Not a Lot of Change on the Gartner UCaaS Magic Quadrant 2018

As companies search for more flexibility in their communication services, the “as a service” approach to UC has become increasingly popular. The as a service model allows organisations to access the latest features of UC technology through the cloud, ensuring exceptional scalability.
Today, Gartner believes that by 2021, 90% of IT leaders will be relying on the cloud for their UC technology. The Gartner Magic Quadrant is a report that evaluates vendors in the UCaaS space according to their “completeness of vision” for innovative technology, and their “ability to execute.” Let’s examine who made the cut this year.
The UCaaS Leaders for 2018
Leaders in the UCaaS Magic Quadrant offer the best completeness of vision, and the strongest ability to execute. In 2017, the leaders were:
- 8×8
- BT
- Orange Business Services
- RingCentral
- Verizon
- West
This year we have:
RingCentral
RingCentral has accomplished some phenomenal things this year. They were our UC Awards 2018 winner for “Best Cloud Communications Provider,” and now they’re at the head of the leader section for the Gartner Magic Quadrant too. RingCentral has successfully expanded their offering across SMB, mid-size and enterprise accounts, offering the full RingCentral Office with Glip collaboration, and multiple enhanced communication features. Gartner notes that RingCentral has a strong market position, and this year posted a strong revenue growth of 34% since 2017.
8×8
8×8 is a UCaaS application specialist who rebranded their product portfolio this year to the “X Series.” 8×8 now has a rich cloud portfolio featuring integrated UC, workstream collaboration, contact centre solutions, conferencing and more. Gartner believes that over 50% of 8×8 customers currently purchase CCaaS from the company to compliment their UCaaS deployments too.
Orange
Global CSP Orange offers two separate UCaaS services, including a Skype-based solution and Cisco-based option. Orange deploys reference architecture for UCaaS too through a range of gateways, handsets, headsets, SBCs, video endpoints and more. Gartner’s financial assessment tool gave Orange a positive financial rating this year, and Gartner showed that Orange is a well-proven vendor, with more than 10,000 seats in both the Microsoft and Cisco stacks.
BT
Global CSP BT offers five UCaaS options in its portfolio, including the “One Cloud Cisco” HCS, and the One Cloud Microsoft option, which are the focus of the MQ evaluation. The OneCloud iComms from Ribbon, Cloud Voice (RingCentral) and Cloud Phone (BroadSoft) specifically target the UK. Gartner suggests that BT has advanced skills in the UCaaS stacks and can support a range of communication environments around the world.
Verizon
Global CSP Verizon offers Verizon Unified Communications and Collaboration on a surface based on the Cisco HCS platform. Serving companies in more than 1040 countries, Verizon has a broad reach, and a connection with Cisco for selling WebEx Meetings, Teams, Cloud Connected Audio and more. Verizon’s UCaaS adoption platform also makes it easier for customers to access the full suite of solutions.
The UCaaS Challengers for 2018
The UCaaS Magic Quadrant Challengers are solutions that are quickly making their way towards a leadership position. Last year (2017) we had:
- AT&T
- Microsoft
This year, the Challengers are:
Microsoft
One of the best-known publicly-held IT service vendors in the world, Microsoft’s UCaaS application is Microsoft Teams, part of the Office 365 suite. The Microsoft Teams offering supports presence, workstream collaboration, screen and audio sharing, and more. With a new direct-routing capability supporting third-party PBXs, Teams is consistently gaining momentum in the UCaaS market this year. It’s only a matter of time before Microsoft hits the Leaderboard.
Google is another major contender ready to move to the Leadership position soon. Google’s UCaaS offering includes Hangouts and the G Suite cloud office bundle. The Google service is available in a wide selection of languages around the world, and it’s received various updates in the last year with new endpoints, clients, user experience solutions and more. Hangouts fosters a highly collaborative work experience that’s quick to deploy, and highly cost-effective.
AT&T
Global CSP AT&T targets UCaaS both directly, and through a selection of channel partners. AT&T has three separate cloud-based offers, which enable the company to deliver support for most UC stacks, regardless of the size of their customer’s business. Gartner also notes that AT&T has taken steps to improve and simplify the customer experience with a new upfront requirement design team, post-sales deployment services, and automated migration tools.
Cisco
Cisco’s position in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for UCaaS this year comes from Gartner’s evaluation of the Cisco BroadCloud component, where Cisco delivers and maintains UCaaS stacks. The BroadSoft acquisition in 2018 gave Cisco access to multiple cloud calling capabilities and additional services for UCaaS. Gartner notes that the Cisco BroadCloud platform is highly scalable, with countless new facilities on the horizon.
NTT Group
The UCaaS portfolio for the NTT Group come from the combined assets of Arkadin, Dimension Data, and NTT Communications. The three separate business units run UCaaS solutions that have offered a positive financial rating this year, according to Gartner. The NTT has made methodical gains this year according to Gartner, by aligning multiple UCaaS groups together to serve customer needs.
The UCaaS Niche Players for 2018
Gartner’s Magic Quadrant niche players for UCaaS in 2017 were:
- Star2Star
- Masergy
- NTT Group
This year, the niche players are:
Masergy
A privately-held vendor with a global footprint in networking, Masergy has recently expanded to support managed security services, and UCaaS delivered from the SD platform. Masergy offers a robust adjacent portfolio to its UCaaS solution which includes CCaaS, SIP Trunking, SD-WAN and more.
Star2Star
Star2Star is a UCaaS application specialist that delivers UCaaS solutions to a wide range of companies spanning from large enterprises to SMBs. Star2Star merged with BlueFace this year for extended coverage over Europe and Asia Pacific. Through two UCaaS offerings, Star2Star offers a broad range of services, and the system they provide over the cloud requires no customer premise equipment – ideal for low-cost deployment.
The UCaaS Visionaries for 2018
Finally, the UCaaS Visionaries for 2018 were:
- Fuze
- Broadsoft
- Mitel
This year, the Visionaries for the Magic Quadrant are:
West
West is currently a privately-held company following a recent purchase by Apollo Global Management. Today, the lead UCaaS offering for the company, VoiceMaxx CE is built on the Cisco HCS platform. West also supports CCaaS from Cisco, alongside its own branded CCaaS solution. The West offering is highly supported by adjacent services, and Gartner believes that Apollo is investing in West to improve its position in the marketplace.
Mitel
Mitel has two global UCaaS solutions to offer in the form of MiCloud Connect and MiCloud Flex. The two options give companies access to a broad range of services, and Mitel also plans to link its range of on-premise PBXs with MiCloud Connect through an emerging CloudLink integration. Gartner notes that Mitel can support both standard UCaaS portfolios, and customers with unique requirements.
Fuze
Finally, privately held UCaaS app specialist Fuze runs it’s own UCaaS multi-tenant platform which now supports collaboration features. In 2017, Fuze linked its portfolio with AppNeta to expand into video and voice reporting and quality monitoring capabilities. Fuze customers appreciate its fantastic rate of innovation according to Gartner.
Considering this Year’s Magic Quadrant
It’s been a successful year for many companies in the 2018 UCaaS Magic Quadrant. Cisco took over for BroadSoft after the recent BroadSoft/Cisco acquisition, but the players in the report remained the same from 2017 with a few vendors shifting up and down to new sections of the report.
We’re particularly impressed by RingCentral this year for its exceptional cloud performance, and believe that Cisco, Microsoft, and Google are well on their way towards a potential appearance in the Leadership quadrant of the MQ.
Source: uctoday
Indsutry: Unified communcation news

Latest Jobs
-
- Account Manager - IT Services
- Germany
- €90000 plus OTE and Car
-
Are you a deal closer with a hunter mindset? Do you know how to uncover business pain points, and turn them into long-term digital transformation partnerships? Our Client are growing their sales force across Germany and looking for an ambitious, straight-talking Account Manager to take the lead on new client acquisition. You’ll focus on mid-sized to large enterprises across Germany helping to shape their digital future with tailored IT solutions in Workplace, Cloud, and Security. • Drive Growth: Own the full sales cycle for new business across your region. • Solution Sell: Build bespoke offers in Security, Digital Workplace and Cloud solutions • Build Relationships: Establish a solid pipeline through smart prospecting, marketing-driven leads, and your own network. • Represent a brand known for trust, delivery, and tech excellence—with 4,000 employees globally and a growing team within Germany. What You Bring • Proven new logo sales experience in the IT services space (not hardware!) • Deep knowledge in one or more of: Cybersecurity, Digital Workplace, or Cloud • Confidence to lead enterprise deals and pitch directly to senior stakeholders • Fluent German and good English skills Sind Sie ein Abschlussprofi mit Hunter-Mentalität? Wissen Sie, wie man geschäftliche Pain Points identifiziert und in langfristige Partnerschaften zur digitalen Transformation verwandelt? Unser Kunde baut derzeit sein Vertriebsteam in ganz Deutschland aus und sucht eine ambitionierte, ehrliche Persönlichkeit als Account Manager, die den Lead bei der Neukundengewinnung übernimmt. Ihr Fokus liegt auf mittelständischen bis großen Unternehmen in Deutschland, denen Sie mit maßgeschneiderten IT-Lösungen in den Bereichen Workplace, Cloud und Security den Weg in die digitale Zukunft ebnen. Ihre Aufgaben • Wachstum vorantreiben: Verantwortung für den gesamten Vertriebszyklus im Neugeschäft Ihrer Region. • Lösungsorientierter Vertrieb: Entwicklung individueller Angebote in den Bereichen Security, Digital Workplace und Cloud-Lösungen. • Beziehungen aufbauen: Aufbau einer stabilen Pipeline durch gezielte Ansprache, marketinggenerierte Leads und Ihr eigenes Netzwerk. • Marke repräsentieren: Werden Sie Teil eines Unternehmens mit 4.000 Mitarbeitenden weltweit und einem stark wachsenden Team in Deutschland – bekannt für Vertrauen, Verlässlichkeit und technologische Exzellenz. Was Sie mitbringen • Nachgewiesene Erfahrung in der Neukundenakquise im Bereich IT-Services (kein Hardwarevertrieb!) • Fundiertes Wissen in mindestens einem der Bereiche: Cybersecurity, Digital Workplace oder Cloud • Selbstbewusstes Auftreten im Umgang mit Enterprise-Deals und Entscheidungsträgern auf Top-Level • Verhandlungssichere Deutschkenntnisse und gute Englischkenntnisse
-
- Senior SOC Analyst Level 3. Microsoft Security stack | Ability to achieve SC Clearance
- London
- To attract the right person
-
Job Title: Senior SOC Analyst Level 3. Microsoft Security stack | Ability to achieve SC Clearance Location: Hybrid remote | London / Berkshire Overview: Senior SOC Analyst Level 3 to join a specialist Managed Security Services business. You will be responsible for advanced threat hunting / triage, incident response etc with a strong focus on the Microsoft Security Stack. Key Responsibilities: Lead and resolve complex security incidents / escalations Conduct advanced threat hunting using the Microsoft Security Stack. Build, optimise and maintain workbooks, rules, analytics etc. Correlate data across Microsoft 365 Defender, Azure Defender and Sentinel. Perform root cause analysis and post-incident reporting. Aid in mentoring and upskilling Level 1 and 2 SOC analysts. Required Skills & Experience: The ability to achieve UK Security Clearance (SC) – existing clearance ideal. (Sorry no visa applications) Current experience working with a SOC environment Microsoft Sentinel: Development and tuning of custom analytic rules. Workbook creation and dashboarding. Automation using Playbooks and SOAR integration. Kusto Query Language (KQL): Writing complex, efficient queries for advanced threat hunting and detection. Correlating data across key tables (e.g., SignInLogs, SecurityEvent, OfficeActivity, DeviceEvents). Developing custom detection rules, optimising performance, and reducing false positives. Supporting Sentinel Workbooks, Alerts, and Playbooks through advanced KQL use. Deep understanding of incident response, threat intelligence and adversary techniques (MITRE ATT&CK framework). Strong knowledge of cloud and hybrid security, particularly within Azure. Additional Requirements: Must hold or be eligible to achieve a minimum of Security Clearance (SC) level. Nice to have certifications (e.g., SC-200, AZ-500, GIAC) are desirable. Strong problem-solving and analytical skills. Excellent communication for clear documentation and team collaboration. Please follow Wheaton’s Law.
-
- New Business Sales Hunter | Cyber Security (UK Based)
- London
- To attract the right person
-
New Business Sales Hunter needed | Cybersecurity (UK Based) Are you looking for uncapped commission, a fun and sociable team that drives success with no politics? If so...You must Be UK based - and able to achieve UK SC clearance. (sorry no visas) Have a demonstrable history of sales success in Cyber Security Follow Weatons law. The role: Seeking a proven New Business Sales Hunter to join an established, successful and expanding cyber security firm. New business focused - £1m GP year one target (ramped). Sell a blend of security services & professional services. Ideal experience selling some or all of the following Cyber strategy & risk management Managed detection & response (MDR) Penetration testing Compliance & audit support You: Strong cybersecurity/IT services sales track record. Confident selling into mid-market & enterprise. UK based - London commutable 1x per week. Hunter mindset, full sales cycle ownership. Don't just send an email to apply give me a call on 07884666351
-
- CyberArk Architect
- London
- Upto £110,000 plus bonus and benefits
-
Are you ready to lead from the front and drive innovation in the Identity & Access Management (IAM) space? We’re looking for a seasoned CyberArk Architect who has CDE-CPC ideally or experience with privilege Cloud, someone who can lead with vision, execute with precision, and inspire teams to deliver excellence. As a key leader in our organisation, you’ll bring your strong business acumen and a technology-focused, innovative mindset to the table. You’ll be driving strategic initiatives, shaping transformation programs, and empowering teams to think big and deliver even bigger. Acting as a subject matter expert in CyberArk Leading strategic transformations in: Identity Governance Privileged Access Management (PAM) Access Management Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) Building and maintaining strong, collaborative relationships within the team Communicating clearly and confidently — both written and verbal — to deliver updates, raise potential issues, and share insights If you are interested in the above position we are looking for people with: deep expertise and a successful track record in IAM strategy, delivery, or assurance with CyberArk Hold relevant certifications such as CDE in Privileged Cloud or Guardian Have experience in a client-facing role (preferred, but not essential) Thrive in a hybrid working environment and are available to work from our or client London office three days a week Lead with clarity, communicate with impact, and adapt quickly to changing priorities