The Year the Cloud Premise ChangedThe Year the Cloud Premise Changed

Now that premises and cloud platforms have reached functional parity, providers need to think big on UCaaS strategies.

Hosted VoIP has experienced steady growth since its emergence some 15 years ago. For most of this time, hosted VoIP offered the same value proposition as premises-based solutions with an outsourced and OpEx twist.

Gartner opens its 2015 Magic Quadrant report on unified communications as a service (UCaaS) by stating: "UCaaS supports the same functions as its premises-based UC counterpart. Only the delivery model is altered." While the functions are similar the approach isn't, and that became clearer in 2015.

We often cite scalability as an enterprise organization benefit of UCaaS, but it is critical for the providers as well. Many of the first-generation services were architected for thousands of users. In 2015, it became clear that success requires efficient and reliable service and support for millions of endpoints. In the UCaaS Magic Quadrant, Gartner reported on 20 of an estimated 250 total providers worldwide, yet only (and barely) deemed three as "Leaders."

Learn more about cloud communications trends and technologies at Enterprise Connect 2016, March 7 to 10, in Orlando, Fla. View the Cloud Communications track sessions here.

Register for an entire event pass or Tuesday through Thursday conference pass to save an additional $200 off the advance rate. This special discount, available using the code NJPOST, represents a total savings of $900 off the onsite price and is now available through Friday, Jan. 15! Plus, register three or more attendees from your company for even bigger savings.