Hybrid Workforce to Sustain Unified Communications and Collaboration Market Growth

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The IDC has released data on the worldwide Unified Communications & Collaboration (UC&C) market. Based on its second quarter of 2022 data, the UC&C market grew by 1.4% year over year. It also grew 2.9% compared to 2021 and was valued at $14.8 billion.

Analysts expect the market to continue its expansion in 2022. More and more businesses across all sizes are adopting unified communications and collaboration solutions, which is driving market growth. For many organizations, the main reason for implementing UC&C solutions is the need to support hybrid/flexible work scenarios and digital transformation initiatives.

The most in-demand UC&C solutions include team collaboration apps, videoconferencing, and unified communications-as-a-service (UCaaS) technologies. In fact, the UC collaboration segment, which covers video conferencing software and cloud services, was the biggest earner. The segment registered $7.2 billion in revenue in the quarter.

According to IDC senior research analyst, Rich Costello, the UC&C market is seeing more strategic buying from organizations. The adoption of UC&C solutions is no longer based on short-term reactive decisions.

UCaaS Supports Needs of Growing Distributed Workforce

The strategic buying of UC&C solutions implies that organizations have a long-term commitment to leveraging technology for excellent communication. Companies recognize that communication is at the heart of successful businesses. The COVID-19 experience further reinforced this fact. Companies that were late in the game of digital transformation scrambled for solutions that could help their employees continue working outside of the office.

With UCaaS benefits, companies discovered that they can have a cloud-based, flexible, and scalable platform for internal communication. The capabilities of a UCaaS system enable companies to integrate all communication channels in one user interface. From calling and mobility to team messaging, security, and analytics, UCaaS technologies allow companies to effectively respond to whatever changes happen in their business landscape.

However, the real power of a robust UCaaS system is providing agility and scalability to its users. Features such as integration with VPN and seamless connection with numerous plug-and-play video conferencing devices can offer a consistent user experience crucial to implementing a hybrid work setup for employees.

Even with employees returning to in-office work, remote work trends indicate that hybrid work models, distributed teams, and virtual communication will persist and become the norm. One study revealed that 47% of companies now use a UCaaS system. By 2023, that number will grow, with 70% of businesses projected to use UCaaS technologies for their meeting, calling, and messaging needs.

Opportunities in the UCaaS Market

With this in mind, adopting a UCaaS system is a matter of when, not if, for many businesses. This means vendors in this niche have an abundance of opportunities ahead. One of them is in the call center market.

Though most large contact centers might stick to dedicated contact center vendors, UCaaS providers can diversify product offerings and market to smaller contact centers with simple operations. They can look into leveraging AI capabilities and APIs to attract contact center clients that want to create personalized customer experiences and connect digital channels like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and text messaging.

Another important opportunity is in real-time communication. 5G technology is on its way. Governments around the globe are working on their 5G connectivity. The technology’s low to zero latency translates to improved delivery of cloud-based services—that include UCaaS.

For example, 5G can significantly improve communication traffic. This means users avoid online calls freezing or dropping out, which prevents frustration for all parties in the call. Smooth communication through strong UCaaS systems can also encourage businesses to expand to other locations/countries. With 5G, UCaaS providers can offer innovative services in real-time communication that can boost their revenue generation in the coming years.