Demand for UCaaS has grown rapidly in recent years and shows no signs of slowing – although what customers want from their solutions is changing, which resellers need to be alive to.
The working world is very different now to what it was six years ago. While the world has largely gone back to normal post-pandemic, one thing that has stuck is hybrid working.
With many businesses employing an increasingly dispersed workforce, demand for unified communications as a service (UCaaS) continues to grow in the UK.
Zach Bennett, principal architect and Microsoft Teams MVP at LoopUp, says that UCaaS has become a cornerstone for modern businesses. “One key reason is that hybrid and remote working is here to stay, offering businesses seamless collaboration across geographies for distributed teams,” he says.
“The proliferation of platforms like Microsoft Teams, has helped increase this popularity and Teams’ ability to integrate with wider office suites with tools like Microsoft 365 and work automation platforms enhancing businesses productivity while streamlining operations.”
Justin Carl, managing director, ProVu, adds that they are seeing a real shift in how customers approach UCaaS. “There’s been rapid growth, largely driven by hybrid working,” he says. “Many are returning to the office but the need for flexible, scalable communication tools hasn’t gone away. If anything, it’s become even more important.
“Businesses are looking to reduce complexity, save money, and streamline operations, and UCaaS ticks all those boxes by bringing voice, video, messaging, and collaboration together in one place.”
Barry Ward, director of contact centre, mobile and UC&C at Wavenet, agrees. “Combined with the increasing traction on the PSTN switch-off, organisations are prioritising tools that support seamless, secure collaboration from anywhere, and UCaaS platforms deliver just that; especially when built on highly available and compliant cloud infrastructure,” he says.
Trends
But while demand continues to grow, what customers want is changing. As Justin notes, great software is only part of the puzzle. “To really make UCaaS work, businesses need the right kit,” he says. “Whether that’s noise-cancelling headsets, reliable video conferencing equipment, or high-quality routers and networking for office and remote staff.”
“What’s clear is that customers are no longer just buying unified communications, they’re looking for intelligent communications,” says Justin. “They want platforms that integrate seamlessly with their productivity tools like Teams or CRM systems, that are mobile-ready, and that work across all their devices from desk phones and headsets to specific hardware designed for Teams to IP intercoms and AV solutions.”
Zach notes that a trend among LoopUp’s customers is consolidation efforts. “Consolidation for internal and external communications, which gives customers simplified vendor management, a consistent user experience across teams, and unifying reporting and analytics through one UC provider,” he says.
“In addition to these, the introduction of AI capabilities is a common conversation point with customers who are looking to benefit from the summarisation, workflow automation, and document creation aspects of AI currently available.”
Barry adds that increasingly businesses are looking beyond mere functionality. “With the rapid advances in technology, business ‘outcomes’ are being asked for, alongside wider conversations around security, resilience and compliance as part of their comms stack,” he says.
“At the same time, AI and cloud innovation are reshaping the UCaaS landscape. From intelligent meeting assistants to real-time sentiment analysis and advanced call routing, AI is powering smarter, faster communication while improving service delivery. This is also blurring the lines between UCaaS and CCaaS, with customers increasingly looking for integrated platforms which support customer experience and efficiency.”
AI influence
As mentioned, AI is influencing UCaaS developments. “AI technologies such as Microsoft Copilot have only increased adoption of UCaaS for teams, with its ability to enhance meetings, calls, and chats directly in the Teams client seamlessly,” says Zach.
“AI adds an intelligent layer directly into your UCaaS platform and turns all communication forms between users and customers into real, actionable insights, reducing workload on users, and helping teams move faster together with more clarity.”
Justin adds that innovation in this space is being supercharged by AI and cloud computing. “Features like real-time transcription, intelligent call routing, and virtual assistants are transforming the user experience,” he says. “With cloud infrastructure behind them, UCaaS platforms can scale effortlessly, stay secure, and keep people connected across multiple locations.”
Reseller advice
Justin says that resellers should position UCaaS as a strategic business enabler. “They need to be focused on talking about faster onboarding, reduced maintenance, integration with existing tools, business continuity and, of course, futureproofing,” he says.
Barry adds that for resellers, “the real opportunity lies in pairing these innovations with robust security, data privacy and uptime guarantees, ensuring that as customers scale their digital operations, their communications infrastructure remains resilient and compliant,” he says.
“At Wavenet, we’re seeing customers shift from siloed tools to unified, cloud-first platforms that are easier to manage, more adaptable to change, and resilient enough for the demands of modern working.”
Future
With technology developing rapidly, UCaaS is set to continue to grow. “The UCaaS market will continue to develop as businesses actualise the benefits of moving to a UCaaS provider for their communication needs,” says Zach.
“I expect to see AI-first communication platforms such a Microsoft Teams and Copilot provide real-time assistance during customer interactions, as well as the increase of agentic AI. Organisations will also want to provide these same tools globally to standardise usage and offer deep integrations to existing CRM, ERP systems that are in use.”
Justin agrees that the market will keep evolving. “This will be driven by AI, 5G and the growing demand for workplace flexibility,” he says. “The standout platforms will be those that allow businesses to bring together their communications, security, hardware, and networking into one joined-up, scalable solution. That’s where the real value lies.”
