ABI Research Ranks Avaya at the Top of its Vendor Matrix

ABI Research has ranked unified communications solutions provider Avaya at the top of its latest Unified Communications Vendor Matrix.

IBM and Siemens (News - Alert) Enterprise networks ranked second and third, respectively.

Similar to Gartner’s Magic Quadrant vendor ranking system, ABI Research’s Vendor Matrix is an analytical tool designed to give organizations an understanding of vendors’ positions in specific markets. Vendors are assessed on “innovation” and “implementation” across several criteria unique to each vendor matrix – each of which is plotted on a graph.

“There has been real progress on the part of a number of vendors when it comes to offering compelling unified communications products,” said ABI Research vice president and practice director Stan Schatt, in a release. “Avaya (News - Alert) scored very high for its development of an ecosystem that includes key technology partners and a well-trained channel. Its detailed UC roadmap is encouraging because it suggests a continuing effort in this area.”

Schatt added that “IBM (News - Alert) and Siemens are examples of a new trend towards software-centric products that offer open architectures with support for virtually all major competitors’ products.”

For the unified communications matrix, under "innovation," the research firm looked at the breadth and depth of the UC channel reached by each vendor; the characteristics of the UC mobility on offer; each vendor’s technology partners; the cost of their products; the range and nature of the UC professional services offered; and the range of the vendor’s UC product portfolio.

Under "implementation," ABI Research (News - Alert) scrutinized the solutions’ security features and their ratings. It also looked at the UC architectures offered by each vendor, along with their scalability and degree of interoperability. The firm also evaluated each vendor’s UC video and telepresence, UC messaging and UC IP telephony capabilities.

To view a chart showing the rankings of the top ten firms in this Vendor Matrix, click here.

Last month TMCnet reported that Avaya had named Black Box (News - Alert) a Silver Certified Partner, meaning Black Box is now officially certified to resell, install and integrate Avaya solutions.