8x8, an integrated cloud contact center and unified communications platform provider, has enhanced its platforms with the addition of 8x8 Engage for cross-organization customer engagement, Proactive Outreach for 8x8 Contact Center and Unified Communications, and 8x8 Operator Connect for Microsoft Teams to provide public switched telephone network (PSTN) calling through Microsoft Teams Phone, as well as enhanced collaboration features for employees and customers.
Following is a list of all the product innovations in this latest release:
- 8x8 Engage, an artificial intelligence-powered, tailored solution that enables cross-organization customer engagement for customer-facing employees outside of the contact center.
- Proactive Outreach for Unified Communications and Contact Center uses 8x8's programmable SMS and WhatsApp capabilities to further enable cross-organization customer engagement. It now allows CX professionals to launch highly personalized mass messaging campaigns through 8x8's campaign management platform, with features such as scheduling, advanced routing, reporting, analytics, and more.
- 8x8 Operator Connect for Microsoft Teams, which provides PSTN calling through Microsoft Teams Phone, powered by Microsoft's Operator Connect for approved third-party providers.
- Meeting Whiteboards.
- The Line Official Notification Channel for Businesses to send one-way notifications, such as order confirmations and payment reminders.
- Improved analytics and reporting with a new version of the Calls by DID report to track incoming call activity to phone numbers, see aggregated call volume, and review how calls were handled at every number, regardless of how the call was handled.
- Supervisor Workspace interface enhancements, including the ability to select and organize the agent and queues metrics and tables that are visible; enhanced internal caller identification, call details tooltip, and voicemail log details; the ability to toggle on/off the app startup sound; country-specific ringback tones while waiting for calls to be answered; improved UI accessibility for screen readers; optimized search during incoming calls while the app is in compact mode; and call forwarding when routing calls to users on different PBX systems.
- Enhancements to 8x8 Smart Channel Routing, with message delivery, seamlessly routing SMS messages to specific telecom operators and delivering them via alternative channels such as Viber. Other improvements include the integration of new messaging channels and enabling one-time password messages to be routed to WhatsApp and Zalo.
- Improvements to the 8x8 CPaaS Platform, including self-registration for WhatsApp Business account and SMS Sender ID on 8x8 Connect, intelligent routing in 8x8 voice solutions, and SMS integration with CleverTap.
"At 8x8, we understand that all innovations should be intentionally engineered to enable organizations to bridge gaps between channels and teams, both internally and externally, to drive superior customer experiences and business success," said Hunter Middleton, chief product officer of 8x8, in a statement. "By introducing these recent enhancements to our integrated cloud contact center and unified communications platform, which is now expanding beyond the traditional CCaaS and UCaaS definitions to also include 8x8 Engage, we are prioritizing solutions and capabilities that will enable organizations to provide their customers and employees with exceptional communication and collaboration experiences at every step of the customer journey."
The 8x8 integrated cloud contact center and unified communications platform includes contact center, business phone, video meetings, team chat, and SMS capabilities in a single-vendor solution.