Unified communications are going from strength to strength
With the global Unified Communication as a Service (UCaaS) market set to grow at a CAGR of 19.8% from 2025-2030, it’s clear that UCaaS is in a strong position. The advances in the industry, such as an increased integration of artificial intelligence (AI), are already creating waves and changing the UCaaS landscape. There’s plenty to come in the world of unified communications.
But what exactly is the future of UCaaS? What does it mean for businesses in general? That’s what Gamma’s CTO Colin Lees discussed with Gamma’s Chief Marketing and Product Officer Chris Wade in our ongoing ‘Future Visions’ series.
The evolution of UCaaS
Colin’s journey with Gamma may only be just a year old, but it’s the latest chapter in a career that spans over 25 years. The progress made in the last year has been significant, matching Gamma’s own standing as a “business with huge ambitions”. More products are to come over the next 12 months; to put it simply, “it’s going to be very exciting… we’ve got a lot happening there”.
Chris does raise an interesting point on whether the UCaaS label still resonates, and whether it’s still relevant “in the world of what was called UCaaS”. After all, businesses of multiple sizes and scope all require a specific solution for their needs. Those desires stretch from sole traders who “just want to be able to make and receive contact from customers easily” to the multinational companies who employ huge swathes of employees.
It seems odd for Colin to say as a technologist, but he reminds us that “you can’t start with the technology platform and solution”. Providers must understand specific use cases and build products that “solve a real-world problem… make a difference… [improve] a customer’s life”. For those providers with an ever-expanding portfolio, those needs and desires can be addressed easily.
Having that coverage is essential when keeping up with evolving customer demands.
Great (customer) expectations
Consumers, in Chris’ eyes, are the ones driving business change. For those that understand (and get excited by) technology, they’re the ones influencing these developments in business communications. No longer is it enough to “just pick up the telephone” – there’s a growing list of channels that customers want to use.
Colin points to Cisco’s own roadmap and their integration capabilities, as well as Phoneline+ and the impending integration with WhatsApp. Such steps are vital in creating a solution that provides flexible and reliable communications. Providing customers with more ways to communicate creates a more personalised experience that all customers appreciate.
Colin even went a step further and conducted “research” by visiting his local publican. When taking bookings, the landlord will write them down in a book rather than use the online booking system. If they were preoccupied and pulling pints, they wouldn’t be able to take that call and miss out on those booking.
But that’s where WhatsApp integration could come in. If someone calls up asking for a table and can’t get through, then they would get a message following up and asking for them to make that booking. Again, it all comes down to understanding those use cases.
For Chris, it comes down to putting “more and more into these tools”. The needs for both big and small businesses will converge as they share that same goal of meeting customer expectations. It becomes “less about the size of the organisation, more about the mechanism, frequency and complexity” of those conversations.
Of course, when we talk about the tools being used, it’s AI that is the one most frequently mentioned.
AI and that experience delivery
The use case Colin described about WhatsApp helping local pubs manage their bookings is one that would involve AI. It always seems much easier to think AI can handle the heavy load since the AI agent is the one listening to the call or voice mail. We can already thank AI for its ability to transcribe meetings and take notes.
What we used to classify as automation is now being labelled as an AI function or feature. This provokes Colin to think about what the role of AI is, especially as it’s “a very broad topic”. That’s putting it mildly.
Colin highlights “some genuinely excellent” use cases in larger organisations. Cisco tooling that can clean up images and voice while adapting to the environment is just one example of such a scenario. Indeed, transcription that was “previously unachievable in smaller products is now there”.
Businesses are spoilt for choice when it comes to AI-driven tools, including Copilot, ServiceNow in Salesforce, and the “genuinely new and emergent” technologies. While they tend to be relatively immature, the next 12 months promise to be big. Colin predicts that startup AI businesses will emerge and offer “solutions that genuinely solve customer problems”.
It’s the “crossover we’ve not got to yet”.
Gamma is already working with several startups to “cross the threshold” and create something that improves customer experience. Colin himself admits that “a little bit of [his] soul dies” when winding up talking to a chatbot. We won’t dive too deep into details on AI voices trying to pick up regional accents, but things are bound to change either way.
“Game-changing pieces of capability”
When people start to understand that technology needs to be developed to solve problems rather than “technology for technology’s sake”, great change can occur. Whether it’s artificial intelligence (or even “intelligent automation”), the world of UCaaS is set for an exciting future.
As Chris says, “AI is coming”, but this isn’t an ominous message. It will make a huge difference to businesses, especially if they “pick the right partners” to solve use cases with. A tool will never fix a broken process, but those providers can play a crucial part. As Gamma grows its own portfolio through close collaboration with Cisco and the evolution of iPECS, there’s plenty to come.
To quote Colin, “I like the direction that we’re headed in UCaaS”.