IP contact centre and UC markets to grow

The IP contact centre and unified communications (UC) markets are expected to grow quickly once the global economy recovers, Infonetics Research has said.

Sales of contact centre VoIP solutions and unified communications (UC), which includes IP telephony solutions, will exceed £613 million by 2012 and 2013, respectively.

This is according to the Unified Communication and IP Contact Centre Market Share, Size and Forecasts report recently published by the market research firm.

Matthias Machowinski, directing analyst for enterprise voice and data at Infonetics Research, said that the VoIP provider environment is "far from being set in stone" because "organisations are going beyond their traditional communication suppliers" to consider alternative offerings.

Unified communications allow enterprises to roam between different platforms, supporting remote working and hot-desking.

Organisations that take up unified communication are looking to integrate IP telephony, mobile phones, instant messaging, video and conferencing.

"Against the backdrop of significant enterprise spending reductions on all kinds of products, the unified communication market is holding up remarkably well," said Mr Machowinski.

"Perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise," he added. "As these tools are designed to allow users to communicate and collaborate more effectively".