The document summarizes the strengths and cautions of leading UC&C (Unified Communications & Collaboration) vendors based on an annual industry summit. Key highlights include the UC product market becoming more mature with a shift to cloud services continuing. New areas in 2017 included CPaaS (Communications Platform as a Service), workstream messaging, and video conferencing. Individual vendor summaries then covered their strengths, cautions, and market positioning. The document provided an overview of the competitive UC&C landscape and major trends in the industry.

1. The UC&C Vendor Landscape
Annual Summit Review of the
Strengths & Cautions
for Industry Leaders
Blair Pleasant, President & Principal Analyst, COMMfusion
Dave Michels, Principal Analyst, Buffalo Communications.

2. Landscape Highlights
• The UC product market is mostly mature
– IP telephony, presence, phones, and mobile
– Solution life increasing
– PBX is back
– Too many vendors; market consolidation continues
• Shift to the cloud continues
– Enterprises moving to UCaaS
– Contact centers as a service

3. New and Hot 2017
• CPaaS: Twilio IPO was a game changer. Cisco, ShoreTel,
Vonage, and more….
• Workstream Messaging: The new IM
• Video: First year where both Cisco and Microsoft will lead
with integrated room systems. Vidyo, Logitech, Polycom,
Pexip, Starleaf…
• Contact Center as a service reaching larger markets
• Cloud first. Cisco, Microsoft and most UC vendors now
• SDN WAN: Sometimes MPLS and OTT isn’t enough

4. Summit Hat Tips
• Polycom
• Logitech
• Revolabs
• Starleaf
• Enghouse
• Inteliquent
• Masergy
• Plantronics
• vSpatial
• Vidyo
• Kandy
• AVST
• ATT
• Tata
• AudioCodes
• Nectar
• Nyansa

5. The Landscape
• 8x8
• Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise
• Avaya
• BroadSoft
• Cisco
• Fuze
• Microsoft
• Mitel
• NEC
• RingCentral
• ShoreTel
• Unify
• Vonage Business

6. 8x8
Strengths
• Robust offering, UCaaS Leadership
• Accelerated midmarket & ent adoption
• Integrations to Google Apps & O365
• Integrated video
• Full contact center offering – ECaaS
• Security and compliance (HIPPA)
• Int’l expansion in Europe & Asia –
added 3 data centers
• 26th consecutive quarter of profitability
Cautions
• Limited messaging solution
• Hybrid is challenging
• Contact center still not properly
integrated in with VO
• Flash based collaborative client
• Large scale deployments are yet
to be proven
• Enough resources to support
growth & customer base?
• No workstream msg solution - yet

7. Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise
Strengths
• Building Momentum after year
of establishing independence
• Strong Telephony share
Europe
• Solid UC product capabilities
• Strong focus on hospitality –
creative tech and financing.
• Global
Cautions
• Effects of Chinese ownership
• Weak distribution presence in
NA
• Behind in Cloud – though OT is
prem, cloud, and hybrid ready.
• Rainbow delayed – coming
soon. Includes workstream
messaging

8. Avaya
Strengths
• Contact Center Leadership – new: Oceana
• Huge installed base
• Strong midmarket solution – IP Office
• Focus on Embedded comms
• Developer enablement - new Breeze SDK,
Zang CPaaS
– Zang Spaces – workstream messaging
• New team engagement portfolio & unified
client - Equinox
• Global product and service coverage
• Network offering – strong growth in fabric
Cautions
• Losing market share, esp. in enterprise
• Huge debt load – exploring asset sale -
no suitor in sight
• Uncertain future limiting sales
• Behind on cloud - confusing story
• Midmarket IP Office cloud hosted by
partners
- ScanSource, Carousel
• New channel program – may be good or
bad

9. BroadSoft
Strengths
• Huge global UCaaS Market
Share
• Penetration outside English
speaking countries
• Announcing TeamOne,
CCOne, and expanding
Project Tempo
• Powers Verizon OneTalk
Cautions
• Shifting to wholesale model
with BroadCloud
• Many partners struggle with
differentiation
• Launching “Powered by
BroadSoft” branding
• Software-only
• Tends to lag on innvoation

10. Cisco
Strengths
• #1 in current year IP Telephony
revenues
• Spark to glue together UC,
WebEx, Telepresence
• Broadest voice & video endpoint
portfolio in industry
• Voice/Video/Web conferencing
leadership
• Spark Encryption model
• Spark OS
Cautions
• Spark is not done
• UCC is one small part of the
company
• New management may de-
emphasize this lower-growth
Cisco unit
• Premium pricing for most
endpoints

11. Fuze
Strengths
• Track record with enterprise
• Business process integration
• Video-centric collab experience
• Rich technology platform -
WebRTC, APIs
• Mature Channel Strategy
• Int'l expansion
• Funding – more development $
Cautions
• Branding – low profile, light
marketing
• Small Company (<500 EE)
• Slow Adoption of Web and
Video Conferencing
• Not appropriate for <200 users
• 3rd party contact center

12. Microsoft
Strengths
• Leverages Office “anchor”
• Vision is back with Satya
• Both Skypes enable
intercompany federation
• Very Global - major share in
127 geo-markets
• Ecosystem strength - phones,
headsets, etc.
• Global Conferencing service
Cautions
• Third-party contact centers -- a
lot of them
• Co-opetition with resellers and
providers
• Fragmented video solution with
native SfB and Polycom solutions
• Strong cloud focus, but limited
features on SfB Online
• Good enough SLA

13. Mitel
Strengths
• Playing every angle: premises, cloud,
hybrid;
wholesale, retail, supplier; managed
• Merger-driven growth: Revenue, Int’l.,
platforms
• Parity across premises, cloud, hybrid
• Vertical offerings – APIs, partners
• Adjacency expansion – Mavinir for
mobile – VoLTE
• New: World Cloud – same UC features
anywhere
Cautions
• Too many options &
platforms
• Becoming the “consolidator”
- more acquisitions
• Product roadmap
consolidation continues –
uses up resources
• 3rd party for SMB cloud
contact center - LiveOps

14. NEC
Strengths
• Global
• $40B revenue company
• Strong in verticals
• Broad IT portfolio (SDN,
Biometrics, Servers)
• UNIVERGE BLUE building
momentum
Cautions
• Weak Marketing and
Analyst Outreach
• Consolidating Portfolio with
3C and SV
• Technology Lags Market
• No Workstream Messaging

15. RingCentral
Strengths
• Comprehensive - voice, UC, video,
WCC (Glip), conferencing
• RingCentral Connect - platform
for integrations & workflows
• Strong marketing, good market
mindshare for OTT vendor
• Self provisioning & management
• Cloud Connect – dedicated
connection to RC cloud
Cautions
• Third-party contact center offering
• RC Meetings is separate app
• Move upstream may provide
challenges
• No large customers – largest is 5k
• Limited language support globally –
only French & Spanish
• Direct hybrid solution is difficult –
no consistent experience across
onprem & cloud

16. ShoreTel
Strengths
• Established SMB/Mid market
simple premises play
• Next generation common
platform released
• Consistent growth and
profitability
• Arguably the newest UC
platform in the industry
• New CPaaS Play (Summit)
Cautions
• Unproven new product
• Sky Status and Migration
unclear
• North American focus
• No workstream messaging
solution
• For sale?

17. Unify
Strengths
• Huge installed base, esp. in Europe
• Solid, flexible technology base
• First UC vendor w/ WCC (Circuit)
• Vertical expertise
• 3rd-party integrations (Fusion)
• Broader portfolio of solutions &
market access via Atos
• Added Circuit Freemium model
Cautions
• North American GTM
• Significant staff reductions
• Having difficulty selling
Circuit
• Continuing senior
management changes
• Uses 3rd party for cloud CC

18. Vonage
Strengths
• Strong marketing and brand
awareness
• Strong leadership
• 3 UCaaS Services
• Nexmo CPaaS
• Integrated MPLS and SDN WAN
• Strong OSS/BSS with (Zeus)
• Financial strength from consumer
success
Cautions
• Lots of acquisitions – still
internal fragmentation
– SDN WAN on 1 Service
– Nexmo integrating with
Vonage
• Three Contact Centers
• Predominately Voice-
oriented and OTT

19. QUESTIONS???

20. The UC&C Vendor Landscape
Annual Summit Review of the
Strengths & Cautions
for Industry Leaders
Blair Pleasant, President, CommFusion
Dave Michels, Principal Analyst, Buffalo Communications
Thank you!