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Please contact:
Jeff Claudino
Director of Sales, Insider Research Services
619-229-9940
or via email at:
claudino@lightreading.com |
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| Schools Graduate to UC for Lower Costs, Better Features |
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Students, their parents, educators and staff of schools increasingly expect educational facilities to provide them with the same types of communication, collaboration and technology found in unified communications (UC) and normally associated with large enterprises.
These expectations are driven by several factors. The one that garners the most attention, of course, is money. K-12 schools are under overwhelming pressure to cut costs at every conceivable turn, and communications continues to rank as one of the most expensive budget items. Meanwhile, these same institutions face an increasing need to provide more bandwidth for students and staff for classes and training, while building communications systems that promote safety and provide parents, teachers and administrators with collaborative presence, IM, voicemail and email so they can communicate anytime, anywhere.
Many colleges, trade schools and universities are faced with similar budgetary woes. But in order to drive up revenues, they must have top-notch UC systems that attract students and make their campuses more competitive. University and college UC systems are expected to have all the UC bells, bangs and whistles of their primary school counterparts. But they also are expected to have the added cost and complexity of UC systems that incorporate video, as well as mobility, so students, staff and teachers can use their private mobile devices on university networks without disruption in service, quality or features.
The development of emergency notification systems also continues to drive implementation at educational facilities. However, many schools already have basic notification systems in place. The challenge for UC vendors is to sell schools on the need for upgraded notification systems that can be used in emergency situations.
As schools continue to see real-world case studies of how UC lowers costs and improves total cost of ownership (TCO), they increasingly will look for UC vendors to help them solve issues that plague educational facilities.
Further, as the education sector as a whole faces future funding constraints, administrators and teachers will look to UC to help them improve productivity, communicate more effectively with parents, students and each other, and ultimately, better perform their essential job functions.
Schools Graduate to UC for Lower Costs, Better Features evaluates the demand for UC in the education sector, examining the most lucrative education verticals and drivers in the market over the next 24 months. It details opportunities and challenges facing technology suppliers, including areas with the most growth potential. It also profiles and analyzes the strategies of 10 leading suppliers of UC technology.
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| Sample research data from the report is shown in the excerpts below: |
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 Table of Contents (ipsi1211_toc.pdf) |
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| Private and public colleges and universities will invest the most in UC over the coming 24 months. In large part, this is because such facilities have old or aging equipment that requires hefty investments to get even basic features, like voicemail and conferencing. These older systems are not up to the expectations of the new generation of students entering colleges. As such, educational entities are looking for UC systems that provide IM, presence, mobile applications, call control, audio, video, Web conferencing and other UC features. |
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| [click on the image above for the full excerpt] |
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 Companies analyzed in this report include: 8x8 Inc. (Nasdaq: EGHT); Aastra Technologies Ltd. (TSX: AAH); Avaya Inc.; Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO); Interactive Intelligence Group Inc. (Nasdaq: ININ); Network Equipment Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: NWK); Polycom Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM); ShoreTel Inc. (Nasdaq: SHOR); Siemens AG (NYSE: SI); and Tango Networks Inc. |
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| Total Pages: 25 |
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| FEBRUARY 2012 |
 Mobility, Social Networking Drive Enterprises to Cloud IP-PBXs |
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| APRIL 2012 |
| MPLS in the Healthcare Industry |
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| JUNE 2012 |
| VoIP Call Centers |
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| * Calendar subject to change |
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| "I like the detailed reviews and comparisons of products. ... It's a great reference tool." |
| - Derek Sheeler, Analyst, Olayan Group |
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| "Great service that combines the information I need/want to know, in a concise format that doesn’t require me to set aside valuable time digging through a lot of filler." |
| - Barry Kantner, Vice President, World Wide Packets |
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