Forrester Wave: Virtual Event Management Platforms, Q2 2026 — Zoom Named a Leader
News | 24.06.2026
The Forrester Wave™: Virtual Event Management Platforms, Q2 2026 is an independent evaluation of the 12 most significant platforms for managing virtual events and webinars. Forrester assessed vendors across three dimensions: current offering, strategy, and customer feedback. Zoom was placed in the Leaders group. Softprom — a value-added IT distributor since 1999, operating across 33 countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia — has prepared a review of the report's key findings for marketing and event teams.
Forrester notes a maturing market: core functions — event setup, registration, streaming, and basic engagement tools — have effectively become hygiene factors and no longer drive the buying decision. Competition has shifted toward AI-based personalization, attendee data capture and activation, and deep integration with the customer's marketing and CRM ecosystem.
Forrester Wave™: Virtual Event Management Platforms, Q2 2026
Zoom — A Leader
Forrester evaluated the Zoom Webinars Plus and Events products. Zoom is a global UCaaS provider based in San Jose whose webinars and events offerings sit within its Business Services portfolio; the platform delivers over 9 million webinars annually and supports a wide range of use cases and sectors.
Scale and reliability
A familiar interface, advanced breakout sessions, high scalability, and reliable streaming.
AI Companion at no extra cost
Content generation and repurposing, transcription, and attendee assistance; the roadmap adds lead routing and insight generation.
Transparent pricing
Public pricing and self-service purchase lower the barrier for buyers.
Among the limitations, Forrester cites weaker support for in-person events, less emphasis on deep event governance and customization, and the lack of dedicated speaker management and the production services of event-centric platforms. Customers also point to a need for better reporting, ticketing, and content repurposing.
Zoom is a strong choice for organizations prioritizing security, reliability, scalability, and AI-enabled productivity, especially those already standardized on Zoom's UCaaS platform.
What This Means for Buyers
-
Match the platform to your event portfolio
Check whether the platform can cover not only simple webinars but also large multisession events, on-demand formats, and repurposing a single event into multiple content assets.
-
AI-based personalization
Relevant content recommendations and intelligent networking instead of passive participation — alongside high-quality production and a modern interface.
-
Data capture and activation
Assess how well the platform captures, unifies, and activates attendee data at the individual, account, and program level and integrates it into the sales and marketing ecosystem.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Leaders are Cvent, ON24, RainFocus, Kaltura, and Zoom. Forrester evaluated 12 platforms across current offering, strategy, and customer feedback.
Forrester highlights Zoom's scalability and reliability, the AI Companion assistant included at no extra cost, and transparent self-service pricing. It evaluated the Zoom Webinars Plus and Events products.
Forrester evaluated Zoom Webinars Plus and Events, part of Zoom's Business Services portfolio.
Per Forrester, UCaaS providers (like Zoom) excel at scalable delivery of simpler webinars with transparent pricing, while all-in-one event platforms are deeper across event formats but often lack transparent webinar pricing.
Softprom helps match your goals to platform capabilities, run a pilot, and integrate the solution into your communications, marketing, and CRM stack.
Softprom is a value-added IT distributor since 1999, operating across 33 countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. Our team helps you match your business goals to platform capabilities, run a pilot, and properly integrate webinar and virtual event solutions into your existing communications, marketing, and CRM stack.
Share:
