PARTNERS ’ PERSPECTIVE
Part of the Lynchpin Media team , Manda Banda has more than 20 years of experience working for channel publications . He shares the knowledge he has learnt during that time in this monthly column for Intelligent Tech Channels .
Unified communications uptake accelerates
Manda Banda , Managing Editor , Intelligent Tech Channels
Manda Banda is also Lynchpin Media ’ s Managing Editor of Intelligent CIO Middle East and Intelligent CIO Africa magazines .
With Unified communications being offered more as a service , organisations in the Middle East are taking advantage of some significant cloud business benefits , including improved company agility , employee productivity and cost control . Are solution providers benefitting from this shift in the market ?
Unified communications ( UC ) and collaboration solutions offers what organisations need to tap the power of the Internet to work collectively on projects . But less than 25 % of organisations in the Middle East fully deploy UC , and their employees fail to use collaboration solutions , instant messaging , conferencing and other tools that are available .
According to Grand View Research , the global unified communication as a service market size was valued at US $ 38.74 billion in 2020 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate ( CAGR ) of 23.6 % from 2021 to 2028 . The outbreak of COVID-19 is compelling enterprises to adopt a hybrid business model . As a result , enterprises are particularly consolidating multiple communication features and enabling cross-functioning to ensure efficient collaboration . The growing number of employees working from home is also prompting companies to implement unified communication as a service ( UCaaS ) solutions . Companies are also adopting UCaaS platforms and tools as the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted them to reevaluate their operational costs and protect their margins amid dwindling revenues . The UC and collaboration sector in the Middle East is growing rapidly with companies of every size , industry and geography investing in UC and video solutions to enhance productivity and reduce IT costs , and there is a tremendous opportunity for the “ As-a-Service ” model in the region .
UC empowers people to communicate more effectively , improves business processes , and helps businesses achieve better profitability . It is an increasingly important investment for Middle East organisations looking to improve productivity and responsiveness while reducing their IT costs . The convergence of voice , video and data communications around a shared
With the race towards Digital Transformation in full swing , collaboration is very much at the heart of the digital strategy of many organisations .
IP-based infrastructure – allowing users to easily make a call , send a message , or join an audio or video conference – is bringing benefits to businesses of every size , industry , and geography .
Most UC and collaboration solution providers have emerged from the established community of systems integrators and value-added resellers ( VARs ) that have for a long time developed their skills in the networking , server , security and storage infrastructure space . The main UC and collaboration solutions vendors have been taking digitisation and industry trends into account and introducing newer versions of UC and collaboration solutions . Clearly , cloud is the way forward and that ’ s why most vendors have cloud services . Transitioning to the cloud is critical for companies large and small , where they can buy cloud and on-premises UC and collaboration solutions based on whether they want an OPEX or CAPEX purchasing model .
With regards to channel partner involvement in the UC and collaboration solutions space , I see significant potential for resellers that want to offer the same rich communications experiences customers expect from vendor solutions delivered onpremises or as cloud-based offerings .
Channel partners can offer a full range of solutions – on-premises , hybrid cloud or fully-hosted , allowing customers to manage their migration to the cloud at their own pace .
And with the race towards Digital Transformation in full swing , collaboration is
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