6 Notable Vendors in UC 2018

Let's look at some of the vendors innovating in 2018

5
UC Vendors 2018
Unified Communications

Published: December 12, 2018

Rebekah Carter - Writer

Rebekah Carter

Unified Communications is a huge market, and it’s getting bigger.

As the realms of communication and technology continue to merge and transform, the way we connect with each other is changing. We rely more on tools that are agile, flexible, and scalable – like those delivered on the cloud.

UC vendors are the companies leading the way to the communication experience of tomorrow. From Dialpad with their innovative VoIP telephony system to Pindrop, with their state-of-the-art security and fraud prevention strategy, each UC contender has their own unique benefits to offer.

Let’s take a look at some of the biggest companies making ripples in 2018.

1.     Dialpad

Dialpad is a cloud-based telephony vendor providing voice, video, and instant messaging on a single platform. They’re also number 99 on the Forbes Cloud 100 list.

Dialpad’s value proposition focuses on delivering simplicity and accessibility to the UC marketplace. The cohesive communication platform Dialpad offers features an intuitive interface that works with a company’s existing devices, and a fully-adaptable phone system.

This year, Dialpad raised $50 million in Series D funding to help accelerate their journey towards new and innovative products in the areas of real-time AI and cloud communication. Other big announcements from Dialpad this year include:

  • The release of UberConference, a simple and effective collaboration service that makes meetings simpler for companies of any siz
  • The acquisition of TalkIQ. With TalkIQ, Dialpad has been able to accelerate their discoveries in the world of natural language processing and real-time speech recognition. Dialpad customers can now make smarter calls with the help of VoiceAI
  • The delivery of Dialpad Everywhere. The Dialpad Everywhere mini application floats over the top of tools that employees use every day, contributing to a more streamlined and productive workflow

2.     Fuze

Fuze is an industry leader in cloud communications and number 65 on the Forbes Cloud 100 list. Launched in 2006 as “ThinkingPhones,” Fuze has earned a reputation for delivering innovative and flexible cloud solutions to companies across the globe. Recently, the brand announced a new financing round worth $150 million, intended to help them accelerate their R&D projects.

As well as achieving recognition on the Forbes Cloud 100, Fuze has also been named a Leader in cloud communication platforms for the second year running with Aragon Research Globe. The company’s devotion to a state-of-the-art but easy-to-use platform makes them a huge contender in the UC space.

The Fuze Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) solution supports everything from business voice, to instant messaging and video conferencing. What’s more, Fuze recently teamed up with leading independent provider for enterprise identity management, Okta, to improve the security of their UC platform. Fuze has also

  • Empowered the digital workforce with the launch of Fuze 5.0 – the latest development in their UC platform
  • Partnered with AppNeta to offer real-time network monitoring to the modern enterprise
  • Conducted global studies into the most critical steps businesses need to take to improve employee productivity

3.     NewVoiceMedia

NewVoiceMedia, number 77 on the Forbes Cloud 100, is a cloud service brand based in England (Basingstoke). Offering state-of-the-art customer contact technology, NewVoiceMedia caught the eye of industry-leading communications company “Vonage” this year. Now, Vonage has revealed that they plan to purchase the CCaaS leader for $350 million. The acquisition will combine NewVoiceMedia’s pure-play cloud contact centre with Vonage’s CPaaS and UCaaS solutions for a more end-to-end communication experience.

It’s the third year in a row that NewVoiceMedia has appeared on the Forbes Cloud 100, and that’s not the only accolade they’ve achieved this year. The brand also won the 2018 Product of the Year Award presented by TMC! Other big stories for NewVoiceMedia this year include:

4.     Pindrop

UC vendors don’t need to focus exclusively on methods of communication to be valuable. One of the most compelling UC businesses on the market today is a company that specialises in securing the conversations we have with clients and co-workers. Pindrop is an American information security company that provides intuitive risk scoring solutions that detect fraud and authenticate enterprise callers.

Pindrop believes that the use of voice technology in business will only continue to grow over the next 12 months, with 85% of businesses surveyed expecting to use advanced virtual assistant solutions like Amazon Alexa, or Microsoft Cortana. Pindrop believes in making voice more secure, no matter how risks might present themselves in your company. This year, Pindrop has:

  • Introduced a new solution for risk-based authentication in the form of Pindrop Express. The Pindrop Express service validates customer numbers before a call ever arrives at the call centre
  • Delivered a second-generation version of their already highly-popular “phone printing” technology. Pindrop Protect 4.0 helps to fight back against the threat of toll fraud
  • Helped companies like Aeriandi to add new security to their voice platform through the Pindrop Protect service

5.     Slack

Slack is probably one of the best-known UC and cloud-based collaboration vendors on the market today. Slack is also an impressive number 2 on the Forbes Cloud 100 list. Founded by Stewart Butterfield, Slack was designed to make the modern workforce more productive. The name stands for “Searchable Log of All Conversation and Knowledge.” Not many people know that.

This year, Slack has seen some major changes, including a new partnership with communication company Atlassian. Slack and Atlassian decided to fuse their cloud offerings this year, doing away with previous Atlassian products like Stride and Hipchat. This year Slack has:

  • Achieved a brand-new round of funding ($841 million) this year, to help them accomplish even more incredible things in the collaboration space, and compete with contenders like Microsoft Teams
  • Tempted even more users onto the platform. Slack now claims to have 8 million daily active users collaborating with the app each day. 3 million of that number are paid, subscribers
  • Developed it’s AI and bot strategy to help companies create their own intelligent communication and collaboration experiences

6.     Zoom

Finally, Zoom is a unified communications company that focuses heavily on video conferencing, online chat, and mobile collaboration. Zoom is number 3 on the Forbes Cloud 100 list, and this year it’s seen so much growth that the company even began to open new offices in the UK.

Zoom is a pioneer in video communications, giving employees, shareholders, and customers a way to communicate with a simple, and easy-to-use platform. This year, Zoom also cemented their place as a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications, thanks to their Zoom Meetings solution. Throughout 2018, Zoom has:

What do you think of our notable vendors for 2018? Let us know in the comments below!

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