Having spent most of my career in product marketing, and having participated in Gartner Magic Quadrant evaluations across multiple technology categories, I can tell you that these things are a lot of work. You might think that Gartner just waves a magic wand and drops some dots on a chart, but you'd be very wrong.

I'll admit that Cisco is particularly strong in communicating with our key analysts. And I believe that goes a long way. Our response to this year's Gartner Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications survey was 59 pages of excruciating detail that covered everything from product features and functions to marketing and sales strategies.

As part of the evaluation, Gartner also asks for a list of customers to gain feedback.  They also schedule a dedicated briefing with us to review our response to their survey. Gartner rolls up this information into its assessment, adding accumulated knowledge from briefings and customer conversations throughout the year. Combined, all this ultimately determines the placement of that magic dot.

I'm proud to say that Gartner has positioned Cisco as a leader in its Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications for the ninth year. Gartner places us highest on "ability to execute" and furthest on "completeness of vision" axis in the evaluation.

We're proud of the product vision we've been delivering in the collaboration group. And we're excited about the journey we're taking with you to digitize your business. Collaboration is a rapidly evolving space. We don't rest on past success but continue to innovate - and disrupt where necessary. Our mission is to bring you the best possible collaboration experience now - and into the future. We believe that the latest report reflects an understanding of that vision and deep insight into our execution.

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

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 particular purpose.  Gartner, Inc., Gartner Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications 2016, Bern Elliot, Steve Blood, Megan Marek Fernandez, July 14, 2016.