The official UC Awards 2026 categories are now live.
These 25 carefully crafted categories reflect how enterprise leaders actively evaluate and procure workplace technology, moving beyond siloed communications into interconnected ecosystems defined by Platform, People, and Possibility.
Rob Scott, Executive Chair of Judges, UC Awards 2026, shared:
“The market has outgrown traditional UC. We redesigned the 2026 categories to reflect exactly what enterprise organizations are buying, building, and benchmarking today. If you’re driving that change, this is where you prove it.”
The standard for 2026 is execution and measurable impact. Visit our official UC Awards website to explore the categories in more detail and to start preparing your application. Here’s a shortened list of what to expect:
Core UC Categories
The bedrock of every productive organization. UC, collaboration platforms, devices, and AV technology remain central to how teams connect, communicate, and deliver.
- Best UC Platform: The ultimate crown for the unified communications platform that sets the pace for the entire industry.
- Best Integrated UC Solution: Celebrating the flawless convergence of UC and contact center technology into one powerhouse solution.
- Best Microsoft Teams Solution: For the standout innovation that takes the Microsoft Teams ecosystem to an entirely new level.
- Best AI-Powered Collaboration Experience: Recognizing the collaboration tool where AI isn’t just a feature – it’s the driving force behind better teamwork.
- Best Device & Hardware Innovation: Honoring the physical hardware that is actively redefining what is possible in the hybrid workplace.
- Best Meeting Room Experience Solution: For the technology that finally shatters the barrier between in-room and remote participants.
- Best AV Platform, Management & Analytics: Celebrating the intelligent platforms that bring seamless control and crystal-clear analytics to global AV estates.
- Best AV Integration & Deployment Project: Recognizing the teams that turned complex AV blueprints into flawless, real-world workplace experiences.
EX Awards
Employee experience is no longer a nice-to-have. The dedicated EX layer recognizes platforms helping organizations attract, engage, and retain the talent that powers modern work.
- Best Employee Engagement Platform: For the platform that sparks genuine connection, drives recognition, and builds a culture employees want to stay in.
- Best Talent / HCM Platform: Celebrating the HCM technology that empowers organizations to attract, develop, and retain the industry’s best talent.
- Best Workplace Management Platform: For the intelligent platform that transforms the hybrid office into a smarter, more efficient, and highly optimized space.
Transformation
Productivity is being reinvented. From AI-powered workflows to service management platforms, these solutions are indispensable to every high-performing organization.
- Best AI-Powered Productivity Solution: Recognizing the AI solution that has moved past the hype to genuinely reshape the modern working day.
- Best Workflow / Automation Innovation: For the brilliant automation that strips away operational friction and lets teams focus on what actually matters.
- Best Service Management Platform: Celebrating the platform that has completely modernized internal service delivery and the employee support experience.
- Best Connectivity / Infrastructure Solution: The foundation of enterprise communications. Whether it is SIP connectivity, BYOC, or complex migration and number management, we want the uptime numbers and the human story behind your deployment.
Trust
In a world of hybrid work, distributed teams, and rising regulatory pressure, security and compliance technology is a strategic capability – not a back-office concern.
- Best Secure Communications Solution: Honoring the zero-trust platforms that lock down enterprise communications without ever slowing the user down.
- Best Compliance & Governance Innovation: For the intelligence-driven technology that turns complex regulatory compliance into a distinct competitive advantage.
Future
Some technologies aren’t just improving the present, they’re defining the future. Immersive environments and extended reality are no longer science fiction – they’re enterprise-ready.
- Best Immersive Workplace Solution: Celebrating the visionary technology that successfully dissolves the line between physical and digital work.
- XR Innovation of the Year: For the most ground-breaking, enterprise-ready application of extended reality in the modern workplace.
People & Momentum
Three special awards recognizing market momentum, exceptional leadership, and the rising talent defining the next era of workplace technology – decided beyond the standard category boundaries. Open to all innovators – both technology vendors and in-house enterprise leaders.
- Market Momentum Award: A fiercely contested, data-led award recognizing the vendor with the most undeniable commercial momentum this year.
- Leader of the Year: Honoring the visionary individual whose courage and leadership has fundamentally shaped the direction of workplace technology.
- Rising Star in Workplace Technology: For the emerging talent or disruptive vendor that has already made the industry stop and pay attention.
Enterprise Impact
A brand-new track for 2026. While the rest of the program celebrates the vendors and solutions driving change, these awards are for those with the courage and capability to transform how their people work. Designed exclusively for end-user organizations and in-house EX teams.
- Workplace Transformation Award: The flagship award for the enterprise organizations that boldly reimagined exactly how their work gets done.
- AI Productivity & Innovation Award: Celebrating the enterprises that successfully turned AI potential into highly measurable, real-world results in their workplace.
- Hybrid Workplace Experience Award: For the organizations that have built an exceptional, frictionless hybrid environment where their teams truly thrive.
How to Choose the Right Category
- Prioritize Accuracy Over Prestige: Don’t just default to the most recognizable category. The strongest submissions align specific customer outcomes with the exact criteria of their chosen award.
- Vendors vs. Enterprises: If you build and sell the technology, look to the Core UC, EX, Transformation, Trust, and Future layers. If you are an end-user organization that successfully deployed technology to transform your own workplace, head straight to the Enterprise Impact track. The People & Momentum theme is shared.
- Follow the Evidence: Choose the category where you have the strongest hard data. The judges score on measurable business impact and execution, not just theoretical capabilities or roadmaps.
Key Dates & Next Steps
- July 28: Applications open
- September 30: Applications close
- November 5: Winners Announced
If you are unsure which of the UC Awards 2026 categories best fits your technology, contact the UC Awards team before July 28. Review the full criteria, align your evidence, and prepare your entry at:
Frequently Asked Questions
The 2026 programme is structured around three defining themes: Platform, People, and Possibility. These reflect how IT leaders actively evaluate interconnected workplace technology ecosystems.
Applications officially open on Tuesday, July 28, 2026. Entrants are encouraged to review the category guide early to prepare their evidence.
Yes, organizations can enter multiple categories, provided their workplace technology and evidence directly align with the specific criteria of each chosen award.
Judges score submissions based on execution, measurable business impact, and evidence of improved employee experience rather than just theoretical capabilities.
Yes, the 2026 programme introduces dedicated Employee Experience (EX) and Enterprise Impact categories to recognize organizations transforming how their people work. What Are The Core Themes For The UC Awards 2026 Categories?
When Do Applications Open For The UC Awards 2026?
Can An Organization Enter Multiple UC Awards Categories?
What Criteria Do The Judges Use To Score UC Awards Entries?
Are There New Categories In The UC Awards 2026 Programme?
