Google has
announced the addition of two new partners to its Chrome Enterprise Recommended (CER) solution track for contact centers – Dialpad and UJET. Chrome Enterprise Recommended is Google’s program for third-party solutions that Google has verified to meet the technical and support standards for the Chrome browser and Chrome OS.
Chrome OS was built for the cloud and provides quick and easy access to contact center solutions. As a familiar UI, it offers an intuitive, clutter-free experience that allows agents to onboard quickly and focus on delivering better customer support. Chrome OS is ideal for not just the agent experience but also ongoing support. Chromebooks can be drop shipped to agents wherever they may be and then provisioned remotely. Chromebooks are encrypted, and software upgrades occur in the background and can even be rolled-back.
By integrating Chromium within Edge. Microsoft effectively ended the browser wars. Most web apps that work on Chrome also work on Edge. The main advantage of Chrome Enterprise is a comprehensive management solution, granular controls, security, and of course low-cost Chrome books that are particularly well suited for contact center agents.
Browser-based communications apps have several advantages including a consistent UI across PC, Macs, Linux, and Chromebooks. The provider doesn’t have to create different software clients, and the enterprise doesn’t have to push client upgrades to agent desktops. Chromebooks can also support Linux, and Android applications natively, and Windows apps are supported with VDI and other methods.
So you can see how Chrome Enterprise brings the benefits of the web and web browser to the contact center. It adds granular endpoint management tools for a scalable, secure solution for agents regardless of where they choose to work. And on the hardware front, the Chromebook delivers Chrome in a cloud-optimized device that seems practically built for contact center agents. It’s inexpensive and supports multiple communication channels.
Dialpad and UJET represent two providers that are rapidly rising on the contact center as a service (CCaaS) scene. Dialpad has been certified as a CER partner for its cloud communications Dialpad Talk and Dialpad AI Contact Center solution which have been built naively on Google Cloud Platform. The Dialpad solutions are optimized for Chrome OS for improved productivity, efficiency and to modernize the user experience for agents and employees.
Dialpad is serious about being a major contender within the contact center market. In 2021, Dialpad
invested heavily in its CCaaS solution with its Koopid and Kare Knowledgeware acquisitions as well as a new partnership with Playvox. Consequently, Dialpad now has a full communications suite with AI-enhanced calling, meeting, and CCaaS. The company has proven it will acquire or partner to expand.
As part of this week’s announcement, Dialpad is also utilizing Google’s Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) Chrome extension for seamless administration of Dialpad directly from the Chrome browser. The Dialpad Chrome CTI extension allows contact center agents to initiate and receive calls directly through a Google Chrome browser with a full suite of call control and messaging functionality through the Dialpad application interface.
UJET, a relative newcomer to the contact center market, has also been added to the Google CER program for CCaaS. UJET has built its contact center platform from the ground up for the smartphone with digital and in-app experiences at the forefront. A customer example is Instacart where the entire customer-shopper conversational experience is done through the Instacart application.
UJET on Chrome OS leverages multimedia and biometric capabilities native to the agent’s computer or smartphone. Customers can share photos, videos, screenshots, and SMS directly with agents in real time to help agents resolve issues faster. UJET also utilizes Google’s Cloud Contact Center AI (CCAI) to deliver conversational AI.
Last month, Google added NICE CXone to its powerful base of CER CCaaS providers. With NICE, Dialpad, and UJET Google brings its count of Chrome Enterprise Recommended CCaaS partners to ten.
CER is a young program that has rapidly expanded. The future of CER could be interesting for partners because CCaaS providers may integrate Google Chrome APIs into their own portals. This could create a single administrative solution for both the CCaaS application and end user devices.
The timing of the Chrome Recommended market track for contact center over the past year has been important with the rise of remote agents that is the result of the pandemic over the past two years. Chrome and Chrome OS are the center of a perfect storm of technology, market trends, and CCaaS offerings. Partners like Dialpad, UJET, and Nice have achieved the important designation for cloud-native applications and are well suited for cloud-optimized endpoints.
Dave Michels is a contributing editor and analyst at TalkingPointz.
