Mobile operators to gain little from the unified comms revolution

Paul Rasmussen — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:26:22 -0400

The market for Unified Communications (UC) is expected to grow significantly in the next five years. Even in the midst of the economic downturn, the market research firm Ovum estimates over 16 million enterprise-owned mobile devices will be connected to UC platforms by 2014. Fixed telecoms operators, IT services providers, UC technology vendors and specialists are all jostling to take a share. In the midst of this, Ovum has identified a significant opportunity for mobile network operators (MNOs) to influence and profit from UC.

While many operators were aware of the opportunity UC provided, Ovum claims most were holding back from launching services in a market which is poised for dramatic growth. Based on feedback from enterprises large and small, Ovum has identified a gap in service provision which should be filled by mobile operators. Article

Credit crunch bites European mobile market

Paul Rasmussen — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:54:35 -0500

A new report from Ovum says Europe has become the first regional mobile market to be hit by the economic downturn. After analysing the Q3 2008 financial results of mobile operators around the world, Ovum concluded that, although other markets have so far proved resilient, Europe's top mobile operators show a marked, credit-crunch-induced deterioration in performance. The US mobile market has to date resisted the downturn and developing markets such as Latin America continue to enjoy double-digit revenue growth rates.

The good news is that Ovum does not anticipate a major slowdown for the mobile industry. Although some operators may become vulnerable, says Emeka Obiodu, a senior analyst at Ovum and the lead author of the report, the mobile market remains overwhelmingly buoyant and he expects it to ride out the current financial crises.

For more on this story go to Cellular News and Mobile Europe

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