Applications for the UC Awards 2026 are officially open. The clock is running, and you have nine weeks to craft a submission that stands out.
But before you start writing, you need to understand the difference between a winning entry and a forgettable one.
Every year, incredible products compete for a spot on the shortlist. The entries that succeed clearly articulate their value. Submissions that focus on measurable outcomes consistently outperform those that rely solely on feature lists.
“Zoom won in four UC Awards categories in 2025. LeapXpert won three. They won because they provided a clear, evidenced narrative about what they built, who it helped, and the measurable impact it delivered. That is the standard. Nine weeks. Use them properly.”
Rob Scott, Executive Chair of Judges, UC Awards 2026
The Standard for Excellence
If you want to win, you must lead with outcomes. The judges, led by myself & Marcus Law, apply four criteria, each with a strict weighting: Innovation Depth (30%), Demonstrable Impact (30%), Market Differentiation (20%), and Future Relevance (20%). You need to write against these explicitly.
Make it easy for the judges to see your impact by surfacing your evidence clearly. Stating that you “reduced meeting setup time by 73% across 400 rooms” is worth ten paragraphs of qualitative description. Use specific numbers wherever you have them.
Key Dates & Recommended Timeline
Use this nine week window to build a winning entry.
| Date | Milestone | What to do now |
|---|---|---|
| July 28, 2026 | Applications open today | Start at awards.uctoday.com. Do not wait until September. |
| Weeks 1 to 2 | Evidence gathering | Pull customer data, case study approvals, outcome metrics, and analyst commentary. |
| Weeks 3 to 4 | First draft | Write the submission. Put it down for 48 hours. Read it again cold. |
| Weeks 5 to 6 | Internal review | Legal, comms, and leadership sign off. Build in time for revisions. |
| Weeks 7 to 8 | Final polish | Ensure your narrative is backed by evidence. Tighten every paragraph. |
| Sept 30, 2026 | Applications close | Submit before the final week. Last minute entries are rarely the strongest. |
Who is Judging Your Entry?
The credibility of the UC Awards rests entirely on our judging panel. Our panel will be heavily weighted toward enterprise buyers, senior practitioners, and industry analysts with a distinct point of view. These are the people who actually sign the checks, advise on deployments, and live with the outcomes.
When you submit your entry, it will be evaluated with absolute neutrality. Our judges conduct independent, blind scoring and must declare any commercial conflicts of interest. They are trained to evaluate the core capabilities of your solution and score based purely on the evidence provided.
About the UC Awards 2026
The UC Awards represent the definitive benchmark for excellence in workplace technology. The programme is designed to recognize the platforms, devices, and enterprise leaders that are genuinely shaping the future of work.
This year, the programme features 25 distinct categories. Whether you are a vendor building the technology or an enterprise successfully deploying it, there is a dedicated track for your work.
You can view the complete list of all 25 categories here: https://awards.uctoday.com/categories
Start your entry today. Not next month. Today.
A Note to PR and Comms Teams
Your expertise is crucial here. The evidence exists inside your client’s business. Your role is to find it, extract it, and frame it into a compelling, data-backed narrative that goes beyond standard marketing materials.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, and many of the strongest organizations do. Each entry should be tailored to the specific category with unique explanations.
Yes. Entries are visible only to the judging panel and the UC Awards team. Customer references, NDA bound material and commercial figures stay behind the panel. We will only ever publish what you have explicitly cleared for the shortlist and ceremony.
Entries close at 23:59 BST on September 30, 2026. No extensions, no exceptions. Have your evidence and outcomes lined up well in advance. Can I enter the same product in multiple categories?
Are entries confidential?
When is the deadline for applications?
