A VoIP phone system that integrates or unifies a variety of communication technologies and methods into a single platform is known as a Unified Communications (UC) system. Most businesses communicate in a variety of ways, including voice, video, instant messaging, email, and so on. A UC system connects them all so they can work together seamlessly in one solution. Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) is a Cloud-based deployment method for delivering UC to organizations. UCaaS, in contrast to traditional on-premise UC systems, operates as a subscription service with low or no upfront costs.

Market Dynamics

COVID-19 has positive impact on global Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) market to grow

Work-from-anywhere will be here to stay, and that's good news for companies in the unified communications, unified communications as a service (UCaaS), and contact centre as a service (CCaaS) industries. Furthermore, the overall state of digital transformation applications, UCaaS, CCaaS, and unified communication is rather healthy. It was healthy prior to the pandemic, and the pandemic acted as a turbocharger. Many businesses were caught off guard by having people work from anywhere, and it taught all industries a valuable lesson that pandemics can occur. We must plan not only for this one, but also for possible future ones. UCaaS, in particular, has always been opposed to the old primary rate interfaces, or now session initiation protocol trunks, because they can be leveraged across more seats than a one-to-one basis. As a result, 100 users could share a single PRI with 24 channels. As far as connectivity to the voice network is concerned, this helped to reduce the cost of a private branch exchange. Because UCaaS is charged on a per-seat basis, this goes against the grain. As a result, the price has remained low. Many of the available offers are based on specific platforms, such as BroadSoft or Metaswitch, and thus have some underlying costs. 

Low cost associated with UCaaS models drives the global market

The latest generation of UCaaS integrates communication directly into the application. Because they are efficient in supplying that code and using it directly in the application, they have a high likelihood of lowering prices. In those large cases, the price per customer is less than US$10, and the vendors are profitable, whereas traditional UCaaS users or vendors are losing money at that level. However, there is a trend toward incorporating more call centre capabilities into the UCaaS offering. People want that, and it's driving up the price, because call centre seats used to cost between US$125 and US$150. That is significantly higher than the US$20 to US$30 range, so UCaaS vendors want to add more functionality so that they can move upstream toward call centre pricing. There will be a downward trend in call centre pricing throughout the CCaaS world, but the markets are so large that no one will run out of opportunities.

Strong technological support drives the global UCaaS market

Currently, technological advancements such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) are gaining significant traction in the global market. At the organizational level, Internet of Things (IoT) devices are constantly supplying data. Businesses benefit from increased productivity as this data is integrated into collaborative UCaaS-enabled workflows through automated yet agile decision making based on algorithms powered by this data. By collecting and analyzing data and then compiling it for the appropriate audience, UCaaS enables collaboration across the entire enterprise. Businesses can achieve some truly remarkable things when combined with the emergence of IoT technology. Unified communications, for example, enables businesses to assess real-time needs and collaborate anywhere to address those needs. A team member in the United Kingdom, for example, receives an automated notification predicting a shipment delay due to weather conditions in Japan. With a few taps, this manager can share the report with a manager in Japan and start collaborating on the spot, using available and real-time data to shift shipment schedules to cover the gap. UCaaS allows collaboration from anywhere in the world as long as there is an Internet connection.

Market Segmentation

The global Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) market is segmented based on deployment and industry vertical. By deployment, the market is classified into public cloud and private cloud. By industry vertical, the market is segmented as automotive, education, healthcare, BFSI, hospitality, real estate, legal, IT & telecom, and others

In terms of deployment, the public cloud segment is expected to have a dominant market share during the forecast period. One of the major factors influencing the growth of the global UCaaS market is the ability of public cloud technology to reduce lead times in testing and deploying new products. In terms of industry vertical, the IT and telecom sector will continue to dominate market share in the coming years. The need for UCaaS solutions is driven by a strong focus on several IT and telecom companies rolling out for more efficient collaboration among globally distributed teams.

Regional Overview

North America is expected to account for the largest market size during the forecast period. This is due to increased technology adoption among North American enterprises to increase productivity, as well as the presence of a number of UCaaS vendors. This is one of the most important factors influencing the growth of the global UCaaS market. 

Europe, on the other hand, is expected to have the second largest market share in the global Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) market. The efforts of the country's carriers to phase out integrated services digital network services are driving carrier and customer migration to Internet protocol connectivity services. This massive change is propelling the adoption of next-generation business communication solutions such as hosted private branch exchange (PBX) and UCaaS. 

But apart from that, Asia Pacific is expected to have the fastest growing CAGR in the coming years. Consistent digitalization development and an increasing mobile workforce are contributing factors to the growth of the global UCaaS market.

Competitive Landscape

The global UCaaS market comprises of prominent players that involve RingCentral, Inc., LogMeIn, Inc., 8x8 Inc., Mitel Networks Corporation, Cisco Systems, Inc., Vonage, Fuze, Microsoft Corporation, and among others

Market Segmentation

Market By Deployment

Public Cloud 
Private Cloud

Market By Industry Vertical

Automotive 
Education
Healthcare
BFSI
Hospitality
Real Estate
Legal
IT & Telecom
Others

Market By Geography

North America
•    U.S.
•    Canada

Europe
•    U.K.
•    Germany
•    France
•    Spain
•    Rest of Europe

Asia-Pacific
•    China
•    Japan
•    India
•    Australia
•    South Korea
•    Rest of Asia-Pacific

Latin America
•    Brazil 
•    Mexico
•    Rest of Latin America

Middle East & Africa
•    GCC
•    South Africa
•    Rest of Middle East & Africa