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Unified Communications: Top 100 Influencers and Brands

by | Sep 14, 2016 | Influencer Lists,

Unified communications refers to the integration of communication tools that help people exchange ideas and do their jobs more effectively. It involves the integration of real-time, enterprise, communication services such as instant messaging (chat), voice (including IP telephony), audio, web & video conferencing, desktop sharing, data sharing, call control and speech recognition with non-real-time communication services such as integrated voicemail, e-mail and SMS.

Unified communications allows an individual to send a message on one medium, and receive the same communication on another medium. For example, you could receive a voicemail and choose to access it via e-mail.

The global unified communications market size is expected to reach $143.49 billion by 2024, according to a report by Grand View Research, mainly due to the increasing need for real-time and efficient communication systems that enhance the inter-organisational exchange of information.

WHAT ARE THE EXPERTS SAYING?

We reached out to some of the top influencers on our list to ask them for their views on unified communications. We spoke to Perry Nalevka (#3), Samuel Pavin (#4) and Jaymie A. Cutaia (#6). Be sure to follow them to stay up to date on the best content and resources on unified communications.


Onalytica - Unified Communications - Top 100 Influencers and Brands Perry Nalevka

Perry Nalevka – CEO at Penguin Strategies

“I’ve been involved in communications for 10 years and I’ve seen a lot of changes. When the mobile revolution started, unified communications was a fancy way of saying call forwarding but as technology has progressed and smart phones have became common place, there are now a lot of other ways to communicate. As we are now communicating on so many different channels the problem we are facing is seeing all the communications in one place. On one hand we have the service providers providing the connectivity and over the top services, and on the other we have innovative start-ups such as Slack offering communication solutions. Moving forward the biggest challenge is unifying the communications and getting your internal team to communicate on the same channel, and the second biggest challenge is adapting to how your customers are communicating.”


Onalytica - Unified Communications - Top 100 influencers and Brands - Samuel Pavin
Samuel Pavin  – Advisor and Strategist at Samuel Pavin Group
“As an individual, I like to have everything in one place. As such, apps like WeChat, offering so many features in one tool, are my go-to. Unified communications brings it to the business world. Integrating all channels in one place helps, not only, with structuring the communication but also productivity – and ultimately a better experience. Be it for external or even internal customers. I think the rise of messaging apps (WhatsApp and all) has helped people grasp the concept of unified communication where written and spoken messages mix together. With the likes of Slack and livechats entering companies and seeing massive adoption by startups, the idea of unified communication has been able to grow and be more easily and widely understood. As for the next steps, we are currently seeing a phase of buyouts and consolidation which is going in that direction. With all the channels available nowadays, it is crucial to build a hub in order to capture all interactions, be able to structure all data and, ultimately serve all stakeholders more efficiently.”


Onalytica - Unified Communications - Top 100 influencers and Brands - Jaymie Scotto CutaiaJaymie A. Cutaia – Founder & CEO Jaymie Scotto and Associates

“Unified Communications is not just about integrating enterprise communications services like chat, voice, mobile, web and video, but about enhancing the way team members, students and customers are able to leverage today’s technology advancements to provide better, streamlined collaboration and productivity. It’s about advancing the way we learn, build and grow together.”


TOPIC ANALYSIS

We were interested in seeing which topics were spoken of the most in the context of unified communications, so we analysed the top 100 influencers’ tweets and blogs from 1st August – 13th September 2016 and counted the number of times various topics were mentioned and then created a share of voice pie chart.

Onalytica - Unified Communications - Top 100 influencers and Brands - Topic Share of Voice

At #1 is the topic Cloud with 32% share of voice illustrating the importance of having your information, such as contacts, stored remotely with easy access from anywhere. The 2nd most popular topic among the unified communications influencers was Data with a 20% share of voice. Quickly following by the related topic of Security at #3 with a 15% share of voice. Collaboration was at #4 with 8% followed by Platform #5 with 8%. Voice was at #6 with a 4% share of voice, 5G received a 4% share of voice, followed by VoIP, Broadband and Mobility all with a 3% share of voice each.


MAPPING THE COMMUNITY

We were very interested in seeing which brand and individuals were leading the discussion around unified communications, so we analysed over 18K tweets from 8th July – 29th August 2016 mentioning the key words: “unified comms” OR unifiedcomms OR “unified communication” OR “unified communications” OR unifiedcommunications OR unifiedcommunication. We then identified the top 100 most influential brands and individuals leading the discussion on Twitter. What we discovered was a very engaged community, with much discussion between individuals and brands. Below you can see a network map of the online conversation with the the #1 influencer Evan Kirstel at the centre. This map was created with our Influencer Relationship Management software (IRM). Be sure to click on the map to enjoy the full size network diagram in greater detail.

Onalytica - Unified Communications - Top 100 influencers and Brands - Network Map Evan Kirstel

Below you can see another network map created with our Influencer Relationship Management software (IRM) showing the number 1 brand Avaya at the centre and all the conversations to and from the influencers in their field. If you are interested in learning more about identifying, managing and engaging with influencers click here to get in touch!

 Onalytica - Unified Communications - Top 100 influencers and Brands - Network Map Avayal


TOP 100 INDIVIDUALS

We looked at all the individuals engaging on Twitter to bring you a list of the top influencers in unified communications. Below is the top 50, if you want to see who ranks from 50-100 be sure to download the full report by clicking the download button below.

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RankTwitter HandleNameCompanyInfluencer Score
1@evankirstelEvan KirstelUCStrategies100
2@MarkRobertsCMOMark RobertsShoreTel89.08
3@perrynalevkaPerry NalevkaPenguin Strategies77.94
4@SamPavinSamuel PavinSamuel Pavin Group73.04
5@FreedomFireComMichael E LemmFreedomFire Communications49.11
6@jscottoJaymie Scotto CutaiaJaymie Scotto & Associates44.33
7@adi_MarketerAditya GuptaPanamax41.52
8@a1purvaApurva ChamariaHCL Technologies37.53
9@RafaelCisnerosRafael CisnerosTelefónica37.04
10@nzaharonyNili M ZaharonyPenguin Strategies35.25
11@martin_steinmanMartin SteinmanSteamFab Ventures32.98
12@ralphopinionsRalph A. RodriguezBlue Hill Research30.86
13@gerardblokdijkGerard BlokdijkThe Art of Service28.32
14@IditLoweIdit LowensteinPenguin Strategies26.48
15@sonalbishtSonal BishtPolycom26.26
16@gabiyanoverGabi YanoverPenguin Strategies25.72
17@davidfcarrDavid F. CarrCarr Communications25.49
18@ilissanycIlissa MilleriMiller Public Relations25.13
19@Andrew_CamplingAndrew CamplingBT24.76
20@jforst26Jennifer HartleyBPM23.99
21@voice_compassDetlev Arteltaixvox23.06
22@lauravolpi_itLaura VolpiCisco22.87
23@RonaldSchlagerRonald SchlagerSchlager Communications Services19.9
24@ZacharyOstrowZachary N. OstrowPublicis Groupe19.73
25@MattPreschernMatt PreschernHCL Technologies18.92
26@MsteltzerMatt SteltzerNORSTAR Networks18.58
27@pauleriksenPaul EriksenAT&T18.27
28@mharanas1987Mark HaranasCRN18.25
29@manlyclubSteve MillerManly Club18.1
30@OpeningzByAbiAbi Brown ☕️️Openingz17.97
31@NikolaMcCloskeyNikola McCloskeyHeket Productions17.12
32@bashirm99031799bashir mohamedDimension Data16.94
33@WitoldKepinskiWitold KepinskiDutch IT Channel16.7
34@MitchellBarkerMitchell BarkerWhich VoIP16.63
35@Lauren1DukesLauren DukesCrowdtap16.57
36@bonirulzzBoni sataniPanamax15.79
37@GutoSmatosGustavo MatosAT&T15.71
38@JulieParker144Julie ParkerBroadcast2world15.4
39@BitaMilanianBita MilanianGENBAND15.04
40@nbrien8856Norm BrienConcentric Business Solutions14.77
41@my6cessDan FrostSymplicity Corporation14.64
42@pbxmanJeff HiebertROI Networks14.16
43@Neetesh_hajelaNeetesh HajelaHCL Technologies13.95
44@marciasavageMarcia SavageNetwork Computing13.89
45@AFairchAlea FairchildConstantia Institute13.39
46@JaclynALevyJackie Riback LevyJaymie Scotto & Associates13.39
47@aemmons1016Ashley EmmonsJaymie Scotto & Associates13.3
48@TelexplainerJohn SheplerTelexplainer13.27
49@theitsmguruVictoria WeaverFederal Agency13.02
50@giovanniserlijnGiovanni SerlijnKPN12.19

 

TOP 100 BRANDS

We also looked at all the brands  engaging on Twitter to bring you a list of the top brands talking about unified communications. Below is the top 50, if you want to see who ranks from 50-100 be sure to download the report to get the full top 100 list, and see who are most the influential brands in unified communications.

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RankTwitter HandleNameInfluencer Score
1@AvayaAvaya100
2@CounterPathCounterPath42.77
3@GENBANDGENBAND35.68
4@panamax_incPanamax Inc29.66
5@InformationWeekInformationWeek27.49
6@hcltechHCL Technologies24.05
7@AvotusCorpAvotus Corporation18.47
8@Swyx_Channel_ENSwyx Solutions17.97
9@Channel_OnlineChannel Partners16.57
10@CommsBusinessComms Business14.5
11@nojitternojitter12.4
12@insightssuccessInsights Success11.91
13@AricentAricent11.88
14@8×88×811.26
15@shoretelShoreTel11.21
16@CiscoItaliaCisco Italia10.97
17@EWN_INCEdgewater Networks10.83
18@CRNCRN10.66
19@Level3Level 39.66
20@Bankai_GroupBankai Group8.59
21@WhichVoIPSAWhichVoIP.co.za8.57
22@digiumDigium8.42
23@WINMAG_ProWINMAG Pro8.28
24@EBC_GroupEBC Group7.97
25@CenturyLinkEntCenturyLink Business7.92
26@Swyx_ENSwyx Solutions AG7.57
27@TelecomExchangeTelecom Exchange7.51
28@snomSnom VoIP phones7.44
29@teledynamicsTDNYC7.3
30@cioreviewCIOReview7.25
31@SearchUCSearchUC6.61
32@ilanamitilanamit6.08
33@voipinnovationsVoIP Innovations6.02
34@UCStrategiesUCStrategies5.98
35@TheVoipReportThe VoIP Report5.98
36@iMillerPRiMiller PR5.65
37@innovaphoneinnovaphone AG5.62
38@TelecomNewsroomTelecomNewsroom5.53
39@DCLSearchDCL Search & Select5.53
40@cisco_inCisco Systems India5.47
41@sharplinkcoSharpLink5.31
42@TNNTelecomNewsTNN Telecom News5.28
43@TelePacificTelePacific5.27
44@vyoptaVyopta5.24
45@IntelisysCorpIntelisys5.21
46@ALLIEDTELECOMAllied Telecom5.08
47@beroNetberoNet GmbH4.89
48@VodafoneVGEVodafone VGE4.88
49@fringAlliancefring Alliance4.85
50@CiscoGeekfestCisco Geekfest4.75

 

At Onalytica we love building these lists and want to give back to our loyal readers as much as we can. If you’re interested in other topics (such as Virtual Reality, Digital HealthDigital Marketing) be sure to have a gander on our blog or why not propose some topics to us on twitter? We also build some very cool software to manage all of these influencers. Get a free demo today by clicking the button below!

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Disclaimer: As ever with these lists, it must be stressed that the ranking is by no means a definitive measurement of influence, as there is no such thing. The brands and individuals listed are undoubtedly influential when it comes to driving discussion around unified communications.

The PageRank based methodology we use to extract influencers on a particular topic takes into account the number and quality of contextual references that a user receives. These calculations also take into account a user’s relevance (number of tweets on topic) and reach (number of followers). If you want to learn more, please read our article that outlines influencer identification.

Graphics Provided by www.vecteezy.com


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UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS:

TOP 100 INFLUENCERS AND BRANDS

Download this free report which reveals the top 100 Unified Communications influencers and brands