News and Analysis: SAP chooses Kandy, Mitel integrates Vidyo, Thinking Phones buys Fuze

SAP has selected Kandy, GENBAND's communications platform-as-a-service (PaaS), to enable SAP Real-Time Communicator Web application.  As part of the deal, SAP will also resell GENBAND's PaaS. SAP's Real-Time Communicator is designed to help organizations improve workflow and communications processes by providing real time collaboration for customers and co-workers; the SAP Real-Time Communicator is integrated natively into SAP Cloud for Customer, and can be integrated with the SAP hybris Commerce solution.

Why this is important: 

SAP is a leading provider of enterprise software and services, and its support for real time communications in the enterprise using PaaS as a solution shows the momentum for RTC protocols while also demonstrating the continued expansion of "as a service" architectures.  Webtorials 2015 WebRTC State of the Market Report data shows that 47% of businesses either have deployed or will deploy WebRTC solutions this year.  

Vidyo and Mitel have expanded and extended the companies' partnership to deliver high-definition video conferencing capabilities A new OEM agreement extends the original 2013 distribution partnership, also allowing Mitel to leverage Vidyo's APIs to embed multi-point video, audio and collaboration features inside various Mitel solutions.  The VidyoWorks platform is integrated into the latest version of Mitel's MiCollab real-time communications and collaboration solution. 

Why this is important: 

Ron Wellard, Chief Products and Solutions Officer, Mitel commented on the agreement saying "End customers across industries, are increasingly expressing interest in integrated video communications as a key part of their collaboration strategy."  We completely agree, and suggest that any UC platform needs to include multiple user options and endpoints for video collaboration.  

What's new: 

ThinkingPhones, unified communications as a service (UCaaS) provider that enables enterprise mobility, has acquired Fuze, a cloud-based video conferencing company. Fuze provides distributed teams HD-quality voice and video conferencing and content sharing across devices, desktops, and meeting rooms.  ThinkingPhones plans to integrate Fuze's video conferencing platform into ThinkingPhones services with general availability in 2016. Fuze marks ThinkingPhones' third acquisition since 2014.

In its statement, ThinkingPhones noted that "according to Transparency Market Research, the global UCaaS market is expected to see significant growth through 2022 when it reaches more than $37 billion. Additionally, the video conferencing market is expected to reach $6.4 billion by 2020, with the web conferencing market expected to reach at $2.88 billion by 2017."