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Cloud Communications Services Shine in Addressing the Distributed Workforce
01-Nov-2021
Europe
Market Research
K5EC-01-00-00-00
TE04043-EU-MT_25901
COVID-19 has wreaked havoc across Europe and worldwide. It has considerably impacted supply chains and commerce patterns, GDP growth rates, travel, employment and technology investments. In 2020, the European Union (27 countries) experienced a GDP decline of 5.9%; the Euro Area (19 countries) GDP declined by 6.3%; Spain and Italy were among those most severely impacted with 10.8% and 8.9% GDP declines, respectively.
Frost & Sullivan data show that for 68% of European businesses, COVID-19 has either accelerated or has had no impact on digital technology investments. However, many businesses are delaying purchase decisions and solution rollouts due to continued economic challenges and the need to rationalize technology strategies in view of drastically changed work styles.
Businesses and individuals limiting travel and shifting to work from home to avoid contagion have been key to growth of certain applications, such as soft clients, video conferencing and team messaging. Cloud calling services has not received the same boost as a temporary solution to ensure teams and workflows remain productive. However, it is likely that greater awareness of the agility and functionality that cloud communications services can deliver bodes well for future growth.
Truly economical and agile UCaaS solutions—from packaging and pricing to provisioning and management—have seen growth during the pandemic to support remote work and the distributed workforce. SMBs and small/temporary remote teams adopted plug-and-play solutions via digital channels or bundled with connectivity services. UCaaS bundled with mobile services, such as those common in the Nordic countries, or included as part of broader productivity and collaboration suites, such as Microsoft 365, experienced more rapid adoption throughout the turbulent months of 2020 and 2021.
As various trends set in motion by the pandemic offset each other, UCaaS user growth will be slightly less than anticipated in 2021 due to the lagging impact of the recession on the telecom sector. Most likely we will revert to a stronger growth trajectory some time in 2022 as businesses adopt UCaaS for its compelling agility benefits and reduced CAPEX requirements.
Technology developers and UCaaS providers will continue innovating at a rapid pace and deliver new features and services, as well as leverage new business models to raise UCaaS appeal among a larger customer audience and drive adoption. Agile development, cloud architectures, containerization, micro-services, mobile-first and video-first solutions will represent key enablers of accelerated innovation and more cost-effective provider operations.
UCaaS providers will pursue untapped opportunities among new customer segments, including SOHOs and micro-businesses, frontline workers, mid-market and large enterprises. International providers will enter the European markets and European providers will seek to expand internationally, creating new levels of competition.
This study provides an in-depth analysis of trends, growth factors and growth opportunities in the European UCaaS market. It provides user and revenue forecasts, competitor market share analyses, and customer data on business goals, IT challenges, investment priorities and cloud services adoption. Market participants can leverage the findings of this study to build sustainable business models and growth strategies.
Author: Elka Popova, Robert Arnold
Executive Dashboard
Key Questions This Study Will Answer
Market Definitions
Scope and Market Definitions
Scope and Market Definitions (continued)
Scope and Market Definitions (continued)
Scope and Market Definitions (continued)
Scope and Market Definitions (continued)
Scope and Market Definitions (continued)
Scope and Market Definitions (continued)
Why Is It Increasingly Difficult to Grow?
The Strategic Imperative 8™
Strategic Imperatives for UCaaS Providers
Key Growth Metrics
Growth Environment and Market Trends
Growth Environment and Market Trends (continued)
Growth Environment and Market Trends (continued)
Growth Environment and Market Trends (continued)
Key Business Goals
Impact of COVID-19 on the Organization
Top Industries for Increased Remote Work Due to COVID-19
Top Industries with Low Employee Morale Due to Covid-19
Top it Challenges in Supporting Remote Work
COVID-19 Impact on Technology Investments
COVID-19 Impact on Digital Transformation Objectives
COVID-19 Impact on Technology to Monitor Office Safety
COVID-19 Impact on Technologies for Remote Workers
Growth Drivers for the UCaaS Market
Future Investment Prioritization
Future Deployment “In The Cloud”
Communications and Collaboration Investment Drivers
Communications and Collaboration Investment Factors
Growth Restraints for the UCaaS Market
Factors Determining not to Invest in or Use Communications and Collaboration
Forecast Assumptions, Total UCaaS Market
Forecast Assumptions, Total UCaaS Market (continued)
Installed Users and Revenue Forecast, Total UCaaS Market
Net New User Forecast, Total UCaaS Market
Installed Users Forecast by Region, Total UCaaS Market
Installed Users and Revenue Forecast Analysis, UCaaS Market
Installed Users and Revenue Forecast Analysis, UCaaS Market (continued)
Installed Users and Revenue Forecast Analysis, UCaaS Market (continued)
Pricing Trends and Forecast, Total UCaaS Market
Pricing Trends and Forecast Analysis, Total UCaaS Market
Pricing Trends and Forecast Analysis, Total UCaaS Market (continued)
Pricing Trends and Forecast Analysis, Total UCaaS Market (continued)
Pricing Trends and Forecast Analysis, Total UCaaS Market (continued)
Pricing Trends and Forecast Analysis, Total UCaaS Market (continued)
Pricing Trends and Forecast Analysis, Total UCaaS Market (continued)
Pricing Trends and Forecast Analysis, Total UCaaS Market (continued)
Demand Analysis
Demand Analysis Discussion
User Penetration by Region
Demand Analysis—Penetration by Region
Percent Installed Users by Customer Size
Demand Analysis—Penetration by Customer Size
Desktop and Mobile Soft Clients and Native Mobile Dialer Penetration of Installed Users
Demand Analysis—Soft Clients, Meetings and Chat
Service Provider Market Share Analysis by Installed Users, Total UCaaS Market
Service Provider Market Share Analysis by Installed Users, Total UCaaS Market
Service Provider Market Share Analysis by Installed Users, Total UCaaS Market (continued)
Competitive Dynamics
Cloud Provider Selection Criteria
Platform Vendor Market Share Analysis by Installed Users, Total UCaas Market
Growth Opportunities
Growth Opportunity 1—Contact Center
Growth Opportunity 1—Contact Center (continued)
Growth Opportunity 2—Mobile-first UCaaS
Growth Opportunity 2—Mobile-first UCaaS (continued)
Growth Opportunity 3—Advanced Collaboration
Growth Opportunity 3—Advanced Collaboration (continued)
Growth Opportunity 4—International Expansion
Growth Opportunity 4—International Expansion (continued)
Growth Opportunity 5—Flexible Packaging and Pricing
Growth Opportunity 5—Flexible Packaging and Pricing (continued)
Growth Opportunity 6—Extensible, Programmable Platforms
Growth Opportunity 6—Extensible, Programmable Platforms (continued)
Growth Opportunity 7—Vertical Strategies and Frontliner Focus
Growth Opportunity 7—Vertical Strategies and Frontliner Focus (continued)
Growth Opportunity 8—Direct Routing and Operator Connect Services for Microsoft Teams
Growth Opportunity 8—Direct Routing and Operator Connect Services for Microsoft Teams (continued)
The Last Word
Providers Included in “Other”
Platforms Included in “Other”
About the Growth Pipeline EngineTM
Opportunity Universe Process
Identifying Your Company’s Growth Zone
Your Next Steps
Why Frost, Why Now?
List of Exhibits
List of Exhibits (continued)
List of Exhibits (continued)
Legal Disclaimer
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| Deliverable Type | Market Research |
|---|---|
| No Index | No |
| Podcast | No |
| Author | Elka Popova |
| Industries | Telecom |
| WIP Number | K5EC-01-00-00-00 |
| Keyword 1 | ucaas market |
| Keyword 2 | unified communications as a service |
| Keyword 3 | ucaas |
| Is Prebook | No |
| GPS Codes | 9535-C3,9705-C1,9610,9656 |
Growth Opportunities in the European UCaaS Market
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