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The idea of unifying all communications options onto one platform for streamlined ease of use sounds like a great approach in the interest of efficiency, productivity and cost savings. The problem in the adoption of Unified Communications software, however, is the fact that CIOs don’t always understand the technology.

According to this IT Pro report, CIOs are demonstrating more enthusiasm for Unified Communications (News - Alert) software than they are the cloud, yet still hesitate to make a decision. For those who have already adopted these platforms, however, 51 percent said UC technology contributed the most to their business agility.

This figure was captured in a survey conducted by managed service provider Calyx. The company surveyed 100 IT and business decision makers.

It’s no surprise that technology budgets have been tight the last few years, making it even more challenging for decision makers to adopt new platforms. While a lack of understanding contributes to lack in adoption, so do confusion over costs, implementation and even a lack of supplier integration.

Daniel Fuller-Smith, the EMEA sales manager for the Business Communications Division at Toshiba (News - Alert), told IT Pro that IT professionals understand the importance of Unified Communications (UC) software, particularly for those employees who must work remotely. The lack of full knowledge regarding what the platform can do has held a number of companies back from initiating integration.

Rob Bamforth, Quocirca principal analyst agrees. “A lot of these technologies are important, but half the problem is…if you move from where you are today to the UC utopia, it looks like a big step, a big investment and perhaps more importantly, a big change for all involved,” he told IT Pro.

In Calyx’s survey, virtualization and cloud computing were reported as contributing far less to a company’s business agility than Unified Communications software. Virtualization gained just 13 percent of the vote for business agility, while cloud computing gained only 23 percent.

One industry exec believes the three should not be considered in isolation, though. According to Piers Linney, joint chief executive for UC specialist Outsourcery, suggests cloud computing, UC software and virtualization should be considered a cohesive solution.

In fact, Linney argues Unified Communications software should be cloud-based to ensure users can easily communicate and collaborate from anywhere and any device. Any supplier with credibility should be able to provide an end-to-end service that includes design, implementation, clean integration and continuous support.