IHS Markit, a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions released excerpts from its 2017 UC as a Service (UCaaS) Scorecard: North America, which identifies the UCaaS providers currently leading the UCaaS market and those best positioned to succeed long term. The ratings are based on criteria such as installed base of seats, financial stability, market strategy, service capabilities and support options.
The UCaaS market in North America is marked by a large and dynamic provider landscape. Mergers and acquisitions continue as providers look to gain scale, new capabilities, and long-term survivability.
The top 10 providers have been consistent over the past few years with some shifting in the rankings in this year’s report compared to the 2016 publication. For 2017, the top 10 North America UCaaS leaders are 8×8, RingCentral, Verizon, Vonage, West, Comcast, Star2Star, Mitel, Nextiva, and Jive.
“For the first time in nine years of publishing this report we have a dead-lock with two companies at the top – 8×8 and RingCentral,” said Diane Myers, senior research director at IHS Markit. “8×8 continues its leadership for the fourth year due to its installed base of UCaaS seats, financial position, and continued execution on its market strategy. RingCentral, holder of the largest UCaaS installed base, has continued innovating on the product front and made important strides with financial stability.
Verizon and Vonage follow 8×8 and RingCentral in the rankings, with Verizon gaining considerable ground in this year’s Scorecard.
“Verizon made a significant leap with the introduction of its mobile-first UCaaS offering, Myers said. “There is nothing else in the US market like the mobile UCaaS service One Talk, which is fully deployed through the mobile network of a provider and brings together natively one number across multiple devices.”
Notable, privately held UCaaS provider Jive made its first showing on the Scorecard, making the top 10 thanks to its installed base of seats.
Landing just outside the top 10 were Fuze, Broadview Networks, NetFortris, ShoreTel, Cox, CoreDial and Windstream.