The global VoIP market has experienced exponential growth in the last 20 years. With continuous technological improvements and commercial adoption, the industry shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, it appears to be moving faster than ever in terms of usage, market share, and revenue. This is especially because VoIP trends are moving towards 5G adoption, UCaaS growth, and increased use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
As more companies rely on Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service providers for their primary communications today, it is important to follow trends in the VoIP industry to see if your organization is taking advantage of this technology.
The digital age has fostered a culture in which everything is available on demand. This means that companies have an increasing need for cost-effective communication solutions that can support business mobility. This is where VoIP systems come in.
This technology allows users to implement flexible communication systems. With these at your disposal, you can accommodate calls, SMS, email, video conferencing and other communication methods. In addition to reducing operating costs.
VoIP Market Growth
The VoIP market is projected to grow to $ 55 billion by 2025, as companies globalize they need solutions to improve communication and collaboration with remote employees. This increases the demand for VoIP products such as cheaper IP phones and calling plans.
6 VoIP Trends For 2021: Latest Predictions To Consider
1) Artificial Intelligence For Customer Service
According to a recent IDC study, some of the top AI investments include automated customer service agents (4.5 billion dollars), sales process automation ($ 2.7 billion), and threat prevention (2.7 billion dollars).
For example, the call center industry has improved service delivery by providing self-service options that lead customers to quick solutions, allowing agents to handle more complex queries. AI through bots will also grow in use to predict customer behavior and provide invaluable insights to businesses.
2) Smarter VoIP Assistants
Thanks to AI, virtual assistants have emerged in recent years. With continuous advancements in language processing, these assistants will become even smarter because they will be able to answer more complex user questions.
For example, virtual assistants can help automate many everyday processes, such as routing calls to agents or sending calls to voicemail. Furthermore, with these at your disposal, it is no longer necessary to send simple questions to agents because the virtual assistant will answer them for them.
Finally, since these assistants are, in most cases, AI-powered, they also have the ability to collect information about customers. That is, you can record past interactions automatically to make it easier for agents to take calls where others left you. Therefore, agents can provide a more personalized service to clients.
3) UCaaS Will Grow
The future of modern communication infrastructures is based on the cloud. With Internet accessibility, cloud phone systems are a more cost-effective option for companies than maintaining internal networks. As a result, the UCaaS market is projected to reach 24.8 billion dollars by 2024.
Through UCaaS, companies can focus on business-critical functions and have quick access to their data, audio and video communications through any Internet-ready device. Also, Unified Communications (UC) platforms are more scalable as providers can update them regularly.
4) The Rise Of Unified Mobile Communications
From a business perspective, mobility has opened up new opportunities in terms of optimizing efficiency and productivity. As a result, more companies are seeing mobility as a factor for success in their respective industries. In fact, a T-Mobile mobility trend report showed that 7 out of 10 companies cite mobility as a priority, as it can help them gain a competitive advantage. The same study revealed that global spending on mobility solutions is projected to reach 1.8 trillion dollars by 2022.
Among the mobility solutions invested are VoIP systems. With the launch of 5G networks, the functionality of mobile VoIP systems is expected to increase. As there are now integrated application support systems, more and more companies will take advantage of this mobile configuration. In other words, more professionals will adopt virtual numbers based on applications for business calls, conferences and team meetings.
5) Competition With Video Chat Services
VoIP service providers face stiff competition with video chat services. These include service providers like FaceTime, Facebook Messenger, and other established mobile phone services.
In fact, experts predict that PaaS video chat will reach 1.7 billion dollars in 2020. This can be attributed to the increased use of Millennials and Gen Zers video chat. In addition, many companies are also increasing the use of these platforms, as it is observed that video chat improves closing rates by 35% to 75% and reduces handling time by 70%.
6) VoIP Merges With WebRTC
WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) is a framework created to execute real-time communications in a browser using simple APIs. For starters, enhance the VoIP experience with instant calls and live video support. You can also optimize peer-to-peer file sharing and direct calls from your web browser.
By combining the functionality of a WebRTC and a VoIP platform, you can easily revolutionize the way you handle business communications. Furthermore, users no longer need additional plugins and widgets for various corporate communication functions.
How To Take Advantage Of VoIP For Your Company?
VoIP carries tangible business benefits. On the one hand, small businesses can take advantage of it as a cost-effective alternative to traditional phone and communication systems. On the other hand, large corporations can use it to optimize the way they handle business calls and sales transactions.
Therefore, VoIP could be the standard technology for commercial communications in the coming years. However, like any type of modern technology, these systems are still evolving. Industry disruptors like 5G, UCaaS, IA and WebRTC will change the market in a few years. Furthermore, an increasing number of companies have already started to experiment with new communication strategies, such as mobile systems, smart assistants and video chat services.