8x8, a cloud communications platform provider, has added contact center, voice communications, chat, meetings, and communications platform as a service(CPaaS) product enhancements in its Winter 2021 Release.
The Winter 2021 Release adds the following features and functionality, key partnerships, and integrations:
- 8x8 Contact Center is now included in Microsoft's Connected Contact Center for Microsoft Teams Certification program, integrating seamlessly with 8x8 Voice for Microsoft Teams direct routing capabilities. Contact center agents, knowledge workers and supervisors can make and receive PSTN calls using the native Microsoft Teams app as the preferred endpoint.
- Customers can now use 8x8 Quality Management for both inbound and outbound voice. The closed-loop workflow now includes automated notification, acknowledgement, feedback and reporting. Combined with 8x8 Speech Analytics, users can mine, gather, and share specific contextual examples of interactions with teams and individuals.
- Enhancements to& 8x8 Auto Dialer, like expanded monitoring statistics, expanded sequential dialing functionality that supports up to 22 numbers, and enhanced support of auto-retry for abandoned and non-answered calls, busy tones, and answering machine detection.
- Expand workforce management functionality with Verint Monet and Verint Enterprise, bringing tight synchronization of historical and real-time interaction data and agent information from 8x8 Contact Center to Verint Monet or Verint Enterprise to plan, forecast, and schedule contact center agent workloads.
- Google Verified SMS now available through the 8x8 SMS API.
- The addition of KakaoTalk, a mobile messaging app.
- Quick-reply messages that allow users to decline incoming calls but stay engaged with colleagues, partners, and customers.
8x8 also upgraded the 8x8 Work app, which includes voice, video meetings, and team chat, allowing users to connect and collaborate securely with customers and colleagues from anywhere, using any device. These enhancements include the following:
- 8x8 Voice for Microsoft Teams, allowing users can log into their Microsoft Teams app to view and update 8x8 calling configurations, including voicemail and call forwarding, as well as log in and out of call queues.
- Advanced moderator settings that allow meeting owners and administrators to designate a single moderator and elevate other participants to the moderator role at any time during the meeting. Moderators can lock the meeting once it is underway, requiring new participants to request access in a lobby before joining.
- MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) support.
- The Flip Call banner, which allows users to immediately change devices without loss of connection.
- Quick-reply messages, which allow users to decline incoming calls but stay engaged with colleagues, partners, and customers.
Enhancements to the integrated 8x8 cloud communications and contact center platform include the following:
- 8x8 Nomadic E911 helps customers provide company notifications of emergency calls and accurate, dynamic user location information for emergency callers.
- Support for payment methods and expense allocation, allowing IT to chargeback service costs through independent and site-based cost centers using company locations, sites, and teams.
"The 8x8 single-vendor cloud platform was purpose-built to eliminate silos, facilitate dynamic collaboration, and engage both customers and employees through highly personalized experiences," said Dejan Deklich, chief product officer at 8x8, in a statement. "Our global cloud approach enables us to rapidly inject new, innovative capabilities into our integrated contact center, voice communications, chat, meetings, and APIs product. We are proud to support organizations' digital transformation efforts with a platform that delivers everything they need to meet unique business requirements and thrive in the new operate-from-anywhere model."