Enterprise 'wrong spot' for unified communications

Speaking at the Broadband World 2008 event in Sydney, the NSC Group’s managing director, Craig Neil, told delegates that he believes unified communication is currently ‘in the wrong spot’ in the market.

“We believe that in a world of SiP that unified communications applications will reside in the carrriers networks,” said Neil.

“We think it's in the wrong spot at the moment. The presence and calendar information will still come into a SiP server, but those servers will actually reside somewhere different to where they are today.”

Neil said that he expects SiP - or Sessions initiated Protocol - to be the NSC Group’s ‘biggest play in two years’.

Already, 20 percent of NSC’s customers are said to be running soft phones - although not as their only handset device, said Neil.

NSC’s vision for a SiP-led world also takes into account a move to a so-called ‘one number scenario’ - in which people will be given a one-time single number that will stay with them for life.

Although as a systems integrator, NSC has been selling fixed handsets for more than 20 years, Neil predicted that the demise of the fixed phone is fast approaching.

“I think the fixed phone will die and wireless broadband will eventually kill it,” said Neil.

“It’s not dead yet but I think the reality is that [fixed phone era] is coming to an end.”

He added that while there are roadblocks to adoption of soft phones in the enterprise - for example, their ineffectiveness in group conference call situations - he expects these will be overcome ‘in time’.

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