According to the Worldwide Quarterly Unified Communications and Collaboration Tracker from International Data Corporation (IDC), global UC&C market revenues increased 7.9% annually and 2.1% sequentially to $15.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022 (4Q22). Global UC&C income for the entire year 2022 increased by 9.8% annually to $59.3 billion.
Businesses have been spending money on UC collaboration and UCaaS solutions to enhance employee and client relations while assisting with efforts for digital transformation (DX) and cost-effective business mobility. Approximately two-thirds of businesses currently using telephony communications solutions use cloud-based UCaaS as part of their main strategy, and the growth of UCaaS is anticipated to continue. Network-related spending remained resilient in 2022 despite inflation, regional conflicts, lingering channel issues, etc. Speed, network resiliency, and productivity continue to be seen as key drivers of the market.
Specifics for the UC&C technology sector for 4Q22 and the entire year are as follows:
- In 4Q22, sales from Hosted Voice/UC Public Cloud (UCaaS) increased 16.2% year over year and 4.4% consecutively to $5.6 billion. Revenue from public cloud UCaaS grew 16.6% to $21.2 billion in 2022.
- In 4Q22, income from UC Collaboration (including video conference software and cloud services) grew 5.9% year on year and 0.3% from the prior quarter to $7.3 billion. UC Collaboration’s income rose 9.1% to $28.8 billion in 2022.
- Revenue from IP phones fell 14.3% consecutively and 8.3% yearly in 4Q22. However, IP Phones sales grew 2.5% to nearly $2.0 billion for the entire year 2022. Shipments of IP phones dropped significantly in 4Q22, falling by 14.2% from the prior quarter and 20.6% on an annualized basis. Shipments of IP phones decreased overall by 6.5% from the previous year.
- In 4Q22, revenue from videoconferencing room endpoints rose 13.7% consecutively at $471 million after falling 2.2% annually. The total income for 2022 fell 3.1% to $1.8 billion.
- Huddle Room Endpoints increased 19.5% year over year and 18.1% sequentially to almost $287 million in 4Q22. For the full year 2022, revenue increased 11.5% to $1.0 billion.
According to Rich Costello, senior research analyst for unified communications and collaboration at IDC, “UCaaS and UC collaboration apps continue to drive growth in the global UC&C market.”The provider landscape is evolving in major ways as we head into 2023 with pressure on providers to increasingly monetize their existing base while attracting new customers.”
The IDC Worldwide UC&C Tracker gave the following regional findings in 4Q22 and for the entire year 2022:
- Total UC&C sales in North America (US and Canada) decreased 1.7% from the previous quarter but grew 7.1% year on year to $7.1 billion in 4Q22. Total income increased 8.9% to $28.1 billion for the fiscal year 2022.
- In 4Q22, overall sales in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) increased 4.2% sequentially and 5.5% year on year to $4.3 billion. Total sales increased 7.2% to $16.8 billion in 2022.
- The overall sales for Asia/Pacific (including Japan) (APJ) increased by 12.4% year over year and 7.4% sequentially in the fourth quarter of 2018 to reach about $3.3 billion. Total income increased 14.8% to almost $12.2 billion for the entire 2022.
- Total sales for Latin America rose to more than $580 million in 4Q22, up 12.9% annually and 5.0% from 3Q22. The overall income for the entire year 2022 increased by 16.3% to reach over $2.2 billion.
In 4Q22, Microsoft’s total global UC&C income was $6.1 billion, up 3.9% consecutively and 18.4% year on year. Microsoft’s overall revenue for the fiscal year 2022 was $23.0 billion, a 20.9% rise over 2021 and a 38.7% share of the global UC&C market.
Cisco’s total global UC&C income was $984 million in 4Q22, a 12.3% decrease from the previous quarter and an 8.5% decrease year over year. Cisco’s overall revenue fell 6.4% to $4.2 billion in 2022, reflecting a 7.4% share of the global UC&C market.
The overall global UC&C sales for Zoom grew 3.4% year over year and 1.2% sequentially to close to $1.1 billion in 4Q22. Zoom’s total income increased 6.6% to $4.2 billion for the entire 2022, accounting for a 7.1% market portion of the global UC&C market.
In an accessible Excel pivot table style, the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Unified Communications and Collaboration Tracker gives statistics on the overall market size and vendor market share. UC Collaboration, Managed/Hosted Voice/UCaas (Hosted Voice/Public Cloud UCaaS, Managed Voice/Private Cloud UCaaS), IP Telephony/UC Systems (IP Phones, IP PBX/UC Systems), Enterprise Videoconferencing Systems (Videoconferencing Room Endpoints, Huddle Room Endpoints, and Videoconferencing Infrastructure), and UC Collaboration. The UC&C Tracker measures vendor income and delivery of units, lines, licenses, and seats.
