Talkdesk has launched a CCaaS solution optimized for SMBs: Talkdesk Express.
An omnichannel UI, conversational IVR, knowledge base, analytics, journey orchestration, and integrations with 70+ business applications are among the core features.
Talkdesk has partnered with Windstream, the managed communications services provider, as its first channel partner for the solution.
“This partnership aligns with how many SMBs prefer to buy solutions through a single provider like a telco,” noted Zeus Kerravala, Principal Analyst at ZK Research.
It’s part of Talkdesk’s strategy to segment their offerings: an enterprise platform, a mid-market solution, and now an SMB platform.
As Kerravala suggests, this seems another step for Talkdesk in a broader bid to become a CCaaS vendor for businesses of all sizes.
Yet, in expanding into the SMB space with Express, Talkdesk hits upon an often underserved segment of the contact center space.
After all, most CCaaS platforms are broad, targeting enterprise buyers.
Some providers do focus on the mid-market. But, once that first big contract comes in, their focus often switches to chasing more.
Given this trend, Talkdesk can open up its addressable market, a strategy with which its CCaaS rival UJET has enjoyed success throughout 2024.
Consider the adjacent CRM arena, too. There, HubSpot continues to thrive with its SMB directive.
Talkdesk: A CCaaS Provider for Businesses of All Sizes
The official launch of Talkdesk Express came during an analyst event last week, where the vendor also launched Talkdesk Embedded.
Like Express, Embedded aspires to open Talkdesk up to a new market segment.
Indeed, the solution targets system integrators (SIs), empowering them to drop core capabilities from Talkdesk into other applications, like CRM.
Moreover, Embedded may allow Talkdesk to expand further into the organizations it works with. As Kerravala explained:
It’s designed for ease of use. It’s not a heavy lift to integrate. The goal is to get subscribers onto the platform, even if they’re not traditional contact center agents.
“Many employees, especially those outside contact centers, prefer working in the tools they already use,” continued Kerravala. “Embedding Talkdesk into these applications eliminates the need to switch between tools, which enhances usability.”
Earlier this year, Talkdesk also announced a GenAI suite for on-premise service operations: Ascend Connect. With this, the vendor serves another type of contact center buyer, one that it may also – over time – extend its business with.
Yet, as it expands its routes into the market, Talkdesk will prioritize six specific industries: financial services, healthcare, retail, government, transportation, and hospitality.
In doing so, the CCaaS stalwart finds its focus.
As it targets these industries, Talkdesk considers key applications for each sector – like Epic and Cerner for healthcare or point-of-sale systems for retail – and partners with industry leaders.
From there, it considers the processes that flit between these apps and offers preconfigured industry workflows to help customers connect their CX ecosystems.
That’s a big differentiator for Talkdesk, and it will look to flaunt this as it broadens its presence at major industry events like HIMSS for healthcare.
During these events, the vendor will ensure it has relevant announcements geared toward reinforcing its industry expertise.
“This focused approach is smart for a vendor like Talkdesk,” summarized Kerravala. “It enables them to talk to decision-makers about specific challenges, like reducing missed healthcare appointments, which can save providers significant costs.”
Finally, Talkdesk – like its competition – aspires to differentiate with AI. The vendor recently achieved this by being one of the first CX vendors to go live with agentic AI.
