Evaluating The Future of Cloud Communications Services Market in the Era of Hybrid Work, 2022 Market Report - The Enduring Importance of the PBX and the PSTN in UCaaS Enablement
The primary purpose of this study is to gain a perspective on key transformational trends taking place in the business communications and collaboration space. By surveying IT/telecom decision makers, we set out to understand the decision-making factors when purchasing and deploying communications and collaboration solutions, with a specific focus on changing user preferences for different communications modalities.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated certain work-style trends that have slowly been picking up steam over decades. The current massive shift to remote and hybrid work is the result of both recent health and safety measures and long-standing trends such as globalization and employee demand for work-life balance, which have given rise to increasingly distributed workforces and even fully "virtual" organizations.
Technology advancements in the areas of broadband and cellular connectivity, cloud services, and software-based communications and collaboration solutions have enabled many desk-based employees to work remotely - occasionally, part-time or full-time - over the years. With the current mindset to much more consciously shift to hybrid-work models, adoption of flexible, cloud-based collaboration services is rising among organizations of varying sizes, industries, and world regions.
Business leaders and other technology investment decision makers are re-evaluating their companies' current technology capabilities and future roadmaps. Disparate, non-integrated, and often antiquated communications solutions, whether deployed over many years or throughout the pandemic, are ripe for upgrades, consolidation, and better alignment with future business goals.
As organizations develop strategies to rationalize their communications environments, they often look to eliminate solutions that are perceived as dated or redundant.
More specifically, with the shift to work from home and the astronomical adoption of cloud video meetings and team collaboration tools, the role of private branch exchange (PBX) functionality and public telephone switched network (PSTN) access has come into question.
Technology buyers and vendors alike are looking to ascertain whether today's workers need more traditional calling solutions, as multi-modal, increasingly affordable, mobile-ready (i.e., accessible on any connected device) collaboration services enable internal and external, as well as one-to-one and multi-party interactions.
An objective of the study was to prove or disprove the hypothesis that the PBX and the PSTN are becoming obsolete as a result of new trends including:
The massive shift to remote/hybrid work
The growing adoption of cloud meetings and messaging solutions
The increasing usage of consumer (mostly mobile) services for business purposes
We also expected to find a correlation between the number of desk workers in organizations and organizations' demand and preferences for PBX features, PSTN access, and other communications and collaboration capabilities. In some instances, the survey data revealed significant differences across organizations with different proportions of desk workers. KEY ISSUES ADDRESSED:
Do businesses still value the traditional PBX feature set? If so, which common features are must-have vs. nice-to-have vs. irrelevant?
Is PSTN access required for all users today and how will that change two years from now?
Which UC/UCaaS services (e.g., PBX, PSTN calling, presence, video, file share, mobility) do decision makers find most valuable for their business or organization?
Are collaboration (meetings + team messaging) tools presently used or under evaluation for future use as primary communications solutions for certain worker types with the objective of replacing traditional UC/UCaaS solutions?
What is the importance of messaging, meetings and PBX capabilities for frontline workers?
Do frontline workers need PSTN calling or only internal calling?
Key Topics Covered:
1. Disruption in the Communications and Collaboration Market
Evolving Work Styles Drive New Technology Requirements
Cloud Migration Accelerates Paradigm Shifts in Communications and Collaboration Tool Usage
2. Study Objectives and Key Findings
Study Objectives
Hypothesis Testing - Enduring Value of the PBX and the PSTN
Core Business Requirements Live on Amidst Industry Evolution
3. Survey Studies Research Methodologies and Sample Structures
Evolution of the Cloud Communications Market Survey - Research Methodology
IT/Telecom Decision-maker Investment Priorities Survey - Research Methodology
Cloud/IoT/AI Survey - Research Methodology
4. The Hybrid Future of Work
Flexible Work Styles Define the Modern Organization
Current Work from Home Status
Workplace Evolution Over the Next Two Years
Technologies Provided to Remote Workers
5. Perceived Value of PBX Features and PSTN Connectivity
The PBX and PSTN are Still Valued
The Addressable Market for PBX And PSTN is Expanding
Workforce Demographics - Desk Workers Versus Frontliners
Advanced Solutions Adoption
Cloud Migration Plans
Enterprise Telephony/Business Call Control Environment
Primary Type of Telephony Solution in the Organization
Importance of Infrastructure Capabilities When Choosing Enterprise Telephony/ UC Platform
Demand for Enterprise Telephony/PBX Functionality
Demand for PSTN Access
Factors Driving a Decline in PBX and PSTN Usage
Importance of Capabilities for Frontline Workers
6. Shifting Solution/Provider Selection Criteria When Adopting Cloud Services
UCaaS is More than a Cloud PBX
Cloud Meetings and Messaging Services are Critical
Cloud PBX Solution/Provider Selection Criteria
Demand for Additional Cloud Communications Capabilities
Importance of a Fully Integrated UCaaS solution
Importance of Collaboration and Conferencing for Achieving Business Priorities
7. Evolving Use of Communications Endpoints
The User Experience is Paramount
Communications Endpoints Usage
Expected Change in Communications Endpoints Usage
8. Strategic Considerations and Growth Opportunities for Service Providers
Industry Disruption - A Threat and an Opportunity
Growth Opportunities for Communications Service Providers
