subject: Why Is Communications Convergence Still A Dialogue Of The Deaf? [print this page] Enterprises want to buy into Converged Communications.
Service Providers want to sell Converged Communications.
Yet there is still a massive unfulfilled demand in the market for Converged Communications.
Measurements made by Frost & Sullivan and IDC estimate that approximately 7 out of 10 Enterprises cannot source the solutions they want today. Why is this?
Business and Public Sector Bodies are seeking to leverage their investments in Communications and IT to gain competitive advantage in their markets. They are buying with future communications integration and interoperability in mind. They are probing providers to gain confidence that their chosen provider can deliver open standard solutions, application enablement, the right quality end-user experience and the professional services needed to integrate these facilities successfully. Many of them are seeking external support in their adoption of Unified Communications - a fact that Vodafone has been quick to spot and respond to by making sure that advisors helping businesses source converged communications have up to date information about Vodafone's capabilities.
Customers are exploring alternate delivery models like hosting, managed services or fully outsourced cloud platforms. Large Enterprises are talking about the capabilities the cloud has to deliver solutions that are a 100% fit to requirements rather than the traditional selection of providers based on "best fit" to requirements.
The buyers' dynamics are changing quickly and in highly complex ways. In this environment, convergence has a definite meaning to the buyer.
Unfortunately, what the buyer means by convergence is different from what almost every service provider means by convergence. We have measured this directly and know that it is holding back purchasing decisions. A keynote speaker at a recent Unifed Communications Expo was highly vocal about "suppliers not connecting with their customers' real needs". The technology is broadly right but the way it is being taken to market is missing the mark from the customers' perspectives.
There is too much marketing hype from providers with not enough of the right products and services underpinning it. This is particularly true when it comes to delivering the right quality customer experience and the professional services required to make converged communications facilities successful from the customers' business perspectives. Customers are looking for open, flexible solutions from Providers they can really rely on as strategic partners. Another recent survey amongst European businesses performed by the Customer Experience Foundation demonstrated that this deeper level of trust between customer and supplier is not mature enough yet. Customers are not just buying pipes anymore, they are buying strategic business solutions - that's how they see convergence - not as VoIP plus Presence plus Video plus IM plus.... the customers' business context matters.
Many Providers are scrambling to be the "one stop shop" for convergence. That is also not what most customers want. Yes, they would like the convenience of a one-stop shop but they also want the best provider for each component of their converging platforms.
The decision making base amongst buyers is changing too. Providers have a much broader set of stakeholders to address in terms relevant to them.
Purchasers are moving to providers who can demonstrate a roadmap for the future that is relevant to their needs from convergence. Most of today's supply market is talking to its own convergence agenda - not the customers'. Providers that are living the buyers' convergence agenda are winning and retaining more business. This is a fact that Larato has observed directly and is an important factor in the development of the converged communications markets.
