Point, Click, Talk: The 2011
Unified Communications Tracking Poll

To view an in-depth analysis of the CDW-G 2011 Unified Communications Tracking Poll, please complete the information form at the link below.

UC Adoption Up Sharply; Meets or Exceeds Expectations

• Over the past year, the percentage of U.S. organizations with fully implemented UC solutions has doubled

UC is fully implemented:



ROI Results*

*Reported by organizations that have fully implemented UC and have tracked ROI, N = 95

Mobility Features May be Driving UC Adoption

• Organizations especially value UC's on-the-go access features and benefit from increased productivity and decreased operating costs

*Respondents asked to select all of the UC features employees at their organization find (or expect to find)
most useful
**Respondents asked to select all of the UC benefits that are (or would be) most important to their organizations

Cloud Computing Eases Budget, Implementation Challenges

• IT managers say their greatest UC challenge is securing budget commitment
• Among organizations implementing UC in the cloud, however, 65% say UC is more cost effective to deploy, 75% say UC is faster to deploy, and 75% say UC is easier to deploy
• More than two-thirds (69%) of organizations are evaluating, deploying or have fully deployed UC using a cloud model*

*As reported by those familiar with their organization's cloud computing status
**Respondents asked to select all the cloud models they have utilized for UC applications

Industries at a Glance

	Percent Fully Implemented	Top UC Benefits	Percent Evaluating, Deploying, or Have Fully Deployed Using Cloud Model
Medium-Large Business	20	Increased productivity	76
		Reduced operating costs
Federal Government	14	Increased productivity	75
		Reduced operating costs
State and Local Government	11	Increased productivity	55
		Reduced operating costs
Healthcare	16	Increased productivity	71
		More reliable communication
Higher Education	17	Distance learning	67
		Increased productivity
K-12	19	Increased productivity	71
		Reduced operating costs

Recommendations

First, envision the results.


• Think outside the box. UC is more than "voice mail in your e-mail." It can change the very way your organization collaborates and operates
• Focus on the UC experience for your internal and external customers alike. Study a group, or groups, within your organization to understand how they collaborate today. This will give you an idea of the experience they are expecting from a unified communications solution
• Enlist a trusted advisor to help develop an organizational strategy for unified communications before choosing a specific platform or vendor

Implement with adaptability in mind.


• Deploy a solution that allows flexibility. UC is a rapidly changing technology. The ability to adapt as the market changes is critical
• Customers and citizens today are comfortable communicating through many different channels, such as voice, social media, Web or video. Allow them to communicate with you in the way they feel most comfortable
• Embrace mobility. Today's IT organizations can manage the complexities of end users wanting to employ personal devices such as smart phones or tablets. Deploy UC applications that work securely on multiple platforms and devices

CDW-G hired O'Keeffe & Company to conduct an online survey of 900 IT decision makers in February 2011. The sample includes responses from medium and large businesses; Federal, state and local government agencies; healthcare organizations; higher education institutions and K-12 public school districts. The sample size results in a margin of error of ±3.2% at a 95% confidence level. The margin of error for industry sub-groups is ±8.0% at a 95% confidence level.

Medium-Large Business(≥100 employees)	Federal Government	State/Local Government
N = 150	N = 150	N = 150
38% Public 62% Private	71% Federal civilian 29% Department of Defense	47% State 21% County 32% Municipal

Healthcare	Higher Education	K-12 Public School Districts
N = 150	N = 150	N = 150
67% Hospital/Med center 24% Doctor's office 9% Long-term care	33% Private 67% Public     77% Four-year 20% Community college 3% Other	44% <2500 students 27% 2500-9999 students 29% ≥ 10,000 students

Respondent Demographics:

IT Decision Makers	Titles	Organization Size
100% of respondents contribute to decisions on the adoption of voice and telephony, conferencing, messaging or mass emergency notification technologies	13% CIO/CTO 30% IT Director/Manager 8% Telecom Director/Manager 38% IT Supervisor, Specialist or Engineer 11% Telecom Supervisor, Specialist or Engineer	7% <100 employees 25% 100-499 employees 46% 500-10,000 employees 22% >10,000 employees

Kelly Caraher
CDW-G Public Relations
847-968-0729
kellyc@cdw.com