In this blog, we’ll cover:
- What has contributed to Horizon’s success over the last 15 years.
- The foundations for Horizon’s success, and why reliability translates to retention and reputation.
- Horizon’s evolution to meet the needs of modern communications.
- The work down behind-the-scenes to continue driving innovation.
- Why Horizon is still a crticial part of a Gamma partner’s product portfolio.
Fifteen years is a long time in business communications.
When Horizon first launched, the market was still talking about hosted telephony. The focus was on cloud PBX and moving calls away from on-premise systems.
Today, things are different. Businesses expect reliable voice and collaboration services. Platform integration and a route into AI-enabled productivity tend to be at the top of a business leader’s ‘to do’ list.
Thanks to Horizon, partners could go to customers with a solution to those needs.
Throughout that change, Horizon hasn’t stood still. It’s evolved with the market, while staying grounded to the same original principles.
From the start, Horizon was built to be reliable and bring practical value to UK businesses. Recent evolutions, such as the introduction of Horizon with Webex, has allowed the platform to remain critical to partner’s product portfolio.
Today, it supports over 800,000 users in the UK and can boast 100% uptime since 2023. Clearly, we’re doing something right.
There’s no better way to celebrate Horizon’s 15th birthday by speaking to those who brought it to life. Through their unique perspectives, you’ll see why Horizon remains a foundation for the partners of Gamma Communications.
Why has Horizon remained successful for 15 years?
The short answer is that Horizon has continued to solve real business problems. Its purpose was always to help organisations communicate reliably. When customer expectations have changed, Horizon has managed to keep up.
As Richard James, Product Strategy Director, explains, Horizon is ‘still a fundamental part of Gamma’s UCaaS strategy moving forward.’ With Gamma supporting thousands of UK businesses, those foundations were built on ‘Horizon’s core strengths around reliability.’
Reliability has always mattered, but success also hinges on relevance. Over 15 years, the platform has moved from hosted voice into a broader UCaaS ecosystem. That move supports the way modern organisations communicate and serve their customers.
Horizon ‘solves real business needs… and challenges.’ By doing it in a ‘reliable and simple way’, Horizon has maintained its relevance and practicality. You don’t reach a 15-year anniversary through luck or features alone.
Our partners understand the role Horizon continues to play. It provides the clarity and confidence needed to keep pace with the UCaaS landscape.
What have been the foundations of Horizon’s long-term success?
For any business communications platform, reliability is the baseline customers depend on each day. Voice services need to be available when teams are speaking to customers or supporting staff.
For partners, that reliability is also central to retention and reputation.
Ian MacPhee, Group Product and Voice Engineering Director, says this has always been treated as an ongoing responsibility. Reliability isn’t ‘something you achieve once and… forget about.’ Investment has been continuous, from infrastructure resilience through to automation and operational processes.
This has allowed Horizon to scale while maintaining the dependability and reliability customers expect. The development of Horizon with Webex proves how Gamma is building upon the original, reliable foundations to extend the platform’s capacity.
It’s a platform that has continued to mature operationally. Behind the scenes is a culture of engineering discipline, with a focus on security and customer experience. That’s given partners in selling a platform built for long-term service delivery.
Andy Robinson, Head of UCaaS Practice, acknowledges how Horizon was ‘positioned… as that reliable solution.’ The network is in place, and performance against SLAs has continued to be strong. Running at ‘five nines [for] many years’ is a testament to that.
How has Horizon evolved?
When Horizon launched, ‘there was no such term as UCaaS.’ Richard reflects on how the market was still spread across solutions like cloud PBX and hosted telephony. Horizon soon ‘accelerated beyond that.’
Once Gamma’s own PBX ‘[started] to get… complex’, Horizon became the ‘flagship hosted solution.’ As the cost of ownership increased, Andy highlights how launching Horizon ‘put all that complexity away and placed it into the cloud.’
As the market shifted to a broader UCaaS landscape, Horizon has developed with it. By bringing capabilities like video, meetings and AI-driven systems into Horizon, the platform has solidified its relevance.
Partners could sell a solution that looked beyond traditional calling and focus on collaboration and deeper customer engagement. All while building on Horizon’s familiarity.
For many SMBs, it’s a more practical route into modern communications without unnecessary complexity. For Andy, Horizon with Webex offers ‘that first step into AI’ while building on the familiar features and functions.
Why does behind-the-scenes innovation matter?
Not every improvement is immediately visible to customers. The progress that’s strengthened the platform has happened beneath the surface. New technologies and processes have all played their part.
Michael Dunn, Software Delivery Manager, describes the change from a development perspective. While appearing similar, ‘under the hood, it’s changed dramatically.’ New technologies and new ways of working have all influenced Horizon’s development.
One example is device onboarding. What once took months can now be measured in days. Foundations like that, as Michael says, means Horizon is ‘set up for a healthy future.’
Innovation leads to practical outcomes for both partners and customers. There’s faster support for new devices on top of a more resilient platform. With a stronger roadmap in place, there’s confidence in how Horizon is being actively improved.
How does Horizon support partners and UK businesses?
Horizon’s success is also a channel story. Partners can take a dependable service to market, while helping UK businesses access communications capabilities that once felt out of reach.
Richard mentions how partners have ‘[built] their businesses around the success of Horizon.’ That success has been built ‘in tandem’ alongside Gamma.
Value has been built on technical capability, but also commercial innovation and customer choice. Andy notes that Horizon continues to offer desk phones, softphones and applications, depending on how each business wants to work. That flexibility matters because every organisation communicates differently.
For SMBs in particular, the impact can be significant. Horizon brings these strong communication capabilities to these smaller businesses in a commercially realistic, operationally straightforward way.
Horizon is critical to Gamma’s UCaaS future
After 15 years, Horizon remains a proven foundation for future growth. It’s fuelled continued partner success and the next phase of UCaaS innovation.
Ian is clear on this. Horizon ‘isn’t just a legacy platform that’s simply being maintained.’ It’s a ‘proven platform [that] continues to evolve.’
Expanding the product label around Horizon helps Gamma to ‘meet [the] changing expectations’ for partners. All while still being built on the ‘solid foundations… created over the years.’
That future includes continued investment in automation and new capabilities around AI and customer experience. For Andy, there’s ‘so much more to come.’
The next stage of Horizon will be shaped by the same formula from the first 15 years. It’ll rely on reliability and reinvention, all while building partner trust.
Horizon’s strength lies in its ability to evolve without losing sight of what customers and partners need most. A simple, dependable communications platform that helps businesses collaborate and grow.
Quick Answers: What Has Led to 15 Years of Continued Success with Horizon?
What is Horizon?
Horizon is Gamma’s hosted voice and UCaaS platform, built to help UK businesses access reliable cloud-based communications.
Why has Horizon remained successful for 15 years?
Horizon has remained successful because it combines reliability, continuous innovation, partner support and practical value for UK businesses.
How has Horizon changed over time?
Horizon has evolved from hosted telephony and cloud PBX into a broader UCaaS platform with collaboration, contact centre, Webex and AI-enabled capabilities.
What makes Horizon ideal for modern businesses, especially SMBs?
Horizon continues to support reliable voice communications, flexible user options and the wider collaboration tools businesses increasingly need. Horizon with Webex in particular is designed to give smaller businesses a stepping stone towards AI-driven solutions.
How does Horizon support Gamma partners?
Horizon gives partners a proven UCaaS platform they can sell, support and build recurring customer relationships around, backed by Gamma’s ongoing investment and channel-first model.
