Kenyan firms go for unified communication to cut costs

Technology companies such as Microsoft and Cisco should expect more demand for unified communication systems from local companies, International Data Corporation has said.

IDC in an email statement said more than 40 per cent of the businesses surveyed in 2013 in Kenya are planning to deploy unified communications and collaboration (UCC) solutions over the next three years.

"This is being driven by the need to increase enterprise collaboration between different departments and branches, improve cost savings, and drive efficiency gains," the global data firm said.

The uptake of UCC has yet to fully mature as a key communications tool for many Kenyan businesses. As such, IDC believes IT vendors and solutions providers should not only push increased efficiency and improved productivity as the main value propositions of UCC, but also engage in more challenging tasks – such as clearly quantifying the net ROI for organizations that adopt their UCC solutions.
Other players such as Avaya are also expected to make a big push for more market share in the UCC space in 2014, particularly through their next-generation contact centers and other business collaboration solutions.