8x8 has launched 8x8 Frontdesk, a new 8x8 XCaaS (eXperience Communications as a Service) composed experience for high volume call handling.
According to the company, 8x8 Frontdesk is designed to advance the receptionist role by delivering a tailored experience and user interface that brings together traditional unified communications and contact centre capabilities.
It provides call queuing and handling features for greater productivity and personalised engagement for a hybrid work environment, 8x8 states.
It also leverages the single-vendor, integrated employee communications and customer engagement capabilities of 8x8 XCaaS and is natively enabled within the 8x8 Work app.
This eliminates the need for additional applications to install or support, and also removes any dependency on additional third-party solutions.
8x8 Frontdesk offers organisation-wide visibility into the status and availability of the entire workforce with the ability to filter users by site - spanning standard 8x8 extensions and Microsoft Teams users - and connecting incoming callers to employees and call queues.
In addition, it enables the receptionist and front desk function to be assigned or delegated to any user, regardless of role, location, or device.
According to 8x8, the 8x8 Frontdesk tailored user interface is designed to maximise productivity, enabling receptionists and front desk staff to answer calls efficiently regardless of location or device, access a custom view of expert resources to consult and connect calls using single-click interactions.
It is designed to reduce training costs, speeding user adoption and time to value, according to the company, and is built on the secure and compliant 8x8 eXperience Communications Platform for greater reliability and platform-wide SLA.
ZK Research founder and principal analyst Zeus Kerravala says, "Organisations don't want cookie cutter, one-size-fits-all communications solutions for their distributed employees.
"They are looking for an agile solution that meets specific use cases, such as high volume call handling to easily connect customers, partners, and vendors with any employee at any time.
"8x8 XCaaS and the 8x8 Frontdesk solution addresses the changing requirements of receptionists and front desk staff, especially as they shift to a hybrid workplace.
8x8 chief product officer Hunter Middleton says, "As businesses embrace hybrid work environments, the traditional receptionist or front desk role now requires the same flexibility and movability of any other role within the organisation.
"By developing a purpose-built, native solution that leverages communications, collaboration, and customer engagement features from 8x8 XCaaS, 8x8 Frontdesk is empowering organisations to create a very personalised and empathetic experience for their employees and customers.
"This ensures that every first customer contact is a great one by eliminating traditional limitations and restrictions previously associated with this role.
