Building a market for mobile unified communications: a guide for operators

The market for unified communications (UC) is expected to grow significantly in the next two years, even in the midst of the economic downturn. IP telephony vendors have largely defined what UC comprises and have taken on the burden of educating enterprises. Fixed telecoms operators, IT services providers, UC technology vendors and specialists are all jostling to take a share of what businesses will spend on UC.

But where does this leave mobile network operators (MNOs)? Eager to penetrate further into the enterprise and evolve from offering network access provision to full managed communications services, many MNOs want to play a pivotal role in enterprise UC rollouts.

What should MNOs offer, who should they target, and – most importantly – are they in a position to deliver? This report profiles major mobile-centric UC strategies, discusses feature and functionality priorities, and offers strategic guidance to help MNOs both create demand among enterprises in key sectors, and meet it.

Report Highlights

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Executive summary
In a nutshell
Ovum view
Recommendations
Beyond access and connectivity
Target SMEs
Sell infrastructure simplification and explain how features could change business practices
Bridge the divide between fixed and mobile
Focus on the core UC features first; worry about horizontal applications later
Competition will come from IP telephony vendors with a strong SME presence
Partner with Microsoft
Consider other partners
Orchestrate; don’t own
Revolutionise your tariffs
Build a service infrastructure
Exploit your position of strength
Mobile-centric UC is currently a small market
Potentially worth billions in operator revenues through 2014
MNOs must not let this opportunity pass them by
UC is evolving, but businesses remain confused
Defining wireless UC connections
Defining mobile-centric UC
‘Owning’ the service
Mobile operators will need to pick their target segments carefully
For MNOs, SMEs should be the major target
The first advantage stems from the ubiquity of mobile phones in smaller businesses
As SMEs migrate from legacy PBXs, the opportunity for MNOs increases
MNOs must jostle for position with other players
Larger businesses are not ‘low-hanging fruit’ for mobile operators
Smaller businesses are more receptive to FMS
MNOs have few coherent strategies, and even fewer services
There are significant barriers to market entry
MNOs with the right approach will overcome barriers
Focus on core features when building your service
Don’t sell UC; sell its benefits
Email is your foot in the door
Be aggressive to secure essential partners
Consider a partnership with Microsoft
Vodafone and Microsoft are an early example
BlackBerry will likely emerge as another major partner
IP telephony vendors themselves
The hosted scenario may require a migration path
Managed premise-based solutions
Network-based FMS platform providers
Identify the channels that will deliver the business
Creating a channel
The store front
Telesales and the Web
Routing vendor VARs
Tariffing mentalities must change
Impact on tariff structures
Don’t overlook service management
Fulfilment on the promise
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List of Tables
List of Figures
Figure 1: The number of enterprise wireless UC connections will skyrocket by 2014
Figure 2: Four types of players are vying to orchestrate the UC stack
Figure 3: Mobile phones are the access point of choice for SMEs
Figure 4: Opportunity increases as conventional PBXs hit their end of life
Figure 5: The UC competitive landscape
Figure 6: Email is the foundation for mobile applications
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