According to a new research published by Polaris Market Research, the Unified Communications market is anticipated to reach over USD 186 billion by 2026. In 2017, the IT & telecom segment dominated the global market, in terms of revenue. North America is expected to be the leading contributor to the global market revenue during the forecast period.
The growing need to improve workforce productivity, streamline enterprise communication, and provide a collaborative working environment has boosted the adoption of unified communication. The penetration of mobile devices, and increasing trend of BYOD further support the growth of this market. Additionally, the increasing demand of unified communication from small and medium enterprises has supported market growth over the years. Increasing investments by vendors in technological advancements coupled with growing demand for cloud-based unified communication services would accelerate the adoption of unified communication. However, growing concerns regarding data security, and lack of interoperability is expected to hinder market growth. Growing demand from emerging economies is expected to provide numerous growth opportunities in the coming years.
The use of digital assistants and bots in unified communications is expected to increase in the coming years. Computer programs in the form of bots simulate conversation with users through chat windows and voice calls. They have the ability to perform a number of different automated tasks such as scheduling meetings, managing finances, and others. They also assist in successful use of unified communication tools. These bots could be used as an automated attendant monitoring the interactions on unified communication systems and offering instructions to users.
North America generated the highest revenue in the market in 2017, and is expected to lead the global market throughout the forecast period. The presence of established telecom and cloud infrastructure in this region, and growing trend of BYOD drive the market growth in the region. The growing demand of mobile devices, and technological advancements further support market growth in the region. Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period owing to growing demand of effective enterprise communication technologies in the developing countries of the region.
The end-users in unified communications market include BFSI, IT & Telecom, healthcare, retail, education, travel and hospitality, and others. In 2017, the IT & Telecom segment accounted for the highest market share owing to increasing need to improve enterprise communication, and improve productivity. The demand for unified communication has increased from startups operating in this sector to improve workforce collaboration, and reduce costs. The increasing adoption of cloud-based unified communication in this sector is expected to support market growth in the coming years.
The well-known companies profiled in the report include Cisco Systems Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Avaya Inc., IBM Corporation, Verizon Communications, Inc., Polycom, Inc., BT Group, Alcatel-Lucent, NEC Corporation, Unify GmbH & Co. KG, Plantronics Inc., and ShoreTel Inc. among others. These companies launch new products and collaborate with other market leaders to innovate and launch new products to meet the increasing needs and requirements of consumers.
