2016 in Review: What has Changed in the World of Unified Communications

In looking back at 2016, we have a better understanding on where the Unified Communications and Business VoIP industry is heading. In 2016, we saw the traditional telecom companies try to jump into the unified communications space. Companies like Verizon, CenturyLink and Comcast have come out with their “Versions” of phone service for business. What they won’t tell you is that all 3 of these huge companies are reselling Broadsoft’s VoIP Platform; these large telecom companies saw the attrition from businesses moving to a Cloud PBX. Instead of developing their own platform through investing in research and development, they used a quick fix and signed-on to resell the same platform that Vonage Business, Nextiva, Megapath and countless other providers are already reselling. If everyone is offering the same solution, then how do you differentiate? In 2016, even though more companies were transferring out of on-site PBX solutions, revenue gains did not increase as steadily as they have in the past. This tells me that the average seat cost in 2016 was less expensive than it had been in years previous. That probably had a lot to do with everyone trying to sell the same service – just rebrand and repackage under different telecom names. Unless these telecom companies can differentiate between themselves, the race to the bottom will continue to occur in 2017 and beyond.

In 2016, we continued to see that Business-to-Business buyers exude similar buying habits as consumer buyers. We also saw more decision makers involved in the buying process. On average, for a company with 100 or more employees, the average buying cycle included a mix of five decision makers or influencers. With that many people inserted as part of the decision process, online reviews, virtual demo’s and case studies have become mandatory to allow customers to gather as much information as possible. By providing as much information as a buyer requests, a service provider can show transparency and help the buyer build confidence in the decision they are making. An online presence is now required when selling directly to customers. When comparing sales from channel partners in contrast to direct sales from the originating VoIP company, we continue to see more buyers move towards the direct sales model; giving customers the ability to communicate directly with the VoIP company increases the feeling of transparency in the buying process.

In 2016, we saw VoIP become the little brother to Unified Communications. Most small business telephone services now offer their own softphone. With the softphone has come Unified Communication features such as IM and Presence. The companies that put a simple-to-use Unified Communications platform together for the end user, brought greater value to their customers in 2016 and were able to show value and difference between the resellers listed above. In 2016, we saw small businesses demand services such as Video Chat, File Sync and Share and Collaboration tools. In 2016, if you were unable to provide a complete Unified Communications package, you at least had to integrate with these types of services. Just like Integration played a huge role on the decision factor buyers made in 2016, it will play a similar role for buyers in 2017 and beyond. As a small business, if your phone system can’t integrate with your CRM then you are at a competitive disadvantage in your industry.