No Jitter Roll: CCaaS Integrations, UCaaS UpdatesNo Jitter Roll: CCaaS Integrations, UCaaS Updates
A look at the latest news from Genesys, Talkdesk, Fuze, Star2Star, Vyopta, Verizon, Poly, and Verint
May 21, 2020
In this week’s No Jitter Roll, we share the latest on workforce engagement solutions, digital transformation, business continuity, and integrations.
Genesys to Add Zoom Calling, Video Integrations
Global CCaaS provider Genesys this week announced integrations with Zoom Phone and Zoom Meetings for its cloud contact center platform. The integrations provide organizations with a unified interface to both the Genesys and Zoom services. This means contact center agents on the Genesys platform would be able to reach out to subject matter experts in the business via voice or video, for example. Specifically, the integrations allow:
Use of Zoom’s PBX functionality when choosing Zoom Phone as voice carrier
Unified directory and presence lookup to connect with Zoom Phone users
Video collaboration via Zoom Meetings without exiting Genesys Cloud
Ability to record Zoom meetings, and support screen sharing
Genesys and Zoom will jointly market the integrations, will be available this quarter, Genesys said.
Talkdesk Expands WEM Suite
Another CCaaS provider, Talkdesk, this week released new workforce engagement management (WEM) capabilities. The additions combine AI and automation with an intuitive user experience to help optimize staffing and scheduling decisions, reduce administrative effort, and improve agent scheduling, Talkdesk said. The WEM suite now includes Talkdesk’s quality management, advance call recording, screen recording, and speech analytics tools, the company said.
Fuze Expands Platform
Cloud communications provider Fuze this week announced the launch of its Fuze 6 platform. The company said it delayed the release from an February date to better understand the impact of COVID-19, identify trends, and prepare for next steps.
With the update, Fuze said it aims to deliver a range of improvements for resiliency and scalability; user experience; integrations; and security. In particular, Fuze said it has:
Updated the backend services architecture to enhance monitoring, intelligent routing, and capacity management for increased volume of meetings, mobile engagement, communication, and video
Doubled the number of allowed participants in video meetings from 12 to 24, and added Fuze Join to simplify meeting join flows for attendees, even on older browsers like Internet Explorer. Other user experience updates include MMS capabilities, chat reactions, dark mode for iOS, and new keyboard shortcuts for Fuze Web and Desktop.
Added updated calling and meeting integrations with Slack, Microsoft Teams and G Suite, among others, to its integration marketplace
Updated its security and data protection mechanisms to address emerging trends and security threats
Fuze 6 is available now, as part of the company’s current licensing plans.
Star2Star Bolsters UCaaS Offerings
UCaaS provider Star2Star earlier this month announced four new bundles and several additional products. These offerings are designed with the remote workforce in mind, as small and large businesses continue to adapt to work-from-home requirements, the company said. The bundles — Professional, Collaboration, Customer Service, and Contact Center — vary by targeted business need. The Customer Service bundle, for example, includes CRM integrations and Service Insight solutions, while the Professional bundle provides communications and collaboration essentials, Star2Star said. New products include mass notification, CRM integration, employee alert and other packaged applications; a Service Insight solution; contact center solution updates, and a video meetings tool.
Vyopta Updates UC Monitoring Platform
UC monitoring and analytics provider Vyopta this week introduced several remote voice and video capabilities in its Collaboration Performance Management (CPM) platform to maximize support for remote work in the enterprise. This solution aims to help IT teams prevent capacity failures, ensure quality experiences for remote users, as well as automate compliance and adoption reporting for stakeholders. These latest features include:
Visibility to track internal and external network performance
Updated dashboards for tracking adoption, capacity, and quality
UC technology support to enhance coverage for meetings
Richer analytics on concurrent meetings and peak usage for Cisco Expressway
Free extended trials of Vyopta’s CPM for organizations using Cisco Meeting Server and Pexip Infinity
Verizon Welcomes BlueJeans
Verizon this week announced that it has closed on the BlueJeans Network acquisition and welcomed 390 BlueJeans employees to the company. With the closure of the deal, BlueJeans video conferencing solution has become a part of Verizon’s Advanced Communications portfolio and will complement Verizon's mobile-first solutions like One Talk, Verizon said.
Poly Debuts New Teams Headset
Poly this week unveiled its latest corded USB headset, the Blackwire 8225. The plug-and-play audio solution features three settings for active noise cancellation and a noise-canceling microphone, Poly said. Additionally, the headset is available in a Microsoft Teams version, which features a dedicated Teams button for calls and meetings, according to Poly.
Blackwire 8225 is currently available for $210 from Poly partners.
Verint Announces Teams Integration
Customer engagement software provider Verint this week announced Microsoft Teams integration for its compliance recording solution, which companies can use to record, analyze, and retrieve Teams voice calls, chats, online meetings, and screen shares. Capital Home Loans is among a number of financial institutions already using the Teams integration, Verint said.
Ryan Daily, No Jitter associate editor, contributed to this article.
