RingCentral launched RingCX, a native contact center platform currently in beta, in a strategy shift that minimized partner NICE. RingCX is a native platform that will include RingCentral's unified communications tools with contact center capabilities as well as generative AI.
In a move that's aimed at moving customers across touchpoints and expanding its market, RingCentral is launching RingCX even has it has a partnership with NICE. RingCentral has RingCentral MVP and RingCentral Contact Center, which is powered by NICE.
Vlad Shmunis, CEO of RingCentral, said the company will continue to invest in the NICE partnership, but needed a more native approach. "In listening to our customers, we’ve recognized an additional need for a native intelligent contact center solution that would be better suited towards addressing simpler use cases," he said.
RingCX will launch with more than 1,000 features including integrated communications and messaging across customer service use cases. Features include:
- Skills-based routing.
- Dashboards with analytics, real-time data and pre-built reports.
- Integration with Salesforce and Zendesk at launch and adding Hubspot, Microsoft dynamics and ServiceNow soon.
- Virtual agents powered by Google Dialogflow.
- Real-time AI transcription and post call summaries.
- AI-driven assistance, quality management and conversation analytics.
The launch of RingCX comes amid a busy news day for RingCentral.
- RingCentral named Tarek Robbiati, former CFO at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, as CEO succeeding Shmunis effective Aug. 28.
- RingCentral reported second quarter revenue of $539 million, up 11% from a year ago with a net loss of 23 cents a share. Non-GAAP earnings were 83 cents a share.
- For the third quarter, RingCentral said revenue will be between $552 million to $556 million, up 8% to 9%, with non-GAAP earnings of 75 cents a share to 78 cents a share.
- The company projected 2023 revenue between $2.19 billion to $2.2 billion, up 10% to 11%, with non-GAAP earnings of $3.11 a share to $3.25 a share.
- Last week, RingCentral acquired assets from Kopin.
Research:
Constellation Research's take
Here's what Constellation Research analyst Liz Miller had to say about recent RingCentral developments:
"So it’s official…now EVERYONE is a contact center player. It always feels like RingCentral is at the center of a good number of CCaaS rumors…at least once a quarter someone unleashes a rumor that they are going to buy/takeover/merge with 8x8. But, in the wake of every rumor someone reminds the crowd that RingCentral’s partnership with NICE has been rock solid. That is until now. While RingCentral has made it clear that their partnership with NICE is still both strategic and important to their vision and growth…it is also clear that RingCentral customers want more options and integrations to create a single pane of collaboration across UCaaS and CCaaS tools and communications.
All of these moves to a “more unified, unified-communications strategy” point to a trend I’ve been tracking…this convergence in communications isn’t just about wiring, clouds and where calls start…but is a bigger shift to consolidate around collaboration be it between employees and teams or brands and their customers.
Now add conferences and events (Hopin), video and webinars, voice calls, chats, bots, contact centers, collaboration….make no mistake…this is all about collaboration in every channel with every constituent from employees, to partners, to customers."
