communications trends.
Fluid collaboration and positive customer interactions help make any business successful. That’s why keeping up with unified communications trends gives companies a competitive edge.
It’s also why our Intermedia team has been able to help over 140,000 companies with communications for three decades. We constantly watch for what’s coming and help our clients adapt.
Check out the trends we’ve seen take hold in 2024.
Key Takeaways:
- Implementing artificial intelligence (AI) continues to be a top trend in unified communications.
- Companies increasingly seek to streamline communications by moving to the cloud.
- Integrating unified communications with contact center services is more beneficial than ever.
- Digital security and compliance remain a primary focus for all organizations.
2024’s Unified Communications Trends
As you examine these unified communications trends, figure out which ones your team needs to capitalize on more fully.
1. Further Advancements in Generative AI
Generative AI can already do a lot to make operations more efficient and improve the quality of service. Currently, the technology handles various tasks, including:
- Helping workers quickly compose emails and messages
- Generating code
- Analyzing and interpreting data
- Translating different languages
- Transcribing and summarizing meeting content
AI is also proving helpful as a high-powered virtual assistant. The program can offer rapid answers to users from the information within a company’s own knowledge base. You can now access such features within a top-tier unified communications as a service (UCaaS) platform, such as Intermedia Unite’s SPARK AI.
However, there remains a lot of potential for AI and a lot to do to realize that potential. For example, AI companies are diligently working to further enhance the capability, accuracy, and security of such tools.
Likewise, each business has to determine the return on investment of incorporating AI more fully into its workflows. To keep up with this fast-moving field, you’ll want to partner with a communications provider that offers you easy access to such tools so you can test the latest functions.
One thing is for sure: Generative AI, large language models, and natural language processing will remain at the forefront of unified communications trends for the foreseeable future.
2. A Growing Migration to the Cloud
Metrigy’s research shows that only 29.5% of companies have fully shifted to cloud-based UCaaS services. Of those that are still using an on-premise private branch exchange (PBX), 56% are looking to switch over to cloud communications within the next three years.
Leading reasons the migration to UCaaS is a top unified communications trend include:
- Lower total cost of ownership
- Greater security and easier compliance with government regulations
- Instant innovations and upgrades to services without extensive technical installations
- Rapid scalability of systems
- A more reliable service
Additionally, many countries are planning to switch off traditional analog telephone systems within the next few years. This means those without a digital solution that employs Voice over Internet Protocol may be scrambling at that time. That’s why the sooner you move to the cloud, the easier things will be for your team.
3. UCaaS Integration With Contact Centers
Even before cloud communications were around, companies appreciated the convenience and cost savings of getting their PBX and contact center services from a single provider. Those same advantages exist with cloud-based solutions. That’s why service bundling persists among unified communications trends.
Consider the benefits this setup offers. For starters, a fully integrated platform from one provider consolidates the time you spend on onboarding or migrating employees into your communications system. What’s more, IT operations are more efficient when you have one vendor.
This alignment also improves the customer experience. When your PBX and contact center are in separate systems, bottlenecks can occur when agents need to connect to in-house experts. An integrated platform makes reaching team members for help as easy as possible.
However, organizations that want to get the full benefit of this integration must be sure to choose a provider that truly offers its own UCaaS and contact center as a service (CCaaS). Some UCaaS providers utilize solutions from a separate CCaaS vendor, white-labeling them as their own. This opens the door for incompatibilities and bottlenecks.
In contrast, a world-class provider owns and maintains both systems. This allows peak performance and minimizes any potential issues.
4. Greater Focus on Security and Compliance
Cybersecurity remains one of the most important unified communications trends. Cybercriminals have adjusted their tactics to exploit vulnerabilities that could arise from remote and hybrid work. For instance, rising threats include voice impersonation and attacks through APIs.
Furthermore, governments are constantly creating and updating policies to protect citizen data. Businesses without a proactive approach could find themselves subject to stiff penalties and fines. That’s to say nothing of the initial monetary cost of responding to an attack and the reputational damage that ensues.
Small and mid-size businesses are prime targets for these attacks because they tend not to be able to dedicate the same resources to physical and digital protection as their larger counterparts. This makes finding a UCaaS provider with worry-free security all the more important.
Stay on Top of the Latest Unified Communications Trends With a Proactive Platform
Knowing these unified communications trends can’t help you if you don’t have a platform that can take advantage of them. Fortunately, Intermedia offers a world-class service that capitalizes on this year’s trends and is ready to adapt to upcoming ones. Talk to our team today to learn more.
Melinda Curtis
Melinda Curtis is a Director of Product Marketing at Intermedia, where she focuses on helping businesses improve employee productivity and enhance their customer experiences using Intermedia's award-winning cloud communications solutions. Melinda brings over 20 years of experience in telecommunications, having worked in B2C and B2B marketing, product management, and vendor management roles. In her free time, she loves to travel with her family. https://www.linkedin.com/in/melinda-curtis/
August 15, 2024
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