Recently, Gartner named Cisco a leader in its 2016 Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications. For this report, Gartner measured both the ability to execute and completeness of vision for unified communications amongst ten top technology vendors in the communications space, amongst which, Cisco was named the top performer in both categories.

According to the report, Cisco received the highest scores across all the use cases Gartner defines as critical for unified communications, including full UC with strong telephony, full UC with strong collaboration, full UC for midsize organizations and ability to offer hybrid solutions.

So, how does this recognition relate to education?

Just as collaboration and unified communications are imperative for the enterprise space, they are also crucial in education. Both K-12 schools and higher education institutions are realizing the value of increased communicative effectiveness amongst staff and administrators, as well as the value of collaboration tools to create new pedagogies and improved student outcomes.

Ranking highest in full UC with strong telephony and collaboration means that Cisco is well-positioned to provide the best unified communications to students and teachers at schools and universities around the world.

That means that administrators, teachers and professors can stay in constant communication with video and telephony services that are simple to use and high-quality. They can use collaboration tools like Spark and WebEx to meet virtually, communicate seamlessly and continuously innovate.

Our Unified Communications platforms also allow students to learn in new and more effective ways. They can attend classes virtually using WebEx. They can meet with and learn from experts around the world through TelePresence. They can even communicate with teachers and peers out of the classroom using Spark.

The possibilities and benefits are truly endless for unified communications in education, and Gartner's recent recognition further solidifies Cisco's role in the UC market while driving our mission to create the best user experience for learners and educators worldwide.

Want to know more? Check out this blog post by Thomas McCafferty to learn about the process of participating in Gartner's analysis, the collaboration team's post to see some of the recent developments that contributed to this prestigious recognition, and the Cisco education website to learn more about our UC use cases.

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Read the full Gartner Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications 2016 report.

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This graphic was published by Gartner, Inc. as part of a larger research document and should be evaluated in the context of the entire document. The Gartner document is available upon request from Cisco. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a part.