Lync Earns Recognition

Analysts play a key role in the tech industry. They look at how products are actually being used in the real world and advise their IT clients. Perhaps one of the most respected firms in the enterprise IT market is Gartner, with a dedicated team of analysts who closely watch the UC market.

Every year, Gartner publishes a series of annual reports sizing up the major players in the UC market, and the competition is tough. I’m proud to say I believe Lync has done exceptionally well in these reports and I want to take a moment to share the results:

In early July, Gartner published the MarketScope for Enterprise Instant Messaging and Presence in which Microsoft was rated Strong Positive based on evaluation of Lync. This report looks at IM/Presence vendors and evaluates their solution based on a number of factors including: federation, management and security, advanced features like video/voice, and market share. 

  • In mid-August, Gartner published the Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications , which is considered one of the few definitive assessments of the UC market, and Microsoft placed in the Leaders quadrant. 

  • In mid-September, Gartner published the Corporate Telephony Magic Quadrant where we landed in the Visionaries quadrant. Gartner notes in this report, “companies are increasingly focusing their strategies and acquisition decisions around unified communications and collaboration (UCC) technology; it is supplanting the historic domain of corporate telephony.”[i] Lync telephony has only been in market since last December, and we’re confident our UC platform will continue to gain against legacy vendors who have been in the PBX market for decades.

These reports, while a great recognition, represent a moment in time and Lync has continued to improve since these published. You probably saw the Lync for Mac RTM announcement a few weeks ago, and we have an exciting fall ahead of us with more Lync updates you’ve been waiting for. Stay tuned to see what’s next.

Cheers,

BJ Haberkorn


[1] The MarketScope is copyrighted 2011 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission. The MarketScope is an evaluation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner's analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the MarketScope, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest rating. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. This MarketScope graphic was published by Gartner, Inc. as part of a larger research note and should be evaluated in the context of the entire report. The Gartner report is available upon request from Microsoft.

 

[1] This MarketScope graphic was published by Gartner, Inc. as part of a larger research note and should be evaluated in the context of the entire report. The Gartner report is available upon request from Microsoft."

 

[1] “Gartner Magic Quadrant for Corporate Telephony” Gartner Research, September 15, 2011.

 

[1] "This Magic Quadrant graphic was published by Gartner, Inc. as part of a larger research note and should be evaluated in the context of the entire report. The Gartner report is available upon request from Microsoft."

 

The Magic Quadrants are copyrighted 2011 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission. The Magic Quadrant is a graphical representation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner's analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the Magic Quadrant, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors placed in the "Leaders" quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is intended solely as a research tool, and is not meant to be a specific guide to action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.