Windstream Enterprise has enhanced its XCaaS service to give enterprise and midmarket companies the ability to link customer contacts across voice, digital and open-media channels.

The enhancement uses Mitel’s 4.1 version of its unified communications as a service (UCaaS) and contact center as a service (CCaaS) offerings. Windstream said its upgrade to Mitel 4.1 is a “commitment to enabling a superior omnichannel experience.”

Curt Allen, Windstream’s senior vice president of channel, tells Channel Partners that with true omnichannel capabilities, XCaaS gives his company’s partners an opportunity to help joint customers “differentiate their businesses by enabling them with a comprehensive suite of tools which provide the ability to deliver a best-in-class customer experience.”

Windstream’s Curt Allen

“Ultimately, our new offering will help our customers drive business value via improved customer experience (improved customer satisfaction, increased average revenue per user (ARPU), reduced costs of customer acquisition, improved employee retention, improved response times, better call handling times, increased margins, etc.),” he said.

Windstream Enterprise’s current offering has very broad vertical appeal, Allen said. In addition, compared to other Mitel partners, Windstream Enterprise has the highest CCaaS attach rate, which is the ratio of sales of a primary product to a related secondary product, he said.

“With this enhancement and improved omnichannel capabilities, our partners have the ability to go deeper into accounts in any vertical and provide even more value to them,” he said. “Most importantly this gives partners the ability to service customers whose business need is a full suite UCaaS/CCaaS offering, resulting in net new opportunities for our partners and Windstream Enterprise.”

In order to stay competitive in today’s business environment, it’s not enough to “just have a good product, you also need to differentiate yourself by delivering a best-in-class customer experience,” Allen said.

“As next generations enter the workforce, demand for different types and channels of customer interactions are increasingly based on where, when and how the customer wants to engage,” said Austin Herrington, Windstream Enterprise’s vice president of product management. “Organizations that can deliver a truly differentiated and superior customer experience perform better, operate more efficiently and can quickly develop market loyalty. This additional service offering helps create that environment.”

In addition to OfficeSuite UC and UCaaS/CCaaS Mitel offerings, Windstream Enterprise offers its SD-WAN Concierge, Cloud Connect and Wi-Fi solutions.