Across almost every industry, communication is the unifying thread between coworkers, customers, and the business as a whole. Whether dealing with customer issues or working on a team project, employees need a way to stay connected no matter where they might be located. Decades ago, almost all communication took place via phone calls and faxes. Then email joined the scene, followed by instant messaging and video calls, which allowed near-constant communication at every level of the company.
While this allowed for things like remote work to flourish, the downside of having all these communication methods at one’s disposal was the issue of integration. With one platform for business meetings, another for customer service, and another for internal collaboration, employees are stuck juggling a patchwork framework of apps. The end result has been lost productivity, missed messages, and inconsistent customer service that reflects poorly on the company.
It’s this exact problem that’s fueled the rise of the unified communications (UC) market, a rapidly growing market that’s estimated to be worth over $417 billion by 2030. UC solutions take these disparate communication methods–chat, video messaging, phone calls–and bring them together into one unified location. Instead of switching from one app to another, users can share files, call customers, message with coworkers, and attend business meetings all from one platform. The rise of so many communication methods and the expectation of prompt customer service have taken UC solutions from a privilege to a necessity.
The Evolution of Cloud Communications
As communications tools evolve, so do UC solutions. Companies like net2phone are integrating artificial intelligence into their platforms in unique ways, creating AI-powered agents to automate tasks or even coach employees on improving their communication methods. While net2phone was once an early pioneer in VoIP, the company has grown into a leading provider of unified communications and contact center solutions serving organizations in over 160 countries.
Each business has their own unique communication needs, which is why companies like net2hpone offer a bevy of cloud-based product solutions. From contact centers to sales teams, businesses can choose between a number of personalized UC solutions. For example, the net2phone UNITE solution brings AI-powered voice, video, text, and chat capabilities together into one platform. Teams can easily integrate UNITE with outside platforms like Slack or Microsoft Teams, streamlining workflow integration without any disruption.
Contact Centers have their own solution with uContact, which optimizes customer engagement across any and all channels. The social media boom has forced companies to have a presence on multiple platforms, in addition to maintaining a personal website and customer service number. With so many channels of customer communication, businesses need a way to respond to every request promptly and to each customer’s satisfaction. uContact allows users to communicate with customers via phone calls, chat, email, and even social media in just one inbox, offering advanced tools like Automatic Call Distribution and Interactive Voice Response features to keep customers engaged.
AI-Optimized Communication
Artificial intelligence has revolutionized every industry under the sun, and the UC market is no exception. AI features can not only improve collaboration or automate certain tasks, they can even find ways to improve communication as a whole. One example of AI’s impact on UC solutions is AI Agent, net2phone’s customizable AI-powered agent designed to manage a variety of sales, support, and administrative tasks. Whereas chatbots in the past have been able to deliver predetermined responses to customer queries, AI Agent can understand the context of customer interactions and take steps to resolve issues on its own.
Another new tool in the UC market is Coach AI, the latest release from net2phone that offers real-time guidance across communications platforms. This workforce intelligence and coaching platform analyzes various forms of communication and delivers instantaneous coaching recommendations for each employee, identifying weak spots and offering suggestions for improvement. Coach AI then uses the data to generate reports with actionable insights to boost productivity and enhance customer communication.
"Coach AI is more than a productivity tool,” said Jonah Fink, President of net2phone. It’s a bridge between human connection and AI-powered optimization. This is the next evolution of business communications.”
The Future of Unified Communications
All of these UC solutions are more than just fancy tools that improve communication–they make a real difference in employee productivity and often deliver tangible results for companies. COVID-19 was one of the biggest accelerants of the UC market, as the rise in remote work led to the need for better communication and collaboration tools. But UC solutions are beneficial to more than just remote employees, as they allow workers to adapt to changing communication styles and make use of evolving collaboration tools.
With generative AI currently in the midst of a massive boom, there’s no predicting how the UC market will evolve in the next few years, other than the near certainty of its continued growth. Whether one is looking to increase workplace mobility, consolidate separate communications tools, or get ahead of the AI boom, the best way to build a cohesive communications strategy is with a trustworthy UC solution.
Copyright © 2025 California Business Journal. All Rights Reserved.
For California Business Journal Disclaimers, go to /terms-conditions/.
