With UM, carriers may provide enterprises some options in deploying UM without building out their own infrastructures; however, proceed with caution. It's one thing to outsource a tactical business process. It's another thing entirely to outsource a strategic resource like corporate communications.
Size Does Matter
Of course, not all enterprises are created equal. Small companies may want a comprehensive UM service where voicemail and e-mail servers are maintained on the service provider's site. And, hosted services provide low entry costs for messaging services--SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses) don't need to purchase and maintain the hardware and software necessary to run UM, and they don't need the technical expertise and sheer manpower required to administer and maintain these systems. They could also receive the benefit of a low subscription cost because service providers can leverage a large subscription base to reduce their TCO and provide cost-effective services.
But with the benefits, there are burdens.
Outsourcing follows natural laws. That is, the more you give, the less you have. A hosted UM service not only controls your voice and e-mail servers, but also your messages until they are moved to a local e-mail server. This makes messages difficult to retrieve should the lights go out for the provider. Also, service providers will not introduce new features until they see a guaranteed rate of return among all the subscribers. This may inhibit the introduction of new features as they become available and reduce the amount of integration and customization of UM with enterprise resources. On the other hand, outsourcing messaging services can facilitate mobile professionals' access to UM. Rather than accessing the corporate LAN/WAN for services, road warriors can retrieve and send multimedia messages within the carrier's wireless or wire-line network.
Subsea cable alternatives can provide a level of comfort for those concerned about disruptions. Realistically, they will continue to play a small, but critical role in the short term.
Maintaining existing network infrastructures often incurs huge technical debt before newer technologies are adopted over time.
Amid ongoing regional uncertainties, telecom infrastructure in the Middle East has expand to include terrestrial low-latency network infrastructure, which offers resilience and agility in navigating political complexities without relying solely on undersea networks.
