Google moving into Unified Communications?

Google’s recent acquisition have led business research & consulting firm, Frost & Sullivan, to the conclusion that the search giant is positioning itself as a unified communications and collaboration (UCC) provider, with a focus on the SME and consumer market.

UCC uses an internet protocol (IP) network to converge multiple channels of communication including audio, video, web, desktop and mobile, allowing users to communicate seamlessly across all these channels.

In its new report, “Google’s Enterprise Universe: Google Storms the Unified Communications and Collaboration Market,” Frost & Sullivan point out that Google has steadily collected Marratech, a videoconferencing provider, VoIP firm GrandCentral and Gizmo5 which allows users to make free internet calls from a mobile phone.

Of course Google has its cloud-based Apps and Gmail to add into the UCC mix, and the launch of an enterprise version of Google Voice is expected later in the year.

While Google’s UCC offering may not yet be ready for larger enterprises, the report suggests that it could well be a hit with SMEs because of the familiarity of its components and its affordability.