Wavenet has formed a new strategic partnership with American cloud communications firm 8×8, in a deal that reflects the accelerating consolidation of Europe’s enterprise communications market.
The partnership will see Wavenet integrate 8×8’s communications and contact-centre technology into its managed services portfolio, offering businesses a unified platform for voice, messaging, and customer engagement.
“This is a world-first partnership and a huge step forward for our customers,” said Barry Ward, Director of Contact Centre, Mobile and Unified Communications solutions at Wavenet.
“Working this closely with 8×8 gives us a unique ability to transform how businesses communicate, particularly those upgrading from legacy systems, and wishing to enhance their customer and staff experiences.”
The deal follows Wavenet’s recognition as 8×8’s EMEA Resell Partner and Contact Centre Partner of the Year for 2025.
Context and Market Dynamics
The timing of the partnership is significant.
As businesses continue to rationalise the technology stacks assembled hastily during the pandemic, demand has grown for simplified, cloud-based communications systems that can be managed centrally and integrated with collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams.
8×8, whose competitors include RingCentral, Zoom, and Cisco Webex, has sought to expand its reach in Europe through partnerships that combine its software platforms with locally delivered services.
For Wavenet, which manages networks and cybersecurity for more than 22,000 organisations, the collaboration offers a means of deepening its cloud and contact-centre capabilities at a time when clients are under pressure to improve digital customer experience while maintaining compliance and security standards.
The partnership grants Wavenet access to the full 8×8 Platform for CX – encompassing unified communications, contact centre, and CPaaS (communications platform as a service) products, along with integrations for Microsoft Teams.
The company will deliver these services alongside its existing connectivity, cloud infrastructure, and security operations.
Strategic Rationale
For both companies, the logic is straightforward. 8×8 gains a well-established route to UK and European customers through a partner with local regulatory knowledge and service capacity, while Wavenet gains access to a globally recognised technology platform without the cost of developing comparable systems in-house.
The relationship reflects a broader industry trend in which communications vendors are relying more heavily on managed service providers to deliver and maintain complex deployments for large enterprises.
As platforms have become more feature-rich – incorporating AI-driven analytics, workforce management, and omnichannel engagement — the technical requirements of implementation and support have increased.
According to analysts, the European market for UCaaS and CCaaS is forecast to grow by around 12–15 percent annually through 2030, driven by demand for flexibility and data integration.
Partnerships such as Wavenet/8×8 are becoming a primary route to that market.
Implications for IT Leaders
For enterprise technology leaders, the announcement highlights several ongoing shifts.
First, communications platforms are moving from standalone systems to integral components of broader IT and customer experience strategies.
This blurs the traditional divide between CIO and customer service functions, requiring closer alignment between operational technology and customer engagement goals.
Second, managed service providers like Wavenet are taking on an expanded role as systems integrators.
By offering unified platforms backed by cybersecurity operations centres and compliance expertise, they enable enterprises to outsource more of their technology management burden – particularly valuable in sectors such as healthcare, finance, and government, where regulations and uptime requirements are stringent.
Third, the rise of AI-enhanced communication tools adds a new dimension to how organisations measure and manage customer interactions.
8×8’s analytics and automation capabilities are designed to help businesses interpret customer sentiment, optimise call routing, and improve service efficiency – areas that increasingly fall under the remit of IT departments tasked with operational data strategy.
Yet the consolidation of communications infrastructure under a few major platforms also raises challenges.
Dependence on a single vendor ecosystem can create lock-in risks, and the complexity of multi-tenant cloud systems presents new governance issues.
CIOs are therefore likely to weigh the benefits of integration against the need for interoperability and resilience.
What’s the Outlook?
The Wavenet–8×8 partnership is unlikely to transform the market, but it illustrates the direction of travel for enterprise communications: towards convergence, managed integration, and data-driven optimisation.
For IT leaders, the announcement is another reminder that communications infrastructure – once treated as a utility – has become a strategic layer of the digital workplace.
As companies reassess technology investments in the face of economic pressure and rising expectations for customer experience, partnerships that bridge global platforms and local service delivery will play a larger role.
Whether Wavenet and 8×8’s model proves replicable elsewhere may depend less on technology than on execution, and on how effectively they can balance scale with service quality in a crowded and fast-evolving market.
