In an effort to prepare themselves to deliver the best possible omnichannel customer support for customers, many companies are turning to 21st century versions of the traditional automatic call distributor (ACD) and interactive voice response (IVR) to allow agents to deliver anytime, anywhere customer support that starts with a 360-degree view of the customer.

To this end, many companies have formed partnerships to build the best possible platform with the most versatile features and built-in unified communications.

Jtel GmbH, a German vendor of advanced IVR and ACD solutions, recently announced that it’s forming a strategic partnership with Danish unified communications solutions provider ICCC to deliver its advanced ACD and contact center solutions to customers in the Nordic region. ICCC says it hopes to capitalize on the growing need companies have to replace their aging ACD and contact center solutions, which will allow them to deliver more robust customer support across multiple channels.

"Everyone knows the benefits that call and contact centers bring to enterprises and service providers, but the current generation is past its sell by date,” noted Leif Rasmussen, Managing Director of ICCC , in a statement. “Our customers need agile innovation that enables them to customize solutions to their specific needs and complement other delivery channels. They want flexibility in terms of deployments – cloud or hybridized, and they recognize the value that WebRTC is going to deliver.”

WebRTC, the open standard that allows for cross-browser video conferencing, is expected to become a crucial element of the customer support organization of the future. Jtel and ICCC says the WebRTC option will offer a broader choice of communication methods to customers and contact centers, allowing companies flexibility to differentiate themselves from competitors and boost customer engagement to the “omnichannel” standard. Offering newer solutions such as modern IVR functionality and WebRTC also allows solutions providers to differentiate their offerings, as well.