Hyperbole Reigns As Unified Communications Battle Heats Up

Solution providers in the unified communications space are still puzzled over Cisco executives' recent assertion that Microsoft and HP intend to move their unified communications (UC) business away from the channel.

In a fit of bombastic zeal earlier this month at Cisco's Partner Summit, Don Proctor, senior vice president of Cisco's software group, used the term "cutting you out of the equation" to describe the coming scenario solution providers will face in the UC space.

Proctor didn't offer any support for his theory, but the fact is that Microsoft and HP are two of the most channel-friendly companies in the IT business, and to suggest that they'll cut partners out of the loop in UC is like claiming that McDonald's is planning to quit the hamburger business and start selling kelp tacos.

"Phone service is even more critical to most businesses than their IT infrastructure. It's hard to imagine anyone opting to entrust their phone service to a vendor without a strong local presence," said Marc Harrison, president of Silicon East, a Microsoft solution provider in Manalapan, N.J.

The recent Cisco broadside starts to make sense when viewed through the lens of its growing competition with HP, which reached a boil earlier this year when Cisco revealed its intention to enter the server market.

Cisco has to be irked by HP and Microsoft's recently announced four-year, $180 million global initiative to work together to deliver integrated unified communications and collaboration solutions. The initiative will result in solutions that weave together Microsoft's Office Communications Server, Exchange and SharePoint software with HP's smartphones, servers, storage and switches.

"Cisco has to be concerned about this, because if Microsoft and HP are able to rally their partner base around their joint offering, Cisco has a lot to worry about," said Harrison.

Meanwhile, demand for UC solutions shows no signs of slowing. Forrester Research recently estimated that 84 percent of enterprises in North America and Europe are evaluating, piloting or implementing UC and collaborative solutions. Forrester expects the UC market to grow at a rate of 35.9 percent through 2015.

As UC grows more popular, Cisco will also find itself battling with Microsoft and HP for the talent necessary to deploy UC solutions, which requires certain skills that fall outside the purview of traditional integrators.

Next: The Coming UC Talent Crunch