LONDON—The combined European market for unified messaging and communications that raked in US$358.4 million in 2001 is expected to be worth US$4.11 billion in 2008 according to recent Frost & Sullivan research.
“UM applications will resolve the dispersed nature of a number of modern technologies, providing a central focus point of access where individuals and organizations can view, manage and command an array of requirements and communication needs,” explained Nathan Budd, research analyst at Frost & Sullivan. “Uncertainty still surrounds the usability of the product and the potential ROI (return on investment) that it can offer an enterprise, operator or consumer. The consequent hesitancy in the market has had an inhibiting effect on growth in the UM arena.”
The study adds that while UM offers potential for indirect and direct revenues for service providers, those providers should focus attention on the applications rather than concepts because otherwise end-user adoption of a complete UM solution is unlikely.
