This Month in Telecom: August 2018
This Month in Telecom is a monthly news round-up on VoipReview.org that aims to give our readers a fast and easy way to catch up on the latest news and top stories that are trending in the voice and telecommunications space. Check in each and very month to find out more about stories you may have missed in regards to new companies, mergers, trends, and other telecom advancements.
Let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories in telecom for the month of August.
Vonage Buys Leading WebRTC Player TokBox
Leading cloud communications provider Vonage (NYSE: VG) opened the month with the announcement of its acquisition of TokBox, the industry leader in WebRTC programmable video, for $35 million.
A subsidiary of Telefonica based in San Francisco, TokBox offers a platform that allows users to add live video into their websites, mobile apps, and IoT devices with just a few lines of code.
The all-cash transaction, valued at $35 million, is expected to expand the Vonage communications API platform with video capabilities. The deal also hopes to increase Vonage’s share in the fast-growing CPaaS market.
Vonage CEO Alan Masarek, had this to say about the latest acquisition: “We are incredibly excited to announce the acquisition of TokBox, the global leader in programmable video APIs. With TokBox, our API portfolio expands beyond voice, SMS and IP messaging to include global leadership in programmable video. TokBox significantly expands our total addressable market, and it is a major step towards global leadership in cloud communications.”
CallTower Launches New CT Cloud Solutions
Earlier this month, CallTower, a trusted global provider of Unified Communications and Collaboration solutions for enterprises, unveiled their new CT Cloud Voice and SIP solutions.
Designed to enable enterprises to optimize workforce engagement throughout multiple locations, CT Cloud solutions merges powerful cloud PBX, UC, and collaboration functionalities in one robust platform.
The platform is also connected to CallTower's secure, geo-redundant global network and backed by US-based customer support.
William Rubio, the Chief Revenue Officer at CallTower, expressed his excitement over the company's latest offering, saying, "We are thrilled to unveil our CT Cloud Solution. Delivering an exceptional customer experience is key to CallTower. With this cost-effective business communications and collaboration solution, we offer more than a VoIP phone service or traditional PBX. CT Cloud delivers unified voice, video, conferencing, messaging and collaboration, SMS, contact center and mobility, plus more.”
Votacall Introduces Enterprises SaaS Speech Suite
To help enterprises elevate the employee communications experience, Votacall, a leading provider of Hosted VoIP solutions and business communications systems, recently launched this month its enterprise Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Speech Suite, Votacall chitchat.
According to Votacall, speech recognition technology has become ubiquitous these days. It’s in our homes, cars, and of course, on our mobile devices. And yet, it is not as prevalent in the business world. It’s for this reason that Votacall developed chitchat to simplify business communications.
With chitchat, Votacall customers now have ability to speech enable VoIP and UC features via Sandy, the speech assistant. Sandy is designed to instantly facilitate employee and customer speech requests both in the office or on the road.
Chitchat enterprise SaaS speech suite is fully integrated with the Votacall Office Access Hosted VoIP PBX.
Ooma and TalkDesk Announce Partnership to Boost Ooma Enterprise Customer Experience
Ooma, Inc. (NYSE:OOMA), a smart communications platform for businesses and consumers, announced its latest partnership with TalkDesk to enhance the experience of Ooma Enterprise customers.
Ooma will now integrate Talkdesk’s best-in-class contact center platform to its award-winning business phone solution designed for mid-sized and large enterprises. By connecting Ooma Enterprise with Talkdesk, customers can enjoy better efficiency and convenience by engaging a single vendor to implement bespoke solutions for their enterprise communications and contact center requirements
Chief Executive Officer of Ooma Eric Stand, said, “One in ten UCaaS users in an organization works in a contact center, either serving external customers or employees through departments such as information technology or human resources. That’s why we’re excited to offer the category leading Talkdesk platform to Ooma Enterprise customers.”
Mitel Unveils MiCloud Engage Contact Center
To empower enterprises to respond to the ever-increasing customer expectations, Mitel, (Nasdaq:MITL) (TSX:MNW), a global market leader in business communications, took the wraps off its its newest offering: MiCloud Engage Contact Center, a highly-insightful Contact Center-as-a-Service (CCaaS) platform. The provider also announced the latest release of MiCloud Flex, a Mitel flagship UCaaS solution.
Currently available for purchase in the U.S. market, MiCloud Engage Contact Center is a multi-tenant CCaaS platform that’s always-on, highly secure, and instantly scalable. It can work with any call control platform and operate within a company’s existing environment to deliver advanced contact center capabilities. It’s also easy to implement and supports remote workers.
The newest release of MiCloud Flex, meanwhile, is aimed at creating even more individualized customer experiences. It extends omnichannel support to enable customers to connect with businesses on the device and channel of their choice.
“As communication demands shift and businesses continue to undergo digital transformation, Mitel is empowering companies to leverage the contact center beyond a support function and tap into its potential for driving a more intelligent customer experience,” said Jon Brinton, Senior Vice President of Customer Experience Solutions, Mitel.
West Completes Flowroute Acquisition
A global leader in technology-enabled services, West Corporation, has announced that it has completed its acquisition of Seattle-based cloud telecom company Flowroute.
The deal, which was first reported in late June, aims to expand West’s existing service technology and enhance their cloud-based offerings in order to provide customers with a broad product set of solutions.
John Shlonsky, Chief Executive Officer of West Corporation, had this to say about the company’s latest acquisition: “West is very excited to add the Flowroute service creation environment to our diverse and innovative product portfolio. Their API and self-service capabilities allow customers to create carrier-class message and voice solutions rapidly - in a manner that helps them adapt more quickly to the market.”
