Zoom has launched Zoom Contact Center, an omnichannel contact center solution. The company optimized it for video and it integrates into the same Zoom experience.

Now available, the platform combines unified communications and contact center capabilities with the usability of the Zoom platform. It supports customer service use cases and workflows using channels like video and voice, with SMS and webchat in beta.

As for channel partners, the contact center is available in the United States and Canada via the company’s Referral Partner Program. This includes the Zoom Master Agents Program, Direct Agent Program, and Standard Referral Program.

Innovation Through Video

The platform has more than 100 agent, supervisor and contact center administrator features at launch. Future investments will include additional channels, CRM and workforce management integrations, and AI/ML to optimize agent productivity. This new offer extends traditional capabilities typically optimized for voice. This is to provide a unique end customer experience through channels like video, the company said.

COMMfusion’s Blair Pleasant

Blair Pleasant is president and principal analyst of COMMfusion.

“Zoom understands the importance of bringing together UC and multichannel contact center into the same experience,” Pleasant said. “Zoom is known for great video, which is important for high-touch customer scenarios and internal use cases like IT help desk, employee helpline and revenue-generating activities. But the fact that Zoom Contact Center supports routing, additional channels, and the agent functionality organizations need, means that [the platform] could become the modern contact center solution of choice.”

Contact center agents who work remotely still need to navigate multiple communications tools. The platform streamlines inefficiencies by bringing communications into one central hub. Agents can collaborate with peers, supervisors or other employees right in Zoom Chat and channels.

Ensuring Ease of Deployment and Use

The contact center is simple for administrators to configure and deploy, including a graphical drag-and-drop IVR designer. Zoom says contact center administrators can easily create menus, greetings and prompts in the same Zoom Admin portal. It can also integrate chat and video into an existing digital presence, such as a website. This helps organizations have conversations with customers in the right context and at the right time.

Zoom’s Oded Gal

Oded Gal is chief product officer of Zoom.

“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,” Gal said.