<p>A new survey from Infonetics Research finds that video and cloud are driving the enterprise unified communications market, and Microsoft reported that its Lync UC business grew 30% year-over-year and is now at a billion-dollar run rate. However while Gartner states the market is maturing, enterprises continue to struggle to define UC road maps that accommodate conflicting goals, including UC portfolio consolidation, best-of-breed functionality, vendor lock-in avoidance, legacy investment optimization and user demand for advanced functionality.</p><p>According to Infonetics, companies are adopting unified communications to improve response times, increase employee productivity, and reduce operational costs. While Cisco and Microsoft dominate, other significant players include Alcatel-Lucent, AT&amp;T, Avaya, IBM, Mitel, NEC, ShoreTel, Siemens Enterprise and Verizon.</p><p>"The biggest change we're seeing in unified communication deployments is the adoption of video," stated Diane Myers, principal analyst for VoIP, UC and IMS at Infonetics, in a news release. "Businesses have been implementing more mobility into their UC architectures over the past year and now are looking toward videoconferencing to help drive further productivity."</p><p>Key findings include:</p><p><a href="http://it-tna.com/2013/10/07/despite-gains-unified-communications-a-work-in-progress/">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://www.channelpartnersonline.com/news/2013/10/cisco-microsoft-lead-the-way-in-uc.aspx">Cisco, Microsoft Lead the Way in UC</a> (Channel Partners)</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=dhXENyFkppTp0KMDbQ5lHb30CiSfM&ned=us">2 additional articles.</a></p>