Any organisation lives or dies on its communication abilities. In today’s digital-first environment, connecting customers and companies via the channel they’re most comfortable with is a critical operational component.

With the advent of mature, cloud-based systems, an increasing number of businesses are migrating from on-premise VOIP systems to UCaaS or CCaaS platforms (unified communications as a service, or contact centre as a service).

These advanced pieces of software let contacts and collaborations take place seamlessly as the participants shift from voice, to video, to text – even mid-call. But UCaaS means a whole lot more besides these engineering basics, and today’s guest on the Tech Means Business podcast takes us through the details.

Amir Hameed, Senior Vice President Worldwide Software Sales and Engineering at RingCentral, has a long career spent promoting high-quality customer and employee experiences. At RingCentral, his role is to make sure that call centre agents all over the world enjoy their work and give delightful customer experiences at every touchpoint.

In this episode we find out how CX and EX can be transformed, statutory data compliance achieved, and primarily, how organisations and brands can turn customers into brand advocates, and transient employees into long-term investments that bring great value to any-sized business.

You can learn more about RingCentral offerings here:
https://www.ringcentral.com/au/en/

The AI-enhanced UCaaS, RingCX is the subject of focus here:
https://www.ringcentral.com/au/en/ringcx.html

Amir Hameed is on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirhameed/

And the host of the show, Joe Green, is here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephedwardgreen/

The post UCaaS’s evolution takes communications centre stage appeared first on TechWire Asia.

The Zoom platform is synonymous with video calling, but it has evolved significantly since it became a household word from 2019. In this episode of the Tech Means Business podcast, we explore its UCaaS (unified communications as a service), including Zoom Phone. Nathan Guy, Head of UCaaS APAC at Zoom, sheds light on how Zoom’s UCaaS streamlines communication, mobilizes teams, and ensures business continuity. We also discuss Zoom Phone, a tool seamlessly transitioning calls across devices and enabling chat and video meetings from anywhere.

Joined by Anthony Feher, Engineering Team Lead at IRESS, whose company adopted Zoom in pre-COVID days, we explore how IRESS continues to integrate more and more functionality from the Zoom UCaaS platform.

We talk about how IRESS’s customer support and telephony functions have been transformed, creating huge improvements in both customer and employee experiences. Zoom’s technical and consultative abilities are helping this producer of fintech software to bring together remote desktop, Jira integration, telephony, meetings and messaging, ensuring IRESS stays at the cutting edge of what’s possible with UCaaS.

Zoom consolidates phone, team chat, whiteboard, meetings, and third-party integrations, streamlining your user experience and saving time and money. Unlock cost savings, enhance productivity, and optimize your communications, regardless of location or method.

While Zoom is a household name, the extent of its offerings for organizations on digital transformation journeys might surprise you. Join us to explore how Zoom’s familiar interface elevates communication and collaboration to new heights.

Learn about Zoom’s UCaaS platform here:
https://www.zoom.com/en/products/collaboration-tools/features/unified-communications/

And Zoom Phone:
https://www.zoom.com/en/products/voip-phone/

Subscribe to Zoom’s YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/@Zoom

IRESS’s software solutions:
https://www.iress.com/

Anthony Feher from IRESS:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-feher-040a7533/

Nathan Guy from Zoom on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-guy-4717a58/

TMB Host, Joe Green on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephedwardgreen/

The post Unified Comms at the crest of the tech wave, with Zoom and IRESS appeared first on TechWire Asia.

Voice technologies are improving rapidly and manner companies are using artificial intelligence algorithms to change the ways they interact with their customers.

Our guest on the Tech Means Business podcast, Jason Roos, is no stranger to the concept of tech in contact centers, but unlike many, he’s a savvy commentator and protagonist in this space. In this episode, we talk about AI, sentiment analysis, and the employee experience of the contact center worker in a post-COVID working environment.

The customer experience is practically defined by the ways that the brand’s contact center works, so getting this part of the business’s workings absolutely right is critical in converting prospects and customers into brand advocates.

CIRRUS (Jason’s company – he’s the CEO) can help and contact center add more ‘channels’, but Jason insists there’s so, so much more to running a decent CX operation than that.

Industry insights from the inside, from Jason Roos, who’s here on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-roos-b923931/

Read about CIRRUS Response here:
https://www.cirrusresponse.com/

Joe Green is waiting for your call, right here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephedwardgreen/

The post Value the brand? Value the contact center! appeared first on TechWire Asia.

Every piece of malware, every phishing email, reaches its potential victim via the network, the means by which the organization communicates internally and with the outside world. So who better to protect the company than the people who install and specialize in communications networks?

That’s the premise of this episode of the Tech Means Business podcast when we’re joined by Jonathan Magnell from Consolidated Communications, where he’s the Director of Enterprise Solution Engineering for the Western Region.

For many years, Consolidated Communications has been designing and managing communications for companies in America. It was one of the first to offer VOIP at a time when copper cables and analog comms were the norm. Now it bakes cybersecurity at the network level into communications systems for its many clients, old and new.

When we understand how networks work, we get a better understanding of how malware and ransomware work, too, and Jonathan’s background as a systems administrator gave him just that knowledge. It’s expertise he shares with Consolidated’s clients and with us at the Tech Means Business podcast.

Using higstrongindustry tooling, Consolidated Communications’ cybersecurity offering makes protection an integral part of all types of networked systems for devices, voice, and digital commerce.

Read more about Consolidated Communications’ security platform here:
https://www.consolidated.com/business/medium-enterprise/security-services

And more generally about the company:
https://www.consolidated.com/

Jonathan Magnell’s profile is on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-magnell-58a5a8a1/

Joe Green’s details via his ISDN line here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephedwardgreen/

The post Communicating the Cybersecurity Message appeared first on TechWire Asia.

Show Notes for Series 03 Episode 04

This podcast is produced in association with RingCentral.

When customers pick up the phone or tap out a message, companies on the receiving end need to hear and read those messages in the right order, in one place. That’s omnichannel communications; the mainstay of the contact center, customer care department, and the inbound sales division.

But how many times have we all contacted brands and organizations to be told to repeat details as we’re passed from pillar to post? Frustration and annoyance don’t make for the type of customer experiences modern companies want to create, and RingCentral is the platform that many use to create fantastic experiences for staff, customers, partners, and customers-to-be.

Methods and preferences for communications change by geography, by demographic, and by the whims of fashion, so which channels should companies concentrate on? We ask these questions, and plenty more besides of Julien Rio, the CCXP of RingCentral. We talk about getting CX right, not just for customers, but for internal comms too, and how companies can develop better communications strategies.

To learn more about RingCentral, go here:
https://www.ringcentral.com/lp/contact-center-customer-experience.html

Julien Rio’s details are here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/julienrio/

Joe Green’s LinkedIn is here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephedwardgreen/

The post Integrated comms are smart comms: RingCentral appeared first on TechWire Asia.