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Zendesk Announces Basic Voice VoIP Support Service

By Casey Houser
Contributing Writer

Zendesk, developer of the popular cloud-based help desk of the same name, recently announced the release of its latest support product, Zendesk Basic Voice.

The new Zendesk Voice targets companies of all sizes that have a need for phone support. It tries to be affordable and reliable while also being cost-effective and easy to manage alongside existing support channels for Web chat, texting, email, and others. Ryan Nichols, the general manager of Zendesk Voice, commented that voice calls, even in this era of multi-channel support, can play an important role in everyday call center operations.

“In this era of always-on, multi-channel customer support, a phone call still remains one of the most powerful ways to resolve customer issues,” Nichols said. “With the launch of Basic Voice, we are continuing to democratize phone support, making it possible for more companies to connect personally and efficiently with their customers.”

Basic Voice comes alongside two other tiers of voice services that Zendesk offers its clients. Customers can choose from the Lite version where they only pay for use and gain inbound and outbound calling support with voicemail and recording; Basic where they pay a fee per agent and gain multiple phone numbers, group routing, and agent availability controls; and Advanced, which comes with an interactive voice response system, analytics, and reporting.

The voice services can be used from any desktop browser or mobile phone, so companies can choose when and where they want their agents to take calls. The smallest of businesses may find a good fit with the Lite version because their calling needs may be minimal. However, the service can scale with midsize and large firms to meet the 24-hour activity of multiple agents and work shifts.

Zendesk’s voice services began back in 2011 as a VoIP-based system that meant to address businesses of all sizes. It began with Starter, Regular, Plus+, and Enterprise editions and has morphed into the three selections noted above. Since its inception, it has refined its features that handle support tickets, calling history, and call transcription in addition the features available with each respective service tier. The company notes three specific clients that have seen success with Basic Voice – online retailer Tequila, non-profit DonorsChoose.org, and startup Washio – and expects that others can see similar success that mirrors double-digit percent reductions in cost with increases in sales and productivity.