Niche Player: Windstream
Network service provider and Magic Quadrant newcomer Windstream offers OfficeSuite UC, which the company acquired from Broadview Networks in 2017.
OfficeSuite UCaaS includes telephony, IM, presence and mobility features. Audio conferencing, videoconferencing and web conferencing are provided by OfficeSuite HD, which is based on a partnership with Zoom. Windstream recently introduced more-flexible tiered seat licensing, as well as OfficeSuite HD Meeting Room Connector, which supports existing room systems from Poly, Cisco and Lifesize. The Little Rock, Ark.-based company has bolstered OfficeSuite UC with more thrd-party integrations with Slack, Microsoft Teams and Amazon Alexa. OfficeSuite UC is often bought with Windstream’s own contact center solution and network services.
Strengths: Windstream bundles network access, SD-WAN and call center capabilities with OfficeSuite UC and offers one of the strongest SLAs for OfficeSuite in the UCaaS market.
Weaknesses: The company has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which is making it difficult not only to fund UCaaS R&D but to also attract channel partners and win new customer accounts.
