Managers at construction firms need to be certain that their workforce is able to communicate quickly and efficiently to get projects done correctly. This is exactly why unified communication solutions are growing in popularity among many companies. Through channels such as instant messaging, presence information, telephony, video conferencing, data sharing, call control and speech recognition, as well as integrated voicemail, email, SMS and fax, businesses are able to ensure that their entire staff can stay in contact with one another to improve overall productivity.

UC solutions playing an important role at many companies
According to recent research conducted by the internet site for IT-related education and resource-sharing Webtorials, 78 percent of enterprise IT professionals had either partially or fully deployed UC solutions, while many others are in the planning phase of such deployments. Investing in UC solutions can be part of a forward-thinking strategy at many firms.

"Unified Communications has clearly taken hold in the enterprise and it continues to evolve," said Steve Taylor, editor-in-chief and publisher for Webtorials. "There are new trends gaining traction, such as the shift from room systems to desktop video, the growing focus on hybrid clouds and changes in the positions of the lead horses or vendors.

Choosing the right UC solution could be the greatest obstacle
Many construction firms want to begin taking advantage of the benefits of UC solutions, but aren't exactly sure which route to take. The research revealed 65 percent of UC deployments are premise-based, but in upcoming years, that number is expected to drop to 31 percent due to the influx of firms adopting the cloud. The most important components that firms want out of their UC solutions is "enterprise voice," followed by "unified messaging" and "mobile clients for smartphones and tablets."

"This latest Webtorials report provides great insight into the state of the enterprise unified communications market, outlining the opportunities and challenges that companies face as they implement technologies that can help dramatically increase employee productivity and customer satisfaction," said Wes Durow, vice president of global marketing and go-to-market operations at Sonus.