UC EXPO, one of the leading marketplace event organisers for the UC&C space, recently introduced a selection of insights from their latest report. UC EXPO conducted a market insight survey in February of 2020, and replicated the survey following the COVID outbreak. The resulting report highlighted some crucial realities about the state of the communications market.
According to the UC EXPO team, the research demonstrates that it has never been more important to have the right UC&C solution in place. After the outbreak of COVID-19 hit the world, disrupting the way we all do business, companies all over the planet began to become reliant on UC&C.
The Rising Demand for Collaboration
One major insight from the report addresses the growing demand for collaboration tools. When lockdown measures appeared in the UK during March, countless companies needed to shift into a new remote working situation. This increase in remote working has accelerated the need for UC&C solutions in the country. However, the demand for the technology already existed before.
UC EXPO says that UC&C was a mid-ranking technology for digitally transforming companies in 2019. 29% of teams were investing in the tech. However, zero companies saw UC&C as business critical. After COVID-19 hit, that number went from zero to 7%.
In February, only 1% of the people in the survey said they expected to see a huge investment in tools for remote working. The number has now risen to 14%. Collaboration software also saw a 15% increase in demand over the same time. Unfortunately, an increased need for UC&C also presents challenges.
Around 53% of respondents said they’re still deciding which UC&C system to use. At the same time, however, companies are beginning to adopt more innovative technology. 9% of teams say they’ve been using virtual assistants to help with customer experience.
Adapting to The New Landscape
UC EXPO’s data demonstrates a massive shift in the way people use technology. However, teams still need help adopting new tools. The good news is that user adoption concerns are slowly decreasing, from 65% in February, to 52% in April. UC EXPO noted that we’ve seen a lot of efforts from companies around the world to ease access to UC&C for employees and make adoption easier.
81% of the people surveyed in the report said that culture was the biggest concern when implementing collaboration software. Due to this, need for collaboration software is rapidly overtaking user adoption concerns as the biggest priority for companies. 64% of brands said that their biggest focus is finding the right collaboration software for teams.
Security is another issue for this rapidly-changing landscape. In February, 51% of respondents said that managing security for remote teams was one of the biggest challenges their team faced. Now, the number has increased to 65%.
Unfortunately, although 65% of teams said that security is a top challenge, only 45% of respondents said that security would also be a priority as they moved to remote work landscapes. The good news is that the need for great security solutions is rising. In February, investment in security ranked fifth across the UC&C landscape. By April, security had reached second place.
The Demand for New Technology
The transformative landscape companies are facing today also comes with a new set of demands for technology solutions. When asked to mention the three UC&C tech solutions they’re investing in, companies ranked collaboration tools at the top, with 25% of the vote. This is an upgrade from collaboration tools scoring zero in February.
Cloud communication tools are also becoming increasingly essential. 15% of companies highlighted the cloud as essential for remote working. Furthermore, organisations have been investing extra into the right hardware and equipment to empower teams. 13% of respondents highlighted this as a core investment for 2020.
As businesses struggle to adapt to the new realities around them, the availability of technology, the speed at which companies can supply new solutions, and options for upgrading existing hardware are all leading concerns. However, other parts of the landscape are losing influence, such as artificial intelligence and analytics.
UC EXPO’s recent market report shows us just how significant the pandemic has been when it comes to influencing the way we connect and communicate. Going forward, it seems evident that the landscape will continue to evolve according to new demands. Check out the full UC EXPO market report for more details on how the pandemic influenced UC&C (opens pdf).
