Summary Bullets:

• Recent initiatives have increased brand awareness for RingCentral and enhanced its reputation in the unified communication and collaboration market.
• RingCentral’s diverse portfolio of voice, video, messaging, and contact center services makes it a competitor to be taken seriously.  

RingCentral is by no means a new kid on the block.  Last month marked 22 years in operation.  Since the time of its founding, noteworthy milestones have been reached.  For example, in 2003, the company introduced its cloud phone system. In 2009, a presence in the UK was established.  In 2012, a partnership was forged with AT&T.  In 2013, an IPO was completed.  Fast forward to the present and RingCentral continues to achieve.  In the past year alone, the company has propelled forward with new features, new services, strategic partnerships, and acquisitions.  RingCentral is serving notice to competitors: ignore it at your own peril.

Summary Bullets:

• Avaya has added a multitude of capabilities to Avaya Spaces, a collaboration tool that enables integrations with other applications.
• Avaya Spaces is part of the ‘OneCloud’ portfolio, which is playing a pivotal role in Avaya’s transformation from a legacy provider to an as-a-service business.

Avaya has added a multitude of capabilities to Avaya Spaces, a collaboration tool that enables integrations with apps such as Salesforce, Office 365, G-Suite, and Slack.  Spaces is built on Avaya’s communications platform-as-a-service offering (Avaya OneCloud Cloud CPaaS).  It allows businesses to connect workstream collaboration capabilities with existing on-premises equipment.

Summary Bullets:

• The COVID-19 pandemic has generated a seismic shift in contact centers on multiple fronts.

• Almost overnight, the strategic role contact centers play in supporting the customer experience has entered the spotlight.

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated a seismic shift in contact centers on multiple fronts. First, almost overnight contact centers have transformed from physical locations filled with agents and their supervisors to having a virtual presence where all staff work remotely. Second, now contact centers are the result of an evolution from voice-centric call centers as they handle multiple channels. Third, with options for in-person service limited or unavailable, contact centers have become central to managing the customer experience. How has the metamorphosis of contact centers transpired? That question will be examined in this post.

Continue reading “COVID-19: The Contact Center Takes the Spotlight” →

Summary Bullets:

• RingCentral is playing catch-up to competitors such as Zoom, Slack, and Microsoft, which already offer freemium plans.
• Offering a freemium plan is a double-edged sword, but there are steps RingCentral can take to avoid pitfalls.

RingCentral just introduced RingCentral Glip Pro, a freemium version of RingCentral Glip. RingCentral Glip Pro combines RingCentral Video videoconferencing introduced in April with team messaging, file sharing, contact, task, and calendar management capabilities. Offering a freemium plan enables RingCentral to close a gap with competitors. However, providing a freemium offer also presents potential pitfalls. Fortunately, there are steps RingCentral can take to avoid mishaps. Continue reading “RingCentral Jumps on the Freemium Bandwagon with RingCentral Glip Pro” →

Summary Bullets:

• The unprecedented size of the work-from-home (WFH) population has made ‘collaboration’ a marketing buzzword virtually overnight.
• To compete in the collaboration space, service providers and vendors will soon need to offer a critical mass of specific capabilities.

A monumental byproduct of the COVID-19 pandemic is a WFH population of unprecedented size. Eager to preserve pre-pandemic productivity levels, companies everywhere are seeking to mimic the in-office work environment. Service providers and vendors have answered the call with an abundance of integrated tools intended to facilitate team collaboration. Virtually overnight, ‘collaboration’ has become a marketing buzzword. Continue reading “Collaboration: We Can Work It Out – or Can We?” →

Summary Bullets:

• Salesforce’s announced acquisition of Slack came as a surprise, especially given the $28 billion price tag.
• Although Salesforce and Slack make a natural union, the deal suffers significant drawbacks. Salesforce raised eyebrows last week by revealing its intention to acquire Slack. Careful deliberation of the journey which led to the announcement reveals what likely lies ahead for the pairing.

Slack came from humble beginnings as the in-house messaging tool for a company called Tiny Speck. In August 2013, the tool became widely distributed under the name ‘Slack’ and its parent was renamed Slack Technologies. Slack is an e-mail alternative centralizing people, information, and tools into ‘channels,’ thus making teams more productive.

Today, Slack Technologies goes by ‘Slack’ and has risen to new heights on the shoulders of platform enhancements, partner relationships, and fresh blood in the management ranks. Slack has drawn a global, loyal following of 12 million+ daily active users across 750,000 organizations. Despite its allure, Slack finds itself searching for profitability and in need of a well-funded suitor to rescue it. Just in time perhaps, Salesforce has come along. Continue reading “Salesforce and Slack to Form a More Perfect Union” →