Ribbon Research Reveals More than Half of all Large North American Companies Have Yet to Invest in Unified Communications Technology

Westford, Mass – Ribbon Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: RBBN), a global software leader in secure and intelligent cloud communications solutions, today announced that it will reveal the key findings from the North American results of its Unified Communications (UC) Market Insights survey during a roadshow in six major cities in the U.S and Canada from November 12 - 21, 2019, kicking off in Toronto, Canada.

The Ribbon UC Market Insights survey asked technology decision makers representing nearly 1,300 companies in North America about their UC purchasing habits and plans. Key findings from the North America survey revealed that 51% of large companies (more than 1,000 employees) and nearly 75% of smaller companies have yet to make the investment in UC technology. Of the companies that have yet to invest in UC, nearly 64% plan to do so within the next two years.

“The North American data is consistent with the overall global findings from the survey and reinforces the significant opportunity the UC market presents over the next few years,” said John Macario, Senior Vice President of Channel Marketing for Ribbon. “Our extensive experience in delivering carrier-grade Unified Communications solutions to our global customer base makes us well-positioned to capitalize on the sizeable UC digital transformation that the survey data suggests will take place.”

The research takes a comprehensive look into the purchase drivers and buying behaviors of companies ranging from small businesses with fewer than 20 employees to large enterprises with over 1,000 employees. The data shows the survey respondent’s views on UC, their preferred deployment models and the type of service providers they plan to look to when adopting UC.

Macario added, “One of the really interesting findings in the North American results is that, despite the movement of many business applications to the cloud, 40% of the respondents said they preferred a premises-based solution, followed by 30% who preferred a cloud or hosted model and 25% being open to either premises or cloud. The roadshow will detail the rationale behind the preferences and uncover more illuminating insights.”

Other Key Findings Include:

• Those organizations who have already adopted UC services purchased them from traditional providers (34%), IT services providers (13%), cable providers (13%), equipment providers (13%), Over-the-Top providers (10%), mobile providers (6%), competitive providers (6%), and phone resellers (5%).
• Those companies who have yet to adopt UC services plan to purchase them from traditional providers (17%), mobile providers (16%), cable providers (13%), equipment providers (13%), IT services providers (12%), Over-the-Top providers (10%), phone resellers (10%) and competitive providers (9%).
• Sixty two percent of respondents have been the victim of an IP-based (robocalling, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), toll fraud, etc.) hack attempt.

The North American tour follows two successful roadshows in the Europe and Asia Pacific (APAC) regions earlier this year. Ribbon will be joined by executives from Poly in each city and will provide attendees with access to industry experts from both organizations during each of the half-day events. Following the Toronto event, the roadshow will continue on to Reston, Virginia; Atlanta, Georgia; Dallas, Texas; Denver, Colorado; and San Jose, California.

To register for the roadshow, please visit https://info.rbbn.com/uc-market-2019-amer/.

About Ribbon Communications

Ribbon Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: RBBN) delivers market-leading software solutions that secure and power many of the world’s leading service provider and enterprise communications environments. Built on world-class technology and intellectual property, the company’s cloud-native solutions deliver intelligent and secure real-time communications solutions for the cloud, network and enterprise edge. Ribbon’s Kandy Cloud real-time communications software platform delivers advanced and embedded CPaaS and UCaaS capabilities enabling service providers to rapidly create and deploy high-value communications services. To learn more, visit ribboncommunications.com.

Important Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements  

The information in this release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding the benefits learned from the North American results of Ribbon’s UC Market Insights survey, the participants at the 2019 North American roadshow, and delivering value to customers. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this release are forward-looking statements. The actual results of Ribbon Communications may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. For further information regarding risks and uncertainties associated with Ribbon Communications' business, please refer to the "Risk Factors" section of Ribbon Communications' most recent annual or quarterly report filed with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements represent Ribbon Communications' views only as of the date on which such statement is made and should not be relied upon as representing Ribbon Communications' views as of any subsequent date. While Ribbon Communications may elect to update forward-looking statements at some point, Ribbon Communications specifically disclaims any obligation to do so.