UCaaS enjoyed a big month.
Cloud-based communications providers were all over the news in March, announcing partnerships and products designed to take customer experience to the next level.
Call center was a big subset of UCaaS announcements. TPx put out a new offering, and Vonage rolled out a new capability for its platform. Other companies launched new collaboration tools and analytics features to enhance existing offerings. Quite a few of these announcements occurred at the Enterprise Connect conference.
We did see other technologies pop up. A cable company released a long-expected software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) service, Tech Data added an automation product to its portfolio and Windstream expanded its Ethernet service.
Go through the 12 images below to see the hottest new products and services in the channel.
Missed last month’s roundup? Check out the February edition.
CenturyLink
CenturyLink's partners can sell a new collaboration tool from Cisco.
Cisco BroadCloud Flex is a cloud-based calling platform designed help users transfer uninterruptedly from phone conversations to to other meeting formats. Features include unlimited auto-attendant subscriptions and shared call appearances. Partners can also sell Cisco Webex Teams.
Here's the story about CenturyLink's updated portfolio.
Windstream
Windstream Wholesale expanded its Ethernet services footprint.
Windstream connected its fixed wireless service to 400,000 more Ethernet locations. The service area, which works in tandem with the company's core fiber footprint, now touches 50 major metro markets.
The company plans to reach more markets and locations with the service this year.
Read about the expansion.
8x8
The
UCaaS company announced a bevy of new and enhanced products at Enterprise Connect Orlando.
8x8 integrated its contact center with Google Cloud AI capabilities to better assist call center agents. 8x8's channel chief told us that the Google partnership may result in consulting and professional-service opportunities for partners.
8x8 also is integrating Jitsi’s open-source video communications into its X Series Meetings platform.
Edward Gately wrote about 8x8 as part of our Enterprise Connect roundup.
AvayaAvaya, just like 8x8, is teaming up with Google's AI.
The compoany further integrated Google Cloud Contact Center AI inside its offering, baking Google’s machine learning into its "conversation services." Avaya also unveiled a series of
video collaboration products.
The Google partnership story is the next bullet point in the same Enterprise Connect column.
TPx
The managed services and connectivity
provider launched a new contact center offering.
TPx said UCx Contact Center will enhance its UCx UCaaS platform with customized call routing, native call recording and dynamic reporting. The vice president and head of TPx’s UCx line of business told us that the new service's advanced features put the company on "equal footing with traditional hardware-based, premises-based PBXs."
Read about the new platform.
Fuze
The
UCaaS company is working with
Samsung to capitalize on 5G.
Their new partnership combines Fuze software with Samsung hardware. The companies at Enterprise Connect shared how they recently collaborated with their first joint customer. The partnership also tackles IoT and machine-learning in addition to 5G.
Read some of the specifics.
Vonage
We wrote twice about the New Jersey-based communications
company.
Vonage expanded its cloud-native platform by making a customer relationship management (CRM)-integrated contact center service. CX Cloud Express resulted from Vonage Business Cloud integrating with NewVoiceMedia, which Vonage
bought in September.
Vonage debuted the offering at Enterprise Connect and unveiled a "number programmability" feature on its cloud platform.
Read about the NewVoiceMedia integration.
Masergy
The hybrid networking
company also got in on the Enterprise Connect fun.
Masergy created an AI-powered virtual agent, Masergy Intelligent Virtual Agent, that's behind the chatbots in its UCaaS offerings.The Intelligent Virtual Agent will combine with predictive analytics and machine learning to make customers' lives easier.
Check out the other Enterprise Connect column.
LogMeIn
LogMeIn launched a unified communications and collaboration brand stemming from its
Jive purchase.
The company described GoToConnect as its"first truly integrated UCC solution." It joins LogMeIn's meeting, webinar and conference room products in the new "GoTo" portfolio.
Edward Gately has the scoop.
Tech Data
Tech Data has robotic process automation (RPA) in its portfolio thanks to a new partnership.
The distributor and its partners got their hands on Automation Anywhere's main product, Automation Anywhere Enterprise. Tech Data's vice president of analytics and IoT solutions for the Americas told us that RPA is complementary for partners that sell big-data analytics, cloud, IoT and business process management solutions.
Get details of Tech Data's announcement.
Spectrum
Spectrum Enterprise's software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) solution is officially on the market.
Spectrum is offering the service on top of a software-defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV) platform. Three technology partners, including Nuage Networks, help power the offering.
Read about the platform.
Intermedia
Intermedia rolled out a new analytics platform.
Unite Envision creates real-time visualizations of its unified communications and collaboration platform, Intermedia Unite, which combines file sharing, phone, chat, web and video conferencing.
Intermedia’s vice president of UC product and marketing told us he wants to make selling Intermedia UCaaS easier for partners.
Learn more about the platform.