What’s the difference between UCaaS & VoIP?

Many companies are evaluating new communications systems due to four trends:

• Increased expectations from customers and employees
• Rapid transition to a mobile workforce
• Tripling of the number of devices you need to connect to your network
• Legacy systems can’t keep up with your needs, and new solutions are available

You’re unlikely to have a conversation about business communications without running across the terms UCaaS and VoIP. Are you wondering what the difference is between the two?

VoIP, developed in 1995, refers to voice over internet protocol. It is a proven technology for transmitting voice over the internet, and it served as a way to save money on long-distance and international telephone charges. VoIP became the mainstream standard for voice communications among small to midsized businesses (SMBs) as broadband expanded. Many companies replaced their old on-premise PBX systems with VoIP because they cost less and offered more flexible functionality. VoIP migrated to the cloud like most internet applications and offers features like auto-attendant, call recording, video conferencing, and long-distance calling.

UCaaS (Unified Communications as a Service) first came to prominence in 2014 as part of the global industry moving to cloud services. With the cloud, the economic shift favors a service provider model making UCaaS available and affordable. In addition, UCaaS does not require any additional hardware, moving the communications expenses to operating costs vs. capital investments.

Comparing VoIP vs. UCaaS isn’t exactly the correct analysis. VoIP phone services took business communications technology to a whole new level. UCaaS builds on top of this innovation. VoIP powers voice communications for inbound and outbound calls with enhanced voice calling features.

UCaaS is different because it incorporates multiple communication channels, such as texting, chatting, emailing, and works across devices. With UCaaS, you have access to an abundant number of helpful software solutions.

Benefits of VoIP:

1. Call quality
2. Variety of voice features
3. Security
4. Remote work-friendly
5. Call recording
6. Increased productivity
7. Cost-effective

Benefits of UCaaS

1. Enables mobility
2. Supports group collaboration
3. Enhances productivity
4. Supports seamless customer experiences
5. Provides a uniform platform across locations
6. Streamlines workflows
7. Increases employee engagement

Both VoIP and UCaaS are options to consider. We are here to help you determine which communications solutions are best for your company so you can focus on running and growing your business.