Cloud adoption is at an all time high and is set to continue. Transparency Market Research suggested that the UCaaS market was projected to reach $61.9 billion in value by the end of 2018. According to data gathered by the Synergy Research Group, the UCaaS market continues to see an annualised growth rate of about 29%. The timing of Mitel’s most recent report is therefore extremely relevant to the UCaaS market growth.
Shift to cloud communications
Colin Mann, UCaaS Channel Marketing Director for Mitel across EMEA and APAC , summarised the introduction to Mitel’s recently filed “Cloud Adoption As Viewed By European Companies” survey:
“It is not a question of “if” but “when” many businesses will shift their communications to cloud-based platforms. This is a key takeaway from the second edition of Mitel’s survey into how European companies see cloud-based solutions. Innovation is at the heart for the adoption of cloud technologies for a large majority of the respondents. The pay-as-you use model addresses the needs of businesses for flexibility, innovation, collaboration and in particular, business agility”.
SpokingPolls surveyed 1,003 corporate executives to gather their views and reasons for migration from a traditional on-site model to a cloud phone system. The majority of respondents were CIOs and CTOs (69%) with the remainder compiled of HR, CEO, CMO and technical resources.
Key takeaways
The Mitel highlights several key elements that indicate that cloud adoption, and UCaaS specifically, will continue to rise.
Cloud adoption decisions are taken in isolation
77% of UCaaS adoption is based on a single requirement. Mitel reveals that attention is focused on availability. Other potential benefits, like the ability to integrate SaaS applications with existing business applications such as customer relations management (CRM), are being overlooked. Currently European businesses migrating to the cloud are technical in approach, allowing a shift to an OpEx spending model. Potentially the more alluring draw to move from on-premises phone systems to UCaaS is the change to a subscription model.
Demands for enhanced IT security are driving cloud adoption
Security clearly remains a concern for businesses considering a move to the cloud. Typically, security is flagged across enterprises as the primary blocker for cloud adoption. However, Mitel reports that this trend runs across small businesses and medium businesses too. The good news is that UCaaS platform security has proved itself as the technology has matured.
Mitel notes that “as platforms prove their security credentials, businesses across Europe are becoming increasingly confident in using them to modernise their information systems. Close to one-third of companies have started to make their IS virtual, and 94% declare they want to use a virtual private network for their cloud-based telephone service”.
Access to innovation is a key driver for public cloud
It is widely accepted that innovation is a key factor in improved user experience and customer experience. Mitel easily draws the conclusion that European companies associate cloud technology with innovation. Generally, companies looking for bleeding edge innovation disregard price as a high importance requirement. The compelling need to outperform competition by introducing proven technology often outweighs budgets constraints.
Mitel reports that the technology requested most here includes classic functions like presence tracking, instant messaging and video. These are viewed are driving the proliferation of digital transformation projects.
With the majority of survey responses coming from sub 500 users companies, the trend points to SME requirements mentioning more sophisticated tasks like conferencing, document sharing and mobility less often.
Independence from a single supplier vs the need for specialised cloud support
A hot topic in the UCaaS industry right now is single supplier vs multiple vendors. 62% of companies that responded to the survey said that above all they want to work with a specialist in the sector and to establish a direct and meaningful working relationship with the specialist, sometimes to the detriment of other links in the supply chain.
It is clear that whilst multiple vendors are recognised as important to communications strategy and adoption, businesses favour the “one back to pat” approach in terms of management and communicating.
Remote working and flexible working
41% of the companies polled had nomad workers and 14% stated they used distance working. Mitel comments that “Given the nature of our panel, these figures are encouraging, and show a real evolution towards the new working environments expected by today’s employees”.
The stats revealed in the Mitel report provide compelling reading for businesses thinking about moving their communications the cloud. I reached out to Mitel’s VP of UCaaS Sales (International), Rami Houbby, to get his thoughts on where Mitel expects to be this time next year in terms of headlines.
“The telecoms industry has been talking about cloud for years but we’re now seeing genuine transformation into being a cloud-led and cloud-first world. This is being driven by the demands of end users who now expect the same cloud and app-based experience at work as they enjoy at home.”
“We’re excited at Mitel to be a UCaaS provider with the channel at the heart”
For more information on cloud adoption, and to download the full report, use this link.
