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PRESS RELEASE
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date:
April 9, 2001 PELORUS REPORT PROJECTS UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES MARKET TO HIT $2 BILLION BY 2005! Raritan, NJ – The Unified Communications (UC) market is poised for a quantum leap! According to a new report from The PELORUS Group entitled “Unified Communications For The Service Provider Market”, UC will tear down barriers to multi-media messaging by allowing both sender and recipient to employ the messaging method they prefer. The exclusive report projects revenues from the service provider market will soar over the next five years, topping $2 billion by 2005! The chief perceived benefit of unified messaging is the channeling of many messages and medium into a single, dynamic information repository, allowing subscribers their interface of choice while accessing and managing messages. Unified Communications goes one step further, adding the real-time component, including call control, collaboration, and real-time connection and call completion. The study finds that while UM in and of itself is useful, the market will not take off until UC capabilities are added. The report suggests that some of the most forward-thinking pioneers into UC have been ISPs and Web portals, frequently approaching the market more aggressively than telcos. Many major portals are integrating UM/UC functionality into their services to provide more value and ”stickiness”. By bundling services such as voice messaging, cellular, paging, one number, and find me/follow me, providers can better retain customers, while attracting new clients with the allure of enhanced services. While there is tremendous opportunity, challenges loom. Arguably the most daunting confronting service providers is user awareness, or lack thereof. The role of free UM services is also questioned. According to the author, Blair Pleasant, “Several companies that pioneered the free services trend have realized this is not the optimal business model, and are modifying their strategies accordingly.” The PELORUS Group warns that unless UM/UC providers focus on marketing basics such as segmentation and target marketing, many will ultimately fail. The report estimates that from a base of $167.4 million in 2000, revenues for UM/UC service provider platform vendors will soar to $2.005 billion in 2005. The report notes that the region representing the highest UM revenues in 2000 outside of North America was Europe, followed by the Asia/Pacific region. From 18.5 million UM subscribers in 2000, the base will grow to over 112 million by 2004. |
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