Worldwide revenue from unified messaging platforms and communicator software clients is expected to drop by four per cent in 2009, a mild dip compared to the decrease in overall enterprise telephony spending, according to a new study by Infonetics Research.

Matthias Machowinski, a Directing Aanalyst at the think tank, commented: "Against the backdrop of significant enterprise spending reductions on all kinds of products, the unified communication market is holding up remarkably well. Perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise, as these tools are designed to allow users to communicate and collaborate more effectively. But the provider landscape is far from being set in stone. Organisations are going beyond their traditional communication suppliers and considering offerings from the likes of Skype and Google, making this an interesting market."

The research also found the focus of UC to be a transition to mobility, multimedia, and collaboration, with users looking to integrate mobile phones, IM, video and conferencing. Machowinski also highlighted cost, complexity and network capabilities as the leading barriers to deploying unified communications.