The Path of Unified Communications in 2018

February 19, 2018

Unified communications is a fast-growing segment of technology, and as enterprises experience the innovation and development that are possible with improved, streamlined collaborative tools, adoption will continue to increase. Likewise, innovation is expanding within unified communications, and there are several trends to watch over the following year in this exciting area of opportunity:
Collaboration with added flexibility: In addition to cost savings, the biggest draw for any company adopting unified communications is its collaborative tools. As more organizations adopt unified communications, it’s becoming clear that a one-size-fits-all approach rarely fits all. Many companies thrive on the shared workspaces that a collaborative environment provides, but others require more emphasis on conferencing and file sharing.
Look for unified communications services to become more flexible at the user interface, with options for emphasizing certain tools over others and features that fit specifically with the organization’s business processes.
Move over, private branch exchange (PBX): In the last year, apps with tight integration that connect the smartphone seamlessly with communications systems have become a common addition for many organizations. As the technology improves, you can expect to see the unified communications approach allow a uniform experience from any screen, and continuity between mobile devices and the PBX. The tools available from a smartphone will be expanded and include content sharing, team collaboration, and better meeting support.
Unified communications gets a boost from cloud migration: As more enterprises embrace cloud solutions, they’ll also be considering Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS), which offers many of the same benefits that come with any cloud solution, including:

  • reduced maintenance and hardware costs,
  • scalability, and
  • agility.

Another benefit of UCaaS is the speed of innovation, as service providers focus their research and development on the delivery of cloud services.
Microservices make unified communications more customized: In 2018, expect to see UCaaS providers taking applications down to their core functional components and then configuring them into various combinations through the use of application programming interfaces (APIs). While this is not a completely new trend, the dominance of UCaaS will allow innovation and time-to-market to increase in speed, allowing organizations to achieve a higher level of flexibility and customization in their unified communications solutions. These advances will allow organizations to offer a more customized user experience to fit the needs of their particular target audience.
ACR Solutions is watching the latest trends in unified communications to help you develop the best possible plan for your communications technology. Contact us to find out more about the scalability, productivity, and cost savings that unified communications can provide to your company.

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