I'm sure most of you have already read my latest No Jitter feature story on the Top 10 Enterprise Communications Market Events of the Past Decade, or you probably wouldn't be reading this blog post. I thought I would now do some crystal ball gazing and look ahead to the future, instead of glancing back to the past. Using the feature story as the starting point I take a crack at presenting the Top 10 Enterprise Communications System Design Trends of the Next Decade (in no particular order of significance, though there is some logic behind the order):1. Virtualization to reduce the number of physical servers necessary to support the current and evolving needs of enterprise communications customers;
2. Network Consolidation to reduce the number of standalone communications systems across distributed customer facilities;
3. Hybrid Premises/Service Provider Hosted communications system networks, because an all-or-nothing approach is not feasible for most customers;
4. Software segmentation of SIP Proxy Server (call set-up, connections, and routing) and Communications Applications (traditional telephony features, contact center functions, presence management, calendar/directory, messaging, conferencing & collaboration) functions;
5. Virtually 100% 3rd Party Hardware Platforms beginning with servers and media gateways to gradually include certified SIP desktop telephone instruments and mobile smartphones;
6. Blending of enterprise communications and social networking functions utilizing a single unified client interface for both desktop terminals and mobile devices;
7. Fully federated communications and collaboration across inter-customer network domains;
8. Intelligent work desk with embedded touch screen display monitors and network interfaces for processing, storage, and communications processes;
9. Ubiquitous deployment of real-time and stored video communications and collaboration at the desktop and/or meeting room for two party or multi-party sessions;
10. Holographic 3D displays to simulate a "You are there" experience.
