Enterprise doesn't keep the pace with any consumer evolution. The argument is akin to saying, my cell phone has 10,000 speed dial entries, why doesn’t the PBX?
Another argument against UC written by Nick Jones of Gartner is, "UC is a dinosaur in a world of fast-moving little furry mammals; the leading edge of communication and collaboration is happening in the consumer space driven by companies like Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Fring, Nimbuzz and dozens more. These are better, cheaper and more fashionable than UC and there is no way the so called 'enterprise' vendors can keep up with their rate of evolution."
Eric pointed out a key differentiator between consumers and businesses in his post, Facebook Phone: The Enterprise-ification of the Consumer and that is Communications Enabled Consumer Process. You see this process is different than a Communications Enabled Business Process. While on the surface they may seem the same and even act alike, they remain different.
Consumers and consumer tools, devices and even solutions can be whimsical and I don't mean to discredit any of the solutions. The tools and companies mentioned by Nick are akin to fast food. There's no doubt that these companies and solutions are a whirlwind when it comes to enterprise solutions.
Enterprise doesn't and likely won't keep the pace with any consumer evolution. The argument is akin to saying, my cell phone has 10,000 speed dial entries why doesn’t the PBX? These arguments have been rehashed over the years and it comes down to two different markets that carry a distinction in that they are different. But being different by actions or activities isn’t the only distinguishing trait between them.
Consumers and businesses behave differently too. Consumers want to fulfill wants and needs. Businesses adhere a lot closer to the needs being met with the right business tools. While none of this is new it’s clear that not knowing or understanding UC may mean that UC For Dummies be required reading for analysts. I'd really hate to think about the consequences of any enterprise following the logic and argument of using these "more fashionable than UC tools" because I know that the results wouldn't be the same for enterprise. Better, faster, cheaper and easier to use does not exclude as-good-as or better-than-before performance.
Then, there's scalability and being able to integrate and manage the solution. Sometimes it pains me to agree with the IT guys only more so because it's more fun to poke, prod and rile them. But imagine how many IT guys it would take to manage an enterprise with all these "more fashionable than UC solutions" and allowing users to have free rein over all their communications and computing tools. BYOUC just isn't the same at the picnic as BYOB, but the results would be.
