Top Vendor UCaaS Platforms 2021

Demand for UCaaS is growing.  

According to recent studies from Metrigy, UCaaS is now the most widely adopted communications infrastructure. Soon, a huge portion of the world will be powered by conversations over the cloud.  

UCaaS platforms offer incredible benefits to businesses of all sizes, from improved internal collaboration opportunities, to increased employee productivity and flexibility. UCaaS also allows for a better overview of the communications roadmap by combining multiple channels into a single interface. With this technology companies can create truly aligned systems for communications. 

Of course, getting the best results from UCaaS also means working with the right platform provider. Here are our top UCaaS vendor picks for 2021.  

RingCentral 

A growing cloud-based UCaaS provider offering both innovation and excellent reliability, RingCentral has been a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for several years. We even named RingCentral our best Unified Communications platform of the year in 2020.  

Offering flexible functionality for businesses of all sizes, RingCentral provides everything from cloud-based telephone conversations to video and audio conferencing, instant messaging, SMS texting, third-party integrations, and even internal collaboration. Features of RingCentral Office, (the company’s UCaaS platform) include: 

• Voicemail to email and text 
• Unlimited users and calls in US/Canada 
• Up to 10,000 toll-free minutes per month 
• Collaboration tools and video conferencing 
• Team messaging and document sharing 
• Automatic call recording 
• Integrations with tools like Microsoft 365 and G Suite 
• Integrations with leading CRM tools 
• Real-time analytics 

RingCentral promises a convenient and customisable all-in-one environment where companies can build strong communications strategies around the world.  

Mitel  

Mitel offers UCaaS in the form of Mitel MiCloud Connect. This innovative all-in-one communications centre provides today’s businesses with the tools they need to communicate and collaborate seamlessly. Aside from a fantastic, hosted PBX phone service, Mitel offers everything from instant chat, to web conferencing, audio conversations, SMS messaging and video meetings.  

Mitel has a range of cloud-based phone systems to choose from, with branded endpoints available for your on-premises strategies. You can even design a custom UCaaS environment from scratch. Some of the leading features of Mitel’s UCaaS service include: 

• MiCollab for collaboration over the cloud 
• Wide range of telephony hardware options 
• On-premises, public cloud, or virtual deployment 
• Video conferencing and screen sharing 
• Integrations with everything from Outlook to Salesforce 
• Call recording and call routing 
• AWS services architecture 
• Enhanced solutions for contact centre 
• Built-in VPN 
• Call parking, transferring and forwarding 
• SIP trunking functionality 

Despite an impressive range of features to explore, Mitel makes managing your UCaaS experience as straightforward as possible. You can adapt your technology to suit you, and even take a mobile-first approach to communication too. Mitel is particularly valuable for smaller companies who want to keep their UCaaS systems simple.  

8×8 

Rapidly emerging as one of the most popular cloud-based communication solutions on the market, 8×8 is an innovator in its field. The UCaaS solution from 8×8 ensures that companies have all the components they need in a single platform, from video conferencing and SMS, to voice and chat technology. A multi-time leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant, 8×8 has gained the respect of customers worldwide for its sensational cloud system.  

8×8 supports unlimited global calling and SMS, and it’s well suited to companies who have specific compliance requirements, thanks to a HIPAA compliant approach to conversations. There are even various advanced routing and monitoring tools available. Some of the leading features included in 8×8 UCaaS are: 

• Integrations with Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, G-Suite, and others 
• Extensive and reliable VoIP phone service 
• Audio and video conferencing functionality 
• IVR customer self-service 
• Multi-level auto-attendant functionality 
• Messaging over SMS, voicemail, email, and instant apps 
• Collaboration features and employee presence 
• Native CRM functionality 
• Remote desktop control 
• Support for compliance requirements 

8×8 makes it easy to consolidate all your business communications into a single environment, reducing ongoing expenses in the workplace, and allowing for stronger insights. You get built-in redundancy to protect against downtime, and you can access a wide range of solutions for omni-channel communications too.  

Vonage

Vonage has everything you need for effective business communications. With more than 50 voice and UC features to explore, including Vonage Meetings, productivity tools like the Vonage App Centre, and an omni-channel approach, Vonage has it all. For companies in search of an easy way to update their communications strategy, Vonage provides a simple and scalable environment that can scale according to your needs. There’s even plenty of integration with existing tools.  

Vonage comes with a host of amazing features that can enhance your business, from messaging and chat to business telephony, social media access, and mobile applications. Features include: 

• Follow me and call forward 
• Mobile and desktop access 
• Voicemail to email functionality 
• Integrations with Salesforce, G-Suite, Microsoft 365 and more 
• Call monitoring 
• Automated SMS messaging 
• Vonage Meetings 
• Virtual receptionists 
• Spam shielding 
• Dynamic caller ID 
• Smart phone numbers 
• Local or geographic phone numbers 

Vonage’s wide range of UCaaS features makes it an excellent choice for all kinds of companies. If you want a highly flexible communications tool that can grow with your organisation, then Vonage has you covered. Plus, integrations make it easy to build the ultimate experience with apps you already use.  

Microsoft Teams

Now a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for UCaaS, Teams is so much more than a collaboration tool. Companies can use Teams to create immersive connections between employees with video and audio conferencing, file sharing, and access to all the Microsoft 365 productivity applications. Microsoft Teams also has its own business calling plans, and integrations with direct routing providers so you can bring your own PBX to the table.  

Microsoft Teams’ flexible approach to UCaaS ensures that you can build the full UCaaS system that’s right for you, and even design contact centre environments within your Teams service. Features include: 

• A massive selection of integration options 
• Direct routing to keep your carrier, or Microsoft phone plans 
• Messaging and file sharing 
• Video and audio conferencing 
• Access to all Microsoft productivity tools 
• Recording and compliance features 
• Excellent high-level security solutions 
• Powerful monitoring and reporting capabilities 
• Scalability to suit your business 
• Support for contact centre features 
• Extensive hardware integrations 

If you’re building a cloud-based solution for a remote and dispersed team, Microsoft Teams will allow you to create the ultimate communications and collaboration environment. Set in a space that your employees are already familiar with, Microsoft Teams can help to drive adoption for businesses of all sizes.  

Fuze

Fuze, a visionary in the 2020 Magic Quadrant by Gartner, is one of the companies leading the way to a brighter future in UCaaS. Fuze aims to ensure that communications don’t have to be complicated and expensive to be effective. You can power every discussion in the same environment with world-class phone audio, meetings, and even solutions for the contact centre. Fuze can build a completely turnkey solution unique to your brand.  

With a reliable and secure environment, Fuze ensures that businesses can grow at the pace that suits them, with global and regional coverage offered at the perfect rate. Fuze also boosts user adoption with an intuitive experience at all levels. You can even build a full mobility strategy with Fuze, supporting SMS interactions. Features include: 

• Voice and TDM support 
• Unified messaging and SMS 
• Comprehensive custom solutions 
• Video integrations 
• Call reporting and analytics 
• Cloud-based UC Voice 
• Collaboration, and social media access 
• Excellent analytics and call reporting 
• Real-time synching on a range of devices 
• Adjustable user interface 

To deliver incredible user experiences, Fuze ensures that everyone gets a consistent experience, no matter what kind of device they’re using. Fuze offers impressive solutions for companies in search of a reliable platform and an excellent tool for customer experience.  

Cisco 

Cisco is a leading name in the world of UCaaS, and not just for the BroadSoft solutions it can offer. Cisco has been building an increasingly powerful environment for cloud-based communications and collaboration through the Webex portfolio. The Gartner Magic Quadrant recognises Cisco as a leader in UCaaS for its market-leading solutions both on-premises, and in the cloud. You can even create your own custom hybrid build.  

UCaaS from Cisco includes everything from Webex Edge calling, to Cisco Webex Teams, where you can keep people connected through all kinds of collaboration features. The functionality you’ll find with Cisco UCaaS includes: 

• Comprehensive deployment options 
• Unified communications manager 
• Support for mobility and omni-channel 
• Cisco Webex Teams collaboration 
• Cisco Webex Edge and cloud calling 
• Cognitive collaboration 
• Immersive unified communication apps 
• Extensive range of calling features 
• Global presence 
• Integrations with leading tools 

Cisco remains one of the biggest names in UCaaS today, and it continues to impress customers worldwide with its innovative approach to constant growth and development. Cisco is even creating more intelligent collaboration experiences with Webex too. 

Zoom 

Zoom might have started life as a video conferencing solution, but it’s since evolved to become so much more. While you can enjoy simple and effective video meetings through the Zoom platform, you can also unlock UCaaS with Zoom Phone for calling, and even send messages to team members through Zoom Chat. Zoom recently made more than 200 enhancements to the phone portfolio.  

Ranging from a simple Zoom app where you can access all the features you need to connect with teams, to call transferring and management functionality; Zoom is a comprehensive platform. Features include: 

• Access to mobile and desktop apps 
• Call transfer and routing capability 
• Call forwarding and voicemail 
• Integration with things like Salesforce, Microsoft, and Slack 
• Call delegation and hold 
• Extensive call conferencing 
• Elevate to meeting functionality 
• Monitoring for supervisors 
• In-depth analytics and reporting 
• Shared lines and takeover 
• Fantastic video collaboration tools 

Zoom Phone is just one component of the extensive Zoom environment, which offers companies an easy way to access all the functionality they need for modern UCaaS. If you love the idea of a video-first future for your team, Zoom could be the platform for you. 

So, which vendor will you be choosing?