Canalys: UC call control market set for bounce-back
Despite a worse-than-expected year in 2013, the global on-premise call control market is expected to grow this year
Challenging economic conditions and changes to UC purchasing and use led to a 3.1 per cent drop in line shipments in 2013, according to the latest stats from Canalys.
The fourth quarter of 2013 finished on a low note according to the analyst, with shipments down 4.1 per cent year on year to 11.9 million, and end-user revenue falling 5.7 per cent to $2.1bn.
Phill Pexton, analyst at Canalys, said: “The vendor landscape began to change in the second half of 2013, with Mitel buying Aastra, Siemens Enterprise Communications rebranding as Unify, and China Huaxin’s binding offer to buy Alcatel-Lucent’s Enterprise business at the beginning of 2014.
“These changes have caused customers and channel partners to pause and evaluate current partnerships, with projects delayed until long-term road maps are confirmed." Leading the pack was Cisco with 17.1 per cent of line shipments, followed by Avaya with 13.6 per cent, NEC with 11.6 per cent, Alcatel-Lucent with 6.5 per cent and Unify with 6.3 per cent. Aastra’s recent purchase of Mitel will push it into the top three, if it integrates the business successfully, Canalys said.
And outside the top vendors, ShoreTel made the most gains in North America and the UK.
UC-as-a-service (UCaas) is set to be the fastest-growing UC sector over the next three years, which also dealt a blow to on-premise shipments, driven by vendors such as Cisco, ShoreTel, NEC and Avaya.
Matthew Ball, principal analyst at Canalys, said: “Total revenue is forecast to reach $4.1bn by 2017. Switching completely to UCaaS will not suit every organisation due to integration issues, costs and the user challenges that stem from moving to a new solution. Instead, a hybrid approach incorporating both hosted and on-premises options will be predominantly favoured. Vendors that can offer both stand the best chance of success.”
But in more positive news for on-premise UC call control shipments, the start of a new refresh cycle should drive growth.
Ball added: “Current volumes are well below pre-recession levels. Vendors and their channel partners must emphatically demonstrate the value of their solutions by focusing on optimising IT to drive growth through innovation and enable lines of business within customers to be more agile.
“Using software to integrate with IT and differentiate propositions and enable smarter mobile workforces, as well as engaging with specific stakeholders and influencers, including HR, finance, marketing and sales, will be key for vendors to capitalise on opportunities in 2014,” he said.
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