12 Critical UCaaS Statistics Small Businesses Must Know

A good unified communications as a service (UCaaS) provider will deliver not only a means for businesses to communicate with customers through telephony, but also a way to collaborate and perform outbound contact on multiple customer touchpoints. However, some businesses are still reluctant to adopt unified communications (UC). Thus, we’ve created this guide to drive home the value of this powerful communications technology.

Stand out from the competition and discover ways to improve efficiency within your organization by reading through these top 12 unified communications statistics:

UCaaS Supports Work From Home (WFH)

Since the pandemic of 2020, more businesses have their employees working from home. Here are some statistics that support this new working environment:

1. 93% of companies agree that collaboration tools are essential for a hybrid work environment

(Source: Netscout)

Companies with a hybrid work environment became one of the largest adapters to using unified communication and collaboration (UC&C) tools during the pandemic. These tools are essential for communication among team members working from different locations.

The same 93% of companies adopted using new UC&C apps and tools in the past 18 months. These apps allow you to communicate as well as improve overall productivity and workflows across teams—regardless of locations and time zones.

2. More than 70% of workers prefer flexible work environments with remote options

(Source: Microsoft)

About two-thirds of workers enjoy having a flexible work environment, giving them the option to work remotely all or some of the time. Many employees also enjoy going to an office to have in-person time with their teams and colleagues.

Over 65% of individuals crave time to interact with team members. With this being said, it’s a good idea for businesses to offer a combination of both work environments to offer employees the best of both worlds.

3. Since 2019, there has been a 44% rise in the use of collaboration tools

(Source: Gartner)

In 2021, about 80% of workers used collaboration tools to connect with colleagues. This is a 44% increase from two years prior, when only about 50% of workers used these tools.

UC Is Cheaper & More Convenient

Saving money is important to a business, especially when its bottom line is close to its budget. UC is a cheaper option for most businesses, and here are some stats to support it:

4. UC single-provider ownership has a 56% lower cost than individual vendors

(Source: Cisco)

When considering the total cost of ownership (TCO), UC solutions present a lower overall cost. This is because a single-solution provider delivers an integrated option that provides various functionalities, including calling, online meetings, and messaging. Whether it’s a DIY system that allows companies to integrate solutions in-house or one that’s ready-to-deploy, single-provider solutions save on costs. This is especially true when it comes to the cost of managed services, staffing, and licensing.

5. Instead of a raise, more than 6% of employees would accept the option to work remotely

(Source: GigaOm)

Remote work is very attractive to many employees, and many would accept this option instead of getting a raise in pay. When it comes to tech professionals, 37% of these individuals said they would even be willing to take a pay cut of up to 10% to work from home every day.

Video Conferencing Provides New Collaboration Opportunities

One of the major ways that teams communicate is through video conferencing. This allows individuals to see each other and feel like they are in an in-person meeting with their coworkers. Here are some interesting unified communications statistics about video conferencing:

6. Online meeting duration has increased by 10% every year since the year 2000

(Source: Dialpad)

This rise in video conferencing replaces in-person conversations and creates a fast-paced environment that makes meetings more efficient. For most businesses, Mondays are the busiest day for meetings. In fact, 83.13% of people spend about 1/3 of their week attending meetings.

Live Chat Opens Up New Customer Touchpoints

Live chat is a method for customers to communicate with a business without spending time on hold to talk to an agent. They can also continue with their day as they wait for a response. Here are the stats that support why a business should have live chat as a means of communication:

7. For most customers, live chat is their preferred method of contacting a business

(Source: SuperOffice)

Customers prefer live chat to communicate with businesses over any other contact channel because of its convenience and ease of use. In fact, 41% of customers expect to find this feature on websites so that they don’t have to spend the time calling the business.

Businesses without live chat are essentially not hearing what their customers are saying. Even though this is an important means of communication, only 9% of businesses give customers a live chat option. However, this is expected to change and grow by as much as 87% during the next 12 to 18 months.

RingCentral is a UCaaS provider with live chat, helping customers engage with them more efficiently. If you are looking for a full-featured communication system, check out our RingCentral review to learn if it’s a good fit for your needs.

Business SMS Adds Customer Convenience

Providers like RingCentral, Nextiva, and Grasshopper each have free business SMS, which can be used to reach customers via text. Not only does this allow you to reach customers on a very popular touchpoint, but it also is very convenient for businesses that want to send bulk messaging to hundreds or thousands of customers.

Here are a few quick statistics about this form of VoIP/UCaaS-powered communications:

8. Five minutes is the response turnaround time for 58.7% of customers who have been texted by their favorite businesses

(Source: Salesmate.io)

Texting is also a very effective way to reach out to your customers. With almost 60% responding quickly to text messages, business owners can get things like confirmations done more quickly and reliably.

9. SMS marketing is being used by 39% of businesses

(Source: Postscript)

Outside of reminders, text marketing is an effective way of creating new opportunities. In addition to reaching new customers, SMS texting even provides opportunities for businesses to upsell services to existing customers after support calls. And customers are 4.5 times more likely to respond to texts.

Team Messaging Brings New Collaboration Opportunities

Team members should be able to collaborate, even when geographic distances separate them. Team messaging apps are built into the majority of UCaaS platforms and provide a similar experience to business SMS. Still, it’s easier to send things like emotes, file share, and even switch over to video or audio conferencing.

Below are a few key team messaging stats to consider:

10. There’s been an increase in the use of team messaging tools by as much as 27% due to the pandemic

(Source: Humanyze)

With the advent of COVID-19, companies have had to scramble in order to help their employees communicate. A good example of this necessity has been the rise of video conferencing giants like Zoom. Team messaging has also seen a major uptick thanks to the rising need to communicate from a distance.

Even though the pandemic has started to wane, business has changed forever, with team messaging continuing to be a significant part of business. Standalone collaboration platforms like Microsoft Teams have reported more than 270 million active users, and their chief competitor, Slack, is also experiencing monumental growth. Additionally, several UCaaS platforms, like RingCentral and Nextiva, boast their own proprietary, built-in team messaging apps.

11. Team messaging helps companies retain employees (4.5 times higher than companies with poor communication)

(Source: Inc.)

A feeling of community is critical for a business to retain its employees. In a world where much of the internal communications is facilitated on screens, it’s important to use the right tools. With team chat apps, colleagues quickly collaborate, assign tasks, and even shoot the breeze, which helps them feel as if they are part of a growing or stable community.

There are multiple team chat apps on the market that can easily foster this sense of community among your employees. Many have features like emojis that add a sense of true interpersonal interaction to each conversation.

12. 33% of modern employees want more collaborative workspaces; working with a great team is a major reason for retention (according to 37% of modern workers)

(Source: Bit Blog)

Unified communications will help your employees feel more like they are at home. About 75% of workers state that teamwork and strong collaboration are key reasons for staying with a company. Additionally, based on research performed by Braidio, 81% of responding employees feel that this kind of collaboration significantly boosts productivity. Additionally, 48% stated that team communication apps are their preferred method of learning while working.

Bottom Line

With the number of communications options to reach both customers and colleagues on the rise, you can’t afford to ignore UCaaS in 2022 (and the years to come). The technology available in most UCaaS suites is inexpensive—often costing only a few hundred dollars each year to open up multiple communications channels. Still not sure of the advantages? Check out our exhaustive guide on UCaaS to gain a deeper understanding.