Analyst Perspectives

I am happy to share some insight on 8x8 drawn from our latest research. The Ventana Research Value Index: Contact Center in the Cloud in 2018 is the distillation of a year of market and product research efforts by Ventana Research. We utilized a structured research methodology that includes evaluation categories designed to reflect the breadth of the real-world criteria incorporated in a request for proposal (RFP) and vendor selection process for contact centers in the cloud. We evaluated 8x8 and 12 other vendors in seven categories, five relevant to the product (adaptability, capability, manageability, reliability and usability) and two related to the vendor (TCO/ROI and vendor validation). To arrive at the Value Index rating for a given vendor, we weighted each category to reflect its relative importance in an RFP process, with the weightings based on our experience and data derived from our benchmark research on contact centers in the cloud. .

This Value Index assessed 8x8 Virtual Contact Center 9.5.1, released December 2017. The company unites a contact center offering with a workforce optimization system that enables agent management across channels of engagement. 8x8 operates globally with data centers across several continents. The company is ranked 11th overall in the 2018 Contact Center in the Cloud Value Index.

8x8’s best rating was in TCO/ROI, where it ranks fifth. This is due to the overall support it provides organizations to enable them to find value in their investment. The company also provides tools and information so organizations can assess any investment prior to purchasing. Its next-best rating is in Reliability. It also performs well in Validation; the quality case studies and information on its services and support that it provides helped it place ninth in this category.

The category in which 8x8 most needs improvement is Capability, where it ranks 12th because in our analysis its product underperformed in capturing interactions and providing performance-based analytics related to them. The company also ranks 12th in the Usability category due to its less-than-progressive support for executives and technology administrators. It ranks 11th in Adaptability, as it provides sufficient integration but could use improvement in depth for business- and data-related forms. 8x8 did not actively participate in the Value Index process, which means less information was available for the analysis. Since our analysis of their products was completed for this Value Index, 8x8 has issued a new release of its X Series that has advanced the product’s usability and capability as well as the level of intelligence in the offering using its acquisition of MarianaIQ.

This research-based index is the first such industry undertaking to assess the value of software designed specifically for enabling a contact center in the cloud. You can learn more about 8x8 and others in our Value Index as an effective vendor selection and RFI/RFP tool and can read the whole Value Index report.

Regards,
Mark Smith
CEO & Chief Research Officer