“Everyone is going through some level of digital transformation”
This is how things kicked off during my recent interview with Mike Wheadon, Sales Director, Formation Tech. And he’s right, with the number of UCaaS subscribers now growing at an exponential rate, according to Synergy, the total UCaaS market is now a 50 billion dollar market.
Although 90 percent of UCaaS subscribers are small businesses, momentum will shift to mid-to-large-range organisations in 2020 (Formation Tech’s average UCaaS seat count now stands at 300 and growing).
Mike went on to say “The market is reporting an appetite in the enterprise for over-the-top (OTT) communications, which is helping to drive average seat count numbers up at an exponential rate”
Furthermore, Teamwork apps are expected to see the highest amount of growth, and in 2019, the use of these apps increased by nearly 60 percent, while CPaaS and VaaS are forecasted to grow in excess of 30 percent this year. UCaaS and CCaaS are both slated to be the next year’s major growth markets in the world of business communications.
As it stands, the cloud communications and collaboration markets will grow by 19 percent this year, while revenue from on-premise products is expected to decline by three percent. Looking toward the future, as is the case during times of great digital transformation, CCaaS is expected to grow from $6.47 billion in 2017 to $24.11 billion by 2023. With an ever-shifting UC climate in place, I asked Weadon to share some of his predictions for the upcoming year with UC Today readers.
Digital Transformation will Continue to Drive Cloud Innovation
“Digital transformation continues to be a huge driver for cloud technology, SaaS and APIs, and it is unraveling legacy providers.”
He shared, this is because of the complexities legacy technology presents customers, which has led to slow cloud adoption in the UC market. Acknowledging other emerging technologies that play a role in digital transformation, he mentioned cloud technology, AI, VR, chatbots, and virtual assistants will
“Present new and exciting opportunities for end-user organisations in 2020”
AI is Next Decade’s Mega-Trend
It does seem, everyone’s been talking about artificial intelligence in the UC world – primarily to enhance team and customer experiences. “AI looks like it’s going to be the next mega-trend beyond CX and DX to take companies to the next level, Wheadon added.
More Strategic Alignments
Last month, I spoke with the folks at Formation Tech regarding Avaya’s new partnership with RingCentral. They told me, the partnership is a revolutionary move for Avaya, which will bring the Avaya marketplace a new UCaaS offering sure to shake things up. The duo partnered together to deliver a pure cloud, multi-tenancy UCaaS platform powered by who many consider to be the UCaaS market leader, RingCentral.
Meanwhile, Avaya will continue on with its family of contact centre solutions that offer the mid-market and large enterprises a robust set of tools for improving customer experience in the new decade
In 2020, Avaya will add to its arsenal of weapons, and equip these market segments with everything they need for differentiation. Along with extending a wide range of choices in the UC and contact centre landscape, Avaya also has a global community of channel partners ready to ensure companies get the best from the latest disruptive technologies.
“Strategic partnerships are emerging as the golden ticket to vendor success. As the market says, building bridges, not just more islands. We’re pleased to see Avaya following suit.” Says Wheadon
Formation Tech is hosting two webinars targeted at more than 90 percent of Avaya customers who have yet to take advantage of cloud managed services. So, if you would like to discover more about your Avaya cloud options in 2020, I’d recommend signing up.
A Wave of Innovation Like None Other
Wheadon does admit, that the market is experiencing a new wave of innovation and disruption, the likes of which end customers have never seen. This presents challenges, and customers find it difficult to make sense of it at times.
He shared with me, the key here is having the right partners in place to help deliver these new vendor technologies. This, he said, is paramount to winning with the latest CCaaS and UCaaS solutions.” Adding,
“Digital transformation is more than just purchasing new technology, it’s a mindset”
