EMEA unified communications and collaboration market to reach $11.7 billion by 2016

SPAIN: According to a new study from International Data Corp. (IDC), the unified communications and collaboration (UC&C) market in EMEA will be worth around $6.9 billion in 2011 and $11.7 billion by 2016.

"IDC predicts a compound annual growth rate of around 10.9% in the next five years and believes that though we have seen moderate growth in the EMEA region, the recession will continue to have a knock-on effect on new shipments of UC&C technologies throughout the forecast period," said Isabel Montero, senior research analyst, IDC EMEA Unified Communications and Collaboration.

"We don't anticipate an immediate recovery, especially if the eurozone were to dissolve. The current state of the economy is diverting businesses from making investment decisions in new IT technologies and as a result the cost versus ROI of such investments will be a top priority."

The study also reveals that:
* Of the major economies in the region, only Germany achieved double-digit growth in UC&C deployments in 2012 compared with 2011. Germany grew 10.3 percent, and was followed by France (9.6 percent) and the UK (7.7 percent).

* Russia, the Czech Republic, and Poland are expected to have the strongest CAGRs in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region throughout the forecast period. This will be primarily driven by the replacement of traditional equipment with next-generation enterprise voice connections.

* South Africa and Turkey will continue to be the leading countries in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region in terms of higher deployment levels of UC&C technologies. Companies in these countries are starting to invest heavily in the replacement of existing infrastructure in order to be able to integrate UC&C technologies, with a special focus on videoconferencing equipment and collaborative applications.

* Although we have seen moderate growth in the EMEA region, the ongoing recession will have a knock-on effect on new shipments of UC&C technologies throughout the forecast period. The need for businesses to reduce operational costs (such as travel) will drive demand for collaborative applications such as conferencing applications, enterprise social software platforms, and videoconferencing/telepresence equipment.

One of the key challenges for organizations looking to adopt UC&C is identifying the right mix of UC&C technologies, features, and applications that are the most appropriate for their business needs and, more importantly, are the sources they would consider for UC&C deployments and expertise.

"An equally important consideration, especially among larger organizations, is whether or not to develop a UC center of excellence [COE] within the organization," added Montero. "This would be a designated group that brings together individuals from various areas of the organization — such as IT, business applications, lines of business, and customer services — to provide guidance and direction for UC&C deployment plans, project development, and ongoing usage. This group could be formed early on, ideally to gain experience and feedback from initial projects."