The perception by traditional connectivity service providers that the various UCC services are niches can be seen in the market share figures for UCC providers of hardware and services. Microsoft's Skype and Cisco Webex are leaders in conferencing.
Most suppliers of UCC hardware have relatively small share, as do independent providers of UCC services. Also, note that video conferencing represents at least 44 percent of the total UCC market.
One reason the UCC category exists at all is because each of the constituent revenue components are relatively modest. Note also that some UCC functions (messaging, voice mail, conferencing) are provided by apps and services not generally tracked in the UCC bucket, often because they do not represent “for fee” apps (Facebook Messenger and other messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Apple Facetime, Google Meet and email apps, for example.
Firm | Market Share | Source/Year |
Microsoft | 21.8% | Statista (Q4 2023) |
Cisco | 15.2% | Statista (Q4 2023) |
Zoom | 7.1% | Statista (Q4 2023) |
RingCentral | 5.5% | Statista (Q4 2023) |
Avaya | 4.2% | Mordor Intelligence (2024 est.) |
Mitel | 3.1% | Mordor Intelligence (2024 est.) |
Polycom (Plantronics) | 2.8% | Mordor Intelligence (2024 est.) |
NEC | 2.5% | Mordor Intelligence (2024 est.) |
GoToConnect | 2.3% | Mordor Intelligence (2024 est.) |
8x8 | 1.9% | Mordor Intelligence (2024 est.) |
3CX | 1.5% | Mordor Intelligence (2024 est.) |
So now we hear about telco application programming interfaces (APIs) as a possible growth market. And the relationship between telco APIs and UCC is that the most-logical near-term revenue sources for telco APIs are apps and services that use UCC features (messaging, voice, videoconferencing).
To be sure, many hope for new additional API instances and markets for elements of the 5G mobile network experience; network slicing or other elements of the 5G experience that can be supplied by the 5G core and access networks.
And that is where the more-optimistic forecasts for telco API-related revenue seem to rely. That assumes developers will see value in licensing access to network features related to bandwidth consistency, latency or other network-derived features.
And some of us might suggest that those values and possible markets are going to develop more slowly than some seem to expect. Even allowing for some shifts of market share among current providers, and faster “core” UCC market growth than we have seen in recent decades, most of the forecast growth would necessarily have to come from new API markets related to private networks or network features, plus the spending on infrastructure to support the use of telco APIs.
At a high level, there always are alternate ways to solve an engineering problem, such as latency performance or computing cost. Basically, one can substitute bandwidth for processing (remote data center processing, for example) or processing for bandwidth (edge computing or on-the-device computing, for example).
Study | Overall UCC Market Size | Segments | Forecast Period |
Verified Market Research | $222.99 Billion by 2030 | Deployment Model, Platform, Application, Region | 2024-2030 CAGR 17.7% |
MarketsandMarkets | $141.6 Billion by 2027 | Component, Deployment Mode, Organization Size, Vertical, Region | 2022-2027 CAGR 13.0% |
Mordor Intelligence | $496.30 Billion by 2029 | Deployment Type, Type, End-User Industry, Region | 2024-2029 CAGR 27.8% |
Straits Research (cited by Mordor) | $1,171.63 Billion by 2032 | Not specified | 2024-2032 CAGR 20.4% |
STL Partners (cited) | $20+ Billion by 2028 | Mobile Network APIs | - |
Market.us | $1,459.5 Billion by 2033 | Not specified | 2024-2033 CAGR 18.1% |
And the point is that there are many ways to solve a latency, bandwidth or processing problem. Telco APIs are one way to solve such problems, but there are alternatives that do not require use of telco APIs.
And as a way of gaining market share in the traditional UCC market, telco APIs might be one way, but not the only way, to participate. Ericsson simply bought Vonage, for example, to gain capabilities of creating voice, messaging or communication solutions for any app.
Acquisitions might be one way to gain share faster than creating standards and products using telco APIs. And the issue of market potential (total addressable market) would still remain. The reason telcos generally did not want to be PBX suppliers was always that the market was sub-scale for them. Those same issues apply to new cloud-based UCC solutions that essentially replace business phone and conferencing systems as well.
Approach | Description | Advantages | Disadvantages |
Telco APIs | Leverage network APIs from telecom providers to access capabilities like quality of service, network slicing, location services etc. | Can guarantee bandwidth, low latency, and prioritize critical traffic over public networks | Requires integration with telco platforms and potential costs for premium services |
Edge Computing | Process data and run applications closer to the source/user on edge nodes instead of centralized cloud | Reduces latency and bandwidth needs by bringing compute closer to the edge | Requires deploying and managing distributed edge infrastructure |
On-Device Computing | Perform processing and decision-making directly on the user's device (e.g. mobile phone, IoT device) | Minimizes latency and bandwidth needs by avoiding network round trips | Limited by device compute capabilities and battery life constraints |
Private Networks | Deploy dedicated private cellular or wireless networks for specific use cases or environments | Offers predictable performance, security, and control over the network | Requires significant upfront investment in private network infrastructure |
Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) | Distribute content and services across a global network of edge servers closer to users | Improves performance by caching content at the edge and reducing latency | Primarily optimized for content delivery rather than real-time applications |
Peer-to-Peer Networks | Establish direct connections between devices or nodes without relying on centralized servers | Reduces bandwidth needs and latency by avoiding server hops | Complexity in managing peer discovery, connectivity, and security |
Network Optimization | Techniques like compression, caching, load balancing to improve utilization of available bandwidth | Can enhance performance without additional infrastructure | Optimizations have practical limits based on network conditions |
The issue is that at least some forecasts of potential telco API markets seem excessively optimistic.
