2020 has been a rough year on many, but as far as Five9 is concerned, it’s more like a gift that keeps on giving. With a brand new acquisition and record revenue of $112.1 million under its belt, both reported on the very same day (Oct.29) – things are only seem to be getting better for this cloud contact center provider.
Virtually Ahead of the Game
As reported by the company on an Oct.29 press release, it has recently acquired Inference Solutions – a global leader in the field of IVA (Intelligent Virtual Agents). This highly meaningful purchase, especially at a time like this, is likely to boost the company’s success even further.
There is little doubt by now that IVAs are the future of customer service, gradually replacing touch-tone and IVRs. More traditional technologies can hardly compete with such human-like capabilities of understating the client’s intent, recognizing speech and text, and responding in a human-like manner.
Right now, as COVID-19 brings immense pressure to contact centers, the need of virtual agents who could ease the burden on human agents is stronger than ever. Customers now ask to engage with companies using their preferred mediums; and omni-channel contact centers are becoming the new default. By having their very own unit specializing in IVA, Five9 will be able to upgrade and expand their offerings with AI-based self-service, giving them a major advantage in the market.
Rowan Trollope, Five9 CEO, said that the company believes adding Inference Solutions to the Five9 portfolio accelerates the company’s leadership position in AI, providing customers with a market leading IVA at a time they need it the most. Both Trollope and Inference CEO, Callan Schebella, expressed their excitement about the new partnership.
According to the press release, the acquisition is to be fully completed no later than January 5, 2021.
Nineteen and Counting
On a separate press release published on the very same day, Five9 announced some more exciting news, reporting 3rd Quarter revenue growth of 34%, reaching a record $112.1 million (compared to $83.8 million for Q3 of 2019).
This is in fact the company’s 19th consecutive quarter of positive operating cash flow at $22.8 million, (compared to GAAP operating cash flow of $17.7 million for Q3 of 2019).
There’s no doubt that Five9 is on the rise this year, and we can only wait and see what 2021 brings about for the company.
