New York, NY (November 17, 2020) — IMCCA announced the recipients of the 2020 UC
Industry Impact Awards honoring organizations deserving of recognition for their
contributions and outstanding support during the pandemic. The names, as selected by
a panel of five independent industry expert judges, were unveiled during the live IMCCA
Collaboration Thanksgiving Webcast on November 17, 2020.
“The UC Industry Impact Award honorees pushed the boundaries of UC technology and
in so doing profoundly improved the user experience during a monumental shift in
organizational structures and processes resulting from the pandemic,” said Carol Zelkin,
Executive Director, IMCCA. “We congratulate all the outstanding nominees and these
award recipients, and look forward to their continued contributions which benefit both
the general public and the industry.”
Nominees for the Industry Impact Awards (all of which can be seen at Collaboration Week
were selected by IMCCA Executive Board and Board Members. Then, a completely independent judging panel selected three nominees from each of the categories (Collaboration Platforms; Hardware & Peripherals; Integrators & Service Providers; and Distributors &
Miscellaneous Organizations.)
The independent judges were:
Irwin Lazar of Nemertes Research
Blair Pleasant of Commfusion
Dan Ferrisi of Sound & Communications
Roopam Jain of Frost & Sullivan
Tim Banting of Omdia.
2020 UC Industry Impact Award Winners and Judges’ Criteria
Collaboration Platforms – LogMeIn / GoToMeeting – The team at GoToSuite / LogMeIn provided free Emergency Remote Work Kits for Health Care Providers, Educational
Institutions, Municipalities and Non-Profit Organizations when the pandemic struck,
enabling critical work to continue remotely.
Collaboration Platforms – Microsoft Teams – Microsoft not only provided their great
Microsoft Teams platform which seamlessly absorbed the surge in Work From Home
employees, in addition, they launched a global skills initiative to help people hardest hit
by the pandemic by making tools and resources available to learn digital skills.
Collaboration Platforms – Zoom – Deservedly, Zooms led all Industry Impact Nominees
with ten nominations. No other UC firm rose to the challenge of COVID19 as
overwhelmingly as Zoom, becoming a global verb synonymous with video for Business,
HealthCare, Education, and Religious and Social events, and in many cases was
provided at no cost for the good of the greater community.
Hardware & Peripherals – Crestron – When the pandemic struck, Crestron designed,
built and shipped an entirely new system to enable collaboration in non-traditional
spaces, turning field hospitals, manufacturing floors, and large classrooms into Teams
and Zoom rooms overnight.
Hardware & Peripherals – Logitech – Logitech enabled millions of people around the
world with their powerful tools, helping them feel part of their work, connected to their
loved ones, as normal as possible during the pandemic, and created a program to
specifically help educators.
Hardware & Peripherals – Poly – Whether in the school, enterprise or living room, using
Poly’s devices during COVID19 gave people a professional meeting experience without
hassle. Their powerful, agnostic AI systems inside a catalog that has the unique breadth
to cover all UC needs let users choose the best experience anywhere and at any time.
For just one example, their Studio USB’s new rapid automatic tracking mode freed
teachers to again walk around a classroom when presenting to remote students.
Integrators & Service Providers – AVI-SPL – AVI-SPL pivoted quickly to provide newly
assigned home workers with technology starter kits and dedicated courses on ‘working
remotely’ for first timers. The speed and quality of their solution demonstrated an
enormous commitment to customer service.
Integrators & Service Providers – Poly – When Covid19 struck, Poly’s Global Services
team offered free consulting with UC experts to guide businesses, organizations and
individuals on the best technology to enable remote working, network readiness and
workspace design, empowering everyone to quickly adapt to the new normal. (Poly was
the only double award winner – nominated in three categories and winning in two.)
Integrators & Service Providers – Yorktel – Yorktel responded to the pandemic’s surge
in demand by developing and building hundreds of Rapid Response Carts in a matter of
weeks – just one of the steps their Pandemic Response Team took to support
thousands of global customers.
Distributors & Miscellaneous Organizations – AtlasIED – Atlas IED provided tens of
thousands of medical grade protective Face Shields to first responders and those on the
front lines, helping ease the crunch for PPE during the pandemic. They manufactured
and shipped Face Shields to almost all fifty US states at no cost.
Distributors & Miscellaneous Organizations – Legrand AV – Legrand converted one of
their Indiana production lines during the height of the pandemic to making 1000 masks
a day.
Distributors & Miscellaneous Organizations – IMCCA – The IMCCA went above and
beyond in its outreach to the UC community during the pandemic. Despite many live
events cancelled due to Covid19, The IMCCA conducted on-line education, webinars,
social gatherings and more beginning in March 2020 – a full month before any other
organizations or companies managed to adapt to the needed content.
The pandemic has mobilized these and many other UC providers to deliver solutions
that will help ensure the continuity and growth of UC technology usage, resulting from
the work from home phenomenon coupled with the need to find alternatives for in-
person interactions. Ms. Zelkin adds that the UC Industry Impact Awards have been a
great opportunity to honor and thank those individuals and organizations who have
supported and given visibility to the UC industry’s role in this accomplishment.
“We are fortunate to have such dedicated and innovative players in this industry and we
truly appreciate their contributions,” she said. “From individuals such as our own David
Danto, IMCCA’s Director of Emerging Technology – who worked tirelessly to drive
outreach as the pandemic began – to organizations such as Zoom whose name has
become synonymous with UC technology, our industry is to be commended for the
responsible leadership it has shown in helping organizations keep working through this
unprecedented situation, and prepare our world for the Hybrid Working future that’s
upon us.”
For more information about the IMCCA, visit www.imcca.org or contact Carol
Zelkin, Executive Director at 516-818-8184 or email at [email protected].
About IMCCA
IMCCA is a not-for-profit user application and industry focused association with membership
comprised of service and product providers, consultants, and users. Members benefit from the understanding and the use of various interactive and collaborative communications technologies in their professional and everyday lives.
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