Is Enterprise FMC the Next Big Thing?

Like health care reform, fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) has for many years been a distant-future goal. Trumpeted by a few dedicated vendors offering premise-based enterprise FMC, largely via Wi-Fi, and for dual-mode voice roaming or mobile PBX extensions, the technology has never really matched forecasts. But now a new wave of FMC systems is set to capitalize on the explosion in mobile data usage and enterprise mobility – and many say they will translate into a huge opportunity for mobile carriers.

On the demand side, analysts have slowly come around to touting enterprise FMC as a big growth area, perhaps one of the biggest, for IT spending. ABI Research predicted that FMC handset voice connections for business will rise from 6.3 million in 2009 to more than 27 million by 2014. And the number of handsets used for FMC, though small at 2.67 million, grew 230 percent year-over-year from 2008.

FMC vendors have been plagued by questions of definition. Basic PBX-to-mobile extensions dominated global installed base and shipment numbers in 2008. But FMC can also apply to desktop applications accessed via mobile handsets, remote access to corporate data applications from multiple device types, leveraging fixed-line broadband to improve mobile device access, and any combination of the above.

“It’s a very complex marketplace to really understand the intricacies,” said Dan Shey, analyst at ABI. “But the grand notion of FMC is offering support for any device, any network, any application.”

That grand notion is still a ways off, but Shey added that Wi-Fi will be embedded in 40 to 50 percent of handsets in some developed markets in five years – and in up to 90 percent of smartphones.

Recession Friendly

Research firm Frost & Sullivan said that FMC solutions have become one of the “most sought-after technologies by IT departments all over the world,” because of a reduction in mobile costs and better in-building coverage. Faced with more nontraditional part-time and contract workers as well as the need to reduce costs, in the current economy, enterprise IT departments are re-evaluating both the costs and opportunities of mobile services. Desktop features like click-to-dial, presence, IM and enhanced call routing can offer efficiency and productivity enhancements look especially appealing in a “do more with less” age.

While a range of specialist vendors offers FMC solutions, mobile operators see new revenue opportunities from fast deployments that require little integration low upfront costs. FMC gives operators an opportunity to unify existing services, and tie them in with things like mobile VPNs, call center applications or managed VoIP and unified communications. And, as the network owners, carriers can offer FMC as a managed service that ensures quality while reducing the capex requirements for businesses.