Contact Center Software Featured Articles

Thrive Senior Living Saves Big, Improves Functionality with 8x8 Hosted VoIP and Unified Communications
Whether you're in retail, finance, legal, media or customer service, companies from all industries are turning to VoIP to improve their business communications. A recent study from Infonetics Research predicts that $377 billion will be spent on business and residential VoIP services by 2016, driven primarily by SIP trunking, hosted VoIP and unified communication services. 5/13/2013

Debunking Hosted PBX Myths
You know you want to consider the benefits associated with the cloud and have considered a few providers to deliver the hosted solutions you need. The challenge is deciphering the extensive information that is available and making it work for your environment without falling for propaganda or industry myths. 5/10/2013

Ben Taft to Maintain 8x8's Position in Hosted PBX and UC Industry as VP of Inside Sales
A company generating $27.3 million in revenue in one quarter and serving a growing customer base of more than 31,473 needs a strong figure to manage sales, enhance customer relationships and fuel the growth of the business. 5/7/2013

8x8 Recognized for Unified Communications Innovation with Virtual Office Desktop
The key to being a successful worker in today's tech-savvy society is embracing mobility. Accessing contacts, documents and networks on-demand from anywhere is becoming the norm among today's workforce. 8x8, a provider of cloud-based communications and computing solutions, understands this, and offers a number of business communications solutions to today's companies. 5/7/2013

Why the Call Center is Better with 8x8
The standard 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. grind once demanded a commute to work, navigating the busy parking garage to find your coveted space, skirting through the office politics to ensure you aligned yourself with the right side and avoiding the doublespeak that can occur in the break room or around the water cooler. 5/1/2013

8x8 Releases New Version of Virtual Contact Center
Provider of cloud-based communications and computing solutions 8x8 has released Virtual Contact Center 7.1, an upgraded version of its hosted call center software service. 4/30/2013

8x8 Hosted PBX Service Finds a Lost iPhone
Here's a tech-era world problem that happens all too often today: losing a mobile device. With the majority of mobile phone users sporting smartphones, many of them used for work-related communications, it can be a serious loss, whether it's just for contacts, photos, or, worse, sensitive work data. 4/24/2013

AltiGen Communications, OBT Anywhere Deliver Cloud-Based Contact Center Software for Microsoft Lync
AltiGen Communications, a provider of Microsoft-based VoIP business phone systems and unified communications solutions, announced a partnership with OBT Anywhere, a provider of Hosted Lync services, to deliver hosted cloud-based contact center software for Microsoft Lync. 4/23/2013

8x8 Awarded New Patent for Emergency Communications
Technology innovations have enabled emergency communications to move well beyond the traditional 911 phone call. Text messaging, the Internet, IP communications and more have advanced the ways organizations can respond to disasters and emergency situations. Traditional telephone lines are being complemented or replaced by cell phones, Internet-enabled devices and other technologies, like machine to machine communications. 4/17/2013

VoIP-Based Auto Attendants Benefit Even the Smallest of Companies
While the auto attendant (the automated voice that direct calls at the front of a phone call to a company) is very familiar to anyone who hasn't been living on a desert island for 40 years, it's often the hallmark of large companies or very consumer-oriented companies. There's a reason for this: once upon a time, the auto attendant and interactive voice response (IVR) system behind it was an expensive option. Auto attendant solutions were big, bulky, premises-based solutions that required knowledgeable IT staff members to administer. 4/17/2013

How 8x8 Improved the Call Center for Blueair
The key to quality service is ensuring customers have what they need before they realize they need it. Waiting in the wings when the unexpected arises is the call center. If agents in that center are slow to respond or standardization is lacking, the service delivered on the front end may be overshadowed by poor service on the back end. 4/11/2013

How to Support the Mobile Customer Experience
Any customer service interaction channel developed for customer service should focus on one key point: ensuring customers have access to exactly what they need, when they need it. This means the mobile app - catering to the consumer on the go - cannot cause more confusion than convenience. The contact center software should integrate with the mobile app so customers can accomplish their goal, even if they cross over to another channel. 4/10/2013

How to Protect Your Business Communications against a Zombie Apocalypse and Other Disasters
While pop culture waits for the next Zombie Apocalypse, companies and call centers are often nervous about other kinds of disastrous events, usually of the natural variety: floods, snow storms, long power outages, earthquakes, hurricanes and other weather or technological events that can affect the way a business communicates with its customers. 4/2/2013

Cloud-Based PBX and Contact Center Providers Give Businesses Disaster Resiliency
Today, the cloud-based contact center market is booming, while the premises-based sector is struggling to survive. Across the world, in contact centers of all different sizes, end users are adopting cloud-based solutions in order to prepare for the future and always be ready for when disaster strikes. 4/2/2013

Presence Simplifies the Architecture of Contact Centers
Presence Technology is significantly simplifying the architecture of contact centers with the release of a completely web-based agent contact center solution. The new version-9.2- includes significant enhancement to Presence's completely web-based solution called Web Agent. 4/1/2013

Baby's Journey Scores at Customer Care with Sound Telecom Call Center Services
Sound Telecom, a Seattle-based provider of telephone answering, call center and cloud-based phone services, is now delivering inbound call center services to Baby's Journey, a Pawtucket, Rhode Island-based provider of baby care products. Baby's Journey will benefit from Sound Telecom's inbound call center services to deliver high level of customer care to new parents and their dear ones looking for high-quality products for their infants. 4/1/2013

West Town Savings Bank Moves to 8x8 VoIP Business Telephone Solution
If you have ever been responsible for setting up a new business, a new office or branch, a new call center or simply an offsite location for the purpose of disaster recovery or overspill, you'll know that getting business phone service up and running quickly is about as easy as getting a candid photo of the Loch Ness Monster. Most companies looking for new service hear a lead-time of at least several weeks: IF they are very lucky, and longer if they are not. 3/26/2013

PSS Joins the EchoPlace Partner Network
PSS (Product Support Solutions), a highly specialized systems integrator and IVR solutions expert has joined the EchoPlace Partner Network. Echopass is a Software as a Service (SaaS) provider of cloud-based contact center solutions to large Enterprises. That helps enterprise clients to optimize their customer service through innovation from partners connected to the open Echopass cloud platform. 3/25/2013

The Cloud Takes Over the Contact Center
These days, the cloud-based contact center market is booming and showing no sign of slowing down, while the premises-based sector is struggling to survive. Across the globe, in contact centers of all sizes, end users are adopting cloud-based contact center solutions to prepare for the future. 3/21/2013

Auto Attendant Functionality Help SMBs Project Large
Many years ago, I started a small Web development business. It was just me and a friend, but to secure accounts we needed to project large and inspire confidence in our potential clients both that we would be around for awhile and that we were professional enough to do the work that they expected. One of the first steps when we started our business was setting up a toll-free number and an auto-attendant system so clients and potential clients would hear the same sort of professional phone response they expected from much larger companies. 3/21/2013

Meeting the Needs of Today's 'Virtual' Contact Centers
When you think of call centers, you probably think of lots of busy agents at work on telephones. Perhaps these imaginary agents send an occasional e-mail. In most modern contact centers today, the truth is much more complicated. While telephone remains the primary and first choice of customers when it comes to resolving issues, two newer channels have made their way into the mix of call center media: social media and mobile apps. 3/21/2013

8x8 Powers Radixx Airline Reservation Service with Virtual Office and Contact Center
Radixx works to deliver hosted passenger seating services (PSS) to airlines around the world. Their cloud-based reservation system leverages the Oracle relational database to deliver a reservation platform for airlines of any size. 3/19/2013

Avaya's Helps Struggling Businesses Deliver Exceptional Customer Experience
Today, Customer Experience Management (CEM) involves listening to the Voice of the Customer through listening posts, analyzing customer feedback to create a basis for acting on better business decisions and measuring the impact of those decisions to drive greater operational performance and customer loyalty. Through this process, a company can strategically organize itself to manage a customer's experience with its product or company, and tap into cost savings and revenue drivers that can deliver profitability in all aspects of business operations. 3/13/2013

Is the Virtual Call Center the Right Fit?
America is known as the land of opportunity. The market here often affords those with the drive for independence, risk tolerance and financial support necessary to branch out on their own to do so and win. Owning or managing a business often attracts this individual, especially if he or she is in a geographic area with few options for corporate employment. Thanks to the availability of business VoIP technology, anything is possible. 3/12/2013

Will Your Next Customer Leave a Message at the Beep?
Leaving a message after the tone is something consumers have become accustomed to doing when calling a friend or loved one who isn't available at the time of the call. Even then it's not uncommon to try the cell phone when the landline goes directly to voicemail. If that attempt comes back fruitless, Skype may be the next step. 3/8/2013

8X8 Inc. to Present at Three Investor Conferences
Cloud communications solutions provider 8X8 Inc. will be presenting at three investor conferences this month including the Northern Capital Markets 2013 Technology Conference, Sidoti & Company 17th Annual Emerging Growth Institutional Investor Forum and the 25th Annual Roth Conference. 3/6/2013

Salesforce.com Intros Cloud Mobile to Deliver Customer Service Anytime, Anywhere
Salesforce.com, enterprise cloud computing company, has introduced Salesforce Service Cloud Mobile, which delivers features like mobile co-browsing, mobile communities, mobile chat and touch-based agent interface technologies, to enable customer service anytime on any device. By connecting everything - customers, employees, partners and products - the solution allows 'customer companies' to revolutionize the way they sell, service, market and innovate. They can now listen to every customer, engage on every channel and deliver great customer service on any device. 2/28/2013

Outbound Contact Center Software Improves Customer Communication
As more contact centers move to the cloud, businesses of all sizes are realizing the benefits of the cloud over on-premise contact centers. While there are hundreds of providers out on the market who all boast excellent software, it's critical that business decision-makers make thoughtful decisions on which software is right for their contact center. 2/27/2013

SoftBank Telecom to License 8x8's Zerigo Enterprise Cloud Software
Cloud-based business communications solutions provider 8x8, Inc. has struck an agreement with SoftBank Telecom Corp., which will license 8x8's subscription-based "Zerigo" enterprise cloud software. 8x8 will also develop some additional related software for Softbank to provide virtual desktop interface (VDI) services to Softbank customers in Japan, and later to customers in the U.S., Europe and other parts of Asia. SoftBank will also well positioned to offer a full suite of virtualized cloud services to its major enterprise customers using Vblock products from converged cloud infrastructure systems provider VCE. 2/21/2013

Contact Center Software Provider TelStrat Completes Two Decades of Innovation
Today, TelStrat is a developer of comprehensive contact center solutions & business call recording products, which include Engage Contact Center Suite and Technology. Twenty years ago the company was founded by Bob Caroll's who had a vision started taking shape as a company that was dedicated to engineering excellence with focus on customer service. These days, TelStrat is still directed by that vision and has the same unwavering dedication towards its technology, towards its products and towards its clients. 2/20/2013

Polycom Recognizes 8x8 as North America Service Provider of the Year
Polycom, Inc., a global provider of open standards-based unified communications and collaboration (UC&C), has named 8x8, Inc., a provider of cloud-based business phone service and unified communications, "2012 North America Service Provider of the Year." 2/12/2013

8x8 Named to NASDAQ Global Select Market
Years ago, 8x8 Inc., the well known provider of cloud communications and cloud computing solutions, got its unique name from the number of video pixels that are used as the basic building blocks in image compression and video transformation functions. This isn't surprising considering the company has contributed majorly to the advancement of voice and video communications. 2/11/2013

LeadFlash's Full Service Call Center Increases Client Application Rates
Payday loan lead generation pioneer, LeadFlash, has experienced success of its full-service call center and Hot Transfer Product. Today, the company enables its customers to apply 100 percent over the phone without using a computer and claims it efficiently increases application rates for its clients. 2/11/2013

8x8 Receives a 'Respected Four-Star Ranking' from The Motley Fool
Four stars is a big deal. Let's consider the different circumstances that can receive such an honor, like hotels and restaurants. A four-star hotel is one that far surpasses the basic or general amenities to offer a prestigious and evolved overall experience. For example, while a standard hotel offers parking and daily cleaning service, a four-star hotel will offer valet parking, personal dry cleaning and a concierge. Similarly, a four-star restaurant is touted as the cream of the crop. Notable Chicago Tribune restaurant critic Phil Vettel says, "When I slap the four-star sticker on a restaurant, I'm declaring to be one of the very best restaurants of its kind, a place that's maintaining a standard to which every restaurant should aspire." 2/5/2013

8x8 Reveals Yet Another Record Breaking Quarter
Cloud-based business communications and computing solutions specialist, 8x8, Inc. recently revealed its financial result for its third quarter of fiscal 2013, having ended December 31, 2012. 1/28/2013

8x8 a Visionary Leader in UCaaS, Says Gartner
Unified Communications provider 8x8 has been named a "visionary leader" in Gartner's recent magic quadrant list of the top unified communications as a service (UCaaS) providers in North America. 1/28/2013

Three Contact Center Revisions You Can Implement for Optimum Efficiency
The wealth of online content, the popularity of the smartphone and the widespread use and unpredictable possibilities of social media have turned marketing, sales and support upside down - or, perhaps more accurately, downside up. You see, it now seems that it's the customer who is manning this ship. 1/25/2013

Zurmo Open Source CRM Invites Feedback from Early Adopters Prior to Launch
To cater to the real needs of users, developers of the Zurmo Open Source Customer Relationship Management application have invited participants to take part in the Early Adopter Program that will collect feedback and make case studies. 1/25/2013

What Makes 8x8 so Great? Just Ask Its Customers
Call centers that operate on a smaller scale unfortunately don't always have access to enterprise-grade phone services afforded by their larger competitors. To compete on a level playing field, however, they simply can't sacrifice functionality. Fortunately, 8x8's got your back, as its renowned Internet phone service can make even the smallest call center appear to the customer base as large as the bustling 1,000 seat competitor. 1/23/2013

Five Questions You Should Ask About Cloud-Based Contact Center Solutions
If your call center organization is considering taking the plunge into a cloud-based platform, you may have a lot of questions. Chances are, you already know the benefits of a cloud-based contact center: lower upfront expenses, far less maintenance, the ability to work across locations, virtual agents and superior disaster recovery. 1/15/2013

8x8's Contact Center Solution Streamlines Communications for OTI America
A primary focus in the contact center industry just a few short years ago was moving communications to multi-channel environment, where customers could send an e-mail, engage in live chat or even send a text message to get their desired result both quickly and efficiently. 1/15/2013

2013 - The Year for Cloud Migration in the Contact Center
Regardless of the buzz you hear about the cloud (ie. whether it's gaining speed or is just noise), the contact center industry is certainly sporting some solid benefits from cloud migration. Seeing how the call center can sometimes be an organization's biggest resource-drainer, the financial benefits of cloud-based strategies certainly are enough to perk some ears. The question on many call center managers' minds lately has been: Is 2013 the year to make the move, and is this strategy right for all contact center environments? 1/11/2013

NICE Looking to Nip Call Center Security Issues in the Bud
Call center security breaches are a silent but deadly form of fraud, and it's unfortunately still on the rise. While many usually think of such places as banks to be prime targets for information theft, unbeknownst to many, call centers are now being singled out. Whether it's a high profile case such as the one highlighted by reporter Mat Honan or everyday citizens just like you - these incidents happen far more than we'd like to think. 1/10/2013

Fact or Fiction: 8x8 Breaks Down the Call Center and the Cloud
Has your call center embraced the cloud? You probably already know the advantages from constantly seeing or reading about them in the trade press. These can include little to no upfront capital; lower maintenance costs; the ability to build a virtual and distributed contact center environment; the ability to use home agents; and no need for large, heavily air-conditioned IT rooms staffed full of personnel with esoteric skills. But while information about the benefits abound, myths about the drawbacks of cloud-based contact center solutions also proliferate. 1/7/2013

Building a Successful Call Center Strategy for 2013
The call center may not always be the most innovative aspect of a company; however, as with every celebrated New Year, there are opportunities to help change that in 2013. First and foremost, the New Year serves as a wonderful opportunity to embrace a fresh perception of customer service as a whole, migrating from the standard, boring call center to the idea of being one that is key to winning over customers - one that is not a cost, but rather a revenue multiplier. 1/4/2013

8x8 'Hiding in Plain Sight' - From Dark Horse to Knight in Shining Armor
You could say that Voice over IP provider 8x8 is a "dark horse" of sorts, but while the classic definition calls for a dark horse to go from being little-known to something of great prominence, 8x8 is already well-known in the industry - and is only becoming more prominent. People either already know the company and its escalating success or are quickly starting to get the picture. 12/31/2012

How to Know More About Your Customers Before You Even Pick Up the Phone
You heard right - you can actually get to know more about your customers before you even pick up the phone. Throughout history, the single, unwavering factor in the call center equation has been finding ways to gain increased customer insight for satisfaction. Imagine if you could perform a safe and efficient search of your customer on Facebook or LinkedIn before hopping on the phone with them…that could prove quite nifty, huh? 12/24/2012

Looking Back on 8x8's Road to Success in 2012 and Celebrating Post-New Year
The holidays seem like a time when the world takes a moment to slow down, unwind and completely relax, soaking in a healthy combination of no work and catching up with dear loved ones and friends. 8x8 is similarly taking a moment to pause and reflect on the past year, which spells one word: Success. 12/24/2012

Call Center Solutions Provider Gets Comfortable in Leaders Quadrant
In the call center space, there are a wide range of companies competing for dominance. Some offer solutions that are unique, while others try to capitalize on service. Still, others focus on garnering a nod from a third party focused on assessing the industry without bias. For reigning call center solutions provider 8x8, it is a recent assessment by Gartner that has them ready to celebrate. 12/18/2012

Teleperformance Lauded by Frost & Sullivan for Value-Added Services in EMEA
Teleperformance, a provider of outsourced CRM and contact center services, has been making waves with its combination of well knit on-shore (including home agent), off-shore, near-shore and automated solutions across over two dozen countries throughout EMEA, with an unswerving focus on high quality customer care services. 12/17/2012

The Importance of the Voice Greeting in the Call Center, Plus a Fun Holiday Game
The voice greeting - when it isn't conducted by the live agent, it still needs to be perfect, as it sets the tone for the interaction between your automated system and the customer. To achieve the desired level of professionalism, both call centers and virtual call centers need to take the time to think about what needs to be accomplished with this integral aspect of their operations. 12/11/2012

What's Your Call Center Plan for the Holidays this Year?
If you're like many call center managers, the holiday season is undoubtedly important to you. For many businesses, the holidays represent a majority of their sales, and during this time is when repeat customers are either won or lost. Unfortunately, it's also a high volume, high stress time of year. Essentially, right at the time you need to be on your best performance, your challenges are the greatest. 12/10/2012

Telcodepot.Com Spreading Holiday Cheer by Offering a Special Discount for Call Centers
Online VoIP phone systems supplier, TelcoDepot.com, recently launched a special discount offer targeted towards the call center industry. With the launch of this special offer, call centers now have the opportunity to buy their VoIP and other communication equipment at a discounted price to achieve significant savings just in time for the busy holiday season. 12/10/2012

Social Media and Call Center Communications Go Together like Peanut Butter and Jelly
It's no secret that the popularity of sites such as You Tube, Facebook and Twitter has exploded in recent years, so much so that for some of us, they encompass a good chunk of our communication. Social media is no longer just for play, and while it can be fun for some to "poke" and "like" and Facebook chat, social media has inevitably also become a preferred method of business communications. Now, enhancing the satisfaction of customers who reach out to your call center may be as simple as incorporating these very important channels into your marketing mix. 12/5/2012

Virtual Call Center Software Provider Promero Intros Free CTI Connector for Salesforce CRM Users
Promero, an Oracle Gold Partner for Siebel CRM Contact Center Anywhere and Salesforce AppExchange Partner, is now offering its proprietary CTI connector solution free of charge to Salesforce CRM users. 12/3/2012

The Call Center Corporation Unveils Some Major 'Game Changers'
The Call Center Corporation will soon be launching a mailer titled, "Call Center Game Changers" that will be sent out every day. This mailer ultimately aims to provide information related to the latest call center matters while also improving association among organizations in the call center industry. 11/29/2012

Why Moving to the Cloud is Ideal for Your Contact Center
The cloud is that intangible technology that has its purpose pretty much everywhere you go, from social to business and even mobile. The benefits of the ethereal cloud, however, are quite tangible and very real, and when it comes to the contact center, the benefits equal plenty. 11/29/2012

Gartner Honors 8x8 as a Market 'Leader' in Magic Quadrant for UCaaS in North America
Gartner Inc., an esteemed information technology research and advisory firm, has recognized 8x8 as a "Leader" in its recent report, 2012 Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) in North America. 11/27/2012

Call Center Provider 8x8 Honored with 2012 Frost & Sullivan Market Share Leadership Award for VoIP Services
Call center solutions providers need to focus on developing options for customers that enable quality interactions, real-time reporting and performance improvements, which thus allows the call center to benefit from an increased customer-base, improved quality of service and even higher revenue streams - all without much having to pay much attention to the underlying technology that enables these improvements. 11/27/2012

Customers Aren't the Only Ones to Benefit from an Effective Contact Center
Obviously, call centers exist to serve the needs of the customers who call them. What many contact center managers forget to remember, however, is that an effectively operating contact center doesn't just help those who call them, but it also provides a slew of distinct benefits for the company itself. 11/19/2012

Did Cloud Computing in Obama's Call Centers Help Win the Election?
With the presidential race decided and the campaign messages temporarily put to rest, let's take a look at some of the technology that was used by the Obama team to ensure him another four years in office. One tool used by campaigns for years is the call center, but now, as cloud computing continues to gain momentum, the virtual call center is playing an even bigger role. 11/19/2012

Keeping An Eye on VoIP Call Quality in the Contact Center
While many call centers strive to achieve quality - quality of the customer service provided, training of the agent, first-call resolution and warm transfers - not as many call centers worry about the most basic measure of quality: the clarity of the call. 11/15/2012

Hurricane Sandy was No Match for 8x8's Dual Coast Data Centers
If there has been any one thing stressed after Hurricane Sandy swept through the East Coast, it's the vital importance of a secure and dependable disaster recovery (DR) plan. Many traditional landline phones went down in affected areas, leaving businesses with the stark afterthought of how important it is to take action and invest in cloud-based communication services - specifically, those offered by industry leader 8x8, Inc. 11/12/2012

8x8 Demonstrates a Noticeable Shift in the Market
Communications is one of the most vital tools for a company to drive revenue, yet it can still be one of the most expensive. This is especially true for the call center in operation today. In light of this, one call center and virtual call center solution company has found a way, it believes, for businesses to cut their communication expenses in half. 11/5/2012

2012 Holiday Contact Center Tech and Trends: The Gifts That Keep on Giving
While people everywhere begin drafting their holiday gift lists, contact center managers too seem to have a few things in mind to better improve their call and contact centers. While some contact center trends are outdated, there are others that some are eagerly waiting to see in the near future. I was able to recently speak with David Baker, VP of Servion, who detailed some contact center trends and technology to both look out for and nix. 11/5/2012

8x8 Assigned Two New Patents for Communication Technology Innovations
With technological advancements defining new waves of innovation in the information and communications technology (ICT) sphere, patents have been playing an increasingly important role in the economic performance of the companies. In light of this, renowned hosted IP telephony provider, 8x8, has always sought to protect its innovations and intellectual assets through the securing of patents. 11/1/2012

Last Year was 'Snowtober' This Year it's Hurricane Sandy: Strengthen Your Call Center's DR Plan Now
Hurricane Sandy is far from slowing down to wrap up this year's hurricane season with a bang, and behind that, winter isn't very far away. While to most people, it means putting away the summer clothes, putting in the storm windows and raking the yard, to call centers, it means something very different. While most call centers are generally equipped to deal with minor problems - glitches in equipment, absences on the part of some employees, high call volume - the effects of weather on call centers can be devastating. A closed call center due to circumstances such as power outages, flooding, building damage or employees unable to get to work can devastate a business. 10/29/2012

The Biggest Contact Center Problems and Trends, and How it Can Affect You
Even in a shaky economy, the contact center industry is proving growth in many areas, particularly job opportunities. Recent market intelligence dictates that job opportunities will double over the coming years, particularly in the Philippines. According to Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP), the biggest problems that the call center industry will see overall include employee retention and slim pickings when it comes to employee selection. 10/29/2012

8x8 Achieves Record Revenue of $26.4 Million in Q2 2013
8x8 has truly been making significant strides within the last year. Not only has the company essentially taken the reins on the IP telephony and unified communications (UC) market, but it also re-located to a new San Jose, C.A-based headquarters which doubles in size to accommodate its high demands. Clearly, the company has cemented its position in the cloud-based business communications landscape, and nothing further proves that fact than its Q2 2013 financial reveals, which show that 8x8 has achieved record revenue of $26.4 million. 10/24/2012

Clarifications and Realizations - How to Cross the Unified Communications 'Chasm'
If anybody should discuss the unified communications (UC) movement it's 8x8, Inc., whose almost unfathomable growth and demand for cloud-based UC solutions has forced them to move to a new facility that's doubled in size to accommodate its expanding customer base, which exploded from 17,000 in mid-2009 to 30,000 businesses today. 10/22/2012

Prayers are Answered with New Contact Center Software - Literally
Most contact centers have traditional hours with ordinary caller inquiries ranging from credit card suspicions or payments to asking general questions. But what if your contact center had no specific working hours, rather, you could remain on the line for as long as you felt compelled to? This is exactly the type of environment experienced in the Christian Broadcasting Network's contact center, which is called the Prayer Center, where agents discuss callers' spiritual needs at any time of the day. While this is an amazing and inspiring organization, the center needed something to help better train their employees who so selflessly devoted the majority of their time to their abundance of faithful customers (pun intended). 10/18/2012

Where There's Smoke, There's an Inefficient Contact Center
Picture it - you excitedly pull up a chair at a new, four-star restaurant to experience the benefits of exquisite taste and experience only to find that the food is bad and the service is even worse. You confront the manager about its deceiving appearance and explain that the ads you saw in the paper make it sound like the best in town. You then learn the hard way that fancy looks and sophisticated advertisements aren't everything when it comes to running an efficient business. 10/17/2012

8x8 Making Big Moves to Support Momentous Growth
If you've been keeping up with cloud services provider 8x8, Inc. lately, you'll have undoubtedly noticed the enormous strides it's been taking in its respective fields of business communications needs. Over the summer, 8x8 was named the clear industry leader and number one provider of hosted IP telephony and unified communications (UC) by market research firm Frost & Sullivan, and the company also boasts a long list of prestigious accomplishments. 10/11/2012

The Longer Customers Wait, the Harder it is to Provide Quality Customer Care: Web Callback is the Missing Puzzle Piece
Face it, no one now-a-days likes to wait for anything (did they ever in the first place?) Whether it's waiting for your friend or relative to call you back or text you, waiting for a pick-up at your favorite restaurant or waiting for an important delivery, we all similarly pretend to be respectfully patient when we're well-aware of the bottom line: no one likes waiting. 10/10/2012

Elevate Your Contact Center by Selecting the Perfect Software
Every business relies on positive customer interactions and reliable sales strategies to come out on top. Contact centers are the forces behind these critical business processes, and contact center software is the brain behind the customer service initiatives the organization puts in place. 10/8/2012

8x8 to Reveal Second Quarter Fiscal 2013 Earnings, Conference Call on October 24
8x8, Inc. a provider of innovative cloud communications and computing solutions, will soon reveal its second quarter fiscal 2013 results ended September 30, 2012 after market close on Wednesday, October 24, 2012. 10/4/2012

8x8 Reveals New Virtual Office Mobile 4.0 at ITEXPO Austin
The mobile craze is still blazing for Americans. Forty-one percent of U.S. citizens owned a smartphone last year, and that number has jumped to encompassing half of all adult Americans now owning some sort of smart device, according to Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, which polled over 9,500 adults this summer. Between tablets and smartphones, this has yet to take into account today's youth who possess smart devices, too. Further, one-third of these individuals use their mobile devices to view news stories and other sorts of media at least once a week. 10/3/2012

8x8's Huw Rees to Discuss Speeding Up Adoption of UC Tech at ITEXPO Austin
Unified Communications (UC) is becoming an ever growing part of the technological community. Industry insiders from across the globe are seeing an increased need and an increase call for more advanced versions of the technology every day. Along those lines, VP of business development of 8x8 Inc., Huw Rees will be giving a presentation on the issue of accelerating the adoption of Unified Communications at ITEXPO Austin as part of his keynote address. 10/2/2012

Implementing Integrated Contact Center Software from the 'Outside In'
Improving customer service in the contact center starts with reframing one's perspective. Taking a step back and really viewing things through the eyes of the customer can help yield positive gains in contact center software and enhance the overall customer experience. This is a method that Art Schoeller, analyst at Forrester Research in Massachusetts refers to as 'outside-in.' Many business managers already know this, but find they "don't have time" or "need to focus on other business aspects." But when it comes down to it, you can never have enough time for what should be your number one priority - the customer. 10/1/2012

8x8 Awarded New Contact/Call Center Patent by U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
8x8 Inc., a provider of revolutionary cloud communications and computing solutions, has been awarded with a new patent related to its robust contact/call center technologies. The United States Patent number 8,275,116, entitled "Networked Contact Center," was awarded through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office earlier this week. 9/27/2012

Win a Free iPad By Visiting 8x8 at ITEXPO Austin 2012 at Booth #801
This week is an especially exciting one, as companies everywhere are prepping for the highly anticipated ITEXPO Austin 2012, the world's largest communications and technology event where enterprise, government and SMB end users, resellers, service providers, manufacturers, developers, media and analysts are united for a week packed with business-building, research and developmental insights, as well as conference sessions, demo products and live services and tutorials on the floor. 9/26/2012

8x8 Presenting at Craig-Hallum 3rd Annual Alpha Select Conference
8x8, Inc. has officially revealed its plans to provide further insight and excitement into the world of innovative cloud communications, computing and unified communications by presenting at the Craig-Hallum 3rd Annual Alpha Select Conference on Thursday, September 27, 2012 beginning at 9:20 a.m. Located at Sentry Centers in New York City, this one-day conference will showcase to over 60 small and micro-cap companies that fit the Alpha Select List (ASL) criteria. 9/18/2012

Calabrio's User Group Membership Grows 200 Percent from 2011 to 2012
Calabrio, Inc., a specialist in contact center workforce optimization software and analytics solutions, recently revealed the good news that its User Group membership has grown to almost 200 percent from 2011 to 2012. 9/17/2012

Aspect Software Launches Extended Contact Center Solution 'Tiger Shark'
Aspect Software has been a long-standing provider of customer contact, enterprise workforce optimization and Microsoft platform solutions. Today, the company has expanded its offerings by launching its Unified IP 7.1, codenamed "Tiger Shark," which serves as an extension to the Unified IP 7 family that will power the company's multichannel interactions solutions for customer contact. 9/11/2012

8x8 to Highlight Cloud Telephony, UC Solutions at ITEXPO West 2012
8x8, Inc., a provider of hosted IP telephony and unified communications (UC), has revealed that it will be participating in ITEXPO West 2012, one of the world's largest communication and technology events to take place October 2-5 in Austin, Texas. 9/11/2012

Premise-based UC Solutions May Be In A Slump, but 8x8 Shows There's Growth In The Cloud
While the U.S. economy is a mix of bright and dark spots, many analysts are suddenly seeing what's being called a "mini tech boom." While no one likes to use the word "boom," particularly as it pertains to tech (we've been there before), it seems clear that the enterprise market is hungry for new solutions that will help them take advantage of modern communications trends. Unified communications is one of these bright spots - particularly hosted services. 9/6/2012

Web Callback: A Critical Development for Call Center Sophistication
What if call transfers and hold times could be eliminated altogether? What if you never had to wait on the line for the next available agent ever again? Needless to say, we've all been there at least once in our lives: listening to that unbearable music with the intermittent interruption of an automated voice thanking you for your patience and assuring you that your call is important to them. We know that, but we still don't like waiting. Not every inbound call center is designed to accommodate every customer's unique inquiry. Now, some are taking notice to make significant improvements to enhance overall experience. 9/4/2012

How Web Callback Features Improve Call Center Experience
The idea of calling a large organization to find a solution to a problem, place an order or seek technical support can at times cause anxiety and frustration. Not every inbound call center is designed to accommodate the customer's wishes, but some are making important investments to improve the overall experience. 8/27/2012

Is Social Media the New Contact Center Software?
Did you know that the average reach of one single Facebook post for everyday users - meaning no celebrity or high-profile content posts - is about 30,000 people? This can be both good and bad news when it comes to building or destroying your call center reputation. A large part of running a successful call center is implementing software which can gather and organize customer insights, yet long gone are the days of traditional contact center software. Today, it seems what is really hindering or helping call centers everywhere is their social media presence and influence. 8/27/2012

Flexibility is Key in Contact Center Software
The customer care division of any company can seem a drain on resources when there isn't a direct connection between their activities and revenue growth. Regardless, this division is still critical to the overall health of the organization, and contact center software lends considerable value in helping this division reach its goals. 8/23/2012

And the Countdown Begins: Platinum Sponsor 8x8, Inc. Exhibiting at 2012 ITEXPO West
There's about five weeks left until the highly anticipated 2012 ITEXPO West Event takes place. ITEXPO serves as a symbol of all of the latest and greatest in the rapidly evolving world of communications and technology. Taking place October 2-5 in Austin, Texas, ITEXPO is self-described as "the only place you'll get the broad picture, as well as in depth-details." Enterprise, government and SMB end users, resellers, service providers, manufacturers, developers, media and analysts are united for a full week packed with business-building, research and developmental insights, as well as conference sessions, demo products and live services and tutorials on the floor. 8/22/2012

One VoIP Service Provider Ahead of the Pack: How and Why
The future seems to be wide open for 8x8 Inc., who has been basking in its growth and success over recent years - and with good reason. In a recent video from the Executive Editorial Open House in San Jose, CA, TMC's Erik Linask spoke with 8x8's CMO Debbie Jo Severin, who elaborated on what's driving the company's communications as well as how it is adapting to new services and trends in this rapidly evolving industry. 8/21/2012

8x8 Inc. Awarded New Contact Center Patent
Cloud communications and hosted VoIP solutions provider 8x8, Inc. has been granted a new patent. The company was recently awarded by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office a patent related to its contact center and call center technologies. The patent, issued on August 14, 2012 (number 8,243,913) is entitled "Limiting Contact in a Networked Contact Center Environment." 8/15/2012

Why the Traditional Call Center Just Doesn't Cut it Anymore
Many people seem relieved when they hear that the movement away from the traditional call center is among us. For Denise Parker, it was nothing short of a revelation, who published an article today on Bussiness2Community saying that "the clouds in my head parted, the sun shone through like never before, and I heard tiny angels sing the hallelujah." So why does the traditional call center need improving in the first place, and what factors are influencing changes happening within the call center industry? 8/13/2012

What is Contact Center Software?
As contact centers rise to the cloud, SMBs and other various organizations continue to favor its many benefits and advantages over on-premises call centers. One way to optimally impact a virtual call center operation is to deploy sturdy, reliable, and flexible contact center software. 8/13/2012

Why You Should Choose 8x8 Complete Contact Center Now
Multimedia contact management, skills-based routing, customizable IVR, computer telephony integration (CTI), real-time monitoring, and historical/on-demand reporting; this is only a sampling of what 8x8's complete contact center can provide users. 8x8 Complete Contact Center is a self-described "hosted call center solution that delivers great agent productivity and flexible call center management - at a fraction of the cost of traditional call center solutions." 8/8/2012

Need-to-Know Info for Selecting Ideal Contact Center Software
So you've made the decision to begin operating a contact center, but perhaps the hardest part is yet to come - settling upon contact center software. Call centers implement a variety of software for a number of reasons - from boosting productivity to gaining deeper customer insight to improving the overall quality and efficiency of their services. 8/6/2012

HP Unveils Transformation for Contact Center Software and Services
A transformed contact center enables clients to optimize operating efficiency by increasing agent utilization and increasing the percentage of calls resolved at the first point of contact without transfer or escalation. HP Enterprise Services, the global business and technology services division of Hewlett Packard and an IT service company, revealed new services that can help clients enhance customer satisfaction and increase revenue by optimizing the operating efficiency of their contact centers. 8/2/2012

8x8 Recognized By Frost & Sullivan for its Market Share Leadership
Frost & Sullivan awarded 8x8 with the 2012 North American Frost & Sullivan Award for Market Share Leadership. This recognizes 8x8's dominance for the past five years in the North American hosted IP telephony and UC services market. 7/31/2012

Contact Center Software: Connect First Honored for Cloud Routing Solution
Queue for this, queue for that…now queue even in the cloud! A unified queue in the cloud allows calls to be routed to multiple distributed contact centers or secondary queues, such as IVR. It even allows specialized ACD skill groups to complete business connectivity. ConnectFirst's Cloud Routing Platform stands out in the field of connectivity and is high in demand. 7/26/2012