Microsoft, Zoom Drive Jump in UCaaS Subscriptions

Microsoft and Zoom propelled the worldwide UCaaS subscription rate to new heights in 2020, with each adding 1 million subscribers.

That’s according to new data from Synergy Research Group. The number of subscribers globally grew by 41% in 2020, up  from 27% in 2019.

Market share leader RingCentral held steady at around 20%; however, the rapid growth of Microsoft and Zoom were most responsible for the bump in numbers. Their market shares were almost negligible in 2019. But in 2020, Microsoft’s subscriber base quickly grew to over 1 million, with Zoom about to achieve the same milestone.

8×8, Mitel, Cisco Lose Market Share

Microsoft and Zoom‘s share of that growing market increased by almost 10 percentage points in 2020. The other leading UCaaS vendors – 8×8, Mitel and Cisco – all saw strong double-digit subscriber growth in the year. However, each lost market share as their increase in scale lagged overall market growth.

Expanding subscriber bases at Fuze and LogMeIn were broadly in line with the overall market. While RingCentral is the leader in all segments from SMB through to large enterprise, Microsoft’s strength is primarily in the midmarket. Zoom is doing quite well in large enterprises.

Jeremy Duke is founder and chief analyst at Synergy Research Group.

Synergy Research’s Jeremy Duke

“Due to COVID-19, companies of all size have accelerated their digitalization efforts, which has helped to drive more aggressive growth in UCaaS,” he said. “This is not just a short-term boost. And our forecasts show continued rapid expansion in the subscriber base. UCaaS still accounts for less than 5% of on-premises or hosted PBX subscribers, clearly demonstrating the long-term growth potential.”

Total UCaaS subscriber numbers are now well over 15 million and have doubled since mid-2018. Growth is strong in all regions; however, the United States continues to dominate the worldwide market. It accounts for over three-quarters of all UCaaS subscribers.

Market development is still in early days in most other countries, with only the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada having a reasonably substantial base of UCaaS subscribers.