-- International Avaya User Group Survey indicates 85 percent of respondents to make major investments in communications this year

IAUG Art of Evolution/Global Connect 2010 -- Denver, Colo. – International Avaya User Group (IAUG), the independent, international organisation of Avaya and heritage Nortel customers, today issued the results of its annual survey that indicated 85 percent of respondents intend to make significant investments in one or more business communications solutions over the next 12 months.

The results of the survey, which included responses from more than 700 users, were released at the IAUG annual conference, The Art of Evolution/Global Connect, which is being held this week in Denver, Colorado.  The event is hosting more than 3000 attendees, and represents the first, combined International conference of Avaya and heritage Nortel user groups, now coming together under a single banner. 

For survey respondents, communications investments will be focused on integrating existing communications technologies and providing support for mobile employees. To support these objectives, companies are planning to invest in their   communications architecture and applications, with 70 percent highlighting IP Telephony and 46 percent budgeting for specific UC solutions and applications.

The findings also provided further evidence of the growing adoption of UC, with 67 percent reporting projects are already underway or will be underway within the next 24 months. Among the top business communications requirements wanted by respondents in their companies today are:
Improved integration of e-mail, IM, voice, conferencing (40%)
Improved integration and access for remote and mobile workers (37%)
Optimised workflows and new operational efficiencies in the delivery of service to customers (33%)
A customer experience that differentiates their organisation from competitors (29%)

The popularity of these responses demonstrates a broad push by businesses to give workers the tools they need to be more productive regardless of their physical location and the emphasis on differentiating their company through the use of communications. 

“Integration of diverse technologies and distributed workforces is not simply a matter of user convenience. It is critical for continued business competitiveness,” said Frank Castro, member of the Board of Directors for IAUG. “Our members see unified communications as the means to integrate their varied solutions to allow workers to be more flexible, increase productivity, drive down costs and enhance competitiveness.”

The survey also found that support for green IT continues to be important, with 76 percent of respondents expressing desire for more environmentally-friendly solutions both for its own sake and for the associated cost savings. 

The IAUG survey also outlined reasons for the deployment of UC:
Increase collaboration and productivity among employees, customers, suppliers (50%)
Enable employees to easily communicate when they are mobile (44%)
Reduce costs (35%)
Improve customer service (32%)
Consistent user experience across locations and devices (29%)

The independent survey and report was commissioned by the International Avaya User Group and conducted by the Webtorials Analyst Division. Most survey respondents were located in North America and included representatives from the healthcare/pharmaceutical, higher education, government, and financial, manufacturing, insurance and telecommunications industries. 

Steven Taylor, editor of Webtorials and co-founder of the Analyst Division, said, “The results of the survey are especially striking in light of the current global economic conditions.  Convergence in general, and Unified Communications in particular, has moved from a ’nice to have’ to being a business imperative for survival by empowering a more flexible, mobile, and productive workforce.”

Additional findings are available in a whitepaper titled, Integration, Optimization, and Cost Reduction Drive Investments in Business Communications, at http://www.webtorials.com/content/featured/avaya/