Zendesk has taken the unusual step of describing its new CCaaS solution as "Un-CCaaS".
The solution - "Zendesk for Contact Center" - stems from its acquisition of Local Measure back in February.
Indeed, Zendesk has wasted little time in taking Local Measure Engage – the company’s existing CCaaS offering - and repackaging it.
By doing so, the CRM and helpdesk stalwart plots to "redefine the contact center landscape" with an "Un-CCaaS" offering.
But what exactly is Un-CCaaS? To understand, it's important to get to grips with how contact centers are currently leveraging CCaaS platforms.
The Era of CCaaS Experimentation
In a recent edition of CX Today’s Big CX News show, a panel of CX analysts discussed Zendesk for Contact Center and what the CRM giant is hoping to achieve with its Un-CCaaS framing.
For Liz Miller, VP and Principal Analyst at Constellation Research, the move is symptomatic of what she refers to as "the era of contact center experimentation."
Explaining this, Miller noted a pointed undercurrent of dissatisfaction with the CCaaS market in recent times, which has led to many enterprises experimenting with multiple contact center vendors.
"You see the same logo on three different vendor slides at conferences and wonder: "Wait, aren’t they using seven vendors?" explains Miller.
It’s the era of contact center experimentation, which is a relatively new phenomenon.
"That’s opened the door for a vendor like Zendesk to step in with something more cohesive."
The Un-CCaaS CCaaS Platform
Regarding the Un-CCaaS element, Miller likens it to T-Mobile's Un-Carrier marketing ploy from the early 2010s, which positioned the company as a disruptive alternative to some of the traditional telco giants.
While the analyst is unsure about the staying power of the name "Un-CCaaS", she is enthusiastic about Zendesk’s decision to differentiate itself from the field by positioning itself as a company that eliminates the need for experimentation by focusing on delivering resolutions.
"They’re betting that organizations tired of experimentation will want a platform that just fits," she said.
This point was also echoed by Finbarr Begley, Senior Research Analyst at Cavell, who detailed how this resolution-based approach ties into Zendesk’s automation strategy.
By bringing automation directly into the ticket resolution process, it becomes simpler and more seamless to solve and track issues.
Begley sees this as a "very appealing message" when compared with the legacy confusion of per-seat pricing and AI upsells.