Market research firm Infonetics Research predict that the cloud PBX and unified communication services worldwide market will be worth $12 billion by 2018 with 62.6 million seats.
In the UK we have seen consistent growth over the last few years and the market has moved past its early stages into growth, but what is driving this?
Technological Drivers
The availability of affordable, fast, reliable Internet connectivity such as FTTC (Fibre To The Cabinet), EFM and Ethernet over FTTC has made hosted applications accessible. Overall the technology has advanced and competition in the market place has driven down prices to suit the pockets of more and more SMEs.
Economic Drivers
Despite low interest rates it is still often difficult for SMEs to borrow from the banks. Overdraft limits and credit card limits are being tightly managed by financial institutions and cost-effective leasing contracts are difficult to negotiate. This has changed consumer behaviour and created a market for pay monthly solutions.
Socio-Cultural Drivers
Where and how we work has changed over the last few years. It is now more socially acceptable to work from home and with free wi-fi more readily available it is now possible to check your emails or even stop for coffee and work for a few hours in places such as Starbucks, MacDonalds and many hotel chains. With office applications accessible and stored in the cloud and hosted voice applications it is now possible to work, email and call remotely as if you are in the office.
How could this benefit you?
If you have a customer-base of UK SMEs and are a trusted business communications or support company chances are that you will be the first to know when your customers are looking to upgrade their Internet connectivity and make the move the move to cloud-hosted applications.
If you are looking for a Partner to provide reliable business connectivity and telephony solutions consider Jola. To find out more about our partner programme click on the link below.
