Almost three quarters (73%) of the consultants believe that Microsoft will be a viable competitor in the upcoming years. A year ago, the results would have been significantly different based on my conversations with consultants at last year’s STC conference.
The latest release of OCS 2007 may have done a lot to change consultant minds. According to one consultant, "Microsoft is moving at a fast clip with OCS 2007 and will follow Cisco's lead in expanding its market reach into telephony systems. Microsoft's desktop dominance and marketing skills will be a deadly combination for climbing to the top of the market sector during the next decade."
Another commented: "They already are [a viable competitor] and their interest in the consulting community was surprisingly strong." From a consultant not impressed by Microsoft’s enterprise communications plans: "They are inching their way along to play catch up, I doubt they truly understand voice, it isn't just another desktop app! Also no good ‘go to market’ channel strategy."
Just over one quarter (27%) of the consultants responded that IBM will be a viable competitor, the opposite of the Microsoft response. IBM’s plans for the enterprise communications are not well known or understood by most consultants, but things may change at VoiceCon Orlando 2009, when the computer giant--as a participant on my IP telephony system RFP panel--presents current and near-term capabilities for its Unified Telephony offering.
Only one consultant mentioned Unified Telephony in their comments. Another consultant wrote that "[their] product is irrelevant. IBM does not know how to sell voice." Another wrote that "the IBM folks I have worked with so far don't have a clue about the market and what customers want." A few consultants thought that IBM would need to acquire an existing system supplier to successfully enter the market. Based on the overall results, IBM needs to follow Microsoft's lead and implement a well planned marketing campaign to turn around consultant perceptions.
Not quite half (44%) of the consultants responding said they recommended a hosted solution to a client. A few reasons were given for not providing a recommendation, including "It is still just Centrex, very old news!" and "Too risky, no control over client's destiny, plus it does matter what market you're selling this stuff to...well established firms I think they have resources and staying power to run their own systems."
Personally, I am surprised that the number of affirmative responses to this question was as high as it is, because most hosted services customers are concentrated in the smaller end of the line size spectrum that do not usually engage (or can afford) a consultant.
