20 Critical UCaaS Stats for Small Businesses to Know in 2023
Corey McCraw is a staff writer covering VoIP and Unified Communications. Corey has over a decade of experience in marketing, tech writing, and corporate communications and has even penned content for the former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative.
Marianne is a staff writer at Fit Small Business who covers business phone services, VoIP, and video conferencing tools.
This article is part of a larger series on Unified Communications.
Unified communications as a service (UCaaS) provides businesses a way to efficiently collaborate with distributed teams and communicate with customers through multiple touchpoints. However, due to concerns over security, privacy, and internet connectivity, some businesses are hesitant to embrace UCaaS solutions. Thus, we’ve compiled a list of UCaaS statistics to drive helpful insights into this powerful communications technology.
New to UCaaS? Before delving into the top UCaaS statistics, find out more about this cloud-based solution in our comprehensive guide on UCaaS.
UCaaS Market Report & Insights
The rapid adoption of digital platforms, such as chat, video conferencing, and online collaboration tools, created new opportunities for unified communications (UC). The following UCaaS stats show the development of its global market and its future market potential.
1. The global UCaaS market size is projected to reach $44.7 billion million by 2030
(Source: GlobeNewswire)
The COVID-19-induced remote work culture created huge opportunities for the UCaaS market growth. With its cloud-based nature, companies no longer rely on physical infrastructure to carry out various business operations. Plus, the presence of key market players like Microsoft, RingCentral, and Cisco is also expected to contribute to the growth of the UCaaS market in the coming years.
The global UCaaS market is predicted to reach a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.2% between 2022 and 2030.
(Source: GlobeNewswire)
2. Over 75% of companies will use UCaaS for business communications by 2030
(Source: 8×8)
UCaaS adoption is expected to steadily increase in the years ahead due to several adoption drivers, including enhanced security, remote work support, and geographic availability. Thanks to UCaaS, companies can now purchase business phone services from the cloud as well as integrated messaging and video meetings. In turn, this brings a truly unified employee and customer engagement experience.
3. Microsoft Teams was the UCaaS market leader for 2022, reaching 12 million users
(Source: UC Today)
Each year, Gartner releases the UCaaS Magic Quadrant, a list of the top market leaders in the UCaaS sphere. For 2022, Gartner picked Microsoft Teams as the UCaaS market leader due to a number of highlights for that year. These include reaching 12 million Teams users, top-rated user experiences, adding a sign language view for Teams meetings, and growing Office 365 seat numbers.
Teams channels are collaboration spaces where users participate in group chats, mention specific people, and share files.
(Source: Microsoft Teams)
Microsoft Teams is a unified communications app with team chat, file sharing, and video conferencing. A free version is available, while premium packages start at $4 per user (billed annually). In our Microsoft Teams review, we provide a full breakdown of its video conferencing features, such as live captions, immersive view, speaker coach, and custom backgrounds.
4. Almost $1.8 trillion in enterprise IT spending is at stake from the cloud shift in 2025
(Source: Gartner)
Based on Gartner’s “cloud shift” research, 65.9% of enterprise IT spending on application software will be directed toward the shift from traditional solutions to the public cloud. The accelerated cloud shift is primarily due to COVID-19 as companies adopt new business strategies to reach new market opportunities and avoid the risk of becoming obsolete.
Key Takeaways:
- The global UCaaS market growth is driven by the growing trend toward mobility and the increasing demand from both large enterprises and small and medium businesses (SMBs).
- UCaaS providers are responding by offering services that enable clients to streamline remote communication and increase productivity.
UCaaS Adoption Statistics
With more industries allowing employees to work outside the traditional office space, UCaaS adoption has spiked out of necessity. Below are the top UCaaS statistics proving businesses increasingly adopt this cloud-based solution.
5. UCaaS subscription rate rose by 41% in 2020
(Source: Statista)
While RingCentral got the biggest market share in 2020 with 20%, both Microsoft and Zoom accelerated their growth rate in 2020 with a subscriber base of over a million each. It was followed by other leading vendors like 8×8, Cisco, and Mitel. By 2021, the total UCaaS subscriber count went over 15 million.
The UCaaS subscriber growth rate rose from 29% to 41% between 2018 and 2020. (Source: Statista)
6. 19.1% of companies used UCaaS in 2020 for their calling needs
(Source: Call2Teams)
Despite the popularity of messaging and video meetings, audio calling is still preferred by most business users. According to a report by Metrigy, 44% of SMBs have increased call volumes due to the influx of customer inquiries. Employees also see it as a less intrusive means of one-to-one conversations.
7. 22.4% of SMBs use UCaaS as their sole communications suite
(Source: Metrigy)
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, SMBs have responded to the change in work setup by accelerating their adoption of cloud solutions. UCaaS made it easy to deal with a distributed and often remote workforce while ensuring everyone can effectively communicate and collaborate regardless of location.
8. The healthcare/medical industry has the highest UCaaS growth rate
(Source: Avant)
UCaaS is one cloud-based service that virtually fits every market segment. However, when it comes to UCaaS growth and penetration, the healthcare industry is taking the lead across the board. This is due to the increasing demand for telemedicine services and medical emergency response. Also, UCaaS has strengthened its security infrastructure to accommodate specific privacy and compliance regulations in healthcare enterprises.
The UCaaS market experienced the highest growth rate in the healthcare industry. (Source: Avant)
9. Scalability & cost savings are the top UCaaS adoption drivers in 2022
(Source: Metrigy)
The scalable nature of UCaaS is a useful capability for small businesses wanting to expand while keeping costs low. You can add or remove users as necessary, infinitely scale your cloud storage and workspace, and expand your presence globally without running up hefty phone bills. Additionally, the subscription pricing model of UCaaS removes the need for capital expenditure and infrastructure costs to access a superior communications system.
Scalability is the top UCaaS adoption driver, followed by cost savings and support for work from home. (Source: Metrigy)
10. 97% of organizations say remote work boosted interest in UCaaS
(Source: Masergy)
As COVID-19 pushed companies to rapidly adopt a remote working model, UCaaS became a key aspect of ensuring business continuity. It offers an all-in-one platform for telecommunications, allowing employees to stay connected wherever they are. Teams can video conference, manage projects remotely, and collaborate in real time.
If you’re looking for a full-fledged UCaaS solution that effectively supports a collaborative remote workforce, Nextiva is the right fit for you. From team chat to video conferencing, it offers everything you need to connect with teams while working from home. Discover more about Nextiva’s built-in collaboration features in our in-depth Nextiva review.
Nextiva supports a wide variety of communication channels, including voice calls, video conferencing, and business SMS.
Key Takeaways:
- The COVID-19 pandemic fueled a faster adoption of UCaaS as more companies required employees to work from home. UCaaS, in turn, paved the way for better remote working strategies as it provides a wide range of communication and collaboration features in one digital environment.
Benefits of UCaaS
UCaaS provides businesses with more unified, efficient, and better-integrated solutions than traditional tools. The UCaaS statistics below demonstrate the power of unified communications in improving everyday workflow, boosting sales growth, and delivering high-value customer experiences.
11. Firms with UCaaS make decisions 2.6 times faster than those without
(Source: Forrester)
UCaaS has a strong reputation for driving higher productivity levels and improving employee workflow. With an integrated platform, everyone collaborates in one spot and can track who’s available and reach out to them. Teams with UCaaS are more likely to experience shortened cycles for decision-making and realize faster problem resolution than those without it.
12. 44% of businesses expect UCaaS to help deliver better customer outcomes
(Source: Forrester)
Customers appreciate receiving prompt and competent responses from companies. UCaaS helps achieve this goal by providing teams with tools to reach customers across multiple communication channels. It also provides access to previous interactions, allowing employees to tailor their messages based on the collected information. This creates more efficient and personalized communication that enhances customer-brand relationships.
13. Combining UCaaS with a contact center solution results in a 21% increase in annual sales
(Source: Metrigy)
Bundling UCaaS and contact center as a service (CCaaS) enables companies to maximize the advantages of both platforms from a single cloud-hosted provider. Instant messaging tools facilitate better team communication as call center agents can collaborate with internal departments when requesting information. For instance, outbound call centers can communicate directly with the sales team to transfer warm leads with the touch of a button.
The benefits of integrating UCaaS and CCaaS affect annual sales, agent productivity, customer ratings, and operational costs.
(Source: Metrigy)
RingCentral Contact Center is a cloud-based solution combining UCaaS and CCaaS features within a single app. Its omnichannel capability lets you reach clients in over 30 digital channels, including access to complete RingCentral MVP capabilities, such as free domestic calling, conference calling, and team messaging. Check out our full RingCentral Contact Center review for more information about its pricing, features, and integrations.
RingCentral integrates with hundreds of popular business apps, including Salesforce. (Source: RingCentral)
Visit RingCentral Contact Center
Key Takeaways:
- The benefits of UCaaS have a direct impact on any company’s bottom line. It encompasses all of your digital communication needs while ensuring flexibility and efficiency. Explore our complete guide on unified communications to learn more about the benefits of UCaaS.
UCaaS Implementation Challenges
While switching to UCaaS offers several benefits, it also presents challenges, especially for those new to this technology. Here are some unified communications statistics you should know before adopting a UCaaS solution:
14. 62% say data security is the biggest challenge in UCaaS deployments
(Source: Masergy)
Given the increasing mobility of today’s workforce, decision-makers have become particularly concerned about data security and privacy. In fact, around 80% of organizations experienced a cloud security breach in the past year. This is why UCaaS providers are introducing robust security protection plans to provide real peace of mind for their clients.
8×8 Frontdesk is designed for high-volume call handling to help your phone operators route multiple incoming calls to the right destination. (Source: 8×8)
If security is a chief concern, 8×8 offers a wide range of security and compliance certifications to ensure your data is properly handled and stored. The 8×8 platform conforms to global standards for securing customer privacy, financial information, and computer networks. Monthly pricing starts at $28 per user with unlimited calls to 14 countries, video conferencing, team chat, and voicemail transcription. Read our 8×8 review to learn more about its UCaaS offerings.
15. 51% of companies delay migration to UCaaS because of bandwidth issues
(Source: Avant)
The quality of a UCaaS service relies on the speed of your internet connection. This is why many companies with no regular access to high-speed broadband are still thinking about whether they are ready to support a remote workforce. They must ensure sufficient network capacity and that employees have a stable internet connection to handle cloud applications, including voice and video calls.
16. 2 out of 5 firms lack UC user training
(Source: Forrester)
Any software, no matter how intuitive, still requires user training. Unfortunately, many firms skip the onboarding process to cut training costs, while employees refuse to attend training even when offered. Fundamentally, training employees on a new communication system like UCaaS helps achieve productivity improvements to keep your business moving forward.
The graph shows five key areas why companies experience challenges and delays in UCaaS deployment. (Source: Forrester)
17. 9 out of 10 IT leads say UCaaS downtime is detrimental to their business
(Source: Masergy)
The quality of a UCaaS provider’s cloud infrastructure is the key to a successful UCaaS experience. A Forrester report revealed that almost 62% of UCaaS users experienced network downtime, negatively affecting customer experience. That is why it is important to check a provider’s service level agreement to determine its true uptime percentage and level of response time during system outages.
Key Takeaways:
- When considering the pros and cons of UCaaS, remember that the long-term benefits will eventually outweigh the short-term disruptions provided if you implement it effectively. A detailed deployment plan will ensure you reap the benefits of your new UCaaS platform more quickly.
General UCaaS Statistics
The benefits offered by UCaaS prompted customers to set higher expectations of user experiences and overall performance. That is why when choosing the right provider, businesses have plenty of factors to consider, including cost, feature set, integrations, and quality of service (QoS).
18. Technology integration is one of the most critical UCaaS features for companies
(Source: Masergy)
Businesses adopting UCaaS look for providers that will readily keep their tools together and interoperable. Ideally, a UCaaS platform should connect with everyday business tools, including productivity apps, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, and workflow solutions. Connecting your UCaaS and the tools you use reduces the need to switch back and forth between apps.
19. 59% of companies say QoS is a primary metric in measuring the success of UCaaS solutions
(Source: Forrester)
When evaluating UCaaS providers, users firmly look for solutions that are unified, cost-effective, and consistent. To completely track QoS, companies consider call quality, the performance of video conferencing tools, and other channels used to connect with teams and customers.
Quality of service (QoS) is the primary consideration of most firms when measuring UCaaS success. (Source: Forrester)
20. Microsoft Teams Phone is one of the most expensive UCaaS solutions to operate
(Source: Metrigy)
Among all UCaaS providers examined by Metrigy, Microsoft Teams Phone costs more when it comes to managing and maintaining staff resources. The extra fees typically come from the need to upgrade user licensing to unlock the phone system package, which requires an annual subscription of $8 per user, monthly. The monthly cost can exceed $57 per user to unlock productivity apps and enterprise-grade security.
Key Takeaways:
- To ensure a successful UCaaS implementation, companies should seek a provider with flexible pricing plans, native integrations, and secure cloud infrastructure. It should also have 24/7 access to customer service to help you get the support you need before, during, and after the deployment process.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the difference between UCaaS & CCaaS?
The difference between these two cloud-based services lies in their intended usage. UCaaS focuses more on internal collaboration and collaboration, while CCaaS is designed to help businesses reach customers through their preferred communication channels. Our guide on UCaaS vs CCaaS provides in-depth information about their purpose and use cases.
What are the driving factors for the global UCaaS market?
The global UCaaS market is driven by several key factors, including the upsurge of remote and hybrid working, the rising trends of bring your own device (BYOD), and the growing adoption of UCaaS.
Who are the major players in the UCaaS market?
According to a market report by Reports and Insights, some key players in the global UCaaS market are RingCentral, Microsoft, Google, 8×8, LogMeIn, and Cisco.
Bottom Line
As demonstrated by this list of key unified communications statistics, UCaaS can be a powerful communication tool for businesses when implemented correctly. It supports all aspects of remote collaboration while ensuring security, better workflows, and greater cost savings. As long as you choose the right UCaaS provider for your business needs, you’ll be able to reap all the key benefits of your UC platform.
