New RingCentral platform, UC mobile app and AI partnerships
RingCentral introduced a new customer engagement platform, mobile app and AI voice analytics. Learn how the new offerings improve the user experience.
RingCentral is expanding its cloud-based communications offerings with a new customer engagement platform, AI voice analytics partnerships and a revamped mobile app.
RingCentral, based in Belmont, Calif., announced the new products and partnerships at its ConnectCentral cloud communications conference. The announcements center around streamlining the user experience.
RingCentral Engage is a customer engagement platform based on contact center technology company, Dimelo. RingCentral acquired Paris-based Dimelo in October for an undisclosed amount.
The RingCentral platform manages customer interactions through an AI-based routing engine, which allows agents to manage customer interactions across all digital channels using a single interface. Agents can use Engage to connect to relevant experts and other agents from within an organization to assist in customer interactions.
"It's important to empower agents with the right tools that will give them the ability to engage customers across multiple channels," said Blair Pleasant, analyst at Commfusion LLC. "It's also important to enable agents to access the expertise they need from people throughout their organization."
The RingCentral platform will also integrate with RingCentral's team messaging and video offerings. Agents can use real-time messaging, including web chat, SMS and Apple Business Chat, and can transition to video and screen sharing with one click to resolve issues faster and more efficiently.
The Engage platform is available now and its messaging and video integration will be available early next year.
RingCentral introduces new UC mobile app
A new mobile app from RingCentral will round out the unified communications user experience by allowing employees to communicate with the device of their choice. Today's employees use an average of four communication apps and about 66% of employees want to use a single communications platform, according to market research firm Cite Research.
RingCentral's mobile app strives to meet employee demand by including features such as team messaging, voice and video into one application.
"Unified communications is evolving to support the way people want to work and collaborate, and unified messaging is a fundamental part of that evolution" said Jim Lundy, CEO of Aragon Research.
The RingCentral mobile app is designed to serve both internal and external communications needs. The app focuses on three principles:
- creating a collaborative experience by allowing users to create teams, add both internal and external members, and access features such as chat functionality, file sharing and calendar events;
- supporting enterprise voice capabilities with business number identity, which allows users to dial out, take calls, perform extension dialing and send SMS worldwide -- the app also provides a one-click transition from chat to voice; and
- providing easy-to-use video capabilities to allow users to start or join video and screen sharing meetings with one click.
The RingCentral unified mobile app is available in the app store and will be available in several languages, including French, German and Spanish by the end of November.
RingCentral brings AI voice analysis to platform
RingCentral has also added AI voice analytics to its platform by partnering with Velvetech, Gong.io and Theta Lake. The AI vendors are part of RingCentral's Connect Platform Partner Program, which allows partners to build services on RingCentral's Connect Platform.
RingCentral partners can use the program's open APIs to integrate with RingCentral's cloud-based communications platform and offer customers a range of AI capabilities. Partners can use the new AI voice analytics services in a number of ways:
- Velvetech, a software development platform provider, is using the open APIs to create a real-time transcription feature using machine learning from Xsell Technologies.
- Gong.io, a conversation intelligence platform, is using RingCentral's open APIs to build features that incorporate machine learning to improve best practices for sales teams.
- Theta Lake focuses on audio and video communications compliance and archiving recordings for regulated industries.
In addition to its AI partnerships, RingCentral is enhancing its partner integrations with Box and Google. RingCentral Archiver allows users to archive RingCentral communications data automatically in Box. Using the Google Calendar add-on, users can use RingCentral for audio and video calling without having to toggle between applications.
