Big UC News from Zoom, Slack, Konftel, Bandwidth and 8×8

From Zoom releasing a new package of applications to a partnership between Alianza and Bandwidth, here are extracts from popular stories this week.

Zoom Releases Scalable ‘Zoom One’ Package

Zoom has released its ‘Zoom One’ package of applications that can be scaled to suit a businesses’ needs.  

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The new offering includes persistent chat, phone, meetings, whiteboard, multi-language captions, and more.  

The package can be scaled up or down, allowing customers to choose between six-tiered options, starting with Zoom One Basic and going up to Zoom One Enterprise Plus.  

Greg Tomb, President of Zoom, said: “Simplicity is at the core of everything we do.  

“As the Zoom platform has evolved from a meeting app to a comprehensive communications platform, it was clear that introducing new packaging like Zoom One was the next step in the company’s evolution.

“By bringing together chat, phone, meetings, whiteboard, and more in a single offering, we are able to offer our customers solutions that are simple to manage, so they can focus on business issues that matter most.” 

The entry-level to Zoom One’s six-tiered offerings is Zoom One Basic which includes 40 minutes of free Zoom Meetings for 100 attendees, Zoom Chat, limited Zoom Whiteboard functionality, and real-time transcription.  

Zoom One Pro is the next step up, and it has the same features as Zoom One Basic, a 300-attendee limit and unlimited Zoom Whiteboards.

New 8×8 Offering for Microsoft Partners

8×8 has launched a new channel offering for Microsoft Gold Partners which includes 8×8 Voice for Microsoft Teams.  

When clients adopt 8×8 Voice for Microsoft Teams as a communication and customer engagement tool, it reduces communications costs and “accelerates cloud business and revenue growth”, according to 8×8.  

8×8 currently supports over 200,000 Teams users globally with PTSN services in reducing more than 50 countries and a virtual presence for various products and services in over 100 countries.  

Hunter Middleton, Chief Product Officer at 8×8, Inc., said: “Communication and collaboration are key to every organisation, but every team does it differently, which is why 8×8 offers highly resilient, Direct Routing as a Service technology to support every employee across the enterprise.  

“From the back-office staff to contact centre agents, 8×8’s highly differentiated solutions for Microsoft Teams enable enterprises to engage with customers effortlessly while providing easy-to-use, sophisticated telephony and customer engagement capabilities globally.”  

8×8’s new program, called 8×8 Elevate Microsoft Partner Program, also includes executive forums to discuss 8×8 products and strategy, as well as the right to sell its 8×8 XT edition.  

Bandwidth Partners with Alianza to Provide Cloud-Based Solutions

Bandwidth is combining its network and API solutions with Alianza’s communications platform to enable cloud migration.  

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The solution targets communication service providers (CSPs) using legacy infrastructure, helping them to transition to cloud-based services for voice, messaging, videoconferencing, and emergency services.  

The Bandwidth-Alianza partnership already has 50 CSP customers across the U.S. and Canada.  

Sandy Preizler, Bandwidth’s Chief Revenue Officer, said: “The CSP space is an important new growth category in our strategy to power the communications move to the cloud.”  

“Alianza has been visionary in giving CSPs a new way to remain competitive through speed-to-market with new cloud-based services.  

“We’re excited to strengthen our long-time relationship through this partnership to enable CSPs to deliver mission-critical cloud communications with very attractive economics.”  

CSPs represent more than 2000 telecom carriers, cable companies, and fibre and wireless broadband operators, which have their own networks, supplying local businesses.

According to Bandwidth, these carriers are losing customers to over-the-top providers selling directly to their customers.  

Slack Huddles Upgrades Coming Soon

Slack Huddles is being updated to include one-click video, multi-person screen sharing, auto-save to channel, and more.  

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The company has already shared a beta version with some of its customers, and it plans to make the upgrades generally available in autumn 2022.  

Slack Huddles is a lightweight audio-first means of communicating which has been built to emulate the everyday interactions and informal conversations that workers might share in an office.  

Rob Seaman, SVP for Slack at Salesforce, puts Slack into its broader market context:

“We are in a time where we are seeing the digital infrastructure take priority over the physical headquarters.  

“We are seeing 66% of workers in a flexible working situation at this time, meaning they are either remote workers or they are in a hybrid setup.  

“It is really the digital infrastructure that’s helped us cope through all this change, and it’s helped us stay productive and collaborative.”  

Slack Huddles has achieved a 95% customer satisfaction rating, and it is quickly becoming the fastest-growing adopted feature in the history of Slack.  

There are already millions of people using Slack Huddles every week, including companies such as Dell, Expedia Group, Wayfair, Intuit, and Kiva.  

Konftel Launches Video Kits For Teams and Zoom Rooms

Collaboration specialist Konftel has launched a series of new video kits optimised for in-room PC-based systems.

The Konftel Attach range is for Microsoft Teams and Zoom Rooms, focusing on compatibility with Lenovo and Dell hardware.

Konftel Product Manager, Torbjörn Karlsson, said the kits complement the company’s bring-your-own-meeting concept to ensure a comprehensive choice of hardware options.

He said: “Whether users prefer to bring their own laptop to a meeting or take advantage of a dedicated in-room facility, where all the equipment is already in place, Konftel has dedicated solutions that bring each system to life.

“A typical in-room solution has a main computer, which is controlled via a touch panel or wireless keyboard and mouse, connected to a display screen.

“Users can ‘add more flavour’ by combining a high quality Konftel camera and audio with a long audio cable, that maximises speakerphone placement.”

The range includes conference cameras and speakerphones accompanied by a long USB cable for optimal audio placement.

Konftel said businesses can use the kits in meeting rooms of all sizes – from focus to extra large.