Unified Communications has evolved from a “nice to have” solution in the business technology stack to a mandatory investment. In a world of ever-more demanding customers and constant digital transformation, businesses need to be able to align and synchronize their teams with the right communication and collaboration tools.
However, like all technologies in the rapidly evolving landscape, the Unified Communications space is changing at a phenomenal pace. We’re seeing the rise of endless new tools and solutions intended to empower new types of workers, boost efficiency, and reduce operational costs.
For brands planning on enhancing their UC strategy in 2023, it’s worth keeping an eye on the emerging trends in this space and how they’ll influence the future of communications. Here are the significant trends we’re likely to see going forward.
The Evolution of UCaaS to XaaS
In the last couple of years, cloud adoption has accelerated. More brands are moving critical processes and tools into an ever-flexible and agile environment, which employees can access from anywhere to ensure business continuity. This has increased demand for UCaaS (Unified Communication as a Service).
However, as hybrid and remote work strategies continue to evolve, we’re also seeing the UCaaS environment become less of a simple tool for employees and more of a digital work hub. Through integrated communication and collaboration tools, businesses can keep their staff aligned wherever they are. The last thing they want is for their teams to jump between different cloud environments when they want to access complementary tools.
As a result, “XaaS” or Everything as a Service strategies are becoming more commonplace, allowing organizations to unify their cloud investments, from CPaaS to CCaaS and UCaaS, in one convenient place. 2023 could be a critical year for the convergence of the clouds.
AI-Powered Service Management
A more complex and diversified workplace, with multiple digital assets to manage, also leads to new challenges in maintaining complete visibility and control over the technology stack. While bringing various tools together in the same cloud space can help, companies are increasingly searching for more powerful tools to help them manage their ecosystem.
AI-powered service management solutions, which offer insights into the performance of different communication tools, quality management, and provisioning strategies, are growing more popular. Today, these solutions are still relatively scarce in the communications landscape. However, they will become more valuable as companies increase their cloud investments.
We’re also likely to see these tools become more intertwined with security and compliance management solutions. For instance, a service management solution could alert businesses automatically, not just when call quality drops but when a compliance issue is detected in a conversation, using conversational analytics.
The Rise of Total Experience
According to Gartner, by 2024, companies focusing on “Total Experience” strategies will likely outperform their competitors by as much as 25% in satisfaction metrics. The concept of “TX” involves bringing different components of the experience economy into the same universal strategy. This means simultaneously focusing on multi-experience, customer experience, user experience, and employee experience.
From a UC perspective, most companies will likely start by doubling down on their strategies for employee experience. After all, the Great Resignation and an increasingly uncertain economy are making it harder for businesses to retain top talent. Creating a robust and inclusive experience through UC and collaboration tools could be a good way for companies to make the most out of their teams.
We’re already seeing companies like Microsoft invest more heavily in tools for their UC stack, prioritizing monitoring, tracking, and optimizing employee experience. Moreover, brands are finding ways to empower their employees with innovative solutions like virtual assistants, chatbots, gamification, and online learning.
Increased adoption of BYOC
During 2022, the team collaboration platforms built into or connected with UC platforms became the central hub for work in many distributed office environments. Countless companies now rely on solutions like Cisco Webex, Zoom, and Microsoft Team to keep their staff aligned and engaged wherever they might be. While each of these tools has its native calling solutions in place, they’re also beginning to introduce new ways for brands to implement their own carrier preferences.
Microsoft and Zoom offer BYOC capabilities, allowing brands to either build their communication tools into their existing platforms or access support from a range of partner providers. As companies continue looking for more flexible communications strategies, this “Bring your own Carrier” approach will only become more valuable.
“According to our research, more than 70% of companies using Microsoft Teams Phone System, for example, are adopting BYOC approaches including Direct Routing and Operator Connect to save an average of 60% over UCaaS-provided PSTN connectivity,” said Irwin Lazar, President and Principal Analyst at Metrigy. “We expect to see continued growth in BYOC adoption as availability increases among other UCaaS provider.”
We’re likely to see an even more significant number of collaboration tool providers working hand-in-hand with various vendors to give companies more freedom in building the ultimate communication network and collaborative work hub.
Augmented Meetings and Metawork
The last year has been an evolutionary time for the digital landscape and extended reality. Countless companies across the globe have begun experimenting with ways to augment the interactions between hybrid and in-office employees. We’ve seen the introduction of AI speakers and cameras designed to bring teams closer together wherever they are. Collaboration tools have introduced virtual environments where teams can collaborate and learn in tandem.
Going forward, further investments in the metaverse and XR environments will likely enhance these solutions. Companies may begin to build more immersive digital spaces for remote employees who want to feel present in the business when working from home. This could help to tackle the concern of “proximity bias” common among staff today. After all, 44% of professionals think hybrid work is beneficial, but 1 in 5 say they worry about missing out on opportunities when not in the office.
Tools like VR, AR, and MR applications built into UC tools could bring about a new era of collaboration for all industries. They could open the door to a better sense of presence between teams and introduce new ways for staff to visualize and solve problems.
Compliance Will Continue to Evolve
Finally, in all areas of the communication landscape, new regulations and rules are consistently introduced to influence how we collect and manage data. These guidelines influence customer data and how employers track and monitor their distributed team members.
UC vendors in this new landscape will need to invest even more in tools and solutions which give businesses greater control over their data. We’ve already seen companies like Microsoft updating their security standing as they invest more in their UC environment. Plus, countless other organizations have begun experimenting with new automated and intelligent solutions for tracking and mitigating compliance issues.
Going forward, virtually every business investing in UC will need first to conduct a risk assessment of their communication landscape and ensure they have the right strategies to reduce threats. The brands with the best security standing will be the ones who attract the most customers, new talent, and partner opportunities in the years to come.
Stay in the Know
Learn more about the newest trends in UC and connect with industry peers at UCX USA, September 13-14, 2023 in Austin, Texas. UCX USA, is a Connections-First unified communications and collaboration event, with a focus on peer-to-peer networking, inspiring thought leadership and best-in-class matchmaking for IT, AV and CCX leaders, directors and managers in Cloud & Networks, Collaboration, Security, Customer Contact & Experience, Video & AV, and Artificial Intelligence. Sign up to learn more by Dec. 31, 2022 and save 15% on Registration!
