8/7/2007 -- Unified communications (UC) and unified messaging (UM) might be all the rage -- at least as far as Cisco Systems Inc. and other hardware vendors are concerned -- but customers apparently still need convincing.

That's the upshot of new research from market watcher In-Stat, which says that even though UC solutions promise time-saving benefits and increased efficiencies, deployments continue to lag.

First, the background: UC and UM promise business users a seamless experience in which they can receive voice and data wherever they are -- and by means of the most convenient device at their disposal.

It sounds exciting, but enterprise IT departments aren't yet biting, according to In-Stat. One reason, researchers say, is because IT managers and business decision makers want to see demonstrable demand from end users before they dedicate resources to make them available.

All the same, a host of vendors continue to develop and market UC and UM solutions. They're betting that as business users get a taste of what unified messaging and communications can do, they'll start to clamor for UC and UM capabilities. In this respect, In-Stat suggests, Microsoft Corp. could play a significant role.

"While Microsoft will surely play a key role in how messaging and unified communications play out on the desktop, IP manufacturers and specialty firms are aggressively countering by integrating messaging and unified communications solutions in their burgeoning IP PBX offerings," said In-Stat analyst David Lemelin in a statement.

By 2011, the market watcher predicts, worldwide UM and UM-capable client shipments will reach nearly 19.5 million. And by 2009, In-Stat said, traditional voicemail port shipments will shrink to zero.

Currently, the use of Web access to both e-mail and voicemail far exceeds use of other unified messaging applications, In-Stat concluded. --Stephen Swoyer