Nextiva CCaaS, a Broader Vision
Nextiva recently unveiled the new Nextiva Contact Center, extending its contact center as-a-service (CCaaS) plans for businesses from two to four user bundles. This includes two voice-only call center packages which Nextiva has already been selling, and two more advanced…
Accent Evolves with VoiceONE Connect
Accent Communication Services, an Ohio-based national provider of telecommunications services and solutions, recently launched VoiceONE Connect, a new cloud-based telephony and unified communications (UC) service that represents an evolution of the company’s VoiceONE Business Edition introduced in 2017 for small…
Nextiva, Competing Around the Customer Experience
Nextiva has crossed our research radar lately, not only because it’s listed among the top 10 largest Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) providers in North America (per IHS Infonetics’ 2018 UCaaS North America Vendor Scorecard), but more so because…
8×8 Builds Out X Series
This summer, 8×8 officially rolled out its new X Series that combines all 8×8 unified communications and contact center services as a single platform, bringing together 8×8’s separate Virtual Office, Virtual Contact Center and ContactNow cloud-based products as a continuum…
NEC Adding Cloud-based Value
NEC has been steadily adding cloud-based business applications to its UNIVERGE BLUE portfolio of business communications services, most recently adding the UNIVERGE BLUE ONDemand Collaboration video conferencing cloud service based on technology from Vidyo. Under this partnership, NEC channel partners…
RingCentral, Integrating with Team Collaboration
Team collaboration capabilities were integral to many of the new solutions highlighted at the recent Enterprise Connect in Orlando, FL. This fast-emerging category continues to evolve in the form of stand-alone tools for teamwork, but we’re also beginning to see…
Consolidation Round-up
The business communications industry is evolving fast in terms of technology, but also in the number of vendors and providers competing in this market. There were several major shake-ups that impacted the unified communications (UC) space in 2017. Mitel purchased…
Research Radar: 2018
If this past year is any indication, we are in for another whirlwind year of surprises and major changes in the fast-evolving business communications space. It’s that time again. Another year has gone by, and we look back to see…
A Year in SMB
More options are always a good thing, and in that sense, 2017 was a good year for small and mid-size businesses (SMBs) seeking new business communications solutions. Market statistics vary, but all agree that the SMB opportunity is a massive…
Unify’s OpenScape Cloud: A Q&A
Recently, Unify (a division of the European IT service company Atos) released the OpenScape Cloud service, an integration of the company’s Circuit team collaboration software-as-a-service (SaaS) application and its OpenScape Voice solution as a single cloud-based service. Each solution on…
8×8 Differentiates New X Editions
Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) provider 8×8 recently introduced three new competitively-priced cloud-based user bundles, the 8×8 Virtual Office “X” Editions. Each of the new editions (X2, X5 and X8) comes with popular enterprise telephony and UC functions, but…
Business Phones & the OPEX Model
Last June, we wrote about the growing number of traditional telephony equipment vendors seeking to simplify the payment model for customers that opt for on-site IP-PBX, contact center, messaging, meeting and UC solutions. These vendors recognize that many of today’s…
Panasonic Canada’s Cloud Business Bundles
Panasonic Canada steps up the options for small and mid-sized businesses and enterprises (SMBs and SMEs) in the Canadian market with a new cloud-based telephony service offering called simply Panasonic Hosted PBX. Panasonic has long been delivering telephony solutions for…
A Business Edition from Accent
Accent Communication Services recently expanded its VoiceONE business telephony offering with a more affordable option for small and mid-size businesses (SMBs) in North America, the VoiceONE Business Edition. The new offering is an Asterisk-based solution that supports essential telephony features in…
Mitel-Toshiba: Next Steps
In March of 2017, Toshiba Corporation of Japan announced abruptly it would “wind-down” its Telecommunications Systems Division (TSD) starting immediately, including all telecom sales in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The news came just as TSD was rolling out new…
Fuze Streamlines User Packages
Fuze, a Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) provider based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, recently streamlined its user packages down to two offerings to help simplify its multi-tenant UCaaS offer for mid-size and larger businesses. By pricing the solution as a…
Simplifying the On-prem Payment Model
We’ve been watching the growing popularity of cloud-based business communications and the associated recurring, operational expenditure (OPEX) payment model. The budgetary advantages are clear. With an OPEX model, a business avoids the up-front expense of purchasing and installing on-site equipment,…
Cisco Simplifies Business Edition for SMBs
Cisco recently expanded its Business Edition family of all-in-one communications platforms with a new model optimized for small and mid-size businesses (SMBs), the Business Edition 4000. The new system joins the portfolio as a voice-centric telephony appliance for simple office…
Genesys Aligns Portfolios
Back in August of 2016, Genesys announced its intent to acquire competitor Interactive Intelligence, combining two market leaders in contact center and customer experience solutions. The Interactive Intelligence portfolio brings along products and services in the mid-market business segment (250-750…