VoIP vs. UCaaS: The Differences Explained

pcmag.com:

By now, Voice-over-IP (VoIP) should be familiar to most business technology buyers. Its low cost, as compared to on-premises PBX systems, has made it the modern standard for basic business voice calling. More recently, VoIP delivered as a cloud service has driven down costs even further. But VoIP has other advantages, too. Because it's software-based, it can integrate with other software systems to power multiple communications channels, beyond just voice. This capability has led to the emergence of a new category of VoIP-based business communications software, known as Unified Communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS).

The goal of UCaaS is not just to add new features to voice calling, but to elevate business communications beyond what we expect of traditional phone technology. UCaaS systems aim to integrate voice with the software your business relies upon most, creating multi-channel delivery systems that help drive productivity. And while that might sound complex and potentially hard to manage, it needn't be, so long as you focus on your organization's actual needs and don't allow yourself to be boggled by the extensive menus of options that vendors might have on offer.

While VoIP is usually just a voice service provider, handling inbound and outbound voice calls, UCaaS seeks to take all business communications and route them over internet protocol (IP). It's multi-modal, incorporating text messaging, chats, video conferencing, screen sharing, video meetings, and more. But it starts with VoIP to power the voice part. 

As you can see from data provided by market research firm Statista in the chart below, the overall market for UCaaS is growing. The projected trend is for the majority of customers to choose a hosted/managed