Manoj Menon, a partner with growth consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, says: "(The) enterprise (sector) is moving away from leveraging IP communications as a way to reduce and manage operational costs, and has now begun leveraging IP communications as a platform for deploying applications that help enhance business processes."

Much of this has to do with the way that business is being done. Economies are increasingly interlinked and global. The method and speed with which people communicate have also improved, which could result in tremendous profits for the enterprise sector if it can embed improved communications in the business process.

"There are so many communications applications," Menon says. "The need now is for the major enterprise players to prioritize and integrate all of these disparate applications - such as e-mail or conferencing - so they can take advantage of this new opportunity. This is the biggest theme of unified communications, and everyone is talking about it."

The other major trend has to do with mobility in business communications. Mobile devices have begun replacing fixed devices in the personal lives of many people, but that has not happened yet in the enterprise sector, where fixed devices still dominate.

"With a new set of applications, such as push e-mail for example, the mobile or wireless device is becoming part of our daily habits within enterprise. This is a big shift that we need to recognize and be aware of," Menon says.

This is a point that Ericsson understands well. Menon says Ericsson has a strong focus on mobility, which it uses to offer value propositions to an enterprise, making the most of the benefits of the old world and the new.

Urban Gillström, head of Ericsson's Enterprise business, says: "We want to build on our overall record of performance and we're relying on a new strategy that focuses on multimedia solutions and applications. We see that area as a key point for growth."

Menon agrees, and says that one of Ericsson's greatest strengths is its commitment to partnerships. Ericsson has strong relationships with service providers and a great set of partners from an enterprise standpoint. In the future, service providers will have to work with partners such as Ericsson's in order to take their solutions to market.

Gillström says: "As a unique telecoms player, Ericsson is the only company that has a strong reputation with operators, while maintaining a strong presence in the consumer market through Sony Ericsson. These facts and relationships make Ericsson tough to compete against."