Here at 8x8, we strive to make business communications systems better for everyone. Over the years, we've developed VoIP solutions, video conferencing, messaging, internet fax, and even contact center solutions to help customers navigate changes to the way people work.

But how can we help you and your company? Let’s take a closer look at what 8x8 provides and what our users have to say.

8x8 was founded in 1987 and began offering cloud VoIP services in 2004. Today, it provides services for about 1 million businesses in more than 160 countries. As of 2021, it’s been named a worldwide leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for UCaaS on 10 occasions.

8x8 also launched 8x8 platform, a single integration framework which incorporates a business phone system with video conferencing and messaging along with built-in contact center capabilities, in 2021.

8x8’s main offering is the 8x8 platform. It gives businesses several options for setting up their communications suite. Customers can either pick a pricing plan that only covers unified communications for collaboration, or upgrade to a plan that includes a contact center platform.

8x8 is recognized as a leader in global communications thanks to its reliability. There are reviewers who recommend it for its uptime and connectivity, as well as its smooth implementation and tech support.

With a guaranteed 99.999% uptime SLA, you're less likely to experience dropped calls or video lag. Plus, there's no risk of single points of failure thanks to multiple redundancy and rerouting capabilities in 8x8's architecture. If there’s a power or internet outage, users can still access the system and work remotely.

All 8x8 plans feature enterprise-grade security—ideal for industries that handle sensitive data, such as finance or healthcare. Security and compliance certifications include:

• SOC Types I and II
• ISO/IEC 27001
• Privacy Shield Framework
• CPNI
• GDPR
• HIPAA

1. Business phone system

8x8’s enterprise VoIP phone service was voted Best Value Business Phone of 2021 by US News & World Report. It offers cloud-hosted PBX with unlimited calling and global coverage, and organizations can easily add virtual extensions as they scale.

Every 8x8 call has HD voice quality. Its call distribution features ensure users can easily handle high call volumes and route callers to the right department efficiently. Its call forwarding function allows users to receive calls on another phone number.

8x8's conferencing solution enhances collaboration through seamless transitioning between phone calls and conference calls.

The recently-launched 8x8 Frontdesk lets your office receptionist place, transfer, or park a call, as well as send an inbound call to voicemail more effectively.

The VoIP platform also features:

• Call queuing
• Call monitoring
• Caller ID
• Music on hold
• Ring groups

For customers who are new to using VoIP, 8x8 can provide equipment such as IP phones or adapters to convert analog desk phones. Alternatively, they can use a computer as a softphone.

Other capabilities you can get out of 8x8 include:

Unlimited calling

All 8x8 plans include unlimited free calls within the US and Canada. All 8x8 Work users get free and unlimited calls to any standard-rate domestic landline or mobile, plus free calls to any other 8x8 Work user anywhere in the world.

Call recording

8x8 lets users choose whether to record every call or record on-demand, and there’s an option to announce that the call is being recorded automatically. Users can save recordings to their desktop, a Dropbox account, or 8x8’s own cloud storage.

Voicemail

8x8 has a lot of voicemail options. Users can access and manage voicemails any time via 8x8 Work on desktop or mobile.

Users can also switch on do-not-disturb to automatically send their calls to voicemail. They can forward voicemails to another extension, screen and prioritize messages, and even return calls directly from voicemail. Another thing they can do is set up the system to send them voicemail alert notifications in their email inboxes.

The visual voicemail feature, which emails a transcript of the voice message to the user, is also available with the 8x8 solution.

Auto attendant

The auto attendant feature welcomes people who contact the organization with consistent, on-brand messaging. It can also offer personalized self-service options, such as paying bills without needing to speak to a human agent or directing queries to the most suitable person with advanced call routing. Alternatively, the 8x8 auto attendant can be used to provide important information to callers via recorded announcements.

2. Video conferencing

Along with the business phone system, 8x8 users have access to full video conferencing functionality—including HD video with screen-sharing, cloud recordings, and calendar integrations. Participants get the same smooth experience whether they’re on the 8x8 Work app or using a desktop or mobile browser.

Users can start a meeting with a few clicks and can include up to 500 attendees with no time restrictions. The system also allows users to invite people from within a meeting, dial in from 50+ countries, or stream a conference to an unlimited number of participants over YouTube.

8x8 video conferences are 100% secured and encrypted with enterprise-grade reliability. Controls include host delegation, meeting lock, and participant permissions, plus optional end-to-end encryption for selected users.

Hosts can add customized backgrounds, logos, and vanity URLs, while attendees can blur their backgrounds or select an image to use. Hosts can record the audio, video, and desktop from a meeting. Recordings can be saved in the cloud or downloaded and sent to people who couldn’t attend.

3. Team chat and messaging

8x8 lets users keep all their conversations in one place for maximum efficiency. This includes text messaging and group chats.

Once 8x8 has been set up for a company, users are automatically added from the company directory. This means setting up cross-departmental chats can be done almost immediately.

For extra security, group chat rooms can be set as private, invite-only, or public (or users can limit access to a subset of users). 8x8 also integrates with other popular team chat platforms such as Slack.

As with all of 8x8’s tools, there’s a unified experience for both mobile and desktop app users. SMS texts (US and Canada only) are updated across all the user’s devices, as long as the app is installed on them. On mobile devices, users can reply directly from the notification section without having to open the app.

4. Contact center

8x8 allows its contact center solutions to sync with other business communications solutions. This means a company’s customers can make contact via voice or digital channels. 8x8’s smart tools also enable them to respond quickly and efficiently every time.

The call center software includes:

• Automatic Contact Distributor (ACD)
• Skills-based routing
• Advanced speech recognition
• Outbound dialing system
• Workforce management solutions

The single interface and intuitive workflow for both voice and digital channels means agents and supervisors won't need to rely on the IT team. It also means people won't need as much technical training time.

Another thing the software does is allow agents to work anywhere using any device. What's more, it gives admins the ability to modify routing flows or adjust workforce scheduling to meet customer demands on the fly.

The solution also allows you to create your own self-service offering with the drag-and-drop interaction designer for intelligent IVR—this is included in every Contact Center license. Customers are greeted by a virtual assistant that can provide them information, route them to an agent, or schedule a callback.

Contact center-specific reporting and analytics measure metrics like first-contact resolution or targets for sales reps, so contact center managers can see where the departments need to improve. The system is also designed to help maintain compliance and data privacy.

Coaching

8x8’s coaching tools make it easy to monitor and improve agent performance, whether the team is working in a physical contact center or remotely. Dashboards display real-time progress, and there are AI-powered recommendations for both agents and managers.

The live monitoring feature allows supervisors to listen in on calls and provide assistance if necessary. Recorded calls and snippets can be added to a library of best practices. Speech analytics and customer surveys help pinpoint areas for improvement.

5. Analytics

8x8 users have the analytics they need to assess company-wide performance, drawing information from calls, meetings, contact centers, and individual devices. The results are translated into real-time reports that make it easy to spot problems before they escalate.

The system allows leaders to run targeted data searches to identify trends and opportunities as well as gain insights into customer frustration points with visual maps of their journeys. With 8x8, the organization can also encourage customers to provide direct feedback and analyze specific areas with tools like natural language processing.

The quality report feature will also show the IT team if call quality is poor, so they can address issues as quickly as possible.

6. Integrations

8x8 works in sync with many other apps used for business, such as CRM, productivity, or workforce management platforms, so there’s little need to toggle between different apps.

8x8 lets you import contacts from Microsoft Outlook and Google Contacts directly from the desktop client and also integrates with Zendesk, Zoho, and instant messaging apps like Slack and Telegram.

There’s a developer portal with documentation for all 8x8’s APIs, and 8x8 supports the Jitsi open-source project.

What is the X Series?

8x8’s X Series tiers are plans that enhance the features of 8x8. The first of these is the X2 edition, which only covers unified communications capabilities. To add contact center capability, choose X6, 7, or 8.

See our terms and conditions and our cancelation policy for more details.

Businesses choose 8x8 because it provides great value for money, ease of use, and scalability. Reviewers on third-party review sites mention product functionality and performance, overall cost, and robust customer support from a team that goes above and beyond for customers, as reasons for selecting 8x8.

The 8x8 platform software provides a communications solution that improves productivity and makes running a virtual office a whole lot simpler. Along with the VoIP system with conference calling and video meetings, you get messaging, analytics, contact center tools, and a ton of integrations—plus the flexibility to work on desktop, Android devices, or iPhones.

Interested? Just sign up for an account, select a phone number, and download the app.