Unified Communications Magic Quadrant 1H03

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1 Markets, B. Elliot Research Note 3 February 2003 Unified Communications Magic Quadrant 1H03 Unified communications is emerging as an enabler for business process improvement. Vendor offerings remain fragmented, and lack the strong communication controls or the required business application integration tools. Core Topic Enterprise Networking: Voice Applications Key Issue During the five-year planning period, which voice applications and technologies will enterprises use to successfully build their voice services? Note 1 UC Vendors Alacatel ( Avaya ( Captaris ( Cisco Systems ( IBM Lotus ( Interactive Intelligence ( Microsoft ( Nortel Networks ( Siemens ( The last year has seen shift in unified communications (UC) from a technology and individual productivity focus to a business process improvement and communication control focus. Although core communications capabilities like unified messaging, instant messaging (IM), wireless integration, live voice and personal information management all remain critical, two additional factors have now become much more important. First is the ability to provide tools to manage and control he communications. This includes filtering and routing tools for groups as well as for individuals. Second is the ability to integrate with business processes that use human communications as part of their workflow. Communication equipment vendors with very different core strengths compete in the current market. Those vendors with a telecom background typically have a stronger ability to execute due to their capabilities and installed base in live voice interaction, such as private branch exchanges (PBXs), and due to their experience with unified messaging. They also usually have multiple wireless integration options and a clearer path for voice over IP (VoIP) solutions. Vendors with a datacom background typically have a strong vision due to their capabilities with business process integration and with groupware. They also have visionary initiatives in IM, as well as in extending desktop integrations and application functionality to multimodal devices. The criteria used in the evaluation (see Figure 1) are described in "Unified Communications Selection Criteria for 2003." Enterprises should treat the Magic Quadrant as a snapshot of this emerging market, and should review the vendors in terms of their own environmental constraints and business objectives (see Note 1). Gartner Reproduction of this publication in any form without prior written permission is forbidden. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Gartner disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information. Gartner shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in the information contained herein or for interpretations thereof. The reader assumes sole responsibility for the selection of these materials to achieve its intended results. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice.

2 Figure 1 Unified Communications Magic Quadrant 1H03 Challengers Leaders Ability to Execute Siemens Cisco Systems Nortel Networks Captaris Avaya Interactive Intelligence IBM Lotus Microsoft Alcatel Source: Gartner Research Niche Players Completeness of Vision As of January 2003 Visionaries Leaders There are no leaders in the first Unified Communications Magic Quadrant. Leaders must be able to deliver a complete UC solution, either as a bundled application set on a single system or as an integrated product portfolio, possibly spanning multiple platforms. They must show market adoption of their UC products, and their product set should include real-time telephony solutions, strong integrations with groupware functions, a complete unified messaging suite, and support for IM and mobile communications. Additionally, leaders must provide a clear road map for how they will deal with critical emerging issues, such as presence, VoIP and business process integration. The solutions must provide usable administration and control tools for individual, group and organizational needs. Leading solutions should also provide strong capabilities for integrating communication channels with business processes. Challengers 3 February

3 The vendors in the Challengers quadrant offer many parts of a UC portfolio, and are well-positioned to become leaders. However, the parts that comprise their portfolio are not fully integrated and lack consistency from a usability standpoint. In some cases, the portfolio lacks sufficient market penetration. To become leaders, these vendors must continue to offer complete solutions, but must have better integration between the components. Avaya: The Avaya UC product suite offers breadth and depth from a product and market standpoint, but it is fragmented across Avaya's many product lines. The Avaya Unified Communication Center provides a portal into multiple communication functions, while the Avaya Unified Messenger product supports Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Notes. The recent modular messaging and network messaging products provide direction for Avaya's large voic installed base and better integration possibilities with the UC portfolio. Other UC functionality is bundled within the Definity and MultiVantage PBX products. The Avaya interactive voice response (IVR) and contact center products are not included in the current portfolio, but also offer UC functions. To become a leader, Avaya will need to demonstrate market acceptance of its new products and how it will improve the UC integration among its many product lines. Interactive Intelligence: The Interactive Intelligence enterprise communications product suite is made up of the Enterprise Interaction Center (EIC), Communite and Mobilite. EIC offers a smaller-sized IP/PBX with auto-attendant, unified messaging, voice mail, fax services, presence management, Internet text chat and Web callback. Communite provides similar UC functions on a larger scale. These functions provide unified messaging support based on leading platforms, such as Exchange, Notes and SMTP. Mobilite is a wireless application gateway that enables a range of wireless solutions. It offers individual and group controls over communication flows, and enables these flows to be integrated with external business applications. To move to the Leaders quadrant, Interactive Intelligence will need to continue to demonstrate product advancement, market gain and an increase in relationships with leading business application vendors. Siemens: The HiPath MobileOffice Portfolio Offers a series of UC modules, including remote access (Teleworking), wireless access and "find-me" (CorporateConnect), unified messaging (Xpressions) that integrates with Exchange or Notes, desktop dialing from external directories, personal voice portal (ComResponse) and rules-based personal-call routing (CommAssistant). These are integrated with the Siemens HiCom and HiPath PBXs. The products make up a consistent set, but 3 February

4 are currently geared primarily to the mobile professional. To move to the Leaders quadrant, the Siemens UC products will have to execute on their vision of how UC integrates with broader business processes in their product suite and increase their deployment base. Cisco Systems: The Cisco UC product group comprises Cisco Call Manager, Unity Voice Mail, Unity Unified Messaging, Cisco Personal Assistant and Cisco IP Phone Messenger. Many of Cisco's UC applications have seen limited deployment to date, in part because of its focus on new VoIP installations. Although some of the features, such as the IM options on Cisco IP Phone Messenger, demonstrate leadership and innovation, most of the products provide conventional functionality (such as voice mail) and lack consistent user and administration interfaces; most are not readily integrated with business applications. To move to the Leaders quadrant, Cisco will need to broaden its capabilities and installed base, as well as develop stronger integrations for business applications that require communications as an integral part of the workflow process. Visionaries The vendors in this quadrant demonstrate a clear understanding of the UC market and how to address it. However, their products and market are not yet complete or established enough to challenge the leaders. Alcatel: The Alcatel e-communications Center user model is built around four services: the Message service provides voice mail, fax and (Domino/Exchange). Phone services supports "real-time" phone functions. The Assistant service provides call screening and "find-me, follow-me" services. The Teamwork service allows data and IM interactions. These four services share a set of common Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition modules, including personal information managers, single logon and directories. While initially targeting the OmniPCX 4400 switch, the e-communications Center plans to leverage the Genesys Tserver CTI interface for integration with third-party switches, the Genesys Voice Portal for common VoiceXMLenabled speech recognition support and the Genesys channels to North American markets. The e-communications Center also supports multiple interfaces and options for business processes integration. To move to the Leaders quadrant, Alcatel will have to demonstrate that it can effectively deliver on its vision for UC and gain market acceptance. Microsoft: Microsoft's approach to UC is based on a portfolio of products and multiple partnerships. The core products are Exchange, Outlook and the Real-Time Communications IM and 3 February

5 PlaceWare synchronous meeting services. Microsoft's strong messaging, collaboration and IM products, when combined with its application integration tools, provide a rich environment for improving business processes that involve communications. Microsoft s vision for using SIP to combine IM with live voice channels also offers longer-term potential business communication process improvements. To move to the Leaders quadrant, Microsoft must translate this vision into its product portfolio and strengthen the integration with the installed base of PBXs. IBM: The IBM UC products are based on the WebSphere Voice Response (WVR) services, the Lotus Domino Unified Communication Servicers (DUCs) and Lotus Sametime. WVR provides unified messaging and is built on the WVR for the AIX IVR platform. DUCs provides a range of message, notification and groupware controls and capabilities. Sametime provides IM and presence functionality. Overall, IBM offers a range of options for integrating with business processes. Although these products individually are strong, to move to the Leaders quadrant, IBM must demonstrate that its UC portfolio value is more than simply the sum of its parts, and that the usability and administration of the components are consistent. Additionally, IBM must increase the level of integration with real-time voice telephony channels. Niche Players The vendors shown in this quadrant offer UC products that focus on a segment of the market or a subset of functionality. Nortel Networks: Nortel bases its UC products on the CSE MX platform and CallPilot. CSE MX services include conferencing, call control (CallManager), IM services with presence information and on-screen collaboration. CallPilot offers unified messaging. The real-time voice is provided through any of the Nortel PBXs, including Meridian 1. To advance into the Challengers quadrant, Nortel must increase the types of support beyond individuals mobile users. UC products must support commonly performed workflows for groups of individuals. Achieving this will require better application integration tools. Nortel also must mature the new CSE products and prove the market adoption for its UC products. 3 February

6 Acronym Key DUC EIC IVR PBX UC VoIP WVR Domino Unified Communication Servicer Enterprise Interaction Center Interactive voice response Private branch exchange Unified communications Voice over IP WebSphere Voice Response Captaris: The Captaris UC products are based on the CallXpress, RightFax and Infinite products. CallXpress provides unified messaging and supports Exchange and Notes , as well as voice mail. It also provides call routing, speech-based controls and access to personal information such as calendars. The RightFax product adds advanced fax functionality, while the Infinite product adds a range of wireless options. To move out of the Niche Players quadrant, Captaris products will need to broaden from their current unified messaging focus and increase their integration with live contact channels and applications. Bottom Line: Unified communications solutions are starting to be deployed to improve the effectiveness of business processes that involve human communications. Many of today's unified communications solutions primarily focus on individual productivity. As they mature, this focus will shift to business productivity. 3 February