The Most Prestigious Award for CX Technology Companies

2026 Customer Magazine TMC Labs Innovation Awards

Innovation is easy to claim. Proving it is much harder.

The CUSTOMER Magazine TMC Labs Innovation Awards recognize the most innovative contact center, customer experience, and CRM solutions in the industry. These prestigious awards honor products that challenge conventional thinking, introduce meaningful advancements, and deliver new capabilities that help organizations improve customer engagement, service delivery, workforce performance, and overall customer experience.

Unlike many recognition programs, TMC Labs Innovation Awards are not based on market share, marketing budgets, or sales volume. Winners are selected because they demonstrate true innovation, unique capabilities, and the potential to significantly advance the customer experience industry.

For technology providers, earning a TMC Labs Innovation Award provides powerful third-party validation that your solution stands apart from the competition. This recognition helps strengthen market credibility, supports sales and marketing initiatives, reinforces thought leadership, and signals to prospective customers that your organization is among the industry's most innovative providers.

The awards are judged by Rich Tehrani's team of TMC Labs engineers and industry experts, who collectively possess decades of experience evaluating communications, contact center, CRM, and customer experience technologies. Drawing on extensive industry knowledge, product evaluations, customer references, industry demonstrations, and insights gained through ongoing engagement with the marketplace, the team carefully identifies only a select group of winners each year.

That selectivity is what makes this recognition meaningful.

TMC Labs does not simply recognize products that are popular. The program honors solutions that push the industry forward, challenge established standards, and introduce innovations that create measurable value for customers.

Applications are accepted only for commercially available solutions. TMC Labs does not accept submissions for products that exist solely as concepts, are under NDA, or have not yet been brought to market. New versions of existing products may be submitted, including those currently in beta, although TMC Labs reserves the right to evaluate the proven capabilities of the commercially available solution when assessing innovation claims.

Winners of the 2026 CUSTOMER Magazine TMC Labs Innovation Awards will receive industry-wide recognition through CUSTOMER magazine and TMCnet, joining an elite group of technology innovators whose solutions are helping shape the future of customer experience.

If your organization has developed a solution that is redefining what is possible in contact center, customer experience, or CRM technology, we encourage you to apply.

Exclusive Award Winning Benefits:

• Improve Your AI Search Visibility
  • Appear more prominently on ChatGPT and other Generative AI platforms
  • AI tools value awards and other 3rd party endorsements in their results
• Validation from Highly-Respected 3rd Party Source
  • Highlighted as an award winner in TMCnet and CUSTOMER magazine feature story
  • Announced as an award winner via press release
  • Recognized by a team of respected engineers and editors
• Positive Publicity Boost for Your Solution and Brand
  • Featured in extensive social media campaign across all TMC and TMCnet platforms
  • Provided award press kit to inform clients, prospects and media of your achievement
• Year-Round Marketing Support for Your Winning Solution
  • You get unlimited license to award logos
  • Add Award logo to your website, social media profiles, client newsletters, promotional items, marketing brochures, sales presentations, emails,
    trade show booth, annual report, business cards, etc.
• Increased Inbound Inquiries for Your Sales Team
  • Your presence on the list of winners could be just what you need to land on more high value RFPs

Download application supplement here.

• Early Bird Deadline: August 6 - Application fee $895
• Final Deadline: August 31 - Application fee $1,295

Questions? Please contact The TMC Awards Team