Following years of investment in cloud technologies and more than 1,000 active cloud deployments, Verint Systems yesterday officially announced that its entire Customer Engagement Optimization portfolio is now available for cloud deployment.
Verint's full solution set, which includes software for customer analytics, engagement management, call recording, performance management, feedback management, knowledge management, workforce optimization, and more, is now available in cloud, on-premises, and hybrid versions.
Kristyn Emenecker, senior vice president of product strategy at Verint, says the final piece of the company's cloud puzzle was workforce optimization, which recently became available through multitenant, private, and hybrid cloud services.
In addition to flexibility in how they deploy the solutions, the move also gives Verint's customers a range of choices in licensing options. With Verint's hybrid model, large enterprises can select which applications to deploy on-premises or in the cloud while laying the foundation to gradually evolve to a full cloud deployment over time.
Dan Bodner, president and CEO of Verint, said in a statement that Verint's "cloud-readiness" is the result of a careful buildup:
"We started investing in our cloud strategy several years ago and are very proud to have over 1,000 active cloud deployments, and to announce cloud-readiness across our entire Customer Engagement Optimization portfolio. We believe our cloud strategy addresses enterprise customer needs and positions Verint as an even more strategic partner."
Emenecker notes that Verint's move to the cloud began as early as 2010. "It's something we've been involved with for a very long time," she states, pointing out that the company has a long history of buying providers of cloud technologies and developing the technologies in-house. Some of its recent acquisitions that involved cloud technologies included Contact Solutions, which occurred in February, Kana Software in January 2014, and Vovici in July 2011.
"The market has steadily been moving to the cloud, and our customers have been demanding it," Emenecker says. "It's where the entire market is heading. The cloud enables businesses to focus on what they do best without having to worry about managing their Verint technology."
But despite the strong push toward the cloud, Verint has no plans to abandon its on-premises offerings, Emenecker stresses. "We will continue to support our customers who want the full control of on-premises [deployments]," she says. "This is all about giving our customers options."
The move also gives Verint's partners more options, Bodner said in the statement.
"Verint has a long history of successful partnerships, and our partners can now benefit from our cloud expertise and deployment flexibility across a broad set of solutions. We believe that our differentiated partner strategy has been well-received, including with SMB infrastructure cloud vendors and other channel partners focused on optimizing customer engagement."
To date, Verint has established partnerships with more than 40 cloud infrastructure vendors and will continue to invest in further expanding its partner program, he added.
Having its entire portfolio available in the cloud "allows us to continue our specialized position," Emenecker adds. "Customers and partners can have all of their [contact center] solutions from one vendor, and now they can have them in whatever deployment model they want."