Telephony vendors have encouraged businesses and resellers alike to educate themselves on the finer points of unified communications (UC) after a survey claimed more than two fifths of UK firms are investigating a UC installation.

The research, commissioned by communications vendor SAS, indicated that 14 per cent of companies in the UK already have a UC infrastructure while 42 per cent were considering a deployment.

SAS chief executive Charles Davis said: “The advantages of UC are well documented, but many businesses underestimate the impact on the wider network.

“UC technologies are not plug-and-play solutions and any deployment needs to be properly scoped and managed. Where necessary, an expert third party should be consulted.”

Richard Bligh, group marketing director for telecommunications vendor Gamma, told CRN he felt some firms bought into UC simply because it is the latest fad.

“Most businesses do not know what UC is and even some people who are selling it are not very clear in articulating what they mean by it.”

Tony Shen, president of telephony vendor Aastra Technologies, advised companies to ensure they have a full understanding of what is meant by UC. “The big talk relating to unified communications is looking at what it means in terms of benefiting the business,” he said.

“The question is: how will mobility solutions help customers? We get a lot of technologies, but we have to want it, not just have technology for technology’s sake.”