No Jitter Roll: Cross-Platform Direct Messaging, UCaaS Analytics

This week we share announcements around a direct messaging feature, a security acquisition, UCaaS insights, intelligent room audio, conversational AI, and a customer experience acquisition.

 

In a blog post this week, chat interoperability provider Mio announced that Slack and Microsoft Teams users participating in a universal channel via the company’s cross-platform messaging solution can now send direct messages to each other. Within the universal channel, employee A using Teams can simply invite employee B using Slack to chat via direct message. The direct message would appear natively to each user. Mio also supports direct messaging between Slack and Cisco Webex.

 

RingCentral this week announced that it has acquired the technology and engineering team of Kindite, a cryptographic technology provider. RingCentral said it will integrate Kindite’s data-protection platform, which uses cryptographic key orchestration technology, into its UCaaS platform to enhance its security capabilities.

 

RingCentral completed the acquisition this quarter. It did not disclose details of the transaction.

 

UCC monitoring and analytics provider Vyopta this week announced that it has added support for RingCentral Office Phone. Now within the company’s Collaboration Performance Management platform, RingCentral administrators will be able to get actionable insights for tracking audio usage across hard-wired and softphones, in addition to usage by user; visibility into isolated incidents and systemic issues; automated proactive alerts on concurrent call usage, dial-outs, and disconnections; and real-time data for RingCentral call paths alongside other call and meeting platforms, Vyopta said.

 

Audio solutions provider EPOS this week launched Expand Capture 5, a Microsoft Teams-certified intelligent speaker for Microsoft Teams Rooms. Designed for the hybrid workplace and meetings of up to10 people, the Expand Capture 5 identifies in-room participants by voiceprint using a seven-microphone array, and attributes remarks to their name in an automatically-generated meeting transcript, EPOS said. The device, which builds on EPOS’ Expand product line, ensures that meeting participants can be productive, regardless of location, EPOS added.

 

Pricing for the Expand Capture 5 is $469. The speaker device will be available across North America starting in April.

 

AI-software provider Cresta last week announced Cresta for Voice, providing AI-powered coaching, assistance, and automation for phone-based sales and customer service teams. With Cresta for Voice, phone agents can pull customer insights from every call and puts them into action with real-time assistance, Cresta said. A company can tailor Cresta for Voice to its KPIs, such as CSAT, conversion rates, or active hold time, then continuously optimize call flows to meet those KPIs, Cresta added.

 

Thoma Bravo, a private equity investment firm, has inked a definitive purchase agreement to acquire customer experience intelligence company Calabrio from global investment firm KKR, as announced this week. This acquisition follows on the heels of several updates regarding its global team, ACD/CCaaS partnerships, and more, as detailed by contact center analyst Sheila McGee-Smith in this related No Jitter post. “Partnerships are where Calabrio’s transformation in the past few years is most apparent,” McGee-Smith said.

 

The companies did not disclose financial details.