What Happens When the UCaaS Mine Dries?

Last month, Microsoft did something that did not appear to startle much of the unified communications, collaboration and contact center space; it ventured into the contact-center-as-a-service (CCaaS) arena, which it has been aiming toward for years.  

Upon launching, technology advisors and distributors said at the time would not immediately jeopardize their lifeline.

A month since Microsoft tossed its hat into the CCaaS ring with the official launch of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Center, Steve Forcum, director of program management at SIPPIO and a Microsoft Teams expert, spoke with Channel Futures about the state of UCaaS.

Forcum, whose company offers public switched telephone network (PSTN) calling for Microsoft Teams and Zoom, shared his thoughts on challenges facing the channel.

SIPPIO's Steve Forcum

"The problem with a lot of channel partners is they want to sell unified communications as a service (UCaaS), something they've done since 2020, yet they eventually run into a brick wall, that is to say, my customer has Teams, so what do I do?" Forcum asked.

Microsoft has essentially taken over the UCaaS market, leading Forcum to ponder: "Is the UCaaS mine dry?"

Forcum added, that "in 2024, if this were a game of musical chairs, the music has since stopped, and everybody has a tush in a cush."

Related:New Microsoft CCaaS Offering: Threat to the Channel?

How Zoom Altered the UCaaS Market

What has happened in the UCaaS market is that voice is no longer a thing you buy, but rather a feature, Forcum said. He called Zoom notable case study.

He believes that this is because Zoom separated from the other UCaaS players by realizing its core feature would eventually become just another feature in a productivity suite.

"It [Zoom] had to do something to move up the stack, and now If you are using Zoom Meetings, you will likely rely on Zoom Mail, Zoom Docs, etc.," Forcum said, noting that it is not too dissimilar from what Microsoft is hoping to pull off with its grouping of complimentary services.

Zoom essentially differentiated its offer to grow average revenue per user, adding features like Zoom Phone while at the same time recognizing that voice was just another feature, not something to build your entire platform around.  

Others, Forcum shared, have failed to do so, which is why Zoom has positioned itself for a "strong number two," he said.

Artificial Intelligence Will Make CCaaS a Standalone Feature

With companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, GoogleAI and others leading at the edge of AI innovation, Forcum says he foresees history repeating itself, leading to CCaaS becoming "just another feature."

Related:Network, UCaaS Revenues Stay Strong for Partners as Security Picks Up

"Microsoft has the first go at this because all the components further its inevitable goal as people are using all these key pieces, while the contact center part becomes a mere segment of that," Forcum said.

Microsoft Copilot, Forcum contends, will act as a thick layer of icing over the cake, tying the solution together so that Operator Connect and the Microsoft CCaaS offer all mesh together.

"When the dust settles, and the center of gravity is AI and computing, think about who has those traits in this marketplace," Forcum added, detailing the coveted and brief list of contenders.

On his shortlist is Microsoft with CCaaS solution and Azure AI, along with the partnership with OpenAI it has cultivated, and there is AWS with its $4 billion Anthropic investment.

Lending advice to the channel, Forcum said channel partners must search for "the picks and axes as they pertain to AI," adding that this is because there is a real reward in helping customers better harness AI and learning where it can enrich their productivity efforts and beyond.

As for the question posed at the top, when the UCaaS mine dries, there will be a lot more vendor consolidation and even some shuttering once they realize their product is just another feature in a grander scheme of an ample UCaaS solution.