Now that 2015 has just started, it’s the perfect time to reflect on how Unified Communications evolved in 2014. And, as our co-founder put it, there are a lot of things to look back and even more to look for in the new year.

Photo by Harpal Singh on Unsplash

For one, Unified Communications is no longer considered an emerging technology. Throughout 2014, an increasing number of businesses, enterprises, and industries adopted such solutions. After all, UC simplifies business communication and collaboration by integrating voice, instant messaging, conferencing, fax, and so many advanced communication capabilities into a single, user-friendly interface.

As a result, users can keep all their communications in one central location, which is essential as they go about their day, moving from one place to another.

No Longer Avant-garde

The statistics evidence the fact that UC is no longer an avant-garde technology. Market research firm Infonetics Research reports that Hosted PBX and Unified Communications services are on track to grow 13% by the end of the year. What’s more, a majority of cloud providers have reported double-digit growth of their IP telephony and UC portfolios for this year, while premise-based systems’ growth remains in the single digits. While end-users better leverage the benefits delivered by mobility and even BYOD, IT teams become more and more aware that they need to simplify the deployment process for higher efficiency and cost reduction. They all need an easy to deploy, user-friendly replacement for the business desktop phones.

Proven to Strengthen Communication & Collaboration

Last year, by giving their employees the ability to stay always connected by using the UC tools, business owners no longer had to worry about hampered collaboration and productivity. UC provides a myriad of advantages that enable real-time communication which helps companies increase sales and improve their customer experience with every interaction. Unified Communications truly creates an environment where information is available instantly between all parties that have access to the technology.

Favored by Millennials

Last year Unified Communications also played a pivotal role in supporting the emerging remote workforce – a trend that is not waning any time soon, especially with a millennial workforce steadily taking over the corporate world. Whether via instant messages on their smartphones or audio conferencing from a café, the next generation expects to be able to connect at anytime, anywhere. Companies that fail to adopt a UC solution are likely to fall behind in attracting highly desirable talent to their enterprises, which hurts their bottom line into the future.

Increased Awareness of Benefits

Moreover, 2014 saw a heightened level of awareness among adopters and implementers of UC tools. More and more businesses became aware that deciding to replace legacy communication with UC technology is just not enough. In addition to choosing to deploy the tools, you also have to assess your network to ensure that you have enough bandwidth to accommodate increasing traffic. You also need to make sure you have the proper security processes in place. After all, your communications are one of your most valuable assets. Finally, you have to make sure that your employees know how to leverage the power of the technology. That way, you’re able to get the most utility out of the new tools.

With the UC market expected to reach $75 billion by 2020, up from $22 billion last year, the no cloud can be the limit for Unified Communications as we head into 2015. Is your enterprise ready to adopt a UC solution in the coming year? Tell us your thoughts about the technology in the comments section below.