10 Key Features of 8x8 XCaaS

Make the Most of Cloud Communications and Contact Centre Technology with 8×8 XCaaS

The ability for businesses to communicate effectively is essential in the modern digital age, in which important and sensitive information is continuously being passed between colleagues and customers. With so many methods of communication on the table, it can be difficult to manage them all. But XCaaS platforms offer a handy solution to so many communication-based woes that plague modern businesses and can completely change a business’s communication prospects for the better very quickly.

Combining the best elements of UCaaS (Unified Communications as a Service) and CCaaS (Contact Centre as a Service), XCaaS (Experience Communications as a Service) is arguably the most complete and comprehensive method for businesses to uphold consistent contact centre omnichannel communications, to drive productivity and business continuity. Think of it as the ultimate toolbox of the business communication world; everything you need to get the job done, all located in a single place (more on that in a moment).

An industry leader, 8×8 has offered employee and customer communications solutions for years and has amassed a regular user base of over 3 million customers on its XCaaS solution. Its products are utilised by many major businesses worldwide to simplify and maximise the potential of their communication – this includes international computing powerhouse Acer and fast food giant McDonald’s, to give you a good idea of their customer base. In other words, 8×8 XCaaS is trusted by some of the biggest brands in their respective fields, making them an ideal solution to your business communication needs. 

If poor communications are causing your employee productivity to suffer, here are 10 key features of 8×8 XCaaS you should know about, so you can make an informed decision and choose the right communications tools for your business.

10 Features of 8×8 XCaaS That Will Benefit Your Business

1 – All Communication Channels Conveniently in One Place

It used to be the case that businesses would utilise only limited major forms of communication – often phone calls, emails and faxes. But today, with so many forms of communication available, each with its own benefits, it is not surprising to see businesses using many different applications to meet their needs – often reaching double figures.

Not only is this unnecessary from a practicality standpoint, causing employees to waste hours of combined time toggling between different apps, but it can also be very expensive to maintain, with multiple subscription costs leaving business bank accounts every month. But thanks to UCaaS and XCaaS platforms, like 8×8 XCaaS, businesses can enjoy seamless and simplified communications on a plethora of devices. 

XCaaS platforms, like UCaaS platforms, house all the essential methods of communication a business needs to stay connected with colleagues and customers alike – these include email, instant messaging, voice, video and file transfers, all conveniently accessible in a single application. With XCaaS solutions, users can also shift seamlessly between modes of communication without the need to terminate the original contact – for example, moving from a phone call to a video conference.

With XCaaS solutions, businesses can expect to see their productivity skyrocket and their monthly spending greatly reduced.

2 – AI-Powered Self-Service Experiences

With almost two-thirds of business owners believing artificial intelligence (AI) can lead to better customer relationships, according to data featured in Forbes, it should come as no surprise that AI technology has become widely adopted by businesses across the globe in recent years. This is also true in 8×8 XCaaS.

Many consumers prefer dealing with their queries without the need for a human agent to intervene, which is why chatbots and similar chat platforms have become such useful tools. Allowing customers to “chat” about their problems with a fully automated service agent, chatbots had been able to fulfil simple, easy-to-follow demands in customer interactions, until the arrival of AI.

Rather than just accessing customer data and fulfilling short requests, more modern and advanced chatbots and self-service tools featured in 8×8 XCaaS, powered by AI, can complete far more complex tasks than their older counterparts. These include fulfilling in-depth orders, offering detailed product information and transferring callers or chatbot users to the correct department based on the severity of their needs – all without a human agent. This not only provides a more relaxed service for the independent customer, but it also frees up real-life workers to focus on other pressing tasks, helping to boost employee productivity. If you want to take some extra weight off your in-house contact centre staff, these tools will make a huge difference.

3 – Enterprise-Grade PBX (Private Branch Exchange) Features

While communications are wide-ranging in the 21st century, it still pays to have an efficient and easy-to-maintain contact centre set up for customers who reach out via telephone, along with other digital methods of communication. Another benefit of 8×8 XCaaS is the inclusion of intelligent PBX features suited to large businesses with large numbers of inbound calls.

Advanced auto attendant, for instance, can be employed to add much-needed structure to call flows, with callers able to provide the necessary information quickly and easily to either fulfil their needs without the need to be transferred, or to be transferred to the correct department with as little delay as possible. Plus, with the addition of AI technology, these impressive auto attendants can recognise far more complex requests and language offered by callers, ensuring they reach the correct person in the first instance, and helping to deliver exceptional customer experiences in a more timely manner.

Better still, these features also include handy voicemail-to-text tools that can automatically transcribe the contents of a voicemail to text, and send it to a pre-determined email address – no more wading through hours of customer messages. Instead, 8×8 XCaaS transcribes them all for you and stores them in the most convenient place, for easy access, in the blink of an eye.

4 – Video Conferencing Capabilities

Video conferences have become the go-to contact method for many businesses, both internally and externally, depending on the circumstances. According to statistics featured in UC Today, a Unified Communications discussion platform, 99% of workers cite productivity rises as a result of accessible video conferencing tools, making video tools an essential component of modern business communications.

With video being so prominent, 8×8 decided to take these video experiences to the next level, offering video conferencing features that elevate it above the competition. Specifically, 8×8 XCaaS allows businesses to host staggeringly large video conferences that can house up to 500 users in a single conference, making company-wide meetings more accessible than ever. Imagine being able to have every single employee in the same room with you when you deliver important news, and how seriously the news would be considered. This is the feeling video conferences through 8×8 XCaaS can provide, making company-wide communications far more personable and impactful; something that can be lost with a simple email.

Thanks to end-to-end encryption, these video conferences are also incredibly secure, ensuring only authorised users are allowed to enter video sessions. By scrambling data from the point of the source to the point it is received, and ensuring video content is only viewable by conference members, the chances of a conference being unwillingly breached are slashed significantly. 

5 – Device Versatility

It was once the case that employees needing to remain in contact with their colleagues and customers had to do so via their business phone at a desk, essentially tethering them to a specific point for the day. But thanks to advancements in communications and digital technology, the tools required to remain constantly connected can be accessed virtually anywhere today. 

The cloud-based nature of 8×8 XCaaS means the application can be installed on any suitable digital device and be accessed at all times via an internet connection, giving workers more options than ever before to remain connected and perform tasks in a manner that works for them. These digital devices include PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones, opening up a world of communication opportunities, and ensuring that should one device fail, work can be picked up on another device quickly and easily, cutting downtime significantly. 

This also presents great opportunities from a portability standpoint; should a worker need to leave their usual setup, they’re able to take their portable digital device with them and work on the go, allowing them to contribute to business success wherever they are.

6 – Integratable with Existing Applications

While XCaaS can be used to replace many tools businesses are needlessly subscribed to, that doesn’t mean it needs to replace every existing communication tool. There are various tools businesses and individual colleagues may prefer to continue using, for the sake of familiarity or set ways of working that would be disrupted with the sudden removal of a specific tool. 

This is why 8×8 XCaaS is designed to work alongside many communication and creative tools businesses everywhere are using today. Microsoft Teams, for instance, remains one of the most popular business communications tools on the planet, and can easily be integrated into the 8×8 XCaaS platform straight out of the box. Therefore allowing colleagues to take advantage of the plethora of features offered by the 8×8 platform without sacrificing the comfort and familiarity they’ve developed working with Microsoft Teams. 

This feature also allows colleagues to choose which interface they would prefer to use in this scenario – 8×8 or Microsoft Teams – preventing the need to spend initial hours getting used to the new presentation. Have you ever moved from one smartphone to another that was completely different? It takes a long time to fully get used to things, doesn’t it? Now imagine if your work productivity was dependent on you being able to use this new device as effectively as possible – it would be quite jarring, right? Well, with 8×8 XCaaS, this problem becomes a thing of the past – you can choose the interface that works for you, saving you time and headaches.

7 – Remote and Hybrid Working Capabilities

With 25% of the UK population adopting some form of home or hybrid working at some point during 2022, according to data from the Office for National Statistics, it’s clear many companies are still embracing work-from-home opportunities for their staff that were initially brought about by the COVID pandemic.

Businesses that want their colleagues to remain in constant contact with their customers and each other while also offering them the freedom of hybrid working opportunities should seriously consider 8×8 XCaaS. As the solution is cloud-based, rather than needing to be installed and accessed from an on-site hard drive, it can be used by any employee with the correct login details, appropriate digital device and a steady internet connection.

The way these cloud communications tools can be accessed also means remote employees can utilise any work-related data stored within the system, giving them the same opportunity to remain as busy and productive as their office-based colleagues, from wherever they happen to be. Along with boosting overall employee satisfaction, with many enjoying a better work-life balance when adopting hybrid work, offering hybrid or remote working can act as an appealing benefit when wanting to attract the most qualified and capable new starters.

8 – Impressive SLAs and Uptime

Service Level Agreements (SLAs) refer to the terms laid out by a service provider, guaranteeing a minimal level of service you can expect to receive upon entering an agreement. Given how heavily their customers rely on their services, 8×8 takes these SLAs and customer satisfaction very seriously. Their faith in their XCaaS platform, based on such impressive feedback from countless users, is hard to deny. This is why, as part of their offering, 8×8 boasts an unmatched minimum of 99.999% uptime for all their customers, essentially guaranteeing a consistently reliable platform throughout your agreement.

For businesses that have faced considerable downtime with previous communications technology providers, this presents a very lucrative opportunity to maintain connectivity with customers and colleagues at all times, without fear of technical errors in the system causing serious delays and costing the business productivity and profits.

9 – Workforce Engagement Management

In any contact centre or sales environment, it is important to be able to accurately measure the effectiveness of employees in their positions, to ensure they’re reaching company targets and serving customers as well as possible. Along with excellent communication tools, 8×8 XCaaS also includes integrated workforce engagement management tools companies can use to track the performance of their contact centre-based workers. These tools can monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) including call times, call numbers, call durations, conversion rates, steps taken in the customer journey and more – all of which are noted and can be used to highlight potential issues in employee performance.

By focusing on these details and identifying issues quickly, companies can take appropriate action to help their workers better serve customers, boosting sales, improving retention rates and pushing the business forward.

10 – Personalised Experiences Per Job Role

Given how many roles of influence within a large business need to take advantage of consistent daily communications, and given how different each of these roles can be, it makes sense that their usage and interaction with communications tools can differ greatly. In this scenario, a one-size-fits-all tool simply wouldn’t do the job. A contact centre worker would not utilise XCaaS tools the same way as an IT manager or a CEO would, for example. 8×8 understands this, which is why they offer fully personalised experiences based on roles and business seniority in their XCaaS solutions. 

By offering different roles within the business their own personalised interfaces and sets of communication tools, everyone at every level of the business has the chance to best utilise these tools in their day-to-day, rather than having to wade through the plethora of tools on offer to find the ones that are most relevant to them. In turn, this saves time and boosts productivity throughout the business, from top to bottom.

Ready to Onboard 8×8 XCaaS? Choose Elite Group as Your XCaaS Partner

As an official 8×8 Partner, Elite Group are authorised to offer 8×8 XCaaS and other 8×8 products to businesses in need of a change. By onboarding 8×8 XCaaS with the help of Elite, you can eliminate potential speed bumps that may be experiencedwhen onboarding the tools alone, and cut the time it takes to boost your productivity and profits through more effective cloud-based communications.

At Elite, we take the time to get to know your business and treat you as an individual. We analyse your business practices and offer advice and improvements we know would make a huge positive impact to your communications, based on our combined decades worth of knowledge in the business technology space. 

By onboarding 8×8 XCaaS with Elite, you’ll also have consistent access to a team of 8×8-accredited specialists with in-depth knowledge of the new tools you’ll be using, so you’ll always be in touch with someone who can help, should you ever need a hand. 

Plus, with a dedicated account manager, you’ll always have a full understanding of your agreement and all terms will be explained to you in full before making a commitment, giving you complete clarity of your new products.

Ready to take the next step in perfecting your communications? Click here to find out more about 8×8 XCaaS or speak with an Elite expert today and let’s get the ball rolling.