8×8 has unveiled the latest innovations for their 8×8 XCaaS integrated cloud contact center and unified communications platform.
The latest platform upgrades comprise of voice conversational self-service capabilities powered by AI, video customer engagement, improved integration with Microsoft Teams, and additional meeting capabilities.
These innovations are designed to enhance the experiences of both customers and employees and include AI-powered voice conversational self-service, the ability to switch contact center interactions to video, deeper integrations with Microsoft Teams, and enhancements to 8×8 video meetings.
The latest updates now available for 8×8 Contact Center are:
AI-powered Voice Self-Service Enhances Customer Experiences: This new addition expands the platform’s already powerful and user-friendly AI self-service capabilities, enabling businesses to create personalized, natural interactions across digital and voice channels. With reduced wait times and instant access, businesses can design simple to complex experiences that enhance customer satisfaction.
8×8 Agent Workspace Enhancements & Video Elevated Customer Support: With this new solution, contact center agents can now escalate customer interactions to video directly within 8×8 Agent Workspace. This feature enables customers to use their mobile devices to visually assist agents in troubleshooting issues. The solution embeds secure video interaction capabilities into 8×8 Contact Center, enabling organizations to easily add video for improved first contact resolution. Additionally, call handling is now integrated directly within 8×8 Agent Workspace, eliminating the need for an external hard phone or softphone.
Customizable Solutions for Customers: The 8×8 Technology Partner Ecosystem is a thoughtfully curated network of Independent Software Vendors, Value Added Resellers, and Systems Integrators who specialize in addressing specific customer experience use cases. These technology partners provide seamless integrations within 8×8, leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as AI and persistent data to enhance customer experiences.
Deeper Salesforce Integration: Users of both 8×8 Contact Center and Salesforce can now easily set up, configure, route, initiate (SMS only), and respond to SMS and WhatsApp messages within the 8×8 Integration for Salesforce.
8×8 Webchat Quick Replies: With 8×8 scripting functions, administrators can create a series of questions and quick replies to engage with customers. This feature enables the routing of customer responses back to an agent, providing context for initiating a live conversation. This is particularly useful for customers who do not require an AI-powered chatbot but still want to provide menu options that can direct them to the appropriate agent.
8×8 Supervisor Workspace Enhancements: The latest updates include several new features such as interaction retrieval pages, access to barge, monitor, and whisper functionality within the Agent Table widget, enhanced filtering, and a new widget that displays trends in accepted interactions. Users can now create and manage multiple pages and change agent status. Additionally, the platform now supports the French Canadian language.
The latest enhancements for 8×8 Unified Communications include:
Deeper Native Integrations with Microsoft Teams: 8×8 has recently launched the 8×8 Phone App for Microsoft Teams, which offers a cost-effective and Teams-first experience for PSTN calling. This feature does not require per-user Teams Phone licenses, the installation of desktop plugins, or additional software outside of Teams. The app is built on 8×8’s direct routing service, which enables native calling functionality within Teams. It is user-friendly across devices, easy for IT to manage and deploy, and flexible for organizations to optimize licensing costs as per their business needs.
8×8 Video Enhancements: 8×8 has launched a new beta program that allows up to 10,000 meeting participants. The program offers an optimized interface and customization options that support large audience events such as company-wide town halls, auctions, and other similar events. Furthermore, 8×8 meetings now feature the option to disable video hardware acceleration, resulting in improved legibility of shared content and support for the modern AV1 video codec.
8×8 Work Usability and Interface Enhancements: The latest updates comprise of several new features such as enhanced call recording filters, the ability to import personal or company contacts from Office 365 and Outlook into 8×8 Work for desktop, improved microphone Automatic Gain Control (AGC), and an embedded call quality alert that displays connection status.
The latest enhancements to 8×8 CPaaS communication APIs include:
SMS Fraud Prevention: 8×8 has recently launched it’s 8×8 Omni Shield solution, which enables enterprises to proactively protect their customers from fraudulent SMS activity. As a part of the 8×8 CPaaS portfolio, the solution is seamlessly integrated with real-time messaging across web and mobile applications. It detects and prevents fraudulent activities through automated fraud alerts, real-time notifications, live traffic monitoring, and instant phone number assessments.
Voice IVR Capabilities: With the latest updates, 8×8 Voice solutions now allow customers to create an automated phone system that can perform various actions such as routing calls and capturing phone numbers. This feature enables users to access real-time information through self-service or automatically route calls to an agent for further assistance.
Smart Channel Routing: The Smart Channel Routing feature identifies telecom operators that charge premium SMS rates based on predefined operator settings. This feature seamlessly routes these SMS messages to more cost-effective alternatives, such as other messaging channels, without requiring any technical modifications or additional setup.
Zalo Notification Services: The Zalo Notification Service (ZNS) is now available as part of the 8×8 Chat Apps offering. It enables businesses to send customer-centric and personalized notifications, such as real-time alerts, one-time passwords (OTPs), account updates, and more, to users in Vietnam.
Sender ID Dashboard on 8×8 Connect: Agents can now track the status of their SMS Sender ID registration by operator on 8×8 Connect. This feature provides businesses with visibility into the status of their registration requests, allowing for efficient troubleshooting in case of any issues or delays.
8×8 Voice API Enhancements: The latest updates include 8×8 App to App Calling with automated fallback to Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) for enhanced call reliability, access to comprehensive voice logs on 8×8 Connect, and the ability to create customer call flows that incorporate specific actions like sending voice messages or text-to-speech.
8×8 Communication API Enhancements: The latest enhancements include enhanced WhatsApp reporting on 8×8 Connect, multi-browser support for 8×8 Video Interactions, and two-factor authentication on 8×8 Converse.
The Global Reach™ capabilities of the 8×8 XCaaS platform have been extended to include onboarding two new global carriers in Hong Kong and South Africa. This expansion aims to deliver improved redundancy and effective local support. 8×8 provides full cloud PSTN support to multinational organizations with users in 59 countries worldwide. The platform offers local direct numbers, toll-free numbers, and calling plans in addition to support for local emergency services.
“At 8×8 we are committed to providing our customers with a customer engagement, communications and collaboration platform that not only offers the highest levels of innovation, but is reliable and easy to use,” said Hunter Middleton, Chief Product Officer at 8×8, Inc. “Our highly tailored and seamless integrated cloud contact center and unified communications platform, not only improves employee and customer communications and collaboration, but it does away with disjointed, siloed information and resources. Instead, everyone across the entire organization is empowered to provide the best possible experiences for their customers, regardless of whether they sit in the contact center or elsewhere, which leads to overall happier customers and employees, and positive business growth.”
8×8 XCaaS is a comprehensive single-vendor solution that includes integrated cloud contact center, business phone, video meetings, team chat, and SMS capabilities. The platform is built on a resilient, secure, and compliant infrastructure that offers the highest levels of reliability. With a financially backed, platform-wide 99.999 percent uptime SLA across an integrated cloud UCaaS and CCaaS solution, customers can rely on 8×8 for uninterrupted service. To learn more about the latest customer and employee experience enhancements to the 8×8 XCaaS platform, customers can register for the upcoming 8×8 webinar.