Microsoft has become the second-largest unified communication as a service (UCaaS) provider in the world, according to analyst research.
Synergy Research Group claims that rapid growth throughout 2020 and in Q1 has seen Microsoft propel itself past rivals to now have a greater share of worldwide revenue than Mitel, 8×8, Vonage and LogMeIn – with RingCentral still some way out in front.
“While RingCentral remains in a field of its own, there is a battle going on among the chasing pack of UCaaS providers,” said Jeremy Duke, Synergy Research Group’s founder and Chief Analyst.
“Microsoft was late to the party but is now growing strongly and is doubling its UCaaS subscriber base every six months”
“The good news for all of the vendors is that this is still early days for UCaaS and there are many years of high growth ahead as the vast PBX installed base gradually transitions to cloud-based services.”
Duke also said that both Zoom and Fuze have seen strong growth over recent months, albeit not enough break into the top six by revenue.
Total UCaaS subscriber numbers now stand at over 17 million, Synergy said, double the figure at the end of 2018. The global UCaaS base in Q1 was up 46 per cent year on year.
It added that only the UK, Germany and Canada have “a reasonably substantial base” of subscribers, indicating the global market opportunity.
