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 (News - Alert), it is a recent assessment by Gartner that has them ready to celebrate.
To catch you up to speed, it was recently reported that 8x8 has been honored by Gartner (News - Alert) in the company’s Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications (UC), where the company was named in the “Leaders” Quadrant. At the same time, 8x8 also placed in the far right on the Quadrant for “completeness of vision.” This demonstrates the company’s continued commitment to innovative technologies within its R&D division.
So much so, that 8x8 CEO Bryan Martin (News - Alert) decided to sit down to discuss this further in a company blog.
8x8 is all too familiar with the feeling, boasting a slew of prestigious awards, accolades and honors. For instance, the company proudly claims 85 awarded patents, with others still pending, and it was also this year named the No. One provider of hosted IP telephony.
Furthermore, its 100 percent developed platform provides call center solutions in the cloud to help more than 30,000 businesses find efficiency in operation and productivity in its integrated UC solutions. A turnkey approach ensures customers can easily replace CapEx with OpEx – all while simultaneously lowering total cost of ownership (TCO).
A closer look at any company blog, however, and you’ll find plenty to brag about. Every company considers itself a leader in its respective industry and the sheer number of clients proves success, right?
Wrong. A better testament is how a company performs when the rubber meets the road. In times of intense challenge, does the call center perform as promised? When Hurricane Sandy pounded the East Coast, the time had come for companies to demonstrate whether or not their solutions performed as promised.
8x8 client Eric Gregware, a director at Ipreo, had this to say in the wake of Hurricane Sandy: “Approximately two-thirds of our team is based on the East Coast of the U.S. between Washington D.C. and New York City. Overall, we support over 2,000 global clients spanning from major financial institutions to large cap public companies. During Hurricane Sandy, none of our team members were able to make it into their respective local offices; however, most did have power and Internet at their homes.”
Gregware continued, “Our U.S. team members logged into 8x8 and had calls delivered to their mobile phones. They were backed up by our teams located in London, Seville, Hong Kong and Tokyo. All twelve of our global local customer service numbers were attended to and our client support was 100 percent operational and available throughout the disaster.”
In this situation, customers were forced to make immediate changes to their way of doing business, requiring flexibility and scalability. When communications can be instantly deployed wherever the customer service team members need to be, business continuity is assured. It is the ultimate test of walking the walk and talking the talk. Like others, 8x8 couldn’t anticipate the carnage left in Sandy’s wake. Instead, the call center solutions provider had to be prepared to act on its promises.
8x8 promises more innovation in 2013, building on its successes in the call center space in 2012. New features and enhancements are likely to come, but the sustainability of a robust platform is the key to long-term success. Given its performance in the aftermath of Sandy, expect even more great things from 8x8.
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Edited by Allison Boccamazzo