Microsoft, RingCentral, Cisco, Zoom and 8×8 are leaders on the latest Gartner Magic Quadrant for unified communications as a service (UCaaS).

Google, GoTo by LogMeIn and Mitel are ranked challengers, while Vonage, Dialpad, Sangoma, Windstream and Wildix are niche players. Gartner lists Fuze as a visionary.

This Gartner Magic Quadrant assists digital workplace application leaders in selecting providers that best align to their organization’s needs.

UCaaS has matured to the point where it is markedly superior to premises-based UC in collaboration and mobility services, according to Gartner. The procurement, operational and delivery models for UCaaS typically require less time and effort compared to premises-based UC.

Gartner defines UCaaS as a cloud-delivered service that provides many of the same functions as premises-based UC solutions.

The core capabilities of UCaaS offerings include those in the following areas: telephony, meetings, messaging, software apps, communication APIs and SDKs, and adjacent services.

By 2023, the number of remote workers will have doubled to over two-thirds of digital workers, according to Gartner. That is shifting buyer requirements to demand work-from-anywhere capabilities.

In addition, by 2024, 75% of enterprise users will not use a desk phone, up from 30% in 2020.

Wildix was added to this latest Gartner Magic Quadrant, while Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise (ALE) was dropped.

Scroll through our slideshow above to lean more about the providers on this Gartner Magic Quadrant.