UCaaS Hottest Trends
The modern workplace demands communications systems that enhance business productivity by leveraging state-of-the-art communications technologies. This is one major reason many enterprises have turned to unified communications as a service (UCaaS) solutions. Statistics show that in 2021, 57% of businesses increased their spending on UCaaS-related solutions.
Unified communications as a service (UCaaS) is a cloud-delivered unified communications model. It combines team messaging, video conferencing and VoIP into a single platform. Examples include Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Team Rooms.
Through the pandemic, businesses quickly incorporated one of many of these UCaaS to communicate with home-bound employees, customers, vendors and other contacts. Experts predict that UCaaS services will see a compound growth rate of 13.4% all the way to 2028. Here are the hottest UCaaS trends dominating the space this year.
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1. No More Wired Devices
The days when businesses relied on desk phones and other wired devices are long gone. With UCaaS, companies can use powerful communications features without being tied to a desk. Employees can use UCaaS-enabled mobile apps to access their business communications from anywhere, at any time. Landlines are becoming less popular as internet communications, and mobile phones become the norm. Today, few businesses would install wired communications devices when using UCaaS.
2. The Rise of AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is already making its way into UCaaS solutions. AI-powered features like chatbots and virtual assistants are becoming more common in UCaaS platforms. These features can help businesses automate routine tasks, saving time and money. UCaaS providers are constantly innovating and incorporating AI into their solutions to provide businesses with the latest and most advanced features.
3. Improved Security
As businesses increasingly turn to UCaaS solutions, security concerns have also risen. However, UCaaS providers have stepped up their game and are now offering robust security features to keep businesses safe. In addition to data encryption and user authentication, UCaaS platforms offer two-factor authentication and single sign-on (SSO) capabilities. These features make it difficult for hackers to gain access to business communications.
4. Team Collaboration as a Work Hub
Team collaboration features are becoming more popular as businesses seek ways to improve employee communications and collaboration. UCaaS solutions offer a variety of team collaboration features, such as instant messaging, video conferencing, file sharing, and task management. These features allow employees to work together on projects in real-time, regardless of location.
5. BYOC (Bring Your Own Carrier)
More businesses are opting for BYOC (Bring Your Own Carrier) solutions. With BYOC, companies can use their existing internet connection to connect to a UCaaS platform. This saves them the hassle and expense of installing a separate network for their UCaaS solution. In addition, BYOC solutions are often more scalable and flexible than traditional UCaaS solutions.
6. Flexible Deployment Options
UCaaS solutions are no longer limited to on-premises deployments. Today, businesses can choose from a variety of deployment options, including cloud-based, hybrid, and multi-cloud deployments. This gives companies more flexibility in how they deploy their UCaaS solution.
7. Increased Integration with Business Applications
UCaaS solutions are becoming more integrated with business applications. This allows businesses to use their UCaaS solution to access and use business applications, such as customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resources planning (ERP) systems. This integration makes it easier for companies to manage their communications and increase productivity.
8. The Rise of 5G
5G is the next generation of wireless technology that promises faster speeds and lower latency than 4G. 5G is already being rolled out in many parts of the world and is expected to impact UCaaS significantly. 5G-enabled UCaaS solutions will offer businesses increased speeds and reliability. In addition, 5G will allow companies to connect more devices to their UCaaS solution without experiencing any slowdown.
9. Increased Focus on Customer Experience
As businesses increasingly turn to UCaaS solutions to improve communications, they are also placing a greater emphasis on customer experience. UCaaS providers are now offering features that allow companies to provide a better customer experience. These features include call recording, call routing, and automatic call distribution. By using these features, businesses can ensure that every customer interaction is positive and productive.
10. Building Better Experiences for Staff
Just as businesses are focused on providing a better customer experience, they are also looking for ways to improve communications and collaboration among employees. UCaaS solutions offer a variety of features that can help businesses build better experiences for staff. These features include instant messaging, video conferencing, file sharing, and task management.
11. Improved Performance Using SD-WAN
SD-WAN is a type of network that uses software-defined networking to improve the performance of wide-area networks. Businesses use SD-WAN to improve the performance of their UCaaS solutions. SD-WAN can help enterprises reduce latency, increase bandwidth, and improve the Quality of Service.
Combining SD-WAN and UCaaS is the perfect way to securely accommodate increasing cloud traffic and mitigate dropped calls, distorted or delayed sound or image, and other challenges that an overburdened bandwidth brings. Enterprises are using SD-WANs to scan cloud traffic and fix problems automatically to ensure a consistent, optimal UCaaS output.
12. Virtualization of UCaaS Solutions
Virtualization is a technology that allows businesses to run multiple virtual machines on a single physical machine. Companies are using it to improve the performance of their UCaaS solutions. By leveraging virtualization, enterprises can reduce latency, increase bandwidth, and improve the Quality of Service.
13. Rise of Global SIP Networks
A SIP network is an IP network that uses the Session Initiation Protocol to connect devices. SIP networks are being used by businesses to improve the performance of their UCaaS solutions. Global SIP provides global enterprises with the flexibility to grow rapidly while lowering communications expenses.
14. Interactive Voice Response (IVR) instead of Live Agents
When used with UCaaS, IVR technology allows companies to segment callers without the need for a live agent. AI-powered IVR reduces the amount of time customers are on hold by pairing them with the correct department. IVR makes it possible for customers to complete voice or keypad-prompted entries and, it even has the ability to distinguish different accents with increased accuracy.
15. Cost Increases and a Need for Greater Control over Spend
Microsoft is planning to hike its prices for O365 licenses by 8% or more later this year. More UCaaS providers are expected to take this route as they add new features to their offerings. This comes when a growing number of companies seek more control over their spending on “as a service” subscriptions and licenses. They want more insight into what they’re being offered and more apparent value for their money.
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A Compliment to UCaaS: CPaaS
CPaaS is a compliment to UCaaS that allows businesses to build and deploy communications solutions without needing infrastructure or IT support. CPaaS is a cloud-based platform that provides businesses with tools and resources to create communications solutions such as programmatic voice, SMS, MMS and other messaging. CPaaS is becoming increasingly popular as companies seek ways to make collaboration and business communications better.
Signalmash CPaaS solutions are designed for improved customer engagement, application performance, and team collaboration. Our API is easy to use. It helps you avoid dealing with a lot of the complexity involved in interconnecting with cellular networks, simplifying your workflow.
If you are already using a CPaaS, ask how you can cut your CPaaS/Twilio bill by up to 50%.
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