Two recent primary research studies by the InfoTrack division of T3i Group found that US businesses generally use a “best of breed” strategy to select individual collaboration applications rather than following a single vendor’s suite of products. The exception was small and medium businesses (SMBs) that identified Microsoft as their primary vendor. These businesses are more likely to follow the Microsoft roadmap than the “best of breed” criterion when considering further investment in collaboration.

The findings were published in two new InfoTrack for Unified Communications (IUC) research reports: Analysis of Enterprises’ Unified Communications Migration Strategies and Analysis of SMBs’ Unified Communications Migration Strategies. The surveys, which queried over 250 enterprise and SMB decision-makers, analyzed usage and vendor preferences with respect to four popular collaboration applications: web conferencing, video conferencing, unified communications client applications and social software.

“One of the most important findings from this study is Microsoft’s favorable positioning with both enterprises and SMBs,” said Terry White, study co-author and founder of the IUC program. “About 60% of the companies use Microsoft for more than one collaboration application, compared to about 35% for Cisco and 32% for IBM. Moreover, Microsoft was the only vendor used by some respondents for all four collaboration applications.”

Overall, the research found that Microsoft is most frequently chosen, closely followed by Cisco, as the preferred vendor for these applications. Specifically, Microsoft leads in unified communications client applications and social software. SMBs also prefer Microsoft for web conferencing. Cisco is preferred for desktop video conferencing and, among enterprises, for web conferencing. IBM was consistently identified in the top four preferred vendors by both enterprises and SMBs. Depending upon the collaboration application, AT&T, Oracle, Adobe, Avaya and consumer market leaders such as Google were also in the top four.

“US firms most often select companies known for their technology or, in the case of social software, their reputation in the consumer market,” said Susan Hobart, co-author of this study and program director for IUC. “Traditional telecommunications vendors aren’t perceived as leaders in this space, and to stay in the game, they will likely need to partner with the more dominant collaboration providers.”

The two reports also provide the following: 1) a ranking of the most likely migration paths, 2) an evaluation of the reasons why companies choose particular vendors, 3) a review of the correlation between users’ reasons for expanding usage of collaboration applications and their preferred vendors, 4) an overview of the purposes for which the four collaboration applications are used and 5) an analysis of application penetration by type of employee.

The SMB report also includes a chapter on non-US firms’ usage of these collaboration technologies.

About the InfoTrack for Unified Communications (IUC) Program

The InfoTrack for Unified Communications (IUC) program conducts several comprehensive, primary research studies each year that separately analyze and forecast enterprise and SMB demand for IP Telephony and Unified Communications applications. The program also evaluates the impact of major market disruptions, such as the entry of Microsoft and IBM into the Unified Communications market. For more information about the IUC program or this report, please visit: http://t3igroup.com/products/infotrack/ or contact Richard Dorfman at rdorfman@t3igroup.com (973-602-0123)

About InfoTrack

Founded in 1990, InfoTrack provides in-depth, primary research on enterprise communications, along with custom research and survey work for leading industry participants, including manufacturers, service providers, systems integrators and consultants. It also provides reports and research services to enterprise clients spanning a wide variety of industries. InfoTrack is a division of T3i Group, a diversified telecom information provider. To learn more about InfoTrack, visit www.t3igroup.com.

About T3i Group

T3i Group is a research and advisory firm specializing in the worldwide telecommunications industry. It provides reports, analyses, surveys, databases, decision-support tools and consulting services to a global client base that includes operators, regulators, equipment manufacturers, distributors, enterprises and governments. T3i Group conducts its business through three operating units – Tarifica, InfoTrack and TelecomTactics – all of which maintain deep, long-standing relationships with major vendors and other leading industry participants. To learn more about T3i Group, visit www.t3igroup.com.