
effective growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan employs over 45 years of
experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging
businesses and the investment community from more than 30 offices on
six continents. For more information about Frost & Sullivan's Growth
Partnerships, visit http://www.frost.com
Frost & Sullivan
Corporate Communications - Asia Pacific
Sarah Lourdes, +603-6207-1030
sarah.lourdes@frost.com
Copyright Business Wire 2008
