No Jitter Roll: Teams Integration, SD-WAN CertificationNo Jitter Roll: Teams Integration, SD-WAN Certification
A look at news this week from Fuze, Cisco, Talkdesk, Freshworks
February 27, 2020
In this week’s No Jitter Roll, we share recent activity on UCaaS-team collaboration integration, FedRAMP certification for SD-WAN, contact center professional services, and AI-related merger and acquisition.
Cisco SD-WAN Gets on the FedRAMP
This week, Cisco announced that its SD-WAN solution has achieved "In Process" FedRAMP status. That means federal agencies can now find Cisco SD-WAN in the FedRAMP marketplace, and once the solution receives full approval will be able to deploy it, Cisco said. Other FedRAMP-authorized Cisco products include Webex Meetings, Hosted Collaboration Solution for Government, and Hosted Collaboration Solution for Defense.
Fuze Integrates with Microsoft Teams
As the old saying goes, “everything is better together.” In this case, UCaaS provider Fuze announced an integration between its calling and meeting services and Microsoft Teams.
The Teams integration is the latest development in Fuze’s effort to enable cross-platform collaboration and increase workforce efficiency, said Jed Brown, a VP with Fuze, in a prepared statement.
With the integration, users will be able to:
Create audio and HD video meetings by entering @fuze in the chat field of any Teams conversation; attendees can join the meetings via desktop, mobile, or web
Initiate calls to contacts, numbers, or extensions from a Teams conversation or sidebar
Transition from chat to a video or audio call with Teams-enabled commands
The Teams integration, available now, is part of the Fuze license and available here. Call escalation is still in progress but Fuze said it aims for release in the early part of this year.
Talkdesk Adds Transformation Services
Cloud contact center provider Talkdesk this week introduced a white-glove service aimed at helping organizations transition their contact centers from the premises to the cloud, with an eye on improved customer experience. The offering, called Business Transformation Services, introduces an operating model that brings together people, processes, and technology with the goal of improved customer outcomes, Talkdesk said. With its Business Transformation Services methodology, Talkdesk will focus on three components of customer experience: strategy, enablement, success, the company said.
Freshworks Ups AI Ante
Customer engagement software provider Freshworks this week announced its acquisition of AnsweriQ, which uses machine learning and AI to generate customer self-service questions and answers and improve next-step escalations. AnsweriQ will complement Freshworks’ AI engine, Freddy, by enabling enterprise organizations to leverage their existing customer data to scale self-service experiences and automate complex customer workflows, Freshworks said.
AnsweriQ CEO Pradeep Rathinam will join Freshworks as chief customer officer, responsible for the company's global customer support, onboarding, and customer success organizations. The acquisition is Freshworks' second in under a year, and immediately follows nearly 60% year-over-year growth in billings, the company reported.
Ryan Daily, No Jitter associate editor, contributed to this article.
