8×8 looks set to focus more on CCaaS and CPaaS products and services over UCaaS, seemingly asserting they represent better growth avenues.
During the Q&A portion of its Q4 2024 earnings call, 8×8 CEO Samuel Wilson was asked about the company’s CCaaS pipeline compared to its UCaaS outlook. Wilson noted growth and momentum in 8×8’s contact centre and CPaaS business but was cautious about UCaaS, describing it as a “tough market” and saying later on in the call that 8×8 needed to grow beyond “being known as that stodgy UCaaS company”.
Wilson said:
Well, contact centre business, we’ve been seeing more growth. It’s hard, there’s a little bit of a fuzz on that call. Contact centre, we’ve definitely been seeing solid momentum, particularly when we think about the CPaaS partnership around it, the add-on products, those kinds of things. And then UCaaS, it’s a tough market out there.”
Wilson cited accelerating innovation in CCaaS as a strategic imperative, namechecking solutions like its AI-powered intelligent customer assistant as underpinning impressive customer resolution rates at 80 percent.
Wilson also discussed establishing CPaaS leadership in the Asia Pacific region as a strategic imperative while stating that 8×8 was “broadening” its CPaaS products globally while establishing a “renewed focus” on CPaaS.
“I believe our industry is at an inflexion point,” Wilson said. “With our increased focus and investment in research and development, we have the opportunity to leverage our XCaaS first-mover advantage, accelerate CCaaS innovation, and become a true leader across customer experience communications.”
The CEO was keen to stress that 8×8’s recent investments in CCaaS and CPaaS and the holistic integrations of both with UC across several solutions will distinguish it in a crowded market.
Asked later in the Q&A about 8×8’s other go-to-market investments, Wilson replied that 8×8 has a “really, really good product innovation-led story. We’re still somewhat known as that stodgy UCaaS company, but once we can get that story out, we have the references, we have the capabilities, we have the case studies(…). It’s just a matter of getting people to realise kind of what we’ve evolved to, and we’ll see those corresponding business improvements.”
Major UCaaS wins and product releases were celebrated and strategic goals outlined in the call, however.
During his address at the beginning of the earnings call, Wilson said that 8×8 fulfilled its goal of maintaining its leadership in cloud telephony. He highlighted that at the end of the quarter, 8×8 launched its Operator Connect for Microsoft Teams solution, which he said means 8×8 now boasts the most comprehensive range of enterprise voice solutions for Microsoft Teams.
Wilson also underlined that “this solution could be the key to unlocking millions of UC seats not yet migrated to the cloud”.
Wilson stressed how appreciative of Microsoft’s UC and collaboration platform 8×8 was and appeared to reference Zoom’s competitor product in the process: “We’re the only vendor that has Operator Connect, direct routing, and a Microsoft native-certified contact centre. And we see a significantly higher attach rate of contact centre with our Teams deals(…) We love Teams and I think Teams is a much better product than those guys that start with a Z anyway.”
8×8’s Quarter In Financial Health
8×8 CFO Kevin Kraus described it as a “solid” quarter for 8×8 financially. Total revenue and service revenue were both within its guidance ranges, increasing 18 percent year-over-year to $184.4 million and 18 percent year-over-year to $175.8 million, respectively.
Cash flow was also above expectations at $12.7 million for the quarter and $79 million for the year, while its non-GAAP profit was $18.3 million this quarter, which 8×8 highlighted was a big jump from the $3.1 million profit it made during the same period last year.
8×8 also repaid a significant piece of its debt: $88.3 million of principal in FY24, 35 percent of its commitment to return $250 million to investors through debt repayments over three years.
What Else Has 8×8 Been Up To Recently?
As well as launching its Operator Connect for Microsoft Teams solution last month, 8×8 added AI-powered video meeting features to its XCaaS communications, collaboration and contact centre platform to enhance productivity and efficiency in January.
8×8’s latest features include AI-enhanced real-time transcriptions, intelligent summaries, and actionable follow-up items to enhance collaboration during and after meetings. These advancements reflect 8×8’s dedication to platform innovation and emphasise its commitment to delivering AI-driven contact centres and unified communications services.
