8x8 Delivers Latest Platform Innovations Adding Video Engagement to 8x8 Contact Center

Rhea-AI Summary

8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ: EGHT) has expanded the availability of Video Elevation capabilities for its Contact Center platform. This new feature enables contact center agents to visually diagnose and resolve issues, reducing the need for onsite technical assistance and improving customer experience. Key benefits include:

1. 150% quarter-over-quarter growth in video interactions initiated by agents
2. Reduced support costs and unnecessary onsite visits
3. Enhanced first contact resolution for various industries
4. Improved customer satisfaction and resolution time
5. Easy-to-use, mobile-first engagement for multiple sectors

The Video Elevation feature is part of 8x8's integrated cloud UCaaS and CCaaS solution, which offers a 99.999% uptime SLA.

Positive

• 150% quarter-over-quarter growth in video interactions initiated by agents
• Reduced support costs and unnecessary onsite visits
• Enhanced first contact resolution for various industries
• Improved customer satisfaction by 41.4% and resolution time by 40.6% when using video
• Platform Housing Group saved £50,000 on communications hardware per year
• Expanded recording storage with up to 130 days of hot storage and up to ten years of cold storage

Negative

• None.

Insights

Tech Expert

8x8's Video Elevation for Contact Center represents a significant advancement in customer service technology. By enabling visual diagnosis and resolution of issues, this innovation addresses key pain points in customer support:

• Improved first contact resolution, potentially reducing support costs
• 150% quarter-over-quarter growth in video interactions, indicating strong adoption
• Enhanced ability to assess urgency and resolve issues remotely

The platform's integration with 8x8's unified communications suite offers a comprehensive solution for businesses seeking to streamline their communication infrastructure. With features like expanded recording storage and native video functionality, 8x8 is positioning itself as a leader in the evolving landscape of customer engagement technologies.

Market Research Analyst

The introduction of Video Elevation aligns with broader market trends in customer service preferences. Metrigy's research indicating that 97% of consumers want video and screen-sharing for troubleshooting suggests a strong market fit for this product. Key market impacts include:

• Potential for significant improvements in customer satisfaction (41.4%) and resolution time (40.6%)
• Competitive advantage in industries like insurance, manufacturing and retail
• Addressing the growing demand for personalized, efficient customer interactions

This innovation could drive market share growth for 8x8 in the competitive cloud communications sector, particularly among businesses prioritizing customer experience enhancements.

Financial Analyst

While specific financial figures aren't provided, the Video Elevation feature presents several positive financial implications for 8x8 (NASDAQ: EGHT) and its clients:

• Potential for increased revenue through higher customer retention and upselling opportunities
• Cost savings for clients, exemplified by Platform Housing Group's £50,000 annual savings on communications hardware
• Scalability without proportional cost increases, as demonstrated by Platform Housing Group adding 300 users with minimal cost impact

The 99.999% uptime SLA across integrated UCaaS and CCaaS solutions further strengthens 8x8's value proposition. However, investors should monitor adoption rates and the impact on 8x8's revenue and market share in upcoming quarterly reports to fully assess the financial impact of this innovation.

Enables Contact Center Agents to Improve First Contact Resolution, Enhance Customer Experiences, and Reduce Support Costs By Using Embedded Video Escalation Capabilities

CAMPBELL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- 8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ: EGHT), a leading business communications, CX and CPaaS platform provider, today announced expanded availability of Video Elevation capabilities for 8x8 Contact Center. The new digital engagement capabilities enable contact center agents to visually diagnose and resolve issues, such as property damage or the assembly of a recently purchased product, reducing the need for onsite technical assistance and improving the overall customer experience. Since introducing Video Elevation, video interactions initiated by agents using 8x8 Contact Center to assess and resolve customer inquiries have grown by 150% quarter-over-quarter.

The video escalation feature enables agents to evaluate and determine the best course of action on a case-by-case basis, reducing support costs and unnecessary time spent on onsite visits. For instance in the UK, housing associations have used Video Elevation to address tenant concerns remotely by assessing the urgency of repair and resolving routine maintenance requests without the need for an onsite visit from a technician, enhancing first contact resolution.

UK public housing association, Platform Housing Group, used the one-way video capabilities to handle 31% of issues remotely as well as replace more than 20 on-premises computer servers. “The £50,000 saved on communications hardware per year is just the beginning, once you factor in a host of time-savings. The phone bill is almost zero each month and when we added 300 users, our costs remained virtually static,” said Mohammed Zabir, Director of Technology & Delivery at Platform Housing Group.

“Video is widely used for business meetings and personal interactions, so why not extend its value for customer interactions, especially considering consumers overwhelmingly want to use video and screen-sharing when they interact with companies,” says Robin Gareiss, CEO of Metrigy. “For example, nearly 97% say they want to use these technologies when they are troubleshooting new products. This may explain why customer satisfaction improves by 41.4% and resolution time improves by 40.6% when video and/or screen-sharing are used.”

For the retail sector, 8x8 customers have leveraged Video Elevation to enable their customers to ask agents for help with assembly or identifying a missing part quickly and easily. Further, contact center agents can reduce average handling time by clarifying confusing discussions and overcoming language barriers.

“Video Elevation is incredibly user-friendly and intuitive. It allows our contact center agents to easily interact with a dealership through video or screen sharing to troubleshoot and resolve issues,” said Tom Gustine, Lead Technical Service Specialist at Manitou Group, a French heavy equipment manufacturer of forklifts, cherry pickers, telehandlers, and other heavy equipment. “It has enabled us to solve complex issues quickly and efficiently while saving time and resources.”

Example use cases and key benefits of 8x8 Contact Center video elevation capabilities include:

• Easy to Use, Mobile-first Engagement for Automobile Insurance Providers: Contact center agents share a secure, one-way video link via SMS, allowing customers to easily grant the agent permission to see their mobile device camera and geolocation in real time, reducing the need for onsite technicians to assess automobile damage and speeding up insurance claim processing times.
• Reduce Cost and Time for Manufacturers: Assess issues with complex manufacturing equipment quickly to determine if an issue can be resolved remotely or if an onsite visit is necessary.
• Meet Rising Tenant Expectations for UK Public Housing Associations: Video Elevation provides tenants of housing associations with a new video engagement channel capability to resolve issues more quickly and in a more empathetic and personalized way.
• Easy Access to the Full Customer Story for Retailers: In today’s omnichannel environment, consumers often interact with retailers across several channels before making a purchase. Video recording history can be found in the 8x8 Agent Workspace and any still screenshots, metadata, and the recordings themselves are stored within the 8x8 CRM, making it easy for the agents to access all the customer context they need to deliver a personalized experience.
• Dynamic Agent Controls for Utilities: Agents are given multiple, dynamic controls to assist the customer as efficiently as possible, including the ability to take a screenshot of a water meter, for example, on the customer’s camera, request exact location of an issue, as well as request to flip to the other camera on their device.
• Great Agent Experience: Native video elevation functionality allows agents to utilize the capabilities directly in 8x8 Contact Center, providing additional privacy as they handle video interactions.
• Expanded Recording Storage: 8x8 supports up to 130 days of hot storage and up to ten years of cold storage for expanded coverage of video recordings.

“The ability to elevate customer support issues to video is an incredible way to optimize contact center operations while driving a higher level of customer experience and satisfaction,” said Hunter Middleton, Chief Product Officer at 8x8, Inc. “The new one-way video capabilities reduce average handling times and increase first contact resolution for so many industries, including retail, manufacturing, and housing, while also improving the contact center agent experience, empowering them to provide faster, more seamless customer support.”

Video Elevation is part of 8x8’s cloud contact center and unified communications platform, which includes cloud contact center, business phone, video meetings, team chat, and SMS capabilities. The 8x8 platform is a resilient, secure, and compliant platform, offering the highest levels of reliability with a financially backed, platform-wide 99.999% uptime SLA across an integrated cloud UCaaS and CCaaS solution.

About 8x8 Inc.

8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ: EGHT) is a leading provider of integrated contact center, voice communications, video, chat, and SMS solutions built on one global cloud platform. 8x8 uniquely eliminates the silos across the entire organization to power the communications and customer engagement requirements of all employees globally as they work together to deliver differentiated customer experiences. For additional information, visit www.8x8.com, or follow 8x8 on LinkedIn, X and Facebook.

8x8® is a trademark of 8x8, Inc.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240912292298/en/

8x8, Inc. Contacts:

Media:

PR@8x8.com

Investor Relations:

Investor.relations@8x8.com

Source: 8x8, Inc.

FAQ

What is 8x8's Video Elevation feature for Contact Center?

8x8's Video Elevation is a capability that allows contact center agents to visually diagnose and resolve customer issues through video interactions, reducing the need for onsite technical assistance and improving overall customer experience.

How has the adoption of Video Elevation grown for 8x8 (EGHT)?

Video interactions initiated by agents using 8x8 Contact Center have grown by 150% quarter-over-quarter since the introduction of Video Elevation.

What industries can benefit from 8x8's Video Elevation feature?

Industries that can benefit include housing associations, retail, manufacturing, automobile insurance, and utilities. It helps in assessing property damage, product assembly, equipment issues, and more.

How does Video Elevation impact customer satisfaction and resolution time?

According to Metrigy, customer satisfaction improves by 41.4% and resolution time improves by 40.6% when video and/or screen-sharing are used in customer interactions.

What storage options does 8x8 (EGHT) offer for video recordings?

8x8 supports up to 130 days of hot storage and up to ten years of cold storage for expanded coverage of video recordings.