The Future of Business Communications Solutions

As more organizations continue to shift to remote-work culture due to the COVID-19 pandemic, traditional business communication tools are increasingly becoming ineffective. Remote work needs technology that facilitates fast, seamless communication and collaboration between teams and enables better customer engagement.

It is clear: the future of work is collaborative. And to support this new way of working, unified communications and collaboration is undergoing a third wave of transformation. The flexible workplace model is driving the demand for cloud native platforms that enable low code/no code integration of collaborative capabilities with popular cloud-based communication and collaboration applications.

Entering the Third Wave of UC Transformation

The First Wave

Traditionally, businesses relied on the packet switching method and analog telephones in their communication processes. The first wave of business communications demanded a shift to voice over internet protocol (VoIP) and offered relatively low but steady profit margins and no recurring revenue for service providers.

The Second Wave

The second wave brought about a more application- and task-centric outlook, focusing more on the individual. Instead of relying on on-premise solutions, enterprises moved to cloud-hosted UCaaS that included unified voice, video, and chat platforms. Some of the service providers also offered contact center and collaboration capabilities. The cloud-first communications technology provided high monthly recurring revenue to service providers.

The Third Wave

The next generation of communication platforms centers around bridging the gap between voice-based communications and productivity-focused tools, with a more workflow and data-centric approach. Instead of cloud-hosted services, unified communications and collaboration is moving to a cloud native platform. These cloud native apps feature integrated collaborative capabilities built on modular microservice architecture, enabling seamless communication and collaboration at a significantly lower cost.

From integrated CRM, AI-powered communications, and marketing automation to workforce optimization and management, the new wave of emerging low-cost solutions is taking center stage. Programmable communication models like CPaaS are offering real-time communications APIs for easy integration with existing productivity apps. 

These cloud native apps are offering high revenue growth to service providers with predominantly monthly recurring revenue.

Keep Up With Cloud Technology at the CCA

Given the pace with which organizations are shifting to a new way of working, it is likely that more cloud native solutions will enter the market to facilitate effective communication and collaboration between remote teams. While we have only entered the third wave of unified communication and collaboration transformation, you must steer your efforts in the right direction as a decision maker. And for that, you need to keep pace with the latest upgrades in the cloud communications industry.

The Cloud Communications Alliance gives you a platform to connect with leaders and trendsetters in the cloud industry. With experts from all around the globe, CCA affiliates have an international advantage. Being a CCA member, you will know how the industry is growing on a global scale in changing business conditions and channel your performance accordingly, driving organizational excellence.

Get more information on our collaborative community or become a CCA member today!