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8×8 Explained

A unified communications and contact center platform that combines enterprise telephony, customer interaction routing, analytics, and developer APIs in one place. The platform centralizes voice, video, chat, and contact center workloads so operations, support, and sales teams can see conversation context and performance metrics together.

Compared to competitors, 8×8 emphasizes an integrated stack rather than modular building blocks. For example, Genesys Cloud focuses heavily on large-scale contact center orchestration and workforce optimization, while Twilio Flex provides a highly programmable contact center platform for teams that want to build custom workflows. RingCentral offers similar unified communications and contact center bundles but often positions itself toward SMBs and distributed teams. All three compete on reliability and integrations, while 8×8 aims to reduce vendor sprawl by offering telephony, contact center, AI analytics, and developer APIs under one vendor.

All of this makes 8×8 well suited to organizations that want fewer vendors and a single source of interaction data. It is particularly useful for customer support and sales organizations that need enterprise telephony plus contact center routing, and for IT teams that want low-code APIs to embed communications into business systems.

How 8×8 Works

The platform collects interactions from voice, chat, SMS, social channels, and video, and feeds them into a unified interaction layer where routing, recording, and analytics are applied. Routing rules, IVR trees, and skills-based queues distribute work to agents across regions, and interaction metadata is kept with customer records to preserve context across channels.

Agents access conversations through a unified agent desktop that displays customer history, queue status, and collaboration tools. Supervisors use built-in dashboards and quality management tools to monitor live calls, score interactions, and coach agents. AI capabilities surface after-call summaries, sentiment signals, and operational insights to reduce manual review and improve first-contact resolution.

Deployment options include cloud-hosted telephony across global regions and hybrid integrations for legacy PSTN or SIP trunks. IT teams can expand functionality with low-code tools and APIs to connect CRM platforms, workforce management, and custom reporting.

What does 8×8 do?

8×8 provides communication infrastructure and customer interaction management for contact centers and internal collaboration. Core capabilities span cloud telephony, multichannel contact routing, analytics and workforce tools, secure global connectivity, and developer APIs for embedding communications.

Key functionality includes:

Cloud Contact Center

Cloud routing supports voice, chat, email, and SMS with skills-based queues, IVR, and omnichannel sessions. Supervisors can create routing rules, monitor queues, and run historical reports to measure service levels and agent performance.

Unified Communications

Integrated business phone, team messaging, and video meetings let internal teams collaborate while preserving conversation context for customer-facing interactions. Presence and directory sync with SSO support reduce friction across distributed teams.

AI and Analytics

Real-time and historical analytics provide dashboards for service levels, agent performance, and customer sentiment. AI-assisted features include automated call summaries, speech-to-text for transcripts, and outlier detection to speed quality assurance.

Global Telephony and PSTN

Built-in global voice coverage provides carrier-grade telephony across many countries with number provisioning and emergency calling support. Organizations can use cloud voice or integrate local PSTN and SIP trunks as required for compliance.

Video and Messaging

Video meetings, video messaging, and persistent chat enable richer customer and internal interactions. Video recordings and asynchronous messages can be attached to interaction records for agent follow-up and knowledge base use.

Low-code APIs and Developer Tools

Low-code builders and REST APIs enable embedding voice, SMS, and contact center workflows into CRMs, portals, and mobile apps. The developer API documentation provides endpoints for call control, messaging, and analytics.

Integrations and Collaboration

Prebuilt connectors and certified integrations extend the platform with CRM systems and productivity suites, including a dedicated 8×8 for Microsoft Teams integration that brings telephony and contact center features into Teams.

The biggest benefit is centralized interaction data and administration, which reduces integration overhead and gives faster access to cross-channel insights for operations teams.

8×8 pricing

8×8 uses custom enterprise pricing that is tailored to deployment size, feature mix, and global telephony needs. Pricing is commonly provided via plan bundles for unified communications and contact center capabilities or via custom quotes for larger deployments.

For current plan options, bundle details, and enterprise purchasing inquiries, review 8×8’s official plans and pricing on the 8×8 homepage or contact their sales team directly through the site.

What is 8×8 Used For?

Customer service and support centers use the platform to route multichannel customer interactions, manage agent workloads, and apply analytics to improve response times and resolution rates. The unified interaction record helps agents see previous calls, chats, and notes to reduce repeat questions.

IT and communications teams use 8×8 for enterprise telephony and internal collaboration, consolidating numbers, implementing global call routing, and integrating communications into existing business applications through APIs and low-code tools.

Sales operations and back-office teams use the video and messaging features for customer demos, account reviews, and asynchronous video updates that attach to customer records for richer engagement history.

Pros and Cons of 8×8

Pros

  • Integrated contact center and telephony: Organizations get both carrier-grade voice and a full contact center stack from one vendor, reducing integration work and single-vendor administration.
  • Multichannel analytics and AI: Built-in speech-to-text, interaction analytics, and AI summaries speed quality assurance and operational reporting.
  • Global reach: Built-in international telephony and number provisioning make it easier for multinational deployments to manage local voice requirements.
  • Developer-friendly APIs: Low-code tools and developer APIs let teams embed communications into CRMs and portals without a separate CPaaS vendor.

Cons

  • Enterprise sales and onboarding: Custom pricing and configuration typically require vendor engagement, which can lengthen procurement and implementation timelines.
  • Feature depth varies by module: Organizations with advanced workforce optimization or highly custom routing needs may find specialized competitors like Genesys have deeper niche features.
  • SaaS dependency: As with any cloud communications provider, outages or regional issues can affect availability unless redundant architectures are established.

Does 8×8 Offer a Free Trial?

8×8 offers trial options and demo programs for prospective customers. Trial availability and length depend on the product bundle and region; request access or a demo through the official site to evaluate contact center, telephony, and unified communications features.

8×8 API and Integrations

The platform exposes developer APIs and low-code tools to automate call control, messaging, and contact center workflows. The developer API documentation lists authentication methods, endpoints, and SDKs for common languages.

Key native integrations include CRM connectors and productivity suites, with a dedicated integration for Microsoft Teams that embeds telephony and contact center capabilities inside Teams. Other integrations cover leading CRM and helpdesk platforms for synchronized customer records.

10 8×8 alternatives

Paid alternatives to 8×8

  • Genesys Cloud — Large-scale contact center platform with advanced routing, workforce optimization, and AI features for enterprise CX operations.
  • Twilio Flex — Programmable contact center platform that provides a high degree of customization for teams that want to build bespoke agent experiences.
  • RingCentral — Unified communications and contact center bundles more commonly targeted at SMBs and distributed teams with simple administration.
  • Cisco Webex Contact Center — Carrier-grade enterprise contact center with tight integration to Webex Calling and Cisco collaboration tools.
  • Five9 — Cloud contact center focused on outbound and inbound campaign management and agent productivity for mid-market and enterprise.
  • Vonage Business Communications — Cloud telephony and contact center solutions with a developer-friendly platform and international focus.
  • Zoom Contact Center — Contact center built on Zoom’s platform, useful for organizations already using Zoom for meetings and webinars.

Open source alternatives to 8×8

  • Asterisk — Open source PBX and telephony toolkit for organizations that want full control over call routing and infrastructure.
  • FreeSWITCH — Scalable telephony engine useful for building custom voice, video, and messaging solutions.
  • Kamailio — SIP server for routing and load balancing SIP traffic in large VoIP deployments.
  • OpenSIPS — SIP proxy and routing platform suitable for high-performance telephony bridging and session management.
  • Jitsi — Open source video conferencing and messaging suite that can be integrated into broader communication stacks.

Frequently asked questions about 8×8

What is 8×8 used for?

8×8 is used for unified communications and cloud contact center operations. Organizations deploy it to manage telephony, multichannel customer interactions, and agent workflows.

Does 8×8 integrate with Microsoft Teams?

Yes, 8×8 provides a Microsoft Teams integration. The integration brings business calling and contact center capabilities into Teams so users can handle voice and customer interactions without switching apps.

How does 8×8 handle global telephony?

8×8 offers built-in international telephony and local number provisioning. Global coverage lets organizations provision numbers, route calls, and comply with regional telephony regulations.

Can developers extend 8×8 with APIs?

Yes, 8×8 provides developer APIs and SDKs. The developer portal includes endpoints for call control, messaging, recordings, and analytics to embed communications into business applications.

Is 8×8 suitable for large enterprises?

Yes, 8×8 supports enterprise deployments with scalable telephony, contact center routing, and custom integrations. Enterprise customers typically engage with sales for tailored plans and global deployment assistance.

Final Verdict: 8×8

8×8 delivers a consolidated platform for voice, contact center, video, and developer APIs that reduces the need for multiple vendors and simplifies interaction data management. Its strengths are integrated telephony and contact center features, global voice coverage, and developer access to embed communications into business workflows.

Compared with RingCentral, 8×8 tends to emphasize integrated contact center analytics and a single-vendor approach, whereas RingCentral sometimes positions itself with simpler SMB-friendly bundles. Pricing for enterprise contact center capabilities is typically custom with both vendors, so organizations should compare feature sets and request quotes from each provider via their respective sales channels.

For teams that need a single platform to manage customer conversations across many channels and regions, 8×8 is a strong option worth evaluating through a demo or trial arranged on the 8×8 homepage.