The News: Mitel’s news of the intention to acquire Unify, the Unified Communications and Collaboration Services (UCC) and Communication and Collaboration Services (CCS) businesses of the Atos group was announced yesterday. The proposed deal cements Mitel’s commitment to Unified Communications (UC) and will significantly expand Mitel’s global Unified Communications (UC) footprint and customer base. Read the full release from Mitel here.
The Mitel Move to Acquire Unify from the Atos Group Will Facilitate Global Expansion and Help Diversify Customer Base and Solutions
Analyst Take: The news from Mitel on its move to acquire Unify, the UCC and CSS businesses of the Atos group was great to see as the comms giant moves into its 50th year in 2023. Seeing the company make bold moves like this to expand its legacy business and customer base, and better serve (and monetize) that is smart.
Moreover, I see this as exciting news for the UC industry as a whole. The combined strengths of Mitel and Unify under this proposed deal will make both companies preeminent leaders in the UC space.
Mitel’s strategy has long been endeavoring to lead the UC market by providing choice, flexibility (private, hybrid cloud, subscription, on-prem) and partnership for each customer throughout the life of their communications needs. The proposed Unify deal cements Mitel’s strategy and commitment to UC with an expanded portfolio and immediate opportunities for growth with enterprise customers given Unify’s massive install base of some 75 million users across 100 countries.
Mitel has been focused on accomplishing its strategic goals with programs and initiatives designed to drive organic growth by focusing on core verticals for mid-market and enterprise customers, re-energizing and engaging its partner base, and expanding wallet share within its existing customer base. This acquisition ties in nicely.
What is Mitel Acquiring? What Assets are Included in the Transaction?
As mentioned, with the proposed transaction, Mitel’s intent is to acquire Unify, the Unified Communications and Collaboration Services (UCC) and Communication and Collaboration Services (CCS) businesses of the Atos group. This includes Unify’s voice platforms, collaboration, and contact center products, device and endpoint portfolio, and related intellectual property. Unify will also bring a Managed Services business with a proven track record of helping enterprise organizations digitally transform their communications environment, an addition that further strengthens Mitel’s ability to deliver choice for UC customers. For me, this is an especially significant part of the deal, as managed services is something we see customers increasingly seek.
To my way of thinking, the proposed Mitel and Unify deal is all about these companies being better, and stronger, together. Here’s why:
- Complementary geo strength – the two organizations will be a strong UC leader in Americas and EMEA
- Complementary segment focus – Mitel is mid-market focus; Unify is enterprise focused
- Complementary portfolios – Mitel is a product business with services, Unify a services business with products. Together, they offer more choice for a broader range of customers.
- Managed Services/Vertical Expertise – Opportunities for expansion to enterprise with Unify’s successful Managed Services business and vertical capabilities (key sectors: public sector, healthcare, financial services)
As Mitel focuses more on customers in core verticals, Unify’s Managed Services capabilities will be critical to supporting those customers. Mitel is also looking forward to a joint API integration solution that will benefit both sides by instantly expanding available integrations and thus strengthening Mitel solutions. The combined company will have the operational scale, portfolio, geographic reach, go-to-market resources, and financial profile to modernize the UC experience for customers faster and more effectively than either company could do alone. As I mentioned earlier, I see “better, and stronger, together” as the key theme here. Once the transaction closes, more specifics about the combined products and services portfolio will be available.
More About Unify
Unify is the Atos brand for communication and collaboration solutions and includes the UCC and Collab services businesses of the Atos group – both of which Mitel will acquire as part of this deal. Unify offers on-premises UC solutions, cloud-based Unified Communications-as-a-Service (UcaaS) offerings, and Cloud Contact Center-as-a-Service (CCaaS) solutions.
Unify is a global organization with customers in 90 countries with a strong presence in EMEA. Its customer focus is on mid-market and enterprise segments, with average customer seats above 1,000, and the company is strong in the public sector vertical. With some 3,000 employees worldwide, Unify has large employee bases in Germany, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, India, and Texas.
Mitel Blazes Into Its 50th Year With All Eyes on Growth and Serving Customers
Wrapping up, I see this as very exciting news for Mitel, Unify and the Unified Communications (UC) industry as a whole. 2023 marks Mitel’s 50th year in business and the company has turned a laser focus on customer flexibility and choice. This is evidenced by Mitel’s moves to combine platforms, offer API integrations, forging smart partnerships and alliances, rolling out subscription offerings across its portfolio, and even offering device certification programs — all with a view toward empowering customers and partners, and facilitating the seamless modernization of business communications, which are foundational to the company’s mission.
Beyond that, Mitel’s commitment to providing customer lifecycle management services and helping support customers in maximizing business value as they plan for their needs now and into the future. Mitel’s commitment to meeting customers where they are and providing solutions that are designed to evolve and grow as businesses need them to are compelling parts of the company’s value proposition.
The Unify acquisition cements Mitel’s commitment to UC and will significantly expand Mitel’s global UC footprint and customer base. As mentioned, and certainly key, it will also provide the legacy UC organization the opportunity to better monetize and grow its customer base, as well as the opportunity to better serve them. The deal will give customers even more choice and flexibility throughout their communications lifecycle. For partners, the expanded scale and even stronger financial profile, product portfolio, and breadth of services should likewise help them grow their businesses. All in all, this is great news.
I don’t anticipate this deal facing any regulatory scrutiny and look forward to seeing what’s ahead for these combined powerhouses in the UC industry.
Disclosure: Futurum Research is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of Futurum Research as a whole.
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Author Information
Shelly Kramer is a Principal Analyst and Founding Partner at Futurum Research. A serial entrepreneur with a technology centric focus, she has worked alongside some of the world’s largest brands to embrace disruption and spur innovation, understand and address the realities of the connected customer, and help navigate the process of digital transformation. She brings 20 years' experience as a brand strategist to her work at Futurum, and has deep experience helping global companies with marketing challenges, GTM strategies, messaging development, and driving strategy and digital transformation for B2B brands across multiple verticals. Shelly's coverage areas include Collaboration/CX/SaaS, platforms, ESG, and Cybersecurity, as well as topics and trends related to the Future of Work, the transformation of the workplace and how people and technology are driving that transformation. A transplanted New Yorker, she has learned to love life in the Midwest, and has firsthand experience that some of the most innovative minds and most successful companies in the world also happen to live in “flyover country.”
