In case you missed them, here is our round-up of the not-to-miss stories from this week.
Zoom Launches Contact Centre Solution
Zoom has launched an omnichannel contact centre solution that integrates seamlessly with its unified communications platform.
Zoom Contact Center supports communication channels such as video and voice, while SMS and webchat are functionalities are set to follow.
The solution is now available in the US and Canada, with international availability coming later this year.
Oded Gal, Chief Product Officer at Zoom, said: “Previously, contact center infrastructure was complex to deploy, expensive to operate, and time-intensive to upgrade. Zoom Contact Center was carefully designed to meet the needs of the modern agent and end customer, both of which expect a personalized, digital, and effective contact center experience.
“I am pleased to announce the general availability of Zoom Contact Center, building upon the reliable Zoom platform model and bringing the experiences our customers know and love to yet another industry”
Zoom first announced its contact centre solution last September, under the name Video Engagement Center.
Zoom and RingCentral Call Truce in Court Battle
Zoom and RingCentral have brought their legal battle to an end via a settlement agreement.
The two firms released a joint statement this morning revealing they have dropped all complaints against each other, bringing an end to a dispute that lasted the best part of 12 months.
The agreement will see Zoom support customers using RingCentral Meetings (RCM) powered by Zoom’s platform, while RingCentral transitions them to its own platform, RingCentral Video (RCV).
No more terms of the agreements are being made public.
John Marlow, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel at RingCentral, said:
“Today’s agreement with Zoom removes any uncertainty in the ability of RingCentral’s existing customers to migrate to RingCentral Video in an orderly manner, and in a time frame that is customer-driven.
Jeff True, General Counsel at Zoom, said:
“We are pleased to have resolved this matter in a way that allows the parties to continue the wind-down of their partnership.”
The winding down of this partnership formed the central component of the dispute.
8×8 Bags 6.5k-user XCaaS Deal
8×8 has secured a contract that sees 6,500 users move to its XCaaS platform.
The UK-based accountancy firm has deployed 8×8’s contact centre and voice offerings for Microsoft teams to improve employee and customer experience.
XCaaS, or experience communications as a service, is what 8×8 dubs its combined UC and CC platform.
BDO said it wanted a platform that could reduce its phone bills and provide high-quality video calls, along with Microsoft Teams integration.
Stuart Walters, Chief Information Officer at BDO, said:
“It became clear that we needed an enterprise-grade cloud telephony platform that could integrate with Microsoft Teams, and offer high-quality global calling in a seamless and cost-effective way.
The IT consultancy firm, EveryCloud, recommended 8×8 as the one size fits all solution to BDO’s problems.
Bandwidth Appoints COO to Drive Enterprise Adoption
Bandwidth has secured Anthony Bartolo, the former Executive Vice President at Avaya, as their COO (Chief Operating Officer).
The newly created role of COO at Bandwidth has been setup to capture new enterprise customers. With his experience in business relations, Bartolo appears well placed to lead the operation.
David Morken, Bandwidth’s Chief Executive Officer said:
“Anthony is a unique combination of disciplined operator and cross-functional team leader who has led billion-dollar P&Ls around the world. He has a strong track record of successfully building new revenue streams, transforming product portfolios and driving global customer acquisition at world-class companies in our space,”
“In this new position, Anthony will drive our day-do-day mission to win new enterprise customers and become the best global communications platform-as-a-service for app developers.”
Bartolo comes directly from Avaya where he reportedly oversaw an 11-fold increase in annual revenue from his position as Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer.
Radisys Releases CPaaS Platform for Service Providers
Radisys has released a CPaaS platform that it claims will help service providers monetise 5G.
The Radisys Engage Digital Platform (EDP) houses features that include conversational AI, video and social engagement.
Al Balasco, Head of Media, Core and Applications Business at Radisys, said:
“Network investments, customer relationships, and communication data insights are valuable assets for communication service providers to devise new digital services.
“Radisys’ vision is to apply over 20 years of network and media processing expertise to help our customers exploit those assets to create unique applications that serve their customers’ exact requirements and lead to profitable customer and supplier outcomes.
“Engage Digital Platform unlocks that value to meet the needs of one, one million or 100 million of their customers.”
Radisys claims its new platform enables new ways to monetize 4G, 5G and Fixed Network Investments.
