A recent report conducted by Grand View Research projects the global unified communications market will exceed $75 billion by 2020.

The study found that enterprises were the largest market for UC applications last year and they were expected to continue maintaining their market share over the next six years. Small and medium-sized companies have also begun deploying the appropriate IP infrastructure to support unified communications, helping to accelerate market growth.

"Increase in mobile workforce as well as enterprise mobility is expected to favorably impact the global market over the next six years," stated a release accompanying the report. "Growing demand and proliferation of smartphones is also expected to fuel market growth over the forecast period. Increasing adoption of BYOD initiatives by large enterprises as well as SMEs [are] a driving force for the industry."

The adoption of unified communications by government and private-sector organizations have also helped to drive the market. UC platforms have proven the ability to provide improved emergency response capabilities, operational continuity and situational awareness, driving adoption.

The report also found that 60 percent of spending for unified communications systems went to on-premise kits. However, managed services, hosted systems and cloud platforms are projected to increase their market share as companies begin to adopt more of those technologies.

According to the study, North America makes up 35 percent of the global unified communications market. However, the European and Asia-Pacific regions are quickly growing and are expected to lead the market over the next six years. The fast-paced growth in these areas is due in most part to the need for effective communication systems and improved collaboration, as well as the savings that come with implementing UC platforms.