CafeX Launches Live Assist for Microsoft Dynamics 365
CafeX Communications, a supplier of web and mobile engagement solutions, today announced the availability of its Live Assist offering on Microsoft Dynamics 365. The embedded technology aims to grant customers convenient access to assistance options while browsing a firm’s web properties or mobile apps, as it equips live support agents with tools and materials to help them resolve issues quickly.
According to Sajeel Hussain, CMO and executive vice president of strategic partnerships at CafeX, the “immersive” service aims to make agents more productive through a combination of the best of both Microsoft’s CRM offerings and CafeX’s engagement tools. After signing into the Live Assist from one location, live agents can engage customers via co-browse, chat, image and video sharing, and other options through their Dynamics 365 console without toggling between screens or applications. Within Microsoft Dynamics 365’s Unified Service Desk or web client, the agent can share insights with a customer via the chat interface, see what he is looking at in real-time, highlight relevant information for him, and share content to speed up interactions.
Combined with Microsoft Dynamics 365’s CRM system, the technology could extend beyond just service, Hussain explains, to include stimulating upsells and cross-sells, among other things. For a shopper buying boots at an online clothing retailer, for instance, the system could serve up product recommendations for socks or other related clothing articles based on digital browsing and behavioral data. Users who have questions about an item or a particular step while navigating a site can click a button to chat with a live agent who has access to customer history and context, and who could elevate the interaction to video, or co-browse, when necessary. The customer benefits from simplicity, and the agent’s interactions are streamlined and made more practical because they “don’t have to leave the CRM console” to complete each separate function, Hussain points out.
The layering of Live Assist into Dynamics 365 goes deeper than a standard integration, promising “complete flexibility” that will benefit Microsoft partners and clients, Hussain says. CafeX and Microsoft, who have been aligned for more than a year, designed the product to work as a pre-canned offering tailored specially to Microsoft. “Our engineering teams have been working together to produce every aspect of the user interface,” and the solution has been jointly tested and approved in terms of quality. Users can purchase the product through Office 365. “It’s integration at the provisioning level, at the administration level, and at the run time level” that illustrates commitment to a long term road map on both sides.
Later this year, “we’re going to be announcing a partner program as well,” Hussain says, which will consist of 12 strategic partners, including IBM and Hitachi.
In a statement, Michael Strand, senior vice president of Hitachi Solutions, said that CafeX’s integrated offering for Dynamics 365, combined with its own industry expertise, “helps our customers deliver the types of experiences that increase satisfaction, loyalty, and value for their customers.”
Jujhar Singh, corporate vice president of Microsoft Dynamics 365, said in a statement that Live Assist promises to help large organizations with their customer experience strategies:
“Enterprises continue to tell us how critical omni-channel engagement is to the success of their customer experience strategies. Enhancing the customer benefits for Microsoft Dynamics 365, CafeX Live Assist helps businesses engage customers proactively with rich content, while preserving context at each step of the journey.”
CafeX Live Assist is available to businesses for a free 30-day trial period. The solution is available as part of the standard package at $49 per agent each month, and volume and term-based based discounts are available. CafeX will release a premium package later this year.