Most small and large enterprises are uncertain of the benefits of a unified communications implementation, according to a recent survey of 2008 networking plans from Forrester Research.

Fifty-five percent of the 2,187 North American and European companies queried said there is "confusion about the value" of unified communications for their company. Only 11% of the firms have already deployed it. Another 16% are rolling out and 57% are evaluating or piloting it, Forrester found.

"We were not surprised," says Forrester analyst Ellen Daley, author of the survey's report. "There's been a 21% increase in UC pilots since 2007 but no increase in firms buying UC. A lot of people are talking about UC, a lot more are tipping their toe in; but at the same time they're all saying they're not sure about the value,"  she says.

Daley says Forrester receives inquiries from clients regularly asking simply: What is UC?