8x8, Inc.

8x8 Blog - Call Center Scalability and Getting the Service You Need When You Need It

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/robert_avatar.png"></img> by <a href="https://plus.google.com/114070919016954038247/" class="vt-p" rel="author">Rob Townsend</a> - Sr. Product Manager <img style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; margin: 5px; float: right;" alt="Virtual Call Centers make it easy to add (and subtract) agent seats as needs change." src="/Portals/1/Blog_Images/call_center_2_230.png"></img>Scalability—a high-falutin’ word for the flexibility to expand or contract service as necessary—is probably one of the best benefits to moving your call center into the cloud. With traditional solutions, the need for additional lines, phones and locations can be expensive to implement. Just ask anyone who has ever tried to get new lines in a hurry from a traditional phone service or PBX company. Because of the economies of scale that the Cloud offers, <a href="http://www.8x8.com/CommunicationsSolutions/ByProduct/CompleteContactCenter.aspx" target="_blank">virtual call centers</a> are rapidly expandable, with very low growth costs after the initial center is set up. Some firms report <a href="http://www.8x8.com/Resources/Customers/OutreachProcessPartners.aspx" data-mce-href="http://www.8x8.com/Resources/Customers/OutreachProcessPartners.aspx">setting up a call center in a few days</a>. Outreach Process Partners, a small business, was able to use a virtual call center to set up a national call center to support the Environmental Protection Agency’s nationwide water safety hotline in just a few weeks. Lots of small businesses like these are exploiting the economies of scale created by the Cloud to set up virtual call centers, seizing be

8x8 Blog - Big-company Advanced Call Center Features Come Down to a Small-company Price

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/robert_avatar.png" /> by <a href="https://plus.google.com/114070919016954038247/" class="vt-p" rel="author">Rob Townsend</a> - Sr. Product Manager <img alt="Cloud call centers offer advanced features that help companies grow." style="float: right; margin: 5px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/cloud-hand-230.jpg" />Cloud-based VoIP has changed the economics of call centers, making available new options and features for many more companies. For what they paid for basic local, long distance and international calling, virtual call center users get a package tailored for supporting customer service and sales with extra functions that many big players pay a lot more to get. Cloud-based call centers use VoIP to inexpensively implement features such as <a href="http://www.8x8.com/CommunicationsSolutions/ByProduct/CompleteContactCenter/Features/IVR.aspx">IVRs</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.8x8.com/CommunicationsSolutions/ByProduct/CompleteContactCenter/Features/SkillsbasedRouting.aspx">skills-based routing</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.8x8.com/CommunicationsSolutions/ByProduct/CompleteContactCenter/Features/MultimediaManagement.aspx">multi-media queuing</a>, call monitoring, report generation and SLA management. These features, with the advanced functions they offer, can be an integral part of a company’s growth. “I love the features, and the productivity of our support team has increased 50 percent,” says Linh Tran, senior manager of technical operations for ShareVault. The level of detail that can be captured in

8x8 Blog - How to Use Hosted VoIP to Communicate From a Technology Black Hole

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/erik_avatar.png" style="vertical-align: middle;" /> by <a rel="author" class="vt-p" href="https://plus.google.com/114123027204382447935/">Erik Archer Smith</a> VoIP Technology Evangelist <img src="/Portals/1/Blog_Images/space_230.png" alt="Hosted VoIP helps you communicate from a technology black hole" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; margin: 5px; float: right;" />Have you ever been off-site somewhere and really needed to make a business phone call, but didn’t have access to any of your normal communication systems? I’m talking about a real technology black hole—where your cell carrier doesn’t have service; you don’t have Wi-Fi; and you’re stuck somewhere where the nearest computer looks like it runs on steam. Maybe you’re visiting your Luddite uncle, or maybe you went somewhere to get away from it all, and now you have to get back to it all, if only to make or receive a quick business phone call. Even if this only happens once a year, you can bet it’s on that day when an important call will need to be made, and then what will you do? Well, if you have an 8x8 Virtual Office <a target="_blank" href="http://www.8x8.com">hosted VoIP</a> phone system, you’re in luck because chances are that we have a feature that can help you. <h5>Make Technology Work for You in Any Situation</h5> 8x8’s <a href="http://www.8x8.com/BusinessPhoneSystems.aspx" target="_blank">Virtual Office business phone service</a> provides several ways to make a phone call using your work extension and work identity in almost any situation. So I’d like to tell you about a real-life black-hole incident that happened to me,

8x8 Blog - DAVE - SKIP this POST NUMBER, Big-company Advanced Call Center Features Come Down to a Small-company Price

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 07:00:00 GMT

8x8 Blog - Companies Use Cloud Call Centers to Show How Virtual They Can Go

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/robert_avatar.png" /> by <a href="https://plus.google.com/114070919016954038247/" class="vt-p" rel="author">Rob Townsend</a> - Sr. Product Manager <img src="/Portals/1/Blog_Images/call_center_1_230.png" alt="A virtual call center can integrate locations and remote agents." style="float: right; margin: 5px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" />In our ongoing blog series on how the Internet Cloud is making call centers a great new option for small and mid-sized businesses, we mentioned the benefit of uniting a company and even its outside partners under one phone system. A <a href="http://www.8x8.com/CommunicationsSolutions/ByProduct/CompleteContactCenter.aspx" target="_blank">virtual call center</a> can connect a company by integrating a central office with outsourced locations, partners and remote offices, providing benefits both for workers and the customers they are serving. "Using VoIP over the cloud helps us run and configure our call center remotely,” says Northstar Technologies’ Aijaz Asif. “We have offices in multiple locations, and the 8x8 VoIP cloud allows us to have one solution for all locations and even for employees working from home,” he says. Some firms have exploited the capability to unite and integrate workers into one system to the extreme—with an entirely virtual company. For example, Direct Interactions, a company that recruits and places veterans, made a deliberate choice to go virtual, both because that choice fits with the company’s mission and values, and because it makes great business sense. “Especially in today’s economy, and for the future of our country, it’s important to keep jobs in

8x8 Blog - Get Ready for the Great Contact Center Metamorphosis

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/bryan_avatar.png" /> by <a rel="author" href="http://plus.google.com/104016888488475235144/">Bryan Martin</a> - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer <img src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/headset_butterfly_230.png" style="float: right; margin: 5px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" alt="Call Centers are handling more than just calls now." />What’s the first thing you think of when someone says “call center”? A lot of people in a room—maybe offshore, maybe a “boiler-room” operation—lined up in a phone bank, talking into phones or headsets? That’s a vision that may soon become obsolete, as cloud-based communication systems transform the nature of customer interaction. Someday soon—maybe just a few years away—“call centers” might have very little to do with either telephones or centers. The fact is that <a href="http://www.8x8.com/CommunicationsSolutions/ByProduct/CompleteContactCenter.aspx" target="_blank">virtual call centers</a>—powered by Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and delivered over the cloud—are evolving, undergoing a metamorphosis into more of a general customer communication vehicle. Delivered inexpensively via the Internet, they'll bypass traditional “phone company” communications channels, big boxes in the closet, and the per-call charges that go with them. For small and medium businesses, this means that there’s a new solution that lets them energize their Web presence and contact their customers in ways they never could before. Large contact center operations used to be the exclusive domain of large enterprises, because the phone trunks, equipment installed on premise, and custom programming were

8x8 Blog - Dollars and Sense and the Business Case for Cloud-based Call Centers

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/robert_avatar.png" /> by <a href="https://plus.google.com/114070919016954038247/" class="vt-p" rel="author">Rob Townsend</a> - Sr. Product Manager <img alt="Cloud call centers can help small businesses save money." style="float: right; margin: 5px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/cloud_money_230.png" />In our last blog post, we talked about the advantages of having a cloud-based call center, and we mentioned savings. Whether you're looking to reduce your long-distance charges, lower your maintenance costs, decrease hardware expenses, or lower the cost of lead generation, a virtual call center offers cost savings and makes good business sense. It’s reasonable to ask, “How much money are we talking about?” The cost of an entry-level system starts at about $300/month for two or three agents, a far cry from the tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars that a traditional call center consumes. When you factor in the potential for increased sales and value-per-customer, it’s easy to see why cloud-based virtual call centers are gaining popularity with mid-sized and even the upper range of what most people think of as “small businesses.” <h5>Virtual Call Centers Help Serve Customers Better and Eliminate Waste</h5> For instance, BlueAir, which makes air purification systems, recently used the report-generation capabilities of 8x8’s Virtual Contact Center <a target="_blank" href="http://www.8x8.com/Resources/Customers/Blueair.aspx">to adjust its support hours for significant savings</a>. Automating information collection and display helped BlueAir economize, too. "In the past, our agents had

8x8 Blog - 5 Reasons Why Your Business Might Need a Call Center in the Cloud

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/robert_avatar.png" /> by <a href="https://plus.google.com/114070919016954038247/" class="vt-p" rel="author">Rob Townsend</a> - Sr. Product Manager <img width="180" height="276" style="float: right; margin: 5px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" alt="Virtual Call Center create new business opportunities" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/call_center_stairs_3_200.png" />“But we don't need a call center yet. We're too small!” That’s a common reaction lots of business owners have when they think they're too early in their growth path to need a call center. Most likely, they're missing out on five crucial business-building opportunities, and the real shame is that a <a target="_blank" href="http://www.8x8.com/CommunicationsSolutions/ByProduct/CompleteContactCenter.aspx">virtual call center</a> could provide them far more cheaply and easily than they imagine. A call center can be one of the most important parts of a business, providing a critical point of contact for your customers. Some firms use call centers early in the buying cycle, to collect and nurture leads, and to make sales. Others use them to build and retain loyalty by providing the kind of excellent service that keeps customers coming back. <h5>Cloud Call Centers Slash Costs and Create New Opportunities</h5> The cost of both sales and support-related call centers has dropped dramatically with virtual call centers, which use hosted VoIP technology—the same voice-over-Internet-protocol tech that many people use for business or residential phone service—to efficiently route, manage, record, monitor and queue calls to or from a business. Virtual call cent

8x8 Blog - 8x8 VoIP Saved My International Business Trip

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/angela_avatar.png" /> by <a href="https://plus.google.com/115767775035017803556/" class="vt-p" rel="author">Angela York</a> - Director, Customer Marketing and Loyalty Programs <img alt="Gary V. Nicolas with Secant Healthcare uses 8x8 business VoIP " style="width: 180px; height: 169px; margin: 5px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; float: right;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/Gary_Nicolas.png" />From time to time, our customers send us email about how 8x8 <a href="http://www.8x8.com" target="_blank">hosted VoIP</a> business communications saved them—from wasted time, from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.8x8.com/AboutUs/8x8Blog.aspx?PostID=118">losing a deal</a>, or even <a target="_blank" href="http://www.8x8.com/AboutUs/8x8Blog.aspx?PostID=116">lost iPhones</a>. These emails are cool for several reasons. First, it’s always nice to know that our product is used in so many up-and-coming businesses. And second, it’s really interesting to see how creative people get with the extra options that 8x8 gives them to do business from anywhere. Here’s one we got recently from Gary Nicolas of Secant Healthcare: <img style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 5px 5px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; width: 88px; height: 224px;" alt="8x8’s VoIP Business Phone App" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/iphone5_8x8_splash.png" />“I had been hired by a firm to travel with one of their team to Liverpool Great Britain. The team member experienced numerous delays in travel and w

8x8 Blog - How to Archive Your Online Faxes

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/phil_avatar.png" /> by <a class="vt-p" rel="author" href=" http://plus.google.com/104935796229982041075/ ">Phillip Liu</a> - Sr. Product Manager <h5>Tip: How to Download and Archive Your Online Faxes</h5> Internet Fax is a convenient feature that is included with the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.8x8.com/CommunicationsSolutions/ByProduct/VirtualOfficePro.aspx">8x8 Virtual Office Pro</a> bundle. Here's a quick tutorial on how to download and save your online faxes. You can use Virtual Office Desktop or Virtual Office Online. <h5>Using Virtual Office Desktop</h5> To download faxes: <ol> <li>Click the Fax tab then click the Eyeball icon in any fax listing to open the 8x8 Fax viewing window. </li> <li>Move the pointer over the lower part of the 8x8 Fax viewing window and the gray PDF menu bar will appear. Click the Floppy Disk icon to save the Fax document to your computer as a PDF file. Note: Be sure you have Adobe Reader installed on your computer, or you may get an error when attempting to view your faxes.</li> </ol> <img src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Products/vod_view_fax_pdf.png" style="width: 525px; height: 408px; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 1px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; float: left;" alt="How to download your faxes in Virtual Office Desktop" />

8x8 Blog - Business VoIP is Gaining Fast on Traditional Providers

Wed, 29 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/bryan_avatar.png" style="vertical-align: middle;" /> by <a href="http://plus.google.com/104016888488475235144/" rel="author">Bryan Martin</a> - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer There’s an old traffic-school one-liner that goes, “You know that red light you just ran?—Don’t look now, but it’s following us.” <a target="_blank" href="http://www.infonetics.com/pr/2013/North-America-Business-VoIP-Scorecard.asp"><img alt="8x8 is a leader in hosted VoIP according to Infonetics Research" style="margin: 5px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; float: right;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/infonetics-logo.png" /></a>Well, if you’re 8x8’s competition, that light in your rear view mirror might just be the little red logo of hosted VoIP provider 8x8 which, according to Infonetics Research's latest <a target="_blank" href="http://www.infonetics.com/pr/2013/North-America-Business-VoIP-Scorecard.asp ">North America Business VoIP Service Leadership Scorecard</a>, rocketed from fourth place last year to a photo-finish second in 2013, “on the heels” of first, as Infonetics Research put it. <h5>Financial Stability, Growth and Service Enhancements Are Keys to 8x8 Success</h5> Infonetics also says that 8x8 made a “big leap this year thanks to improved financial stability, continued growth of its installed base and a focus on service enhancements.” In addition, other recently released information from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.srgresearch.com/articles/8x8-leading-high-growth-cloud-ucaas-market">Synergy Research Group</a> shows that 8x8 also continued to hold the lead position in

8x8 Blog - How Business VoIP Minimizes Disruption During Relocation

Fri, 24 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/lisa_avatar.png" style="vertical-align: middle;" /> by <a rel="author" class="vt-p" href="http://plus.google.com/u/1/105826545199918612219/">Lisa Stapleton</a> - Marketing Manager <img alt="Business VoIP makes expansion or moves simple." style="float: right; margin: 5px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" src="/Portals/1/Blog_Images/moving_230.png" />We recently began a series on the problems that face emerging businesses, and how <a class="vt-p" target="_blank" href="http://www.8x8.com/BusinessVoIP.aspx">business VoIP</a> can help. Topics covered in this series include: <ul> <li><a href="http://www.8x8.com/AboutUs/8x8Blog/tabid/167/PostID/131/If-Your-Business-Is-in-a-Growth-Spurt-Business-VoIP-Can-Help.aspx" style="font-family: helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;" target="_blank">Helping Small Businesses Look Larger</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.8x8.com/AboutUs/8x8Blog/tabid/167/PostID/132/Business-VoIP-Maximizes-Remote-Worker-Productivity-for-Growing-Businesses.aspx" style="font-family: helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;" target="_blank">Maximizing Remote Worker Productivity</a></li> <li><span style="line-height: 115%; font-famil

8x8 Blog - How Business VoIP Can Help Businesses Control Office Expansion Costs

Thu, 23 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/lisa_avatar.png" style="vertical-align: middle;" /> by <a rel="author" class="vt-p" href="http://plus.google.com/u/1/105826545199918612219/">Lisa Stapleton</a> - Marketing Manager <img alt="Profitable Business Expansion with Business VoIP" style="float: right; margin: 5px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; width: 185px; height: 213px;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/money_tree_200.png" />Today we continue our series on how <a href="http://www.8x8.com/AboutUs/8x8Blog/tabid/167/PostID/131/If-Your-Business-Is-in-a-Growth-Spurt-Business-VoIP-Can-Help.aspx">business VoIP can help emerging businesses</a>. Our topic: controlling costs due to expanding offices and growing telephony needs. Small Business Problem: Controlling costs associated with the expansion of offices and traditional telephony systems. Solution: The cost of expansion goes down considerably with <a target="_blank" href="http://www.8x8.com/businessvoip.aspx">business VoIP</a> compared to traditional telephone systems. The main financial advantage of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.8x8.com">VoIP</a> systems is that they are very easily scalable. Based on your business needs, lines can be added or removed quickly. “We needed to save money and decided to have a home office instead of being in an office park with rent,” says Susan Hebert, owner of Ambassador World Travel. “I was able to make our move without any disruption to

8x8 Blog - How Business VoIP Can Help Small Businesses Handle Increased Call Volume

Wed, 22 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/lisa_avatar.png" /> by <a href="http://plus.google.com/u/1/105826545199918612219/" class="vt-p" rel="author">Lisa Stapleton</a> - Marketing Manager <img src="/Portals/1/Blog_Images/blond_phones_230.png" style="float: right; margin: 5px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" alt="Business VoIP can help employees deal with increased call volumes" />Yesterday we shared how business <a href="http://www.8x8.com/AboutUs/8x8Blog/tabid/167/PostID/132/Business-VoIP-Maximizes-Remote-Worker-Productivity-for-Growing-Businesses.aspx" target="_blank">VoIP provides flexibility and accessibility</a> for mobile and remote workers. Today we continue our series on the problems that face emerging businesses by looking at the problem of keeping the phones covered as business grows. <a href="http://www.8x8.com/BusinessVoIP.aspx" target="_blank" class="vt-p">Business VoIP</a> can help, with the best systems letting you route (or reroute) your calls on a moment’s notice, and set up rules for who gets different calls based on expertise or time of day. Some even provide more advanced capabilities that let companies manage their own call centers, either for sales operations or for customer service. Small Business Problem: Small staffs sometimes have trouble covering increasing inbound calls. Solution: Adding more headcount just to cover phones is often impractical. A more streamlined way to handle inbound calls is required, and <a href="http://www.8x8.com" target="_blank" class="vt-p">hosted VoIP</a> fits the bill. VoIP for business can also

8x8 Blog - Business VoIP Maximizes Remote Worker Productivity for Growing Businesses

Tue, 21 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/lisa_avatar.png" /> by <a href="http://plus.google.com/u/1/105826545199918612219/" class="vt-p" rel="author">Lisa Stapleton</a> - Marketing Manager <img src="/Portals/1/Blog_Images/cloud_phone_200.png" style="float: right; margin: 5px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" alt="Remote Working Using Business VoIP" />Yesterday, we began our series on the problems that face emerging businesses by focusing on how <a href="http://www.8x8.com/AboutUs/8x8Blog/tabid/167/PostID/131/If-Your-Business-Is-in-a-Growth-Spurt-Business-VoIP-Can-Help.aspx" target="_blank">business VoIP can help small companies look larger</a>. Today, we continue it with a look at how <a href="http://www.8x8.com/BusinessVoIP.aspx" target="_blank" class="vt-p">business VoIP</a> can help tie together mobile and remote workers, to maximize productivity, give them access to all the capabilities they’d have in an office, and still present a unified, professional front to the world. Small Business Problem: Mobile and remote workers need the flexibility to work from anywhere. Solution: <a href="http://www.8x8.com" target="_blank" class="vt-p">VoIP</a> systems let employees work remotely, both when they’re traveling and when scary weather indicates the need for a work-from-home-day. Employees’ systems can easily access a VoIP system from a desktop computer or mobile device and fulfill their tasks even when they can’t be in the office. “8x8 has provided me with a mobile office,” says Allan Gluck, formerly Director of Operations at

8x8 Blog - If Your Business Is in a Growth Spurt Business VoIP Can Help

Mon, 20 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/lisa_avatar.png" /> by <a href="http://plus.google.com/u/1/105826545199918612219/" class="vt-p" rel="author">Lisa Stapleton</a> - Marketing Manager <img style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; margin: 5px; float: right;" alt="Business VoIP helps your business look bigger" src="/Portals/1/Blog_Images/look_big_business2_230.png" />If your business is growing, you’ve probably noticed that a thriving business also means continually expanding needs, ranging from more employees to new office space to more sophisticated equipment. In particular, communication systems often become a stumbling block for small businesses trying to expand. 8x8 is celebrating small businesses this month and has created a series about the hurdles that owners of rapidly expanding small businesses often face, and how <a href="http://www.8x8.com/BusinessVoIP" class="vt-p">business VoIP</a> communications—including phone service delivered over the Internet—can help entrepreneurs jump over them: Small Business Problem: Lots of people—and companies—don’t take small businesses seriously. For some small business owners, projecting a professional image when the company consists of just a few people—or even just the owner—is the #1 obstacle they face.  People tend to equate size with stability, without realizing how much more agile and versatile small firms can be.  Luckily, business VoIP can help make it look as if you’re larger, as well as making sure that you can make the most of your incoming opportunities. Solution: Business VoIP helps small businesses present a professional front to c

8x8 Blog - Star Trek Creators Foreshadowed Unified Communications and Business VoIP Frontier

Wed, 15 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/debbiejo_avatar.png" style="vertical-align: middle;" /> by <a href="https://plus.google.com/111284597817620009006/" rel="author">Debbie Jo Severin</a> - Chief Marketing Officer Advanced communication techniques have always been a staple of the science fiction genre. Unified communications have appeared in countless futuristic settings, but perhaps the richest and most colorful imaginings come from one of the biggest franchises of all—Star Trek. While the famous storyline has spanned numerous series and permutations over the years, you can see foreshadowings of modern day devices as far back as the hallowed TOS (The Original Series.) They didn't call it VoIP, but the similarities and applications are striking. Here are just a few ways <a href="http://www.8x8.com/businessvoip.aspx" target="_blank">business VoIP</a> would have fit right in on the Enterprise: <ul> <li>In the late '60s, the first cell phone was still a good decade or two away—but Kirk, Spock and McCoy could easily stay in touch via small devices called comms that clipped to a velour waistband. These flip-phone style units were a glimpse of mobile telephony when it was far more dream than reality, but the concept was still more similar to walkie talkies than to today's cell phones—convenient for staying in touch on an open channel with the team and the ship, but incapable of allowing private conversations. VoIP could have easily been installed to solve this problem, with everyone instructed to BYOC (Bring Your Own Communicator) on missions! <div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" style="vertical-align: middle; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/scotty.pn

8x8 Blog - Business VoIP Helps Meet Growing Demand for High-Tech Senior Housing Communities

Tue, 14 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/lisa_avatar.png" style="vertical-align: middle;" /> by <a rel="author" href="http://plus.google.com/u/1/105826545199918612219/" class="vt-p">Lisa Stapleton</a> - Marketing Manager Grandma might just be living a more “wired” lifestyle than you know. <img src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Customers/tod_thrive.png" alt="Tod Petty, Thrive Senior Living" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; float: right;" />“Many people assume that seniors aren’t interested in technology like social media,” explains Thrive Senior Living’s President Tod Petty. “The typical senior community just has Wi-Fi in the lobby and maybe a residential router in the back of the building. At Thrive, we don’t accept that kind of old-school thinking. We want seniors to participate in the social media revolution, and use technology to stay close to friends and family. We find it changes a senior’s entire outlook on life.” The move toward a senior lifestyle that includes pervasive online social networking is picking up, and it’s part of what’s driving the success of Thrive Senior Living. Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Thrive has developed 11 senior living communities in Georgia, Florida, Louisiana and Texas. But the company doesn’t build traditional “nursing homes”; it develops state-of-the-art communities designed to keep pace with changing technology—and answer the demands of an increasingly social, tech-savvy generation. <h3>A Technology Vision for Senior Living Communities</h3> Cutting through stereotypes to offer in-demand IT capabilities has become a signature selling point for <img width="324" height="149" src="http://www.8x8.c

8x8 Blog - Manage Business Phone Service and IM Together For More Impact

Fri, 10 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/erik_avatar.png" style="vertical-align: middle;" /> by <a rel="author" class="vt-p" href="https://plus.google.com/114123027204382447935/">Erik Archer Smith</a> VoIP Technology Evangelist <img src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/instant-messaging.png" alt="Instant messaging should work with your phone system" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; margin: 3px; float: right;" />Instant messaging, also known as IM, or chat, is coming into its own as a useful, legitimate business communications tool, despite its checkered past as the preferred tool for the e-version of what used to be known as “shootin’ the breeze” with one’s coworkers or flirting on company time. But despite its immediacy, versatility, and ability to help workers multitask to get things done quickly, it’s seldom given its due, and often exists off in its own isolated corner of many companies’ communications systems. Frequently, there’s little standardization, so workers use whichever IM software they use at home, creating an inconvenient jumble of systems that don’t usually integrate well with other IM systems, let alone other channels of business communication such as phone, web and videoconferencing, and voicemail. <h5>IM Can Increase Productivity and Decrease Coworker Resentment</h5> It’s time that business learns to manage, integrate, and leverage this valuable tool, not just tolerate it or even worse, ignore it. Chat wouldn’t be so popular if it didn’t fulfill so many different needs. For example, in many workplaces, offices are a thing of the past, with cubicles shrinking and open floor plans growing. Many workers resent having to listen to phone conversations carried out even in normal speaking voices, much less

8x8 Blog - Changing Contact Center Agents Status to Busy During Outbound Calls

Tue, 07 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/nalini_avatar.png" /> by <a rel="author" href=" http://plus.google.com/105791825849984832577/"> Nalini Ananthamurthy </a> - Contact Center Technical Expert <h3>Virtual Contact Center Feature Tip: Set Status to Busy</h3> <img width="205" height="158" alt="Busy Agent" style="float: right; margin: 5px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/busy.png" />Imagine your agents receiving incoming calls while they are busy handling an outbound call, simply because they forgot to change their status. This is not a desirable situation, especially if an agent is in the middle of a high-priority call. Fortunately, this situation is easy to remedy. Here's how to set up <a target="_blank" href="http://www.8x8.com/CommunicationsSolutions/ByProduct/CompleteContactCenter.aspx">Virtual Contact Center</a> to automatically change your agents' status to busy during outbound calls. <h3>How to Automatically Set Your Agents' Status to Busy</h3> You can configure agents’ status to automatically change to busy by routing the call through an outbound phone queue. To configure this routing: <ul> <li>Create outbound phone queues and assign agents.</li> <li>Define outbound phone codes and associate each code to an outbound queue.</li> <li>Assign the codes to the agents.</li> </ul> This means that when an agent assigned to the codes dials out, he or she is presented with a selection of codes. When the agent selects a code, the call is ro

8x8 Blog - How to Create the Best Call-Back Experience for Your Call Center

Mon, 06 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/nalini_avatar.png" /> by <a rel="author" href=" http://plus.google.com/105791825849984832577/"> Nalini Ananthamurthy </a> - Contact Center Technical Expert <h3>Virtual Call Center Feature Tip: Call-backs</h3> <img width="175" height="175" alt="Best call-back experience" style="margin: 5px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; float: right;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/blog_best_call_back.png" /> No one likes to jump through hoops to return a phone call. It can be frustrating and time-consuming to wade through a series of IVR menus or get passed from person to person—or department to department—just to reach someone who asked you to call back. By properly configuring your contact center’s caller IDs and using Virtual Contact Center’s Outbound Phone Codes, you can create a great callback experience for your customers and also collect useful call metrics. <h3>Customize Your Caller IDs for Easy Call-backs</h3> 8x8 Virtual Contact Center lets agents apply an appropriate caller ID for each outbound call, to facilitate a good call-back experience. This is indispensable in a contact center environment where agents service multiple needs. Virtual Contact Center achieves this functionality through Outbound Phone Codes. Using these codes, not only can you offer agents a choice of caller ID numbers, you can track the purpose of each outbound call. You can also collect better outbound metrics to track outbound call volumes handled by each channel and agent. Virtual Contact Center offers complete flexibility in setting up caller ID options such as: <ul>

8x8 Blog - Solve the Email Accountability Problem for Your Call Center Before You Lose Customers

Mon, 06 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/robert_avatar.png" style="vertical-align: middle;" /> by <a rel="author" class="vt-p" href="https://plus.google.com/114070919016954038247/">Rob Townsend</a> - Senior Product Manager <img alt="" width="224" height="250" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/email_1.png" style="float: right;" />If I've got an email box for incoming customer queries, why do I need a <a target="_blank" class="vt-p" href="http://www.8x8.com/CommunicationsSolutions/ByProduct/CompleteContactCenter.aspx">virtual call center</a> that handles email, too? Isn't that overkill? 8x8 Virtual Contact Center is a <a target="_blank" class="vt-p" href="http://www.8x8.com/CommunicationsSolutions/ByBusinessNeed/CallCenterSoftware.aspx">hosted call center</a> solution that supports email in addition to calls, voicemail and chat interactions, but I still get asked why anyone would need email integration when they already have an email program such as Outlook. Outlook—as well as other e-mail packages—is a great tool for normal individual business email. But to provide world-class customer support, it just isn't enough for most companies, even small and medium-sized businesses. The reason? Sharing an email account for customer service invites staff confusion, unimpressed customers and poor accountability. <h3>Single Shared Email Accounts Don't Work</h3> That was the experience of Zumiez—an international clothing and skate gear retailer—which initially used 8x8 Virtual Contact Center for incoming service phone calls, but set up a shared Outlook inbox to handle email interactions.  &

8x8 Blog - Small Business Delivers EPA Hotline in Weeks with Virtual Call Center

Thu, 02 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/angela_avatar.png" /> by <a href="https://plus.google.com/115767775035017803556/" class="vt-p" rel="author">Angela York</a> - Director, Customer Marketing and Loyalty Programs It's every entrepreneur's dream—you are awarded a great new contract. The challenge? The deadline is approaching fast and the clock is ticking. <img width="195" height="196" style="float: right;" alt="Heather Donnelly" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/heather_donnelly.png" />That was the experience of Janice Roper-Graham, president of Outreach Process Partners (OPP), the company that won a major contract with the EPA, and Heather Donnelly, the consultant and president of MarkIT Support, who was chosen to lead the OPP effort. Their mission: set up an EPA call center in just three weeks! Donnelly's 30 years of project management experience told her that meant she needed a <a href="http://www.8x8.com/BusinessVoIP.aspx" class="vt-p" target="_blank">business VoIP</a> provider that understands <a href="http://www.8x8.com/CommunicationsSolutions/ByBusinessNeed/CallCenterSoftware.aspx" class="vt-p" target="_blank">contact center software</a>. A traditional system just wouldn't cut it. <h3>VoIP Delivers on Time, Within Budget</h3> "Premises-based call centers fail to meet delivery dates and budget requirements about 55% of the time," Donnelly explains. "They're also expensive to customize and maintain. We needed a solution that could quickly meet our needs and budget." That solution would have to

8x8 Blog - Business VoIP Gives You Freedom to Make Money Anywhere

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/erik_avatar.png" /> by <a href="https://plus.google.com/114123027204382447935/" class="vt-p" rel="author">Erik Archer Smith</a> - VoIP Technology Evangelist <img width="250" height="250" style="float: right;" alt="8x8 Virtual Office lets you work anywhere!" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/blog_work_anywhare_250x250_1.png" />Have you ever sat on the balcony of a nice hotel, overlooking some gorgeous view and thought, "Why can't my office be here?" Or maybe you've been stuck at home when your child is sick and thought, "I have so much work to do, I wish I could get it done from home." With a <a href="http://www.8x8.com/businessvoip.aspx" class="vt-p" target="_blank">business VoIP</a> phone system, such as 8x8's Virtual Office, working remotely is effective and easy. Sure, working remotely sounds awesome, and "toiling" away in some exotic location sounds even better, (we'll get to that) but let's face the reality of working from home: Most of the time, we're there because something unexpected happened. Here's just a partial "greatest hits" list: <ul> <li> We accidentally left the car lights on, and now our battery is dead.</li> <li>There was a large storm and part of our commute-route has been cut off. </li> <li>Our child gets sick, and we need to stay home to take care of him or her.</li> </ul> Imagine how many times something like this happens to you each year; now multiply that out by the number of employees you work with. You begin to see a major productivity drain that could have noticeable effects on you

8x8 Blog - 3 Myths About Hosted VoIP That Could Be Holding Back Your Business

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/erik_avatar.png" /> by <a href="https://plus.google.com/114123027204382447935/" rel="author" class="vt-p">Erik Archer Smith</a> - VoIP Technology Evangelist <img width="250" height="250" style="float: right;" alt="8x8 Greek Goddess" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/8x8_blog_greek_goddess.png" />Are common myths about switching your business phone service to hosted Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) holding back your business? As voice, video, and data networks meld into a single user experience, solutions that integrate phone service, unified messaging, voicemail, audio and video capabilities, rich-media conferencing, and mobility solutions are in high demand. <a href="http://www.8x8.com" target="_blank" class="vt-p">Hosted VoIP</a> is a telephony service provided through the Internet with your PBX in the cloud instead of through a premises-based PBX or traditional phone carrier. It delivers excellent results across all of these business processes. Still, three myths persist about <a href="http://www.8x8.com/businessvoip.aspx" target="_blank" class="vt-p">business VoIP</a>, discouraging many business owners from making the switch, something that might be costing them money and lost business every month. <h5>Hosted VoIP Myth # 1 </h5> If my regular PBX works OK, isn't it cheaper to stick with it until the system dies? The Real Truth—This is like insisting on using a horse and wagon to transport heavy things instead of switching to a truck because the "horse and wagon works just fine." As

8x8 Blog - Hosted VoIP Helps Small Business Go Big by Going Virtual

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/angela_avatar.png" style="vertical-align: middle;" /> by <a href="https://plus.google.com/115767775035017803556/" rel="author" class="vt-p">Angela York</a> - Director, Customer Marketing and Loyalty Programs Unlike Yahoo!, some businesses "go virtual" in a big way almost from their inception, relying on telecommuting and <a href="http://www.8x8.com" class="vt-p">hosted VoIP</a> to keep costs down. Company Entirely Virtual, Uses Physical Address Mostly to Get Mail<img alt="Hosted VoIP Lets Small Business Project Big Image – 8x8" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/learningplan_blogimage.png" /> For example, from the time the company was founded, employees at My Learning Plan have worked from home. "Our headquarters is in Long Island, New York, but we mainly use it to receive mail," explains Tom Murphy, CEO of My Learning Plan. "We'd probably have an uprising on our hands if we told our people they have to start coming into the office," he says. "All of our employees work from home; it's become an integral part of the way we do things." Part of the reason has to do with a company culture that puts a high value on personal flexibility. But there is a pragmatic reason as well: My Learning Plan primarily sells to school districts with limited budgets, and therefore needs to keep overhead costs down. Not having to lease and maintain office space helps the company to do that. Use Hosted VoIP to Project a Big Image</strong&

8x8 Blog - Customize Your Business Phone System to Boost Sales and Customer Satisfaction

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/angela_avatar.png" style="vertical-align: middle;" /> by <a href="https://plus.google.com/115767775035017803556/" rel="author">Angela York</a> - Director, Customer Marketing and Loyalty Programs The phrase "auto attendant" might sound a little boring, until you find out what one can do for your business; then it gets a whole lot more interesting. <img src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/auto-attendant.png" alt="The Auto Attendant is an essential feature of a modern business phone system." style="width: 170px; height: 170px; float: right; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" /> <div> Many who've used a <a href="http://www.8x8.com/businessphonesystems.aspx" target="_blank">business phone system</a> in their organizations consider the Auto Attendant to be the workhorse of their sales and service departments. An essential feature of contemporary business phone systems, the Auto Attendant lets you set up pre-recorded messages that greet callers, providing options like "Press '1' for sales," or "Press '2' for customer service". As my colleague Erik Archer Smith pointed out in his <a href="https://www.8x8.com/AboutUs/8x8Blog/tabid/167/PostID/112/-Use-Hosted-PBX-Technology-to-Look-Bigger.aspx" target="_blank">recent blog post</a>, sometimes customers shop for something by going down a list of businesses and quickly choosing the very first business that responds in a timely manner. Auto Attendant Makes the Busy Signal Obsolete Erik also explai

8x8 Blog - How a VoIP Business Phone App Saved the Deal

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/lisa_avatar.png" style="vertical-align: middle;" /> by <a href="http://plus.google.com/u/1/105826545199918612219/" rel="author">Lisa Stapleton</a> - Marketing Manager Our <a class="vt-p" target="_blank" href="http://www.8x8.com/AboutUs/8x8Blog/tabid/167/PostID/116/How-a-Hosted-VoIP-Business-Phone-System-Found-a-Lost-iPhone.aspx">recent post</a> about Thrive's Tod Petty using 8x8's <a class="vt-p" target="_blank" href="http://www.8x8.com">VoIP business phone service</a> mobile app to find his lost iPhone, has inspired others to send us their 8x8 Save story—situations where 8x8 business phone service and features have saved businesspeople from a potentially bad or embarrassing situation. 8x8 <a class="vt-p" target="_blank" href="http://www.8x8.com/CommunicationsSolutions.aspx">business phone service</a> customer, Chairman and CEO of Probolsky Research LLC, which conducts opinion research on public policy, shares his 8x8 Save: <blockquote> <img width="195" height="196" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/adam_p.png" alt="Adam D. Probolsky" style="float: right;" />It was mid-January (Monday the 14th). Everyone else was out of the office, so I was alone. An important proposal interview was scheduled for 2:00 p.m., over the phone. The prospective client, a local government agency, was going to call me. I did what anyone would do: About fifteen minutes before the call, I went down the hall to the bathroom. We always lock our office suite when no one else is in, even when leaving for just a minute. When

8x8 Blog - Great Customer Service Doesn’t Have to be Expensive with a Virtual Call Center

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/lisa_avatar.png" style="vertical-align: middle;" /> by <a href="http://plus.google.com/u/1/105826545199918612219/" rel="author">Lisa Stapleton</a> - Marketing Manager <img style="float: right; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 5px;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Customers/justin_blueair.png" alt="Justin Warren - Customer Service Manager, Blueair" /> Air-purification company Blueair insists on providing top-notch customer service, but it needed a cost-effective way to monitor and manage a <a href="http://www.8x8.com/CommunicationsSolutions/ByProduct/CompleteContactCenter.aspx">virtual call center</a>. So it turned to 8x8's <a href="http://www.8x8.com/CommunicationsSolutions/ByProduct/VirtualOffice/Features/HostedPBX.aspx">hosted VoIP</a> Virtual Contact Center, and the results have been dramatic. "The change has been like night and day for both customers and agents," says Justin Warren, manager of customer support at Blueair's Chicago office. "Our goal was to handle more contacts more efficiently, and 8x8 has been a big help in meeting that goal." <img alt="" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/blueair_blog.png" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 20px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" /> In 8x8 Virtual Contact Center, Blueair has found a business phone solution that helps it reduce wait times, boost customer satisfaction, and cut unnecessary costs. For example, when 8x8 showed Blueair execs that there were hardly any calls to the air-purification company during early-morning and evening hours, the firm shifted its support hours to concentrate staffing during peak call times. And to top it off, the

8x8 Blog - How a Hosted VoIP Business Phone System Found a Lost iPhone

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/phil_avatar.png" style="vertical-align: middle;" /> by <a href=" http://plus.google.com/104935796229982041075/ " rel="author" class="vt-p">Phillip Liu</a> - Senior Product Manager <img alt="Tod Petty, President, Thrive Senior Living" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/tod_thrive.png" />Ever lost a phone in a crowded place—like an airport—and realized with a thud in the pit of your stomach that everything was in that little device? If you have, you’ll appreciate Tod Petty’s quick thinking in rescuing his missing iPhone. Petty is president of <a href="http://www.thrivesl.com" target="_blank" class="vt-p">Thrive Senior Living</a>, a developer and owner of technology-enabled housing communities for seniors. Petty uses the 8x8 Virtual Office <a target="_blank" href="http://www.8x8.com/BusinessPhoneSystems.aspx" class="vt-p">business phone system</a>—powered by <a class="vt-p" target="_blank" href="http://www.8x8.com">hosted VoIP</a>. The phone system, which includes iPhone, iPad and Android apps—allows Tod to make calls from his work number anywhere using 3G/4G and WiFi. While traveling recently, Petty left his iPhone behind in an airline terminal. Petty used the Apple "Find my iPhone" iPad app to lock the iPhone and send it a message asking whoever found the phone to call his 8x8 Virtual Office number. Within minutes, airport security found the iPhone and called the specified number. Petty answered the call on his iPad, using his 8x8 Virtual Office <a href="htt

8x8 Blog - Hosted VoIP Saves Your Business from a Walking Dead Finale

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/lisa_avatar.png" /> by <a rel="author" href="http://plus.google.com/u/1/105826545199918612219/" class="vt-p">Lisa Stapleton</a> - Marketing Manager <img width="211" height="211" alt="Zombie Crossing" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" src="/Portals/1/Blog_Images/zombie_crossing_sign.png" />Zombies are all the rage these days; disaster planning isn't. That's what drove the Centers for Disease Control to resort to a "Zombies" campaign a few years ago, built around the question: "Are you ready for the Zombie Apocalypse?" Now it might sound like a cheesy idea for an ad campaign, but the thing is, it worked. All of a sudden, people who enjoyed shooting zombies in their spare time on video games responded in a way they never had before to all of FEMA's entreaties to prepare for disaster ahead of time. And the CDC knew that if people prepared to hole up a few days fighting off the undead, they might stand a chance against run-of-the-mill disasters from weather, earthquakes and other threats. Our customers have never had to fight off flesh eaters, but a lot of them have had experience with storms and outages. And of course, they do have to battle the urge to manage all of the important aspects of running their businesses flawlessly, at the expense of handling the basics of disaster planning. That's why 8x8 is offering a new executive brief, "<a href="http://business.8x8.com/SOCIAL-eGuide-SurvivingApocalypse.html?source=SOCIAL-eGuide-SurvivingApocalypse" class="vt-p">Surviving the Business Equivalent of the Zombie Apocalypse</a>." &l

8x8 Blog - What SMB Owners Can Teach Enterprise about Cloud-based Business VoIP

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/bryan_avatar.png" /> by – <a rel="author" href="https://plus.google.com/104016888488475235144/">Bryan Martin</a> - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer "Cloud-based Communications: Opportunity, Threat or Yawn?" That was the question put to me and other industry panelists at the Enterprise Connect conference this week in Orlando.  The other panelists all seemed to acknowledge that cloud-based communication and collaboration has "caught fire" in its popularity with small and medium businesses (SMBs). <img src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/enterprise_connect.png" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" alt="Enterprise Connect Panel" /> The Cloud Cuts Costs—But That's Just the Beginning They all conceded that the superior economics of the cloud, which makes it possible for 8x8 to use a single server—with all the redundancy, speed and software "bells and whistles" imaginable—to provide communications to more than 1,000 customers at a time. That's what makes it possible for us to offer service for our customers starting at under $25 per month. <img src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/money_cloud.png" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" alt="Cloud Cuts Costs" />But it was clear from their remarks that my fellow panelists thought that most of the draw for SMBs is the low cost of service. Of course, as any entrepreneur or small business owner can tell you, cost is always a consideration in a very deep, personal way; if you can't

8x8 Blog - Banking on 8x8 Business Phone Service

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/angela_avatar.png" style="vertical-align: middle;" /> by <a href="https://plus.google.com/115767775035017803556/" rel="author">Angela York</a> - Director, Customer Marketing and Loyalty Programs<img alt="" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Customers/westtown_christopher.png" style="float: right; width: 185px; height: 206px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 5px;" /> Anybody who has ever tried to get new <a href="http://www.8x8.com">business phone service</a> on short notice—and been told there's a three-week wait—can identify with West Town Saving Bank's Vice President of Retail Mortgage Sales Christopher LaCroix when he says, "The best thing about 8x8 is there's no installation required!" "We're still growing, and I have two to three new hires coming in every few months," he says.  "I just contact my 8x8 account manager to order new phones. When they arrive, I can log into Virtual Office Online and configure them myself, or if I run out of time, I can have 8x8 do it for me. When the new employee shows up, all we have to do is plug their phone into the wall and they're ready to start taking calls." <img alt="" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/westtownsavings.png" style="float: left; margin-right: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px;" />And of course, some of that flexibility comes from <a href="http://www.8x8.com/businessvoip.aspx">business VoIP</a> What about your business?  What is the longest you've ever been told to wait for <a href="http://www.8x8.com">business phone service</a>?  And was it worth the wait? <a href="http://www.8x8.com/Resources/Customers/Wes

8x8 Blog - Use Hosted PBX Technology to Look Bigger

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/erik_avatar.png" /> by <a class="vt-p" rel="author" href="https://plus.google.com/114123027204382447935/">Erik Archer Smith</a> - VoIP Technology Evangelist <img alt="Use Hosted PBX Technology to Look Bigger" style="float: left; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; margin-right: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/skyscraper_man.png" /> In today's hyper competitive environment, it's important to use every resource at your disposal to give yourself an edge over the competition. The Auto Attendant that comes included with the 8x8 Virtual Office <a class="vt-p" href="http://www.8x8.com/CommunicationsSolutions/ByProduct/VirtualOffice/Features/HostedPBX.aspx" target="_blank">hosted PBX</a> is one tool that you can start using right away to grow your business! Even if you don't immediately recognize the words "<a class="vt-p" href="http://www.8x8.com/CommunicationsSolutions/ByProduct/VirtualOffice/Features/AutoAttendant.aspx" target="_blank">Auto Attendant</a>," you've surely encountered one before: it's the pre-recorded message that plays when you call a business that offers you options such as: "for the corporate directory, press 1; for the sales department, press 2; to dial by name, press 3;" etc. The 8x8 Auto Attendant lets you provide far more personalized and efficient service than routing every missed call into a general voicemail box;you can use it to achieve the following benefits: <ul> <li>For smaller companies and start-ups, an Auto Attendant can provide a more professional imag

8x8 Blog - Cloud-based Call Centers Offer New Freedom and Innovation for Businesses

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 08:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/robert_avatar.png" /> by <a rel="author" href="https://plus.google.com/114070919016954038247/">Rob Townsend</a> - Senior Product Manager <img width="292" height="203" alt="Cloud-Based Call Centers Offer New Freedom and Innovation for Businesses" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/cloudbased1.png" style="float: right;" />Owning or managing a business often attracts people who want independence—especially from increasingly irrelevant constraints such as location or the availability of office space. That’s why some of these entrepreneurs are exploring cloud-based VoIP technology, which gives owners and workers alike the freedom to work from virtually anywhere with an Internet connection. This telecommuting trend is spreading in a variety of different kinds of businesses, and in particular, it’s transforming call centers across North America. <a href="http://www.1to1media.com/view.aspx?docid=33627" target="_blank">Approximately 80%</a> of contact centers now have some <a href="http://www.8x8.com/CommunicationsSolutions/ByProduct/CompleteContactCenter/Solutions/HomeBasedAgents.aspx">work-from-home agents</a> on the payroll, and their owners are increasingly finding that VoIP-based virtual call centers give them the freedom to keep or expand their workforces. Call centers are the ideal type of business for work-from-home or mobile workforce innovations, since so much of the work is done via phone.  Perhaps that’s why call centers are increasingly going virtual, as relatively low-cost <a href="http://www.8x8.com/BusinessVoip.aspx">business VoIP</a> systems allow providers to offer all of the features

8x8 Blog - Your Voicemail System Might Be Costing You Business

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 08:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/erik_avatar.png" /> by <a href="https://plus.google.com/114123027204382447935/" rel="author" class="vt-p">Erik Archer Smith</a> VoIP Technology Evangelist <img width="250" height="156" style="float: right;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/voicemailcosting.png" alt="Cloud-Based Call Centers Offer New Freedom and Innovation for Businesses" />Do after-hours (or busy) calls to your business go directly to voicemail? If so, you might be leaving money on the table. That's because lots of potential customers aren't satisfied just to "wait for the tone" and leave a message when they don't reach you the first time. They keep calling your competitors until they can talk to someone. And you might never even know that you missed the opportunity to sell your product or service at the precise time they were most ready to buy. You Could Be Missing Sales It's this point which prompted me to write this post, since there have been many times when a company could have gained my business simply by having after-hours messaging. I've noticed that many 8x8 <a href="http://www.8x8.com" class="vt-p">business phone service</a> customers find that both their sales and the time spent on the phone increase soon after they enroll in the service. I think I know why: It's because they're actually engaging more of these "fly-by" customers, who otherwise would have quickly gone to someone else who picked up or returned their call immediately. Auto Attendant Picks Up Calls Fast Often customers don't realize that they're losing business until they install a more intelligent, te

8x8 Blog - Business VoIP Blows Talent Market Wide Open

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 08:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/debbiejo_avatar.png" /> by <a href="https://plus.google.com/111284597817620009006/" rel="author">Debbie Jo Severin</a> - Chief Marketing Officer “Thank you for changing my life, I’m forever grateful.” Have you ever gotten a letter that just blows you away with its emotion and insight? We did recently, when we invited our customers to write about the things they love most about 8x8 <a href="http://www.8x8.com">business phone service</a>. There were hundreds of responses, but this one, from Nancy <a href="http://www.8x8.com"><img style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 5px; float: right;" alt="Business phone service opens doors to employment across geographies with VoIP." src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/world_group.png" /></a>Metternick, who works for an insurance company, really stood out: “I live in a high unemployment state. 8x8 VoIP has provided me an excellent opportunity for financial growth with a company in another state. Using 8x8, I can be a productive member of a team that I have never met in person. Without your business phone service, I'd be unable to provide for my family. Your Virtual Office phone service enables me to run a business from the comfort of my computer that I could not have ever imagined possible. Thank you for changing my life. I am forever grateful.” Wow! “Changing my life” and “forever grateful” are pretty rare accolades outside of church pews, and it got me to thinking about the flip side of the coin, too. From the perspective of the businesses that can finally employ the Nancys of the

8x8 Blog - Polycom Names 8x8 Partner of the Year

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 08:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/bryan_avatar.png" style="vertical-align: middle;" /> by Bryan Martin - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer We’re honored to receive the North American Service Provider of the Year award from Polycom. <img src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/partner-of-the-year-graphic-4938.png" style="float: right; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" alt="8x8 Wins Polycom Partner of the Year Award" /> Both Polycom and 8x8 are deeply committed to outstanding service innovation and quality, so I was proud to step up on the stage with the 8x8 team to receive the award last week in Vancouver at the annual TEAM Polycom 2013 sales and partner conference. We’ve been working with Polycom for a number of years now, collaborating closely with them to ensure that their endpoint devices and our <a href="http://www.8x8.com/businessvoip.aspx">business VoIP</a> phone service work together to deliver an unparalleled user experience. By naming 8x8 the North American Service Provider of the Year and singling us out from over 7,000 partners, Polycom is recognizing 8x8 for the quality of our <a href="http://www.8x8.com">hosted VoIP</a> and unified communications solutions and our commitment to service excellence.  8x8’s year-over-year business revenues increased 22 percent over the same period last year, and our high customer satisfaction rating and referrals are evidence that our approach is paying off. We are proud to be named one of Polycom’s key partners for 2012 and look forward to continuing to push the envelope in the development and provisioning of industry-leading unified communicati

8x8 Blog - 8x8 Call Center Software and Hosted VoIP Phone Service Help Businesses Weather the Storm

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 08:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/angela_avatar.png" />Written by <a href="https://plus.google.com/115767775035017803556/" rel="author">Angela J York</a> - Director, Customer Marketing and Loyalty Programs<img alt="" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/storm.png" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 10px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" /> “With Nor’easters, having the ability to work from home is a blessing for our call center. During one of the storms, a lot of our staff was without power, so I opened my home as a temporary call center. With the use of cell phones and PCs, we were able to support our business needs. I had the wood-burning stove going and served coffee. Our clients were happy, my staff was warm, and we were set to go. Technology is great!” —Mara Dicenso, Manager at Alliant You know, I’ve had a lot of odd things in my living room before, but never a call center! And while you see a lot of unusual things in business these days, I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen a wood stove in a <a href="http://www.8x8.com/CommunicationsSolutions/ByProduct/CompleteContactCenter.aspx">call center</a> before. You have to admire the spirit and tenacity—and just plain pluck—of anyone who, like Mara and her team, not only rides out a storm in style, but still manages to get something meaningful done. And Mara’s right, technology is great, especially when it helps people stay safe, warm, connected and even productive, no matter what’s going on around them. She is just one of many customers who tell us that they use 8x8’s cloud-based VoIP phone service or 8x8’s <a href="http://www.8x8.com/CommunicationsSolutions/ByBusiness

8x8 Blog - Surprising Ways to Save with 8x8 Internet Phone Service

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 08:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/debbiejo_avatar.png" style="vertical-align: middle;" />Written by Debbie Jo Severin - Chief Marketing Officer  Recently we asked our customers to tell us their stories of how 8x8 has helped their businesses. We were amazed by the number of responses we received—although the chance to win a free iPad may have had something to do it! <img src="http://devdnn.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/VO_iPhone_three-up.png" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" alt="8x8 Virtual Office Mobile" />Even more amazing were the many ways our small business customers are saving money with their 8x8 <a href="http://www.8x8.com/businessvoip.aspx">business VoIP</a> services. Some we already knew about, such as lower monthly phone bills and less PBX maintenance, but others surprised even us. Take our mobile app. We knew that customers liked the convenience of accessing 8x8 service on their iOS and Android devices, and we knew that they saved money by avoiding expensive cellular rates. What we didn't realize was the dramatic—and very positive—impact our <a href="http://www.8x8.com/CommunicationsSolutions/ByProduct/VirtualOffice/Features/VirtualOfficeMobile.aspx">mobile app</a> can have on employee efficiency and productivity. For example, the CIO of a major insurance company told us that claims adjusters in the field use 8x8 service to record calls and listen to office voicemail on their smartphones, and use the video feature <a target="_blank" href="http://business.8x8.com/NUR-eGuide-6WaysToSave.html"><img alt="Six Ways Your Small Business Can Sace with Internet Phone Service" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; border-width: 0px; border-style

8x8 Blog - Gartner 2012 UCaaS Magic Quadrant Places 8x8 in “Leaders” Quadrant

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 08:00:00 GMT

One of our industry’s most anticipated market research reports, the <a href="http://business.8x8.com/OL-Research-GartnerMagicQuadrant.html?source=OL-Research-GartnerMagicQuadrant" target="_blank">Gartner Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications as a Service, North America,</a> has just been published and I am honored that 8x8 has been recognized in the “Leaders” Quadrant. While this is a significant achievement on its own, what is even more gratifying to me, and the 350 8x8 employees that work diligently to provide the industry’s most superior cloud-based unified communications services, is the far right placement on the Quadrant we also received for “completeness of vision.” This is a testament to the rock solid, innovative technologies our R & D team has focused on perfecting for many years.  <img alt="Gartner Magic Quadrant" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" src="/Portals/1/Blog_Images/Gartner_magicquadrant.png" /> Disclaimer: This graphic was published by Gartner, Inc. as part of a larger research document and should be evaluated in the context of the entire document. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. The Gartner document is available upon request from 8x8, Inc. </p&

8x8 Blog - I Can't Get No Customer Satisfaction

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 08:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" src="/Portals/1/Blog_Images/cust_disat.png" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 5px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" />Customers can be funny sometimes. You do your best to keep them satisfied and how do they reward you? Well, sometimes they take their business elsewhere. The majority of customer service leaders are focused on exceeding customer's expectations. So why is the churn rate in some industries so high? Are customer service organizations focused on the wrong metrics? At least, that's the conclusion of some business scholars writing in Harvard Business Review. The authors, Matthew Dixon, Karen Freeman, and Nicholas Toman, in their article "Stop Trying to Delight Your Customers," conclude that, while 80% of customer service organizations use customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores to gauge success, they may, in fact, be focusing on the wrong metric. Customer service apparently has little to do with loyalty. But it has everything to do with disloyalty. Despite customer service executives' good intentions, the authors' study reveals that 84% of customers leave their interactions dissatisfied. Rather than fostering loyalty, more often than not (four times more, or much more than customer service leaders would like to admit) customer service interactions breed dissatisfaction. The Most Satisfied Disloyal Customers Money Can Buy So, if trying really hard to exceed customer's expectations doesn't make them raving fans, what does keep them coming back? According to Dixon, Freeman, and Toman: product quality, brand, and helping them solve their problems quickly and easily. Instead of bending over backward to satisfy, the researchers say customer service execs should do all possible to remove the obstacles to resolving customer service issues. Ma

8x8 Blog - Weathering the Storm of the Century

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Debbie Jo Severin, Chief Marketing Officer<img alt="" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 5px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/blog_hurricane_image.png" /> Hurricane Sandy is one of those rare events that remind us how frightening the power of nature can be. Scores of people have been killed or injured, and millions were left without power on the East Coast. When this kind of disaster strikes, the first thing we instinctively do is protect ourselves and our loved ones as best we can. Then once the worst is over, we try to get back to normal. While no one is immune from natural disasters like Sandy, every business needs a continuity plan. And selecting the right communications provider is a critical part of that process. Although 8x8's voice services were not disrupted during Hurricane Sandy, other providers experienced outages that made it difficult for their customers to resume business. <img alt="" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-right: 5px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" src="http://www.8x8.com/Portals/1/Blog_Images/blog_noc_image.png" />Over the years 8x8 has taken measures to protect our customers and keep them in business—even when the worst happens. For example, our VoIP network is supported by redundant data centers on the East and West Coasts. Both data centers store all our Virtual Office customer information in real time. If catastrophe strikes one, the other is ready to take over. Fortunately, this wasn't necessary during Hurricane Sandy but it's nice to know we have our own continuity plan. To add more protection, each 8x8 data center has redundant servers, routers, switches and power supplies. Our network infrastructure also has multiple indepen

8x8 Blog - QoS Can Make All the Difference to VoIP Phone Service Quality

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Bud Lee, 8x8 Quality Assurance Manager<img alt="" src="/Portals/1/Banners/QoS-traffic.jpg" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 5px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; width: 250px; height: 187px;" /> You've probably seen or heard the term Quality of Service or QoS, but you may not have realized why it is important. It turns out QoS can have a significant impact on the audio quality of your VoIP phone service. Think of your network as a freeway. Sometimes traffic is light, and data quickly zooms along to its destination. But at other times traffic is congested, bogging everything down—including your VoIP calls. Fortunately, there are things you can do to ease this network traffic jam. To learn more about QoS, <a href="http://www.8x8.com/Resources/Learn/HintsandTips/WhatisQoS.aspx" target="_blank">check out this article</a>.

8x8 Blog - Crossing the Unified Communications Chasm

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 07:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" src="/Portals/1/Blog_Images/huw_keynote.jpg" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; width: 228px; height: 172px;" />Today, 8x8 Vice President of Business Development Huw Rees delivered a keynote address at ITEXPO West titled "Crossing the Unified Communications Chasm," where he discussed the tremendous benefits businesses can realize using cloud-based UC solutions and the opportunity that now exists to rapidly accelerate the adoption of this technology. Rees spoke about the fact that there are too many definitions of what Unified Communications actually is and that this confusion may be a factor inhibiting adoption at the SMB level.  “If our industry can't clearly define what UC is, and what it really does for the user and the business, what hope is there for the average business person?” Rees said. Rees also touched on where the business community is on the whole when it comes to the market life cycle of UC citing the classic Geoffrey Moore Crossing the Chasm lifecycle model. "We can see that UC adoption is clearly in the chasm, especially for the SMB. The visionaries and early adopters have been or are engaged now, but early majority and pragmatists have not yet moved. Somehow we have to get across the chasm faster but, as an industry, we are exactly in the right place at the right time."

8x8 Blog - Bryan Martin, CEO and Chairman of 8x8 on Mad Money with Jim Cramer on CNBC

Fri, 28 Sep 2012 07:00:00 GMT

<a target="_blank" href="http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000118702&play=1">Click here to watch</a> Bryan Martin's interview with Jim Cramer on CNBC's Mad Money. <img alt="Bryan Martin, CEO & Chairman of 8x8 on Mad Money with Jim Cramer on CNBC" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" src="/Portals/1/Blog_Images/madmoney.jpg" />

8x8 Blog - 8x8 Ranked by Infonetics Research as a Top Five VoIP Provider

Wed, 09 May 2012 07:00:00 GMT

We’re proud to report that for the fourth consecutive year, 8x8 has been named as one of the top five hosted business VoIP and unified communications (UC) service providers in North America by Infonetics Research. <a href="http://www.infonetics.com" target="_blank">Infonetics Research</a> just published its annual North America Business VoIP Service Leadership Scorecard. The report identifies service providers currently leading the hosted VoIP/UC and IP connectivity markets and those best positioned to succeed long-term. The rankings were based on criteria such as installed base of lines or seats, financial stability, market strategy, service capabilities and support options. With our customer base of over 27,000 businesses, 8x8 has created a blueprint for the successful adoption of its cloud services by organizations of all types and sizes ranging from small and mid-size businesses to distributed enterprises to government agencies. 8x8 is committed to making every customer's transition to the cloud a positive, business-altering event that reaps significant rewards on an immediate and long-term basis. We achieve this by developing and delivering the industry's most innovative and affordable cloud-based solutions and by assuring the highest levels of reliability, quality of service and customer satisfaction. We’re very pleased to again be listed as one of the leading hosted VoIP providers in North America by Infonetics Research. Read their <a href="http://www.infonetics.com/pr/2012/North-America-Business-VoIP-Scorecard.asp" target="_blank">press release</a> for excerpts from the full report.

8x8 Blog - 8x8 CMO Debbie Jo Severin Speaks Her Mind at Enterprise Connect 2012 Panel

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Suppose you want to get out of the business of running your core PBX/UC platform—or you at least want to supplement this CPE function with cloud-based services for some locations. Who should you turn to? Are the big carriers who used to be your Centrex providers the right choice for hosted UC? How much does size matter when it comes to hosted UC? How important is the technology platform that the provider uses? <img src="/Portals/1/Blog_Images/enterprise_connect_blog_images3.png" alt="8x8 CMO Debbie Jo Severin at Enterprise Connect 2012" /> These are some of the questions posed by Elka Popova, North American Program Director, Unified Communications and Collaboration, Frost and Sullivan, to a panel (<a href="http://www.enterpriseconnect.com/orlando/program/" target="_blank">http://www.enterpriseconnect.com/orlando/program/</a>) of industry experts that included 8x8 CMO Debbie Jo Severin.

8x8 Blog - 8x8 Takes the Floor at Enterprise Connect 2012

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 07:00:00 GMT

8x8 demonstrated its industry-leading hosted PBX, Unified Communications, Contact Center, Video and Mobile suite of services this week at Enterprise Connect 2012 (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.enterpriseconnect.com/orlando/">http://www.enterpriseconnect.com/orlando/</a>), the leading conference and exhibition for enterprise communications and collaborations systems, software and services. <table> <thead> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td> <img alt="8x8 at Enterprise Connect" src="/Portals/1/Blog_Images/enterprise_connect_blog_images1.png" /> </td> <td> <img alt="8x8 at Enterprise Connect" src="/Portals/1/Blog_Images/enterprise_connect_blog_images2.png" /> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Jim O'Neill, Editor of Fierce Enterprise Communications, said in his March 26 blog (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.fierceenterprisecommunications.com/story/answer-full-uc-deployment-cloud/2012-03-26">http://www.fierceenterprisecommunications.com/story/answer-full-uc-deployment-cloud/2012-03-26</a>), "If you're attending this week's Enterprise Connect in Orlando, you can be sure you'll be bombarded with what's quickly becoming this year's hottest tech trend dynamic duo: videoconferencing and unified communications." These are two of 8x8's compelling cloud-based offerings that provide businesses with robust productivity-enhancing collaboration tools accessible from any location on PCs, smartphones and tablets.

8x8 Blog - 8x8 Opens The NASDAQ Stock Market!

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 08:00:00 GMT

This morning, 8x8 Chairman & CEO Bryan Martin rang the Opening Bell at The NASDAQ Stock Market (<a href="http://www.nasdaq.com/marketsite/marketsite-events-detail.aspx?fn=201203-open03062012.txt" target="_blank">http://www.nasdaq.com/marketsite/marketsite-events-detail.aspx?fn=201203-open03062012.txt</a>) in celebration of the company’s 25th anniversary and 15 years continuous listing on the NASDAQ exchange. This high profile event kicks off a very busy week for 8x8 in the financial capital of the world, including investor presentations at the Oppenheimer Cloud Services Conference, the Wedbush 2012 Technology, Media & Telecommunications Management Access Conference and an investor focused cloud services demo event at the NASDAQ MarketSite. <table> <tbody> <tr> <td><img src="/Portals/1/Blog_Images/mo_0306121.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" alt="8x8 Opens The NASDAQ Stock Market" /></td> <td align="center"><img src="/Portals/1/Blog_Images/mo_0306123.jpg" alt="8x8 Opens The NASDAQ Stock Market" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td><img src="/Portals/1/Blog_Images/mo_0306124.jpg" alt="8x8 Opens The NASDAQ Stock Market" /></td> <td align="center"><img src="/Portals/1/Blog_Images/mo_0306125.jpg" alt="8x8 Opens The NASDAQ Stock Market" /></td> </tr> </tbody> </table>

8x8 Blog - Celebrating 25 Years of Innovation

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:00:00 GMT

<a href="http://www.8x8.com/AboutUs/History.aspx" target="_blank"><img src="/Portals/1/Banners/25th_anniversary_banner_2_164.png" style="float: right; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" alt="8x8 25th Anniversary" /></a>Today we are celebrating our 25th year as a communications technology innovator in the Silicon Valley. We want to warmly thank our customers, investors and employees for your support over all these years. Our journey began in 1987 when we started as a company called Integrated Information Technology (IIT). We quickly became a leading developer of multimedia semiconductors and video processing chips. Fast-forward 25 years. Today, we're a leading provider of cloud communications and cloud computing solutions. It's been an exciting ride so far. Here's how Rich Tehrani, VoIP industry expert and CEO of Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC) puts it: "Having visited 8x8 frequently over the past decades I've been impressed at how the company has evolved into a major cloud-communications pioneer. This is a company that literally had to survive multiple telecom, tech and financial meltdowns and seemed to emerge from each stronger and better positioned for the next wave of growth. I salute Bryan Martin and the team at 8x8 for their perseverance and vision in not only surviving but thriving in one of the most turbulent business environments any company could possibly be faced with." We are proud of what we've accomplished since 1987. Someone once said "It's ok to look back at the past. Just don't stare." The future is ahead of us. We've been awarded 79 patents so far and continue to innovate. See where 25 years have taken us. <a target="_new" href="http://www.8x8.com/AboutUs/History.aspx">Visit the 8x8 interactive timeline.</a

8x8 Blog - What’s in Store for 2012

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 08:00:00 GMT

2011 was quite a year. The continued economic downturn, environmental disasters and massive layoffs leading to a rise in entrepreneurship all had major impacts on the IT landscape for enterprises and SMB's alike. So what does 2012 hold in store? Here are some trends I think we'll be seeing next year and beyond: <ol> <li>The number of small businesses with fewer than 10 employees (we refer to these businesses favorably as "micro" businesses) will explode. As the economic crisis continues and the term of unemployment benefits begins to expire, more and more individuals will start new entrepreneurial endeavors as a means of supporting themselves. Also, the number of small professional operations (lawyers, medical professionals, educators, financial experts, etc.) who decide to "hang their own shingle" and set up a 1-person shop will increase as layoffs at large, multi-national enterprises continues. The number of lawyers and financial experts we know that have left large firms and institutions (both voluntarily and involuntarily) in order to work for themselves on their own schedule and terms speaks volumes to this trend. </li> <li> Virtualization and outsourcing of back office IT to proven service providers will be viewed as a 'best practices' methodology amongst information technology professionals. The past practices of managing a server infrastructure by keeping it in-house (which also used to be associated with job security) is now a weakness and liability. With a business' limited financial and technical resources, where is the value in keeping infrastructure in house when it can be outsourced to the cloud where the infrastructure is serviced and maintained by technology experts with deep, dedicated IT resources that are easily cost justified in a multi-tenant infrastructure? Not embracing this change in best practices will threaten the job security of industry IT professionals try

8x8 Blog - 8x8 Opens Windows to the Cloud and Gives SMBs Access to the Latest Technology at a Fraction of the Cost

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 08:00:00 GMT

Today's tough economic climate has forced many small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) to cut costs without limiting their competitiveness or prospects for growth. One way businesses of all sizes are accomplishing this is by moving away from on-premise computing solutions and utilizing cloud networks to cut costs on infrastructure, minimize utilization of internal IT staff and redirect those resources to focus on their core business rather than their back office systems. 8x8 is here to help with this transition with the official launch of the 8x8 Cloud Server hosting solution for Windows. This means that if you're a Windows user, you now have a nice view of the cloud! Previously available only on Linux Systems, Windows users now have access to a cost-effective, flexible and easy to use cloud server solution. Features include: <ul> <li>Easy user interface – A simple, straight forward self-service portal </li> <li>No set-up fees or contracts – Simply pay by the hour or by month </li> <li>Server snapshots – Grab a snapshot of your server and use it to restore or rebuild your server, or build a new, cloned server </li> <li>RAID-10 storage – Every server utilizes RAID-10 disk storage, providing high performance and reliability </li> <li>Automated provisioning – Build a new server or upgrade an existing one quickly and easily with the automated features available from the self-service portal </li> <li>Memory and processing power – Have access to guaranteed RAM, CPU and bandwidth </li> <li>Other features – Public IP addresses, IPv6, private networ

8x8 Blog - Changing Traditions of Today's Call Centers

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 08:00:00 GMT

Traditionally, companies anchored their call center to buildings located far away from their headquarters and their customers. They had no choice. That was the safest place to put all the expensive hardware and software, and it was the easiest way to monitor an agent's performance. Plus they needed a location with a low-cost labor force that could support high agent attrition rates. Most contact was done via the telephone or snail mail, and the Internet, VoIP and today's advanced technology were items of science fiction. In today's fast-paced business world, the need for a traditional call center has evolved. Companies now require a more sophisticated contact center that is able to support customer communication from multiple sources including the phone, email and chat. Additionally, the physical constraints that required a centralized environment no longer exist. What would you think if I told you that your call/contact center no longer even needs a "center" and, your operations no longer need to be confined to a building? With just a PC with an Internet connection, and a telephone, all you really need are people. Today's cloud-based <a href="/CommunicationsSolutions/ByProduct/CompleteContactCenter/Solutions/VirtualCallCenter.aspx">virtual call center </a>delivered as a service, shifts the call center paradigm dramatically and frees you from the physical constraints of the past. Today's virtual technology gives businesses of all sizes access to resources that previously only large businesses were able to afford. Plus now you can tap into resources without being constrained by geography. Agents can be located anywhere — remote offices or <a href="/CommunicationsSolutions/ByProduct/CompleteContactCenter/Solutions/HomeBasedAgents.aspx">working fr

8x8 Blog - 8x8 and AT&T Enter a Long-Distance Relationship!

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 08:00:00 GMT

<img alt="" src="/Portals/1/Blog_Images/blog_longdistance.png" /> If you’ve ever made an international call, chances are you were probably surprised when your phone bill arrived. A call across the pond isn’t cheap (even for a short chat!), and people who do business internationally or have friends and family abroad can expect to pay plenty to keep in touch. A new app released this week by 8x8 and AT&T is looking to change that. <a href="http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/att-call-international-application.jsp">AT&T Call International</a> is a free mobile VoIP app that provides international long-distance calling at low, competitive rates. The app not only allows AT&T smartphone customers to make low-cost calls from the US to international numbers, but also lets users abroad receive the same rates using the app over WIFI. Using AT&T Call International is simple. Once the app is downloaded, users create an AT&T Call International account. From there, customers can make calls through the app by either dialing directly or accessing their existing contacts list. Users can make unlimited calls with no recurring charges or hidden fees. All calls are billed to the customer’s credit card. AT&T Call International is already generating buzz… read what “Apple Insider” had to say about the app <a href="http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/11/11/08/att_launches_iphone_app_for_voip_international_calls.html">here</a>. 8x8 sees this new venture with AT&T as a win-win. Not only does it enable 8x8 to extend the features and benefits of its VoIP offerings to the mobile environment, but customers across the globe will also benefit with a low-cost alternative when making international ca

8x8 Blog - 8x8 Participates in the Small Business Technology Tour

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 07:00:00 GMT

<div style="text-align: center;"><img src="/Portals/1/Blog_Images/small-biz-tech-tour.png" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" alt="Small Business Technology Tour" /> <div style="text-align: left;">8x8 participated in Smallbiztechnology.com's second annual Small Business Technology Tour held in Mountain View, California. The event featured a full-day agenda of leading small business and technology experts who shared their insight, led discussions and demonstrated to attendees how they can harness technology to save time and money, to boost productivity, to increase revenue, and to serve customers better in today’s challenging business climate. Other participating companies included Symantec, Verizon Wireless, Infusionsoft, Microsoft and Sage. The event also provided a great forum for business owners to discuss current business issues and to network with peers across different industries. To learn more, go to <a href="http://www.smallbiztechtour.com" target="_blank">http://www.smallbiztechtour.com</a>. <div style="text-align: center;"><img src="/Portals/1/Blog_Images/SmallBusinessTechTour_Mt.View.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" alt="8x8 Participates in Small Business Technology Tour" /> </div> </div> </div>

8x8 Blog - CRM Article on Acquisition

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 07:00:00 GMT

Here is a CRM article on this week's 8x8 acquisition: <a> http://www.destinationcrm.com/Articles/CRM-News/Daily-News/8x8-Acquires-Cloud-Call-Center-Provider-Contactual-77735.aspx</a> I spoke with Dmitry late yesterday.  -Bryan <table cellspacing="4" cellpadding="4" border="0" width="99%" style="background-color: #ffffff;"> <tbody> <tr> <td align="left"> <div class="timesHeader"> 8x8 Acquires Cloud Call Center Provider Contactual </div> <div class="ArticleSubTitle"> The all-stock transaction, worth approximately 6.5 million, allows the company to bring the only major component of its business that was outsourced in-house.</div> <div class="readarticle_articledetails"> By Dmitry Sheynin - Posted Sep 16, 2011 </div> </td> <td align="right" valign="middle" style="width: 470px;">    </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" style="width: 100%;"> <hr size="1" noshade="noshade" width="99%" /> <div style="width: 100%;" class="contentInside"> IP telephony provider 8x8 Inc. announced this week the acquisition of Contactual Inc., a developer of virtual call center solutions. The all-stock transaction, worth approximately 6.5 million shares of unregistered 8x8 common stock, allows the company to bring the only major component of its business that was outsourced in-house. The deal, which already closed, is aimed a

8x8 Blog - 8x8 Closes Acquisition of Contactual, Inc.

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 07:00:00 GMT

Contactual is now part of 8x8

Today we announced that we have closed the acquisition of Contactual, Inc. I am very excited to welcome Contactual's talented employees, stakeholders, partners and customers to 8x8!

8x8 has been successfully reselling cloud-based call center and contact management services provided by Contactual's technologies since 2007, and we have seen strong, escalating demand for these services from our larger customers. Contactual's call center technology was previously the only component of 8x8's communications services that was not developed nor owned by 8x8. By bringing the Contactual technology into 8x8 via this acquisition, we are looking forward to more tightly integrating our service offerings, introducing new, enterprise-class features to the existing offerings, building a slimmed, low-cost call center service for our smaller business customers, and introducing the 90% of Contactual's existing customers who do not currently utilize 8x8's voice, video and conferencing services to our communication and data service offerings.

Contactual is based in Redwood City, California and its employee base, operations, consultants, partners and customers are now officially a part of 8x8, effective today.

8x8 Blog - 8x8 Discusses Value Proposition of the Cloud to Channel Partners @ Internet Telephony

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 07:00:00 GMT

TMCnet Feature

September 14, 2011

By Paula Bernier, Executive Editor, IP Communications Magazines

In the August issue of INTERNET TELEPHONY, 8x8 (News - Alert) Inc. CEO Bryan Martin talked about his plans to alter the company’s sales approach. Today at ITEXPO one of the leaders of that change – Kim Niederman, 8x8’s senior vice president of worldwide sales – talked about the value proposition of cloud services for the company’s channel partners.

Cloud is the next shift, said Niederman, “and it’s not so much a shift in technology as it is a shift in go-to-market.”

That said, it’s important that channel partners understand this shift and how it can affect their businesses, and increase their revenue, Niederman said. He added that the channel can earn 2.5-times-plus more per year in recurring revenue, and more upfront revenue, by selling SaaS- and IaaS-based services.

By becoming trusted advisers to SMEs as they move to cloud services, integrating desirable service packages, and offering exceptional customer service, he said, channel partners can position themselves to grow revenue with the delivery of cloud-based services.

8x8 recently worked with Infonetics (News - http://www.veracast.com/webcasts/opco/tech2011/03202215.cfm.

8x8 Blog - 8x8 Redefines Video Conferencing With New Cloud-Based, Flat-Rate Virtual Room Service

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 07:00:00 GMT

8x8 Blog - A Conversation about Cloud Services

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 07:00:00 GMT

A conversation about cloud services with Andy Schwabecher, 8x8's General Manager of Hosting Services, and Ken Pyle from ViodiTV:

http://www.viodi.tv/2011/07/08/a-conversation-about-cloud-services/

8x8 Blog - 8x8 CEO Bryan Martin Interviewed at GigaOm Structure 2011

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 07:00:00 GMT

8x8 Blog - IaaS Terminology Defined

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 07:00:00 GMT

There are a slew of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) terms: co-location hosting, managed dedicated servers, shared hosting, virtual private servers, managed private clouds, public clouds and so on and so forth. What do they all mean? How do they relate to each other? And, which of these is the right choice for your business? The illustration below presents different IaaS terms and how they relate to each other. As for which is the right choice, that depends on the type of business and traffic/workload. <img src="/Portals/1/Charts_Diagrams/IaaS_diagram.png" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" alt="IaaS Diagram" />  Besides the obvious categorization based on price, IaaS terminology can be broadly segmented into deployment models and service levels. <h3>IaaS Deployment Models</h3> IaaS deployment can be categorized into Hosting Infrastructure and Cloud Infrastructure as shown in the above illustration. <h5>Hosting Infrastructure</h5> Hosting typically allows customers to lease pre-allocated, pre-configured hardware such as servers, storage, load balancers, firewalls, etc. from a service provider or hosting company, paying on a monthly basis. The types of services that fall under this category are: <ul> <li>Shared Hosting Shared hosting allows many websites to reside on one server, connected to the Internet. Each website resides in its own partition on the server. Shared hosting is the most economical hosting option, since many people share the overall cost of server maintenance. It is well suited for businesses, bloggers and entrepreneurs who have small workloads or traffic. </li> <li>Co-Location H

8x8 Blog - 8x8 Acquires Zerigo for Cloud Servers/Services

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 07:00:00 GMT

Today, 8x8 announced the acquisition of cloud hosting provider Zerigo, Inc. (www.zerigo.com). Zerigo sells Virtual Private Servers on a subscription basis (either by the month or by the hour), Domain Name System (DNS) services, and “Watchdog” monitoring services that are used to monitor the servers and DNS services, and notify the subscriber proactively of any issues. In addition to native IPv6 connectivity, Zerigo solutions support 32- and 64-bit versions of popular operating systems with RAID-10 storage and self-service server provisioning, upgrades and rebuilds in real time.

Zerigo’s software technologies will greatly enhance the capabilities of 8x8’s cloud hosting services by providing real-time provisioning and elasticity of our compute services. In addition to existing relationships with customers such as Salesforce.com subsidiary Heroku, the leading Ruby platform as a service (PaaS), the Zerigo acquisition provides 8x8 with expanded cloud computing capabilities than, along with our cloud communications services, are designed to help businesses lower their infrastructure costs and management requirements while improving performance and flexibility.

We will be exhibiting our cloud communications and hosting services, including the Zerigo technologies, this week at Structure 2011, GigaOM’s flagship conference on Cloud Computing and Internet Infrastructure, on June 22 and 23, 2011 at the Mission Bay Conference Center in San Francisco, California. More information on this event is available at http:

8x8 Blog - 8x8 CEO Bryan Martin Interviewed by Financial Times

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 07:00:00 GMT

8x8 Blog - 8x8 WTG Agent Training at the Nasdaq Marketplace

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 07:00:00 GMT

8x8 brought its Northeast channel sales team to the Nasdaq Marketplace site today for a full day training session of NY-area World Telecom Group representatives. While the temperatures were hot outside in New York City (see photo below), the technologies we demonstrated inside the Nasdaq exchange were cool and fast. We hosted WTG's representatives for the opening bell ceremony this morning and then launched into a great presentation and discussion about how to sell these services, including our unified communications and hosted call center solutions, to all sizes of customers -- big and small.

8x8 Blog - Giving Business Voice

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 07:00:00 GMT

Paul Taylor at the Financial Times interviewed me today after 8x8 announced that we had more than 25,000 businesses subscribed to our services as of May 31, 2011.  A video version of the interview is available at <a href="http://video.ft.com/v/983693964001/Giving-business-voice">http://video.ft.com/v/983693964001/Giving-business-voice</a> and we look forward to further coverage from the Connected Business column at FT towards teaching business customers how these new technologies are improving the way that businesses communicate utilizing IP communications technologies.  -Bryan

8x8 Blog - 8x8 on VoIP Users Conference

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 07:00:00 GMT

I participated in the weekly VoIP Users Conference this morning. An archive of the program will be posted shortly at http://www.voipusersconference.org/. Lots of topics were covered, ranging from Virtual Office Solo to 8x8's new video cloud Virtual Room service, high definition voice, standards, interoperability, social media, and issues, challenges and progress across the IP communications industry at large. -Bryan

8x8 Blog - Cloud Computing Demystified

Tue, 31 May 2011 07:00:00 GMT

“Cloud Computing,” sometimes used interchangeably with “Software as a Service,” is the industry buzz word du jour. But what does it really mean? At its most basic level, the term refers to data or software that is accessed via a computer network and doesn’t reside on a local computer. It is software or data accessed outside the Local Area Network and hosted by a service provider. Some define Cloud Computing as an updated version of utility computing: basically virtual servers available over the Internet. That is, a server that shares resources with other virtual servers. In this situation, virtual means that it is not a dedicated server. Others define it as anything on the computer network consumed outside the firewall, including conventional outsourcing. At 8x8, we define Cloud Computing based on five attributes: <ul> <li>Multi-tenancy – Cloud computing allows multiple users to use the same resource at the network, host and application levels. There are no dedicated resources as with a dedicated server.</li> <li>Massive scalability – Cloud computing provides the ability to scale to tens of thousands of systems and to massively scale bandwidth and storage space.</li> <li>Elasticity – Cloud computing allows users to rapidly increase and decrease their computing resources and to release resources for other uses when they are no longer needed.</li> <li>Pay as you go – Cloud computing allows users to pay for resources they actually consume and only for the time they were consumed.</li> <li>Self-provisioning of resources – Cloud computing allows users to self-provision resources such as processing capability, software storage and network resources.</li> </ul> &l

CEO's Blog - Entries - You're Not Alone with Virtual Office Solo

Thu, 19 May 2011 07:00:00 GMT

Virtual Office Solo is designed for the "Solopreneur" or entrepreneur with a small office of one or two. At only $7.99 per month, Solo helps the mobile professional manage small business communications from their laptop and cell phone. You can even use your home phone for business without revealing your home phone number. The Virtual Office Solo feature set is amazing. With a dedicated business phone number you can: <ul> <li>Conduct webinars with up to 15 participants and share content</li> <li>Use the Smartphone app to turn Android and iPhone into a mobile desk phone</li> <li>Send and receive faxes on a dedicated fax number</li> <li>Conduct 15 person audio conference calls with recording</li> <li>Route family calls to your cell phone</li> <li>Route telemarketer calls to a busy signal</li> <li>Outbound calls from home reveal your Solo phone number, not your home number</li> <li>Record your calls with a button click and store it on the 8x8 cloud</li> <li>Use any existing phone or the provided 8x8 softphone</li> <li>Hold 3-way conference calls</li> <li>Get your voicemail and fax via email</li> <li>Call transfer with the touch of a button</li> </ul> $7.99 per month delivers all the features above plus unlimited outbound calling to the USA and Canada and very low international rates. I helped create Virtual Office Solo and use it all the time; now my wife uses it to call our Canadian relatives and friends on the East Coast, with no additional charges.

CEO's Blog - Entries - EGHT on Bloomberg

Mon, 16 May 2011 07:00:00 GMT

I appeared on Bloomberg TV today. Lots of Bloomberg's broadcasts today were devoted to the Cloud. Cloud is big and we look forward to rolling out new Cloud services this year!

The Bloomberg video is at http://www.bloomberg.com/video/69824116/ if you did not see it the first time around. -Bryan

CEO's Blog - Entries - Be a One Number Wonder!

Tue, 03 May 2011 07:00:00 GMT

My days of juggling multiple phone numbers are over. Business associates, family and friends no longer have to dial multiple telephone numbers trying to find me. Home number… cell number… office number… home office number… private/family number….NO MORE! I'm a one number wonder. How is this possible? I give out my 8x8 phone number and use 8x8's Advanced Call Forwarding, Softphone, and the 8x8 iPhone mobile app. Here's how I do it: Advanced Call Forwarding We're all familiar with regular call forwarding - that's a standard feature with most telecom systems, and handy when you want to forward all calls. However, with 8x8's Advanced Call Forwarding I can pick and choose how, if and when I want specific calls forwarded using rules I create. Think of it as search and find. For example, I have one rule for people who need to reach me whenever, wherever, like my family and the boss. When Advanced Call Forwarding is on and I get a call from a phone number associated with them, my rule forwards the call first to my cell phone and then, if I don't answer, to my home phone. When I'm expecting an important call, I create a rule to have all my phones ring at once when a call from that number comes in, so I'm sure not to miss it. I can even redirect calls to colleagues or an answering service. Not only am I making it easier for the caller, but I am keeping my personal numbers private and can control the amount and timing of calls to those numbers. For any calls that I do not want forwarded, I can still direct them to my voicemail. 8x8 even has a feature that asks callers to verbally identify themselves so I can decide if that's a call I need to take now or can wait until later. It's like I have my own personal receptionist. Softphone Now, when it comes to making calls, I don't have to maintain multiple phon

CEO's Blog - Entries - Maximize your investment using CTI

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 07:00:00 GMT

Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) is technology that allows interactions on a telephone and a computer to be integrated or coordinated.”  CTI enables the functional integration of various elements (including telephone network, voice and data switching, computer applications, databases and last but not least, people) in order to provide the right information to the right people at the right time. So what’s great and exciting about this? Well, for one thing, you don’t have to jot down the phone number of the person you want to call and then punch in the numbers on your phone! This is likely to be error prone, time consuming and costly. CTI allows for multiple applications to work together seamlessly in one place. The Key Benefits of CTI are: <ul> <li>Delivers consolidated telephony experience </li> <li>Caller identification and priority routing </li> <li>Automatic dialing of phone numbers, with a simple click of a button</li> <li>Automatic screen pop reduces call handling time </li> <li>Connects customer to information specific to them </li> <li>Helps improve customer satisfaction and reduce operational costs</li> </ul> Despite the benefits, the integration of CTI has been difficult for many organizations to achieve. Smaller organizations without dedicated IT staff often lack the funding necessary to hire consultants who can develop and maintain custom integrations. As CTI has matured, however, the requirement to integrate telephony applications with business applications—such as customer relationship management (CRM) systems and email applications -  has created additional pressure for smaller enterprises to deploy CTI. A typical CTI software application manages the event flow that is generated by the telephony switc

CEO's Blog - Entries - Unified Communications Delivers on its Promise

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 07:00:00 GMT

According to an April 2011 report by CDW, a leading provider of technology products and services to business, unified communications (UC) implementation rates doubled from 2010 to 2011, with 16 percent of organizations fully implemented today. "Across industries, organizations are embracing 'anytime, anyplace' access to information to boost productivity. They also continue to look for opportunities to use budget dollars more effectively," said Christine Holloway, vice president of converged infrastructure solutions at CDW. “Unified communications delivers on both of those objectives." The 2011 <a href="http://newsroom.cdw.com/features/feature-04-04-11.html" target="_blank">CDW Unified Communications Tracking Poll</a>, based on a survey of 900 IT professionals, also found that 76 percent of organizations that have fully implemented UC and track return on investment (ROI) say that ROI has met or exceeded their expectations. Respondents ranked increased employee productivity (53 percent) and reduced operating costs (48 percent) as the leading benefits of UC, noting that these results are most important to their organizations. Recently, some of our customers shared examples of how 8x8 cloud based UC solutions are helping them be more productive. Perhaps one or more of these scenarios might apply to your business: We have remote and local employees and now have an easy way to communicate from literally anywhere with Virtual Office. I was at a local Starbucks with my headset on and a customer called my extension and I got a sale right there with my Mocha! It is so nice to be virtual and know that all I have to do is hit an extension to reach one of my fellow employees no matter where I am and no matter where they are.   Todd Eccles ServiceSidekick<b

CEO's Blog - Entries - How Healthy is Your Network

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 07:00:00 GMT

If your IT staff is attempting to troubleshoot poor voice quality, a failed conference call, or calls that don’t dial out, they may be looking for the cause in the wrong place.  Instead of suspecting the telephone, your team might be well served to look for network issues, bandwidth utilization problems or even a misalignment between data and VoIP network design. The fact that many VoIP enabled businesses have phone service at multiple locations can add to the difficulty in diagnosing network problems.    To help you, 8x8 engineers created a tool which simplifies the task of network diagnostics.  Using the right tool can make the network discovery job much easier for your IT staff. The 8x8 Network Diagnostics Tool helps you measure your network performance relative to the performance of your 8x8 Virtual Office phone service.  Simply download and install the application on your MS Windows computer. It is important to run the test first while the Internet connection is idle or under minimal use. This will give a baseline result and indicate how your network is running without any load. Running the test again at the peak busy time or when you have call quality issues is the second step and equally important. 8x8 technicians will use both test results to assess the performance of your network. Download the application from <a href="http://www.8x8.com/Support/BusinessSupport/Downloads.aspx#nettools" target="_blank">http://www.8x8.com/Support/BusinessSupport/Downloads.aspx#nettools</a> and follow the installation wizard instructions.  Running the test is as simple as point and click.  You will get a full analysis of six factors which affect VoIP performance: DNS, Ping, Trace Route, NAT, Media, and Fragmentation.  Your IT s

CEO's Blog - Entries - Making an Informed Choice

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 07:00:00 GMT

These days it’s all about flexibility, simplicity, and value. And being future proof is becoming essential. To get this right, it helps to be well informed on the key issues. An insightful white paper has been written by Wainhouse Research to help you do exactly that - <a target="_blank" href="http://www.8x8.com/wainhouse">www.8x8.com/wainhouse</a>. Should you migrate to legacy or to VoIP? Today, that’s almost becoming a no-brainer, as VoIP over the past decade has become the obvious choice on the elements of flexibility and value. On choice of VoIP technology, SIP technology has emerged the clear leader as the most flexible, extensible, simple, and future proof solution over earlier H.323 and MGCP VoIP protocols. A much more thought provoking area is should you leverage the cloud as a solution (deploy hosted VoIP) and focus your human resources and capital on your core business? Or, should you instead purchase an IP PBX, hire a good PBX admin to install, manage, control, upgrade software, resize as needed, and manage the interoperability between all the equipment you decide to purchase and select your own future-proof components. This way you control the equipment and its maintenance in-house. If you’re quite large with a world class IT department totally current on telecom technology and trends, then that could be exactly what you need.; The reason for all of the recent excitement about cloud based solutions is that you can leave all of that to the cloud provider and you can instead focus more on your business. If you study this option and conclude on using a hosted VoIP solution in the cloud, then it’s just a matter of choosing a vendor who deploys quality name brand phone equipment you trust, and one who is operating with thousands of businesses successfully, yet provides personal customer service.Hope the white paper helps you with making that informed decision

CEO's Blog - Entries - 8x8 Adds Android Support to Virtual Office

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 08:00:00 GMT

Today we announced the availability of a new mobile app in the Android Marketplace that enables 8x8 Virtual Office subscribers to use their Android-powered smartphone as a mobile extension of their business phone service.  Now any Android-powered smartphone will enjoy many of the same capabilities of any desktop Virtual Office phone in your office.  We also bundled access to the Android support, as well as our existing iPhone/iPodTouch/iPad apps, with every 8x8 Virtual Office subscription so there are no extra charges in order to enjoy mobile access to your business’ phone service from 8x8.  While I am personally an iPhone user, I have been using the Android app for demos this week and have enjoyed the speed of the new app on Android and the Android operating system’s native support for multi-tasking and background applications.  Our Android app runs seamlessly in the background of the phone no matter what other task you are working on.  With two phones in my pocket (and 8x8 Virtual Office Pro running in a Firefox window on my laptop), I make quite a bit of noise when someone calls my desk phone in Sunnyvale(!) and I can answer or route the call from any device.  I can also check my voicemails and (ssshhh! even make calls) on Virgin America’s Gogo inflight wi-fi service, as well.  8x8’s mobile apps are great tools for any business owner and especially convenient for business travelers.  We are also developing some new bundling options for 8x8’s web telephony apps (in Flash) and we are already hard at work developing new features and services for all of our mobile telephony customers.  Get your business mobile today with 8x8 Virtual Office!  For more information visit <a href="../../../../../../../../BusinessSolutions/ByProduct/VirtualOffice/Features/VirtualOfficeMobile.aspx">http://www.8x8.com/

CEO's Blog - Entries - 8x8 Managed Hosting Update

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 08:00:00 GMT

Why 8x8 for Your Managed Hosting Needs?

8x8, Inc. (Nasdaq: EGHT) is committed to providing a hosting environment to businesses of all sizes with the same high availability and performance features as those developed by managed services organizations for Fortune 500 clients. To ensure we meet and exceed these goals, 8x8 recently acquired Central Host. The combined resources of 8x8 and Central Host have created an outstanding team with over ten years of experience managing IT infrastructures for Fortune 50 financial institutions and designing high availability solutions from technology providers such as Sun, EMC, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Microsoft.

Our goal is to provide a service level that is currently unparalleled in the hosting industry using a modern content switching architecture, open source infrastructure, and solid business planning. Our experts work with you to design and recommend the best hosting solution for your business situation.

Benefits

Better Value. Get better quality equipment and software for a lower monthly price than leading hosting providers.
Consultative Approach. We consult with you to recommend what combination of equipment and services will best meet your needs.
Committed Support. 20 minute response time to critical issues 24x7x365
Simplicity. Going with one provider for your hosting and business communications services means one less vendor to deal with.
Experience. Our team has years of experience in providing highly reliable hosting s

CEO's Blog - Entries - Better Sound Quality - Enterprise IP Voice

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 08:00:00 GMT

Yesterday GigaOm reviewed the sound quality that 8x8 is achieving with its Virtual Office services in concert with several new Polycom phones that we have been offering to our customers since November. The article is included below.

High-Quality Calls with Polycom Conference and Desk Phones

By Charles Hamilton Jan. 24, 2011, 10:00am PDT No Comments

I’ve recently reviewed several VoIP solutions suitable for web workers and small businesses. One thing has become clear: no matter how good the software, sound quality is of paramount importance. Of course, the quality of VoIP calls is affected by the quality and speed of the Internet connection, but VoIP providers have developed codecs that can squeeze decent sound from even small-bandwidth connections. So I’ve decided that, in a business environment, it’s worth not skimping on the hardware.

Just about every business-oriented VoIP phone, and even many cellphones, come with a speakerphone these days. But such speakers are often poor, and using a poor-sounding speakerphone doesn’t reflect well on our business. Since I spend most of my time typing

CEO's Blog - Entries - 8x8 Virtual Office News

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 08:00:00 GMT

CEO's Blog - Entries - Happy Holidays!

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 08:00:00 GMT

Happy Holidays to all of 8x8's customers and stakeholders! I thank you for your business and support this past year.

While the economy continues to challenge our business customers, they continue to benefit from 8x8's enterprise-class IP communications services with the industry's leading technologies and lowest prices. To help spread the word to even more businesses, 8x8 is launching several new marketing programs this month (details below). Our best source of new business, however, continues to be our loyal customers and partners who refer new business to us. Join the 8x8 referral program today! Details can be found at http://www.8x8.com/Resources/ReferralProgram.aspx.

My best wishes to you and your business this Holiday season! -Bryan

Flying South -- Our January ad in Southwest Airlines’ Spirit Magazine offers Virtual Office to interested prospects for only $24.99/month and includes the first month free. The ad is designed to appeal to business owners who are frustrated with their current phone service and are looking for an alternative. The offer expires February 28, 2011.

Making the List -- 8x8 is the premier sponsor of the annual Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal Book of Lists and their January 13 networking event. This annual publication is a great resource for local businesses with lists of everything from law firms to highest-paid athletes to VC firms. Our ad encourages businesses to give us a call or fill out the form on our landing page.

Serving It Up -- We launched some new managed hosting Google ads as well as banners on Spiceworks, an online community for IT professionals. The ads and banners point to an updated landing page featuring new 8x8 hosting packages.

Eight is Enough -- 8x8 and Polycom published a new eGuide on Hosted VoIP explaining the 8

CEO's Blog - Entries - Virtual Office News

Sat, 13 Nov 2010 08:00:00 GMT

CEO's Blog - Entries - Virtual Office Pro 2.0!

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 07:00:00 GMT

The 2nd generation of unified business communications is now here! Virtual Office Pro 2.0 launched over the weekend with our latest "soft phone" technologies. Current Virtual Office Pro subscribers already have access to the new capabilities. Special bundled pricing is available for new subscribers -- call 1-866-TRY-VOIP today to subscribe or upgrade your subscription!

We will be at IT Expo this week in Los Angeles showing off all of the new capabilities. See my earlier post if you are interested in meeting us there.

Virtual Office Softphone

The 8x8 Virtual Office Softphone transforms your computer into a feature-rich, web-based phone. Make, take and transfer calls, and more using your 8x8 Virtual Office voice service.

Pricing

39.99 softphone one-time fee
Includes free Logitech 330 USB headset with microphone!
Requires a Virtual Office Unlimited, Global, or Metered extension plan.*

Break Free from the Desk

Virtual Office Softphone gives you the freedom to take your 8x8 Virtual Office with you, wherever you may go, increasing your business productivity and efficiency. Use it at the office or connect over WiFi. The airport, coffee shop, or a hotel room can be your office. All the advanced features of your 8x8 desk phone are available at any time to conduct business.

Virtual Office Softphone includes everything your desk phone can do, and it gives you a visual and intuitive way to manage features such as

CEO's Blog - Entries - So Easy to Install 8x8 Business Voice

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 07:00:00 GMT

I am often amazed at how many people will nod their heads up and down, all day long, saying that they understand how the concepts of "hosted telephony" and "cloud infrastructure" can help save their business money, time and the outside administration costs of high-priced $200/hour phone consultants, only to find out when I pull a business telephone out of my bag, and suggest that we plug the phone into the network jack in the room where we are meeting (at the customer's premise) and do a demonstration, that they look at me with an incredulous look and exclaim, "You can do that?!?"

Maybe I shouldn't be so amazed, since so many of our business phone system competitors are unable to do such a demonstration of their technologies in real time with instant provisioning during a customer meeting. People still assume that their business phone system has to be a complicated, expensive decision that takes 30 days or more to install and provision.

Even more amazing is when we get into the demonstration and show a customer how easy our service is to install and activate. . .the need for that expensive phone consultant goes right out the window. Take a look at this short video which proves that you, too, can be your own phone system expert:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fKcNSAg6sM

(and if you do need any help with networking or other setup questions, our experienced, California-based professionals are just a phone call away, and you won't have to wait on hold forever to talk to one!)

CEO's Blog - Entries - 8x8 in Los Angeles October 4-6

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 07:00:00 GMT

8x8 is a platinum sponsor of the Internet Telephony Conference & Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center October 4-6.  8x8 will be exhibiting its latest hosted and unified communications technologies at the show, and free passes to the exhibit floor are available online by visiting <a href="http://www.tmcnet.com/voip/conference/west-10/overview/w10-registration.aspx">http://www.tmcnet.com/voip/conference/west-10/overview/w10-registration.aspx</a> and choosing the Free VIP Pass option.  We hope to see you there!

CEO's Blog - Entries - Tom Keating Virtual Office Pro Review

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 07:00:00 GMT

Following on the heels of last week's prestigious Editor's Choice award from PC Magazine for 8x8's hosted unified communications service offering, Tom Keating has now written his own review of Virtual Office Pro. The entire review can be read at http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/tom-keating/voip/8x8-virtual-office-pro-review.asp.

CEO's Blog - Entries - VON / xchange Article

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 07:00:00 GMT

I spoke with Kelly Teal at VON | xchange magazine last week.  Her article covering our talk appears at <a href="http://www.von.com/articles/2010/08/8x8-energized-by-best-ever-quarterly-revenue-tack.aspx">http://www.von.com/articles/2010/08/8x8-energized-by-best-ever-quarterly-revenue-tack.aspx.</a>

CEO's Blog - Entries - 8x8 One of the Coolest Telecom Service Providers

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 07:00:00 GMT

8x8 was named one of the 75 "Coolest Telecom Service Providers" in the July issue of CRN magazine. We already knew that, but it was nice to see the acknowledgment!

CEO's Blog - Entries - Oppenheimer EGHT Presentations

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 07:00:00 GMT

We gave two presentations today at the Oppenheimer 2010 Annual Technology, Media and Telecommunications Investor Conference today in Boston.  An archive of the presentations is available at http://investors.8x8.com/events.cfm

CEO's Blog - Entries - New 8x8 Virtual Office Training Videos

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 07:00:00 GMT

New 8x8 Virtual Office training videos can be found at http://www.get8x8.com/8x8_VO_Flash/DemoCenter_wrapper.html (Flash is required to view the videos).

CEO's Blog - Entries - Virtual Office Tips for Summer

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 07:00:00 GMT

Remember to Set Your Vacation Voicemail Greeting!

Summer is finally here and it's vacation time! While you think you have everything covered for your trip away, don't forget to update your voicemail to let people know when you will be back. Follow the menu on our one-page voicemail guide or:

Access your voicemail menu, then press *2 to access the Change Greeting menu
Press 8 to access your Vacation Greeting menu
Press 2 to record your vacation greeting
After you've recorded your greeting press **5 to access the Set Greeting menu
Press 6 to instantly set your vacation greeting as the active greeting

And if your summer business hours are changing, remember to change your Auto Attendant greetings to advise customers of your new hours. See the Auto Attendant Administrator Guide for details.

Feature Highlight—Making a 3-Way Call

A great alternative to using the Conference Bridge is holding a 3-way call. Check out our new

We Manage the Servers. You Manage Your Business.

Whether you're tired of dealing with your in-house servers or looking for alternatives to your current hosting services provider, 8x8 Managed Hosting services could save you money and provide you with additional peace of mind.

With the acquisition of Central Host, a California-based hosting company, 8x8 now offers managed dedicated servers, firewalls and load balancers. We own, manage, and maintain the high-performance serv

CEO's Blog - Entries - Why Net Neutrality is Vital to America’s Small Businesses

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 07:00:00 GMT

Net neutrality, the philosophy of preserving the freedom and openness of the Internet, has been one of the most widely debated issues of the modern broadband era. Content providers, online businesses, consumer advocates and many major Internet application companies stand in one corner, supporting unrestricted access, while legacy telecommunications and cable Internet Service Providers (ISPs) stand in another, trying to prevent rules that would limit their ability to determine how and when content is delivered.

Although the original intent behind the creation of the Internet was that all traffic should be treated equally, regardless of source or ownership of content, certain actions and public statements on the part of the ISPs have raised concerns about the ability of broadband providers to use their last mile infrastructure to block Internet applications and content, particularly those of competitors. Unlike the early years of the Internet, ISPs no longer wish to agnostically pass bits of information across their network, but would rather look at the content and pass it along differently depending on what it is, where it came from, and where it might be going. In addition, some of these ISPs are proposing to enter into agreements with content providers – the websites and applications that the Internet community uses every day – to obtain preferential treatment for “enhanced” content. If allowed, this would result in an environment where consumer choice, business growth and innovation are limited and controlled by the companies that provide Internet access.

The Internet’s open, neutral architecture has proven to be an enormous engine for market innovation, economic growth, social discourse and the free flow of ideas,” said Vinton G. Cerf, known as the Father of the Internet. “As a result, we ha

CEO's Blog - Entries - New Ad Campaign

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 07:00:00 GMT

We kicked off a new advertising campaign today which is focused on the greater San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley in California. We have posted three new radio advertisements that are part of this campaign on our website at http://www.8x8.com/RadioAds.aspx.

CEO's Blog - Entries - A Coffee a Day...

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 07:00:00 GMT

Always need a coffee in the morning to get you going? For the same price as your regular daily latte you can get a business phone service and so much more with
8x8 Virtual Office Pro!

For only $49.99 a mo

CEO's Blog - Entries - Letter from Congresswoman Eschoo

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 07:00:00 GMT

Congresswoman Eshoo penned the following editorial which appears in the April 13, 2010 San Jose Mercury News.

I wholeheartedly agree with its content and her sentiments:

Opinion: Eshoo: FCC already has the power to regulate free, open Internet

By Anna J. Eshoo

Special to the Mercury News

Posted: 04/12/2010 08:00:00 PM PDT

Last week this newspaper's editorial page and columnist Chris O'Brien gave us insight into the potential effects of the D.C. Circuit Court's decision in Comcast v. Federal Communications Commission with a story about the local business 8x8. Small businesses and consumers nationwide are watching to see how the FCC and Congress react to this decision.

While I agree with much of what is in both articles, the court's ruling was mostly a repudiation of the previous FCC's shoddy legal practices, rather than a delineation of broadband regulatory authority. Former Chairman Kevin Martin's FCC failed to follow legal procedures when punishing Comcast for violating an informal policy statement. Comcast may have acted improperly when it blocked access to BitTorrent's peer-to-peer sites, but the FCC needed to give fair warning before issuing sanctions.

The FCC should have initiated a rule-making process first, and then spelled out its reasons and authority for regulating broadband. The absence of a rule-making process discussing statutory jurisdiction made it impossible to understand the FCC's authority to take action against Comca

CEO's Blog - Entries - Mercury News Story on Net Neutrality

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 07:00:00 GMT

8x8 is the subject of an April 7, 2010 story about net neutrality by Chris O'Brien in the San Jose Mercury News. The story is included below:

O'Brien: Why net neutrality matters to one Sunnyvale company

By Chris O'Brien

Mercury News Columnist

Posted: 04/06/2010 04:54:13 PM PDT

Updated: 04/06/2010 06:37:13 PM PDT

If you want to understand why consumers need strong rules ensuring all traffic on the Internet is treated equally, look no further than a Silicon Valley telecommunications company called 8x8.

The Sunnyvale-based firm has been around for 23 years, and a public company for 13 years. The company survived the dot-com bust — but barely — by reinventing itself as an online telecommunications company, and since then has seen revenues rebound nicely the last five years.

For all of its innovation and survival

CEO's Blog - Entries - CTIA Video Interview

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 07:00:00 GMT

While traveling to meetings at the CTIA show last week in Las Vegas, I ran into Rich Tehrani who was kind enough to sit down with me impromptu and shoot this video interview:

http://www.tmcnet.com/tmc/videos/default.aspx?vid=2129&title=Interview+with+8x8

CEO's Blog - Entries - 20,000 Business Customers

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:00:00 GMT

Here is another Susan Campbell article about yesterday's news announcing that 8x8 served more than 20,000 business customers at the end of February:

8x8 Hits Milestone Subscriber Base With 20,000 Customers

March 10, 2010

By Susan J. Campbell
TMCnet Contributing Editor

8x8, Inc., a provider of communications solutions, has announced that its subscriber base has reached a new milestone. At the end of February 2010, the company’s subscriber base topped 20,000 business customers. For the quarter that ended in December,8x8’s ( News - Alert) average business customer subscribed to 7.3 paid services.

While the global market was in economic turmoil over the last year, 8x8 actually

CEO's Blog - Entries - 8x8 Virtual Office Case Studies

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 08:00:00 GMT

Two 8x8 Virtual Office case studies were recently profiled by Susan Campbell at TMCNet. Her article appears below.

February 11, 2010

Case Studies Demonstrate Value of 8x8 Virtual Office

By Susan J. Campbell , TMCnet Contributing Editor

With the challenges facing the insurance and financial services industry, including recession-driven price wars and a growing distrust exacerbated by government debate, it is difficult for industry players to capture business, win loyalty and prepare for future challenges.

To survive and remain competitive, these players have to figure out how to accomplish these things without adding significant expense or implementing major changes to infrastructure.

According to the United States Department of Labor, those insurance businesses and professionals who incorporate new technology into their existing businesses and offer better customer service will remain competitive. The challenge, of course, is that implementing new technologies is costly and can easily get out of hand when growing a business.

To provide these professionals with an alternative solution that can deliver the technology they need within a price structure they can handle, 8x8 offers the 8x8 Virtual VoIP phone service. This hosted solution provides a flexible, cost effective alternative to traditional, premise-based PBX phone systems.

To get an idea of real world applications of the 8x8 Virtual VoIP

CEO's Blog - Om Malik on 8x8 Connect

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:00:00 GMT

Om Malik reviewed the 8x8 Connect application on Friday: "8×8 Inc., a Voice over Internet Protocol service provider, has released a new point-and-click VoIP calling application dubbed <a target="_blank" href="http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=155581579021&ref=appd">8×8 Connect. It allows Facebook users to add a “Call Me”</a> button to their home page, thereby enabling other users to call them without revealing their actual phone number." Click here to read the entire article - <a href="javascript:void(0);/*1264437358714*/"> </a><a href="http://gigaom.com/2010/01/22/call-me-via-voip-on-facebook/" target="_blank">http://gigaom.com/2010/01/22/call-me-via-voip-on-facebook/</a>

CEO's Blog - Launch of 8x8 Virtual Office Pro

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 08:00:00 GMT

This morning, 8x8 announced our Virtual Office Pro unified communications solution for businesses.  Integrated with the 8x8 Virtual Office phone solution, Virtual Office Pro combines a Flash-based web telephony client with voicemail management, chat, fax, web conferencing with video and remote desktop control (beta), call recording and archiving, a mobile Virtual Office app for the iPhone and iPod Touch, presence management, and an online dashboard, and is now available at special bundled subscription rates for both existing and new 8x8 Virtual Office subscribers. The Virtual Office Mobile app for the iPhone  and iPod Touch extends the functionalities of a subscriber’s desktop extension phone to the iPhone platform over any WiFi connection (a 3g version is still awaiting approval) enabling users to place and receive calls from their Virtual Office extension, dial other extensions, hold and transfer calls, and manage voicemails.   Also today, 8x8 announced the addition of its new "Virtual Office Online" dashboard as a standard feature, included at no additional charge, with all Virtual Office Unlimited, Metered or Global Extension plans.   8x8 will be demonstrating all of these new services in booth #501 at the Internet Telephony Conference and Expo today through Friday at the Miami Beach Convention Center. <img alt="" src="http://community.8x8.com/socialg/images/mem_photos/1_original_1264014901.jpg" />

CEO's Blog - New Virtual Meeting Features

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 08:00:00 GMT

<table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td> Great news! Virtual Meeting is better than ever starting today. Announcing a major enhancement to help make your Virtual Meetings more vibrant and effective than ever—at no extra charge! Here’s what’s different: </td> <td valign="top" rowspan="8"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><img alt="" width="72" height="6" src="http://get8x8.com/elabs/images/spacer.gif" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <ul style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; color: #ac1a2f; font-family: arial;"> <li>Big Makeover. Virtual Meeting has a new look and it’s easier to use. It includes new features like using drag and drop to invite your contacts to a meeting, and the ability to view attendee information both during and after the meeting.</li> </ul> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <ul style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; color: #ac1a2f; font-family: arial;"> <li>Turn On the Webcams! Virtual Meeting now does video too. Meeting participants can choose to activate and display their webcam videos for meetings that are more impactful and dynamic.</li> </ul> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <ul style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; color: #ac1a2f; font-family: arial;"> <li>

CEO's Blog - 8x8 Outage Explanation

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 08:00:00 GMT

Below is a message we are sending today to all 8x8 customers and partners explaining the cause of Tuesday's service outage, and the actions we are implementing to ensure that a similar issue does not affect our customers in the future.  I want to thank all of our customers for their patience and support this week.  -Bryan In order to provide 8x8 communication services to our customers from our three, redundant data centers, 8x8 utilizes several, non-contiguous Internet Protocol (IP) address blocks that are provided to us by Tier-1 Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Our nationwide outage on January 12, 2010 was caused when an unaffiliated Tier-1 ISP interfered with the proper routing of all of these address blocks. While we were able to immediately restore service for some customers by broadcasting correct routing information via our backup data providers, the interference from the unaffiliated ISP continued for approximately four hours. All 8x8 core software and networks continued to operate normally during the outage, but some customers were unable to reach our services. We are in the process of planning and implementing additional mechanisms to protect our customers from any similar routing interference in the future. We are also creating alternative information and communication mechanisms to more quickly communicate outage status and estimated time of repair information to our customers via our website, call centers and other communication channels should a similar issue affect our customers in the future. We apologize for the inconvenience this outage caused our customers, and we will strive to not only meet, but exceed our customers’ expectations, in the future.

CEO's Blog - 8x8 Outage

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 08:00:00 GMT

8x8 Customers, Today we experienced a disruption in our services that impacted your voice service. The outage appears to have been caused by a data failure with one of our underlying carriers, and we are working on identifying the root cause and why our backup services did not failover as they are designed to do. Service has since been restored to most of our customers, and we are in the process of fully restoring service to all customers. If you are currently without service, please unplug the power connection to your 8x8 equipment, wait a few seconds, and then reconnect the power connection. We understand the importance of providing reliable phone service to you and deeply regret the interruption this issue has caused. Delivering on, and exceeding, the service level goals we set for ourselves is our top priority. We value your business and thank you for your patience. Bryan Martin Chairman & CEO, 8x8, Inc. (Nasdaq: EGHT)

CEO's Blog - UC and Social Media Beta Testing

Sun, 27 Dec 2009 08:00:00 GMT

8x8 is beta testing a full suite of new, unified communication (UC) services for mobile business and social media applications. I have now been using the new UC services for more than a month now, and can personally testify as to how much more productive and efficient I am in accessing and utilizing our Virtual Office and Virtual Meeting services away from the "wired" IP phone. We also have a new Facebook communication application called 8x8 Connect, that can now be accessed in the Facebook application store ( <a href="http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=8x8+connect&init=quick" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=8x8+connect&init=quick</a>). Try this out on your Facebook Wall so that Facebook users can call you directly in Facebook without revealing your telephone number or any personally identifiable information. More to come in the New Year! Happy 2010 to all 8x8 customers, partners and investors!

CEO's Blog - Virtual Office News December 2009

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Happy Holidays From 8x8!  All of us at 8x8 would like to wish you and your family a wonderful holiday season. We sincerely thank you for doing business with us and your continued loyalty. Your business is important to us. We look forward to bringing you more innovative communications services and new ways to increase your business productivity in 2010. Our wish is that you have continued success and a prosperous New Year. <hr align="left" /> <a name="s2" id="s2"></a>And the 8x8 Nintendo Wii Winners Are... We are thrilled to hear how 8x8 is helping so many of our customers be more successful. The stories we received as entries to our recent Tell Us Your 8x8 Story prize drawing were extremely heartwarming and we truly value all your feedback. We are delighted to announce that the winners of the three Nintendo Wii systems are: <ul style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 8.5pt; color: #000000; line-height: 13.5pt; font-family: verdana;"> <li>Paul Shannon, Shannon Insurance</li> <li>Justin Stone, Design & Co.</li> <li>Kathleen Cordes, KMC Realty</li> </ul> Here's what our winners had to say about their Virtual Office service: I became an 8x8 customer in April of 2009 and it was one of the best business decisions I have ever made. I was paying three times the price with Verizon for outdated technology and poor customer service. My 8x8 Virtual Office service allows me to operate my business in the most efficient way. I frequently recommend 8x8 to my business clients. Paul Shannon, Shannon Insurance We are a small

CEO's Blog - Radio Sunnyvale Interview

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 08:00:00 GMT

I just completed an Internet radio interview with Dan Hugo of Radio Sunnyvale.  If you are curious about the locale of Sunnyvale, Dan is very knowledgable.  The interview can be heard <a target="_blank" href="http://www.radiosunnyvale.com/shows/doing-business-in-sunnyvale/dbis_0003-8x8-inc">here</a>.

CEO's Blog - Internet Telephony Article

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:00:00 GMT

The article below appears in this month's issue of Internet Telephony magazine. Convergence Corner By Erik Linask 8x8 Builds More than Just a Virtual Office in Sunnyvale When 8x8 moved into its new corporate headquarters facility in Sunnyvale,Calif., back in August, it was largely to accommodate the growth it was experiencing with its Virtual Office service.  Not only is it continuing to grow in the SMB space, but when the company officially celebrated its new facilities with an open house last month, Huw Rees, 8x8’s vice president of business and channel development, told me that the company is also seeing much more interest from the government and large enterprise markets as well. “They have been watching from the sidelines and realize there are real advantages, not the least of which is cost savings, but also mobility, flexibility and ease of use and management,” he said. It’s not that hosted VoIP is a new concept for these customer segments.  Rather, they have been concerned about the quality, reliability and security of such services.  But, over the past year or two, the industry has made significant strides in improving what had been detrimental attributes and kept many larger businesses from actively engaging companies like 8x8. “There is no data to support these claims,” Rees explained.  “This isn’t just a wish list.” In addition, with government agencies receiving mandates to explore cloud-based IT solutions, it stands to reason that hosted communications would also fall into that activity, and Rees expects the interest from government agencies to continue to grow.<

CEO's Blog - 8x8's September Quarter Results

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 07:00:00 GMT

From Friday's <a style="color: #ffcc00;" href="http://telephonyonline.com/business_services/news/8x8-profit-spikes-103009/">Te lephony Online</a>, the article below summarizes 8x8's September quarter financial results.  Have a Happy Halloween, everyone! <h5>VoIP provider 8x8’s profit spikes as it climbs up-market</h5> Oct 30, 2009 12:13 PM, By Ed Gubbins <div class="page"> <div class="pagePadding"> <div class="articleRSS"> <h2><a style="color: #ffcc00;" href="http://telephonyonline.com/business_services/"></a></h2> </div> 8x8’s ( <a style="color: #ffcc00;" href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ%3AEGHT" target="_blank">Nasdaq:EGHT</a>) net income jumped in its <a style="color: #ffcc00;" href="http://investors.8x8.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=419661" target="_blank">second fiscal quarter</a> (ending Sept. 30) as revenue began to grow again for the first time in a year and its operating income reached its highest level the company has seen since going public in 1997. The results come as the company pushes its beyond its historic focus on consumers and small and medium businesses, targeting larger businesses and the federal government, both of which are showing increased interested in the kind of hosted VoIP services that 8x8 offers. 8x8 attributed the return of top line growth (albeit at a modest 3% sequentially) chiefly to increased hardware subsidies it began offering in March as part of a marketing promotion. And the 223% sequential spike in net income (to $1.3 million – a more than 2900% increase from a year earlier) resulted largely from its

CEO's Blog - Virtual Office News

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:00:00 GMT

Host Your Next Conference Call from Your 8x8 Virtual Office Phone!  Why waste money on outside Conference Call providers when you can hold your conference calls right from your 8x8 Virtual Office phone at no charge? Just use the 8x8 Conference Bridge to hold calls with up to 20 participants. <table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td>Conference Bridge Highlights:</td> </tr> <tr> <td> <ul style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 8.5pt; color: #000000; line-height: 13.5pt; font-family: verdana;"> <li>Included at no extra charge with your monthly service</li> <li>Up to 20 participants per call</li> <li>Automatic email is sent to confirm the conference bridge reservation</li> <li>All calls are password protected</li> </ul> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><a style="color: #ffcc00;" target="_blank" href="http://8x8.inboxmailgate.com/clicks.php?coid=283967&cid=25&url=56" title="http://8x8.inboxmailgate.com/clicks.php?coid=283967&cid=25&url=56"><fo color="#ac1a2f" title="http://8x8.inboxmailgate.com/clicks.php?coid=283967&cid=25&url=56">Click Here for More Info></fo></a><a style="color: #ffcc00;" target="_blank" href="http://8x8.inboxmailgate.com/clicks.php?coid=283967&cid=25&url=56" title="http://8x8.inboxmailgate.com/cl

CEO's Blog - eWeek Review of Virtual Office

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:00:00 GMT

Below is <a style="color: #ffcc00;" href="javascript:void(0);/*1254951350689*/">a review of 8x8 Virtual Office</a>, published today by eWeek. <h5>REVIEW: The Time Is Right for 8x8 Virtual Office</h5> <iframe width="50" scrolling="no" height="61" frameborder="0" src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/button.js?url=http%3A//community.8x8.com/public_journal.php%3Fm%3Dc4ca4238a0b923820dcc509a6f75849b&style=normal"></iframe>  By: <a style="color: #ffcc00;" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.eweek.com/cp/bio/Jim-Rapoza/" class="authorsource">Jim Rapoza</a> 2009-10-07 Article Rating:<img width="11" height="10" valign="middle" src="http://www.eweek.com/images/M_images/rating_star.png" alt="star" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 0px;" /><img width="11" height="10" valign="middle" src="http://www.eweek.com/images/M_images/rating_star.png" alt="star" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 0px;" /><img width="11" height="10" valign="middle" src="http://www.eweek.com/images/M_images/rating_star.png" alt="star" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 0px;" /><img width="11" height="10" valign="middle" src="http://www.eweek.com/images/M_images/rating_star.png" alt="star" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 0px;" /><img width="11" height="10" valign="middle" src="http://www.eweek.com/images/M_images/rating_star.png" alt="star" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 0px;" /> /&

CEO's Blog - Photo from 8x8's Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 07:00:00 GMT

Here is a photo from 8x8's ribbon cutting ceremony at our open house event last week.  Pictured to the left of me is Sunnyvale Mayor Anthony Spitaleri, and to the right, Mehdi Salour, 8x8's Vice President of Network Operations.  The photo is courtesy of Doug Cody, President of Bay Area Event Photography. <img alt="" src="/Portals/1/Blog_Images/ribbon_cutting.png" />

CEO's Blog - 8x8 on NBC News

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 07:00:00 GMT

8x8 was featured last night on the news of the local San Francisco/San Jose NBC affiliate.  A replay of the story can be found <a target="_blank" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4eTEpx1KLc">here</a>.

CEO's Blog - 8x8 Open House

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 07:00:00 GMT

My prepared remarks from last night's open house event are reprinted below: 8x8, INC. OPEN HOUSE September 24, 2009 5:00 – 8:00 PM   PRESENTATION SCHEDULE:   5:45 p.m. – Bryan Martin (Welcome; VIP Introductions; Assemblymember              &nbs p;          Fong introduction)             5:50 p.m. – Remarks from Assemblymember Paul Fong             6:00 p.m. – Bryan Martin (Read letter from Meg Whitman; announce              &n bsp;             &nb sp;    Stride Center partnership; intro

CEO's Blog - 8x8 Open House Tonight

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 07:00:00 GMT

CEO's Blog - 8x8 Virtual Meeting

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 07:00:00 GMT

Today we launched 8x8’s Virtual Meeting service, a new web conferencing solution designed to make your meetings better and more effective. 8x8 Virtual Meeting is a low-cost, web-based collaboration tool. It is accessible from any web browser and any computing platform, with no software download required. In fact, it doesn’t even require a telephone since attendees can optionally speak and participate in the meeting directly through the web browser itself, though telephone dial-in access for locations throughout the United States (including toll free and international dial-in numbers in 19 countries) are supported, as well. 8x8 Virtual Meeting includes integrated voice conferencing, presentation slide sharing, desktop and application sharing, instant messaging, chair control, conference control and call recording. <img alt="" src="/Portals/1/Blog_Images/virtual_meeting.png" /> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">8x8 has been using the Virtual Meeting solution for several months in our corporate communications, sales and customer service organizations. Our salespeople use Virtual Meeting to do online demonstrations of our service capabilities and interfaces to prospective clients. Our support people use Virtual Meeting in order to be able to see a customer’s desktop so that we can troubleshoot or configure network parameters at a router or other network element located on the customer’s premise. We have also been using 8x8 Virtual Meeting to conduct many of our executive and staff meetings, especially when meeting remotely with our customer service team in Santa Maria, California, and throughout our corporate move this summer when employees were separated during the move from Santa Clara to our new corporate headquarters in Sunnyvale. We even broadcast our last earnings call and annual meeting of shareholders via 8x8 V

CEO's Blog - 8x8 at IT Expo Los Angeles 9/1

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 07:00:00 GMT

CEO's Blog - Vinoy Capital

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 07:00:00 GMT

Ted Rich at Vinoy Capital, LLC wrote an informative piece in the August 2009 edition of t3, Technology Tools for Today, which is a technology newsletter for financial advisors.  His article asks readers two questions on how to assess a financial advisor's position on the technology curve.  The second question is reprinted below: Secondly, is your firm still using a land line phone system? Similar to our experience with performance reporting, most advisory firms we know host and maintain a land line based phone system, as did our firm. In late 2008, we began searching for a way to lower our phone costs and increase flexibility, and using an Internet based phone system (VOIP) seemed to be the way to accomplish both objectives, especially considering the multiple locations of our firm (FL and CO). Based on some old notes from the 2008 T3 conference in Orlando, we searched for a ‘virtual VOIP’ system and eventually settled on 8x8 (formerly Packet8), based in Santa Clara, CA. Most VOIP systems require the physical installation of a control box in your office and hard wiring to the phones, but our firm is trying to get out of the equipment hosting and maintenance business. 8x8’s system is ‘virtual VOIP’ because they host and maintain all necessary equipment except for the actual telephones that sit on our desks. In January of 2009 we purchased the phones, shipped them to our separate locations, and within minutes were up and running on the new system using temporary phone numbers until our existing numbers could be ported to 8x8. This meant that all of our users were immediately connected to our system regardless of their physical location, complete with all of the benefits of a traditional land line based phone system, but without all of the headaches and cost. Three key benefits of this new system confirm our decision to make this transition, not even coun

CEO's Blog - 8x8 Virtual Meeting Beta

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 07:00:00 GMT

The public beta for 8x8's Virtual Meeting service was launched last night.

CEO's Blog - 8x8 has moved to Sunnyvale

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 07:00:00 GMT

Last week 8x8 opened the doors on its new corporate headquarters facility in Sunnyvale, California. <img alt="" src="/Portals/1/Blog_Images/sunnyvale_office.png" /> <table width="100%" cellspacing="3" cellpadding="0" border="0" align="center"> <tbody> <tr valign="top"> <td colspan="2" class="ssn_bodytext" style="color: #000000; vertical-align: middle; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> The office is located at 810 W. Maude Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94085.  All telephone numbers remain the same (thank you 8x8 Virtual Office!) We will be hosting an open house party on September 24, 2009 from 4-8PM.  All 8x8 customers are welcome to attend.  Please send an e-mail to Ms. Joan Citelli ( <a href="mailto:jcitelli@8x8.com">jcitelli@8x8.com</a>) if you would like to receive an invitation. </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td style="width: 100%;" colspan="2"> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>

CEO's Blog - 8x8 Referral Program

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 07:00:00 GMT

<table width="500" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td valign="middle" align="left" style="border-top: 0px solid #333333; height: 241px;"><center><a title="http://www.elabs7.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=p03,hgrw,tin,fbs0,9hxi,9n2k,fpek" href="http://www.elabs7.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=p03,hgrw,tin,fbs0,9hxi,9n2k,fpek" target="_blank"><img width="485" height="223" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 0px;" title="http://www.elabs7.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=p03,hgrw,tin,fbs0,9hxi,9n2k,fpek" alt="Refer a business customer that Purchases five or more lines and receive $100!" src="http://getpacket8.packet8.net/sales/images/referral_head_06-15-09.jpg" /></a></center></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="500" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="14" style="background-color: #ffffff;"> <tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" align="center" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; list-style-type: circle; background-color: #ffffff; text-align: left;"> Make business relationships more valuable! Take advantage of our lucrative Business Referral Reward program and earn big bucks. Simply refer a business customer that purchases any number of lines (with phones) and we’ll pay you $100 per line. Best of all, there is no limit to the number of businesses or lines you can refer. <ul> <li>One extension = $100</li> <li>Five extensions = $500</li> <li>Seven extensions = $700</li> <li>One hundred extensions

CEO's Blog - 8x8 Virtual Meeting Demo

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 07:00:00 GMT

8x8 will be publicly demonstrating portions of our new Virtual Meeting service for the first time next week as part of our earnings call on July 29 (start time 1:30PM PDT) and as part of our Annual Meeting of Stockholders on July 30 (start time 10:00AM PDT). Links to the Virtual Meeting service broadcast of the earnings call can be found at <a href="http://virtualmeeting.8x8.com/Q1FY2010Earnings" class="yltasis"></a><a href="http://virtualmeeting.8x8.com/Q1FY2010Earnings">http://virtualmeeting.8x8.com/Q1FY2010Earnings</a> and for the annual meeting at <a href="http://virtualmeeting.8x8.com/AnnualMeeting2009" class="yltasis"></a><a href="http://virtualmeeting.8x8.com/AnnualMeeting2009">http://virtualmeeting.8x8.com/AnnualMeeting2009</a>. The 8x8 Virtual Meeting service is currently an alpha release, and should be available to select 8x8 Virtual Office customers in beta during the month of August.  We anticipate a full production launch of the new service in September.

CEO's Blog - 8x8 Virtual Office in Staples

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 07:00:00 GMT

The photos below are of our endcap display for 8x8 Virtual Office in the Staples store in Frisco, Texas: <img alt="" src="/Portals/1/Blog_Images/staples1.png" /> <img alt="" src="/Portals/1/Blog_Images/staples2.png" />

CEO's Blog - 8x8 Virtual Office Review

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 07:00:00 GMT

8x8's Virtual Office service was <a href="http://www.voipplanet.com/reviews/article.php/3830071">reviewed today by VoipPlanet</a>: 8x8 Virtual Office July 15, 2009 By <a href="http://www.voipplanet.com/feedback.php%20%3Cahref=">/http://www.voipplanet .com/reviews/article.php/3830071"</a>>Gerry Blackwell The hosted IP PBX model just went mass market. VoIP pioneer <a style="text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.8x8.com/">8x8 Inc.</a> is partnering with IP phone maker <a style="text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.aastra.com/">Aastra USA</a> to market 8x8’s Virtual Office PBX service bundled with the co-branded 8x8/Aastra 6755i IP phone in <a style="text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.officedepot.com/">Office Depot</a> stores across the country. (See our coverage <a style="text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.voipplanet.com/news/article.php/3822721">here</a>.) VoIP Planet had a chance to test the bundle recently. 8x8 set us up with a small PBX connecting three home offices in different corners of the continent. We were impressed. The 6755i, a 39-button screen phone, is by no means the cheapest IP phone on the market at $199, but based on our testing, it’s a pretty good one. Most of the time, audio quality on the 8x8 system was markedly superior to what we're accustomed to on the PSTN. Prices for 8x8 Virtual Office—which 8x8 first started actively marketing in 2006 and which it says is already in use by over 16,000 businesses—start as low as $4.99 a month (but you

CEO's Blog - Blog Post on 8x8 Inside Sales Team

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 07:00:00 GMT

he <a href="http://www.alextrain.com/inside-sales-telesales-tips-blog/">following blog post</a> was authored by Geoff Alexander yesterday complimenting 8x8 on its telesales hiring practices: <h1>Inside Sales Telesales Tips Blog</h1> <div id="dnn__ctl4_ContentPane"> <a href="http://www.alextrain.com/inside-sales-telesales-tips-blog/" class="MenuTopSelected">Current Articles</a> | <a href="http://www.alextrain.com/CMS/UI/Modules/BizBlogger/rss.aspx?tabid=94938&moduleid=89642&maxcount=25"><img style="border-style: none; border-width: medium; vertical-align: bottom;" src="http://www.alextrain.com/CMS/UI/Modules/BizBlogger/res/feed-icon-16x16.gif" alt="RSS Feed" /></a>  <a href="http://www.alextrain.com/CMS/UI/Modules/BizBlogger/rss.aspx?tabid=94938&moduleid=89642&maxcount=25">RSS Feed</a> <div id="bb-container"> <div class="listing"> <div class="post"> <h3 class="title"><a href="http://www.alextrain.com/inside-sales-telesales-tips-blog/bid/9583/Here-s-how-to-hire-a-superstar-inside-salesperson" title="Here’s how to hire a superstar inside salesperson">Here’s how to hire a superstar inside salesperson</a></h3> <div class="byline">Posted by Geoff Alexander on Mon, Jul 13, 2009 @ 01:36 AM</div> <div class="submissions"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.alextrain.com/CMS/UI/Modules/BizBlogger/LinkSubmission.aspx?bid=9583&pid=11003&tid=94938&mid=89642&srv=digg&trk=0" title="Submit to Digg" onmouseover=&qu

CEO's Blog - 8x8 Virtual Office Sales Team Featured on TV News

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 07:00:00 GMT

The 8x8 Virtual Office Sales Team was featured on Friday by San Francisco FOX affiliate KTVU.  A link to the video can be found <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJc8kS0Mpgs">here</a>. If you would like to join our team, please follow the instructions below. Application Process: Phone Screen ( Mock Sales Call ) 1) You are an 8x8, Inc. Sales Person 2) I am a small business that just sent you a request for quote (RFQ). Marc Cook @ Cook Consulting, Inc. | 408 329 4846 I need quote for a new phone system for my business 3) I want you to call me representing yourself as a 8x8, Inc. Business Sales Representative, I will play the role of the prospect. I'm a small business that needs a new phone solution. Just like a real opportunity, I may be difficult to reach (I'm running 75 agents) but if I pick up the phone be prepared to qualify my needs, present a solution, and close me on why I should go with 8x8, Inc.. Leave messages if you would normally do that in the pursuit of a sale. 4) 75% of the hiring decision is based on this phone screen. How to win: 1) Research our web site, <a style="font-family:

CEO's Blog - Article in VoIP Planet

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 07:00:00 GMT

From VoIP Planet: Ready for Off-the-Shelf VoIP? June 17, 2009 By <a href="http://www.voipplanet.com/feedback.php%20%3Cahref=">/http://www.voipplan et.com/solutions/article.php/3825456"</a>>Ed Sutherland The next time you are at a big box electronics store for a printer cartridge, hosted VoIP provider <a style="text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.8x8.com/">8x8, Inc.</a> hopes you’ll also pick up an IP business phone system. IP phone services are going retail, jettisoning the jargon, and eliminating the technical hurdles previously associated with business-class Internet dialtone. "We’re trying to take the jargon out of it, "said 8x8 vice president of business and channel development, Huw Rees. Rather than a barrage of confusing technical specs, the provider of Virtual Office hosted PBX service is streamlining its message to small business: ‘Here is a business phone service—by the way, it does all this.’ The new goal for 8x8 is to make its products a commodity, like paperclips, lined notepads, or any other off-the-shelf office necessity. In May, the company inked an agreement with <a style="text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.officedepot.com/">Office Depot</a> to sell a plug-and-play VoIP bundle. The $199.99 package includes the <a style="text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.voipplanet.com/news/article.php/3822721">6755i Virtual Office IP Phone</a> from Aastra, along with 8x8’s Virtual Office hosted IP phone service. The phone replaces the analog Virtual Office ST2118 phone previously available from Office Depot. In 2008, 8x8 signed a similar agreement with Staple

CEO's Blog - Interview with Debbie Jo Severin

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 07:00:00 GMT

<h1>rom Internet Telephony magazine:</h1> <h1>Talking with 8x8’s Debbie Jo Severin</h1> <img alt="" src="http://images.tmcnet.com/it-magazine/editors/rich_tehrani.jpg" class="fl-right-img" /> This month’s article, “The effective Marketing of VoIP Services,” mentions 8x8 (<a href="http://www.tmcnet.com/snapshots/snapshots.aspx?Company=8x8">News</a> - <a href="http://www.tmcnet.com/enews/subs.aspx?k1=%228x8%22">Alert</a>), provider of the 8x8 Virtual Office and Packet8 (www.packet8.net) broadband business, residential, video and mobile communications services. As we were going to press we learned that 8x8 just took on board Debbie Jo Severin ( <a href="http://www.tmcnet.com/snapshots/snapshots.aspx?Company=Debbie+Jo+Severin">News< /a> - </a><a href="http://www.tmcnet.com/enews/subs.aspx?k1=%22Debbie+Jo+Severin%22&k2=+%228X8%22">Alert</a>), their new CMO and VP of Marketing, who reports to 8x8 President&CFO Dan Weirich. Severin has over 20 years of marketing experience (Covad ( <a href="http://www.tmcnet.com/snapshots/snapshots.aspx?Company=Covad">News</a> - <a href="http://www.tmcnet.com/enews/subs.aspx?k1=Covad&k2=+NextWeb&k3=+GoBeam">Alert</a>), NorthPoint, Valiant Networks, PrimeOne Tele-TV, Pacific Bell Video Services). It sounded like she’d be a great interview, and I wasn’t disappointed. When asked what excited her most about joining 8x8, she replied, “8x8 is a great company with a proven track record for delivering robust, reliable and mature IP communications solut

CEO's Blog - 8x8 3rd in Business IP Services Leadership Matrix

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 07:00:00 GMT

8x8 is in good company in this morning's <a href="http://telephonyonline.com/business_services/news/infonetics-voip-poll-0604/">r eport</a> from Carol Wilson at New Telephony: <h1 class="storyTitle">Verizon Business tops Infonetics’ VoIP poll</h1> Jun 4, 2009 9:19 AM, By Carol Wilson In Verizon's VoIP shadow, a strong 'middle group' thrives, analysts said <div class="page"> <div class="pagePadding"> <div class="articleRSS">Verizon Business <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=VZ">(NYSE: VZ)</a> was the surprise top finisher in Infonetics Research's first North America Business VoIP Services Leadership Matrix in both IP Centrex (hosted IP services) and IP connectivity, Infonetics said today.</div> "They aren't the biggest, and they don't have the most number of lines in either category," said Infonetics analyst Diane Myers. But Verizon Business does have financial stability, the second most important category, along with support and reliability, she said. "Objectively speaking, they do have a good installed base." Competitive players did well in what is a highly competitive market – and getting more so, Myers noted.  Second to Verizon in IP Centrex was New Global Telecom, which had the highest number of North American subscribers, followed by 8 X 8. Cbeyond <a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=CBEY.O">(NASDAQ: CBEY)</a> and <a href="http://telephonyonline.com/telephonylive08/news/telecom_telephonys_innovation_award/index.html">Paetec</a> <a href="http://moneycentral.msn.com/detail/stock_quote?Symbol=PAET&

CEO's Blog - Save Time and Money with 8x8 Business Service

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 07:00:00 GMT

<h5>Fast-Moving, Recession-Driven Start-Ups Save Time and Money With VoIP Business Phone Service From 8x8, Inc.</h5> SANTA CLARA, Calif., Jun 3, 2009 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX News Network) -- With the number of new businesses springing up in today's recessionary environment, it's no wonder that companies like 8x8, Inc. (Nasdaq:EGHT), provider of money-saving VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone services to the small business market, are experiencing the highest demand in its history for the vital telecommunications services it provides to over 16,000 companies. In its recent fourth quarter fiscal 2009 earnings announcement, 8x8 reported the addition of a record number of new business subscribers, approximately 15% more than the previous quarter, to its Virtual Office hosted VoIP phone service, an Internet-based telephony solution that saves companies an average of 50% or more on monthly phone charges. What's driving this accelerated adoption rate? Some of the demand is coming from a crop of new business start-ups whose entrepreneurial founders had perhaps suddenly found themselves unemployed and ready to take destiny into their own hands. Other existing small businesses are aggressively seeking ways to cut operating costs without sacrificing capabilities. In either case, cost and timing are of utmost importance. "With 8x8's Virtual Office business phone service, a company can self install a full featured, business class phone system within minutes for a fraction of the cost of traditional, landline alternatives," said 8x8 CEO Bryan Martin. "And, if you can't wait for an overnight shipment of our Internet Protocol phones, you can simply visit your local Office Depot store and purchase one or more of them right off the shelf." Entrepreneur and investor Jase Garner, owner of the recently opened Just4Him Men's Haircut Lounge(tm) franchise in Missouri City, Texas,

CEO's Blog - New IP phones at Office Depot

Tue, 26 May 2009 07:00:00 GMT

May 26, 2009 <h1 style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">8x8, Aastra Launch Co-Branded IP Business Phones</h1> <img alt="" height="59" src="http://images.tmcnet.com/headshots/2009/amy-tierney.jpg" />  By <a href="http://www.tmcnet.com/tmcnet/columnists/columnist.aspx?id=100260" class="News-links">Amy Tierney  </a>TMCnet Web Editor <div>The virtual office just got another boost in the IP business phone space, thanks to a new collaboration between <a href="http://www.8x8.com/">8x8, Inc.</a> and <a href="http://www.aastra.com/">Aastra</a>.</div> <div> </div> <div>8×8, Inc., the Santa Clara, California-based provider of Virtual Office and Packet8 broadband business, residential, video and mobile communications services, has partnered withAastra ( <a href="http://www.tmcnet.com/snapshots/snapshots.aspx?Company=Aastra">News</a> - <a href="http://www.tmcnet.com/enews/subs.aspx?k1=Aastra&k2=+%22Aastra+Technologies%22&k3=+%22Aastra+Telecom%22">Alert</a>), a global provider of communications products, to offer co-branded Virtual Office business IP phones bundled with the 8×8 <a href="http://business.packet8.net/virtual_office/index.html">Virtual Office</a> suite. Under the partnership, Aastra will supply the co-branded 8x8/Aastra 6755i Virtual Office IP phone, while 8x8 manages the 8x8 Virtual Office hosted IPPBX ( <a href="http://www.tmcnet.com/snapshots/snapshots.aspx?Company=PBX">News</a> - <a href="http://ww

CEO's Blog - Beta Testers Wanted

Wed, 20 May 2009 07:00:00 GMT

We are looking for 8x8 customers who are willing to help beta test some new communication services that we are readying for launch.  The requirements to participate in the beta program are: 1.  You must be an existing 8x8 customer in good standing 2.  You have been an 8x8 customer for 24 months or more 3.  You are familiar with the existing self service portal and can log in and manage your account/service settings 4.  You are willing to give us feedback on these new services over a 30 day period If you are interested in being considered for this opportunity, please send an e-mail with your name and 8x8 phone number tobmartin@8x8.com!

CEO's Blog - Greg Galitzine visit to Santa Clara

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 07:00:00 GMT

Greg Galitzine reported on a recent visit to 8x8's headquarters in Santa Clara, CA in this <a href="http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/greg-galitzine/voip/ip-communications/8x8-visit-with-huw-rees.html">blog entry</a> today: <div class="asset-header"> <h1 id="page-title" class="asset-name entry-title">8x8 Visit With Huw Rees</h1> </div> <div class="asset-content entry-content"> <div class="asset-body"> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">If it's Wednesday, it must be San Jose...</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Or in this case, more specifically, Santa Clara.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">My colleagues and I just stopped in to see our friends at 8x8, who were gracious enough to spend some time with us on this cloudy day.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Things are moving steadily forward at 8x8, and according to Huw Rees, Vice President of Business and Channel Development, the firm continues to execute on its strategy of selling their Virtual Office services into the small and medium sized business (SMB) market space. Rees told us that they are focused on ramping up sales of their virtual trunking products and <a href="http://www.tmcnet.com/tmcnet/snapshots/snapshots.aspx?Company=Microsoft">Micros oft</a> Response Point services, as well as expanding their channel strategy to build a larger channel to serve ever larger customers, working up to the "M" of the SMB.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </div> <

CEO's Blog - 8x8 Hits Magic 15,000 Number

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 08:00:00 GMT

February 11, 2009  Despite Economy, 8x8 Grows to More Than 15,000 Business VoIP Customers  By <a href="http://www.tmcnet.com/tmcnet/columnists/columnist.aspx?id=100047&nm=Erik%20Linask" id="LinkAuthor" class="News-links">Erik Linask</a>  Group Managing Editor <div>When you consider the impact of a struggling economy on the business world, you don’t have to look far to find a large number of businesses that are laying off staff or even folding completely. But, if you turn your attention to the VoIP industry, there is clear evidence that the economic climate can present an opportunity for a well managed vendor or service provider. In fact, if you were in Miami last week for<a href="http://www.itexpo.com/">ITEXPO</a>, you witnessed more than <a href="http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/tom-keating/voip/itexpo-east-2009-attendance-and-demographic-numbers.asp">8,300 attendees</a> discovering how they can leverage VoIP technology to help them navigate the turbulent economy.</div> <div> </div> <div>Bryan Martin, Chairman and CEO of <a href="http://www.8x8.com/">8x8</a> confirmed that notion: “I think you’ve always had those people coming, but I had the sense we were getting them in greater numbers in Miami. People were <a href="http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/rich-tehrani/itexpo/itexpo-growth-of-15-percent-portends-bright-industry-future.html">searching for these solutions</a> and how they would enable them to run their businesses more effectiv

CEO's Blog - Rich Tehrani

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 08:00:00 GMT

ich Tehrani wrote a quick report from the show floor (reprinted below, and at <a href="http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/rich-tehrani/voip/8x8packet8-varreseller-party-tonight.html"></a><a href="http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/rich-tehrani/voip/8x8packet8-varreseller-party-tonight.html">http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/rich-tehrani/voip/8x8packet8-varreseller-party-tonight.ht ml</a>). I also just accepted the 2009 Internet Telephony Best of Show award for the Most Innovative Product -- 8x8's Virtual Office Hosted Key System Services!  More details on that one soon.   <div class="asset-header"> <h1 id="page-title" class="asset-name entry-title">8x8/Packet8 VAR/Reseller Party Tonight</h1> </div> <div class="asset-content entry-content"> <div class="asset-body">Here at ITEXPO East 2009 in Miami I had a chance to speak with Bryan Martin the CEO of 8x8 the company behind the Packet8 VoIP service for consumers and SMBs. At ITEXPO last year in Los Angeles the company launched a SIP trunking service and relationship with Microsoft. Before I go on, I should mention the company is having a party tonight for resellers/VARs at 5:00-7:00 PM at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden, Banyan Room on 2000 Convention Center Drivve. This is directly across the street from Hall D at the Miami Beach Convention Center. <a href="http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/rich-tehrani/uploads/020.JPG"><img width="500" height="666" src="http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/rich-tehrani/assets_c/2009/02/020-thumb-500x666-5766.jpg" alt="020.JPG" class="mt-image-none" /></a> But back to Bryan... He tells me his company is hiring and he c

CEO's Blog - 8x8's December Quarter Financial Results

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 08:00:00 GMT

From <a href="http://telephonyonline.com/business_services/news/8x8-grows-despite-economy-0130/">Telephony Online</a>, an article reporting on 8x8's December quarter financial results, which we announced yesterday: <h1 class="storyTitle">8x8 thrives in SMB space despite economy</h1> Jan 30, 2009 11:59 AM, By Ed Gubbins <div class="page"> <div class="pagePadding"> <div class="articleRSS"> <h2>more on the topic</h2> <ul> <li><a href="http://connectedplanetonline.com/business_services/news/cinnabar-usmetro-prepare-lan-0113">Cinnabar, USMetro prepare six-city cloud-managed LAN</a></li> <li><a href="http://connectedplanetonline.com/business_services/news/m2m-connected-devices-grows-0122">M-Health will be biggest driver of M2M</a></li> <li><a href="http://connectedplanetonline.com/business_services/news/carrier-provided-wan-goes-virtual-0122">Carrier-provided WAN optimization goes virtual</a></li> <li><a href="http://connectedplanetonline.com/business_services/news/ip-video-wars-0125">The coming IP video wars</a></li> <li><a href="http://connectedplanetonline.com/business_services/news/ericsson-4g-materialize-earnings-0125">Ericsson: 4G lead will take time to materialize in earnings</a></li> <li><a href="http://connectedplanetonline.com/business_services/news/cavalier-cloud-services-acquisition-0125">Cavalier eyes cloud services with data center deal</a></li> <li><a href="http://connectedplanetonline.com/business_services/news/juniper-polycom-partnership-0125">Juniper, Polycom deal has service provider focus&l

CEO's Blog - Wall Street Transcript Interview

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 08:00:00 GMT

The <a href="http://twst.com/">Wall Street Transcript</a> published a special report on Telecommunications this morning.  A copy of the 8x8 interview included in the report is available <a href="http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/96/96659/WallSt_Transcript_Interview_011209.pdf">here</a>.

CEO's Blog - 8x8 at 2009 International CES

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Happy New Year! 8x8 will be exhibiting its business communication services this week at the 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.  8x8 will be in the Las Vegas Convention Center, South Hall 3 in booth #35438.  The exhibit opens Thursday at 9AM and runs through Sunday. If you will be attending the Show, please stop by and say hello.