The 2024 Gartner report, “Critical Capabilities for Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS),” has recognized significant shifts in the UCaaS landscape, driven by changes in communication culture, the rise of cloud office collaboration tools, and reduced reliance on premise-based telephony. The report evaluates 11 UCaaS vendors across eleven critical capabilities and six use cases to assist infrastructure and operations leaders in their selection processes.
Our key takeaways of the report
- Telephony is still foundational: “Traditional telephony features remain a foundational UCaaS capability required by all organizations. However, a more heterogeneous approach to providing telephony to users is now common.”
- AI and innovation: Vendors mostly differentiate around innovating with AI for sales and marketing roles, integrated contact center support, advancing their admin portal and self-service tools, and customer support.
- UCaaS and CCaaS: “In the face of a consolidating market, increasing competitive headwinds that have kept the UCaaS market pricing flat, contact center capabilities have been an area of growth, with some leading vendors increasing their revenue in this area… Currently, “more than half of the contracts that Gartner reviewed include contact center services. One factor that has helped some vendors succeed is that cloud office vendors (especially Microsoft) do not yet offer contact center capabilities within their UCaaS offerings.”
RingCentral’s evaluation
RingCentral was recognized in three use case categories: UC with Integrated Contact Center Use Case, Midsize Enterprises Use Case, and Telephony Centric/Heavy Organizations Use Case. Here’s a breakdown of how RingCentral fared in key areas:
- Telephony-centric/Heavy organizations: RingCentral scored highest in the use case. We feel this makes it an ideal choice for organizations that still rely heavily on traditional telephony but are looking for reliable, feature rich communications.
- Midsize enterprise use case: For midsize enterprises, RingCentral’s RingEX offers a robust, integrated UCaaS solution that supports a wide range of communication needs. With its strong telephony features, innovative AI capabilities, and recent enhancements in SMS and workflow automation, we believe RingCentral is well-positioned to meet the dynamic requirements of midsize businesses.
- UC with integrated contact center use case: RingCentral offers a dual approach with its newly released RingCX solution for simpler use cases and the more advanced RingCentral Contact Center. We think this flexibility allows businesses to choose a solution that best fits their specific needs.
Strategic recommendations
For I&O leaders and digital workplace decision-makers, the report offers several strategic recommendations:
- “Factor differentiating AI capabilities across all UCaaS pillars when making a vendor selection; namely, in-calling, meetings, messaging, contact center support and administrative portals.”
- “Leverage bundled contact center capabilities when migrating to UCaaS for the first time if your organization has medium to small customer service (under 100 agents) or support teams, or has more basic interaction routing and reporting needs. Leverage both voice and digital channels especially if these teams currently only use inbound calling (voice) channels (hunt groups and queues).”
Conclusion
RingCentral’s recognition in the Gartner Critical Capabilities for UCaaS report, we feel, underscores its position as a leading provider of cloud communications solutions. With its emphasis on AI-driven innovation, robust telephony features, and seamless integration of collaboration tools, RingCentral is well-equipped to meet the evolving needs of modern businesses.
As the UCaaS landscape continues to evolve, organizations looking to enhance their communication and collaboration capabilities should consider RingCentral as a top contender. Whether you’re a midsize enterprise or a large multinational organization, RingCentral offers the flexibility, reliability, and advanced features needed to stay ahead in today’s dynamic business environment.
Read the full report here.
Explore RingCentral’s comprehensive UCaaS solutions and see how they can transform your organization’s communications strategy.
Gartner, Critical Capabilities for Unified Communications as a Service, By Rafael Benitez, Megan Fernandez, Christopher Trueman, Pankil Sheth, 14 October, 2024
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Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s Research & Advisory organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
Originally published Oct 25, 2024
