Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) is the delivery of communications and collaboration applications and services through a third-party provider over an IP network, usually the public Internet. In the beginning, UCaaS was synonymous with voice services and seen almost exclusively as a replacement for traditional phone services.

Over time, however, UCaaS has evolved into an umbrella term for a suite of business communication solutions: phone, email, voicemail and messaging.

Industry research firm Gartner considers Unified Communications as encompassing six functions:

Voice and Telephony

(including Mobility)

Meeting Solutions

Audio conferencing, video conferencing and web conferencing

Messaging

Email with voicemail and unified messaging

Presence and Instant Messaging

Customer contact via IM

Clients

Including desktop clients and thin browser clients

Communications-enabled Applications

Includes integrated contact centers, communications platform as a service and workstream collaboration

UCaaS has developed from strictly communications into a broader collaboration and productivity tool in a relatively short time, adding significant value for companies.

While UCaaS includes a wide variety of solutions, its evolution has created more ways for companies to improve their user experiences and increase organizational efficiencies. The growing number of integrations provides companies with new ways to move to the cloud and allows for expansion upon the services of those who have already made the move.

Benefits of UCaaS

• Built-in Redundancy (Improved Reliability)
• Ease of Management and Effortless Reporting
• Streamlined User Experience Throughout Existing Tools/Applications
• Security
• Flexibility
• Scalability
• Reduced IT Workloads
• OpEx Model = Reduced Upfront Capital Expenditures on Equipment/Software/Licenses
• Decreased Maintenance; Managed Updates and Security Patches
• Single Point-Of-Contact for Troubleshooting

If you need assistance migrating to a UCaaS platform or are currently unsure of whether a UCaaS solution is right for you, click here to schedule a free consultation with one of our engineers and we can walk you through the process.