UCaaS outpaces all other communication services

According to recent data from Synergy Research Group, UCaaS is growing 29% year on year which is further validation that Hosted Communications is significant to the future of Communications.

So why do we think this is happening?

There are several reasons. Jemma Chambers Head of Sales at sipsynergy, believes that one of the most compelling reasons is their return on investment – “Traditional models have always needed significant up-front investment and businesses are now favouring outsourced models to reduce Capex. Similarly, this approach reduces the need for costly in-house technical expertise, ongoing maintenance and support costs. This also has the added benefit of eliminating business risk – we (the service provider) are responsible for service continuity, upgrading and maintaining your system, there are no expensive add-ons, kit or training overheads. The Pay-as-you-Grow model also means companies are in a position to scale up or down when needed which is always welcome when planning and budgeting are factored in.

“Crucially, for organisations with an end of life on premise PBX the benefits can be dramatic, especially if consolidating multiple sites and multiple old telephone systems which of course has the added bonus of improving collaboration between teams by giving access to the office via a multitude of devices; smartphones, PCs, laptops and tablets”.

“As well as financial there are also people benefits. Once of the biggest advantages of switching to the Cloud is a shift in dependency in the physical bricks and mortar office. We are seeing more and more that businesses relying on a mobile workforce are seeing substantial advantages in the increased use of hot-desking and flexible working. An organisation with a mobile and flexible workforce tends to retain its people. The Cloud is a natural extension of a mobile workforce in that employees are no longer tied to a desk and I know I bang on about it (see previous entry) but as a huge advocate for flexible working, I strongly believe that maintaining a flexible workforce is key to retaining existing whilst also attracting new talent. You can have all the technology in the world but it’s completely useless without a loyal and dependable workforce. Just look at it as quid pro quo.”

“User expectations have changed too. Millennials are particularly accustomed to a world where ease of use and convenience underpin their applications. The cloud is their de facto home for services and they expect rapid, convenient access wherever they happen to be”.

On the subject of the recent spate of acquisitions where we have seen Cisco acquire Broadsoft and in the dim and distant summer the Mitel/Shoretel union, Jemma also believes that “these strategic acquisitions mean the big players are simply getting all their ducks in a row, committing themselves to further expanding their market share. Declining on premise sales that are anticipated to turn negative through 2019 are seen by many as evidence that hosted collaboration is now the new normal. With ISDN obsolescence coming in 2025 everyone wants a big share of the hosted pie.”