Google planning assault on unified comms market

Google could partner with other UC&C players to establish its credentials

Google is gearing up to become a major player in the unified communications and collaboration (UC&C) space, according to Frost & Sullivan.

The analyst firm said in a new report that Google's growing market dominance in applications and mobility will help it find traction in this area in the coming years.

Report author Dorota Oviedo explained that Google's position in the SME and consumer markets with tools like Gmail, Docs, Calendar and Voice makes the firm well placed to capitalise on the growing push for collaboration software.

"The consumerisation of IT means a lot of people are very familiar and comfortable with services owned by Google, and now expect these services at work. So this could really help Google drive faster adoption among enterprises, " she said.

"There is still some reluctance to use Google among larger firms that perhaps have more legal requirements to fulfil, perhaps due to perceived issues around security, but it seems very likely [that Google] will enter this market in time as well."

Oviedo added that dedicated players in the UC&C space, which currently do not give Google much thought, may have to partner with the search company to head off any market share losses they may incur.

"Other firms should not be worried by Google right now, but they need to consider it and perhaps look to work alongside Google. This would also benefit Google by giving it the reputation it needs to work with large enterprises," she said.

A recent Frost & Sullivan survey of executive awareness of cloud services identified Google as the number-one source, ahead of dedicated providers like Microsoft.

Google's strength in the mobile space with its Android platform, meanwhile, will be a huge boost as mobility becomes one of the key features of all communication and collaboration tools.