Stocks to Watch – 8×8 Inc. (NASDAQ: EGHT)

8×8, Inc. (8×8) is a leading developer and marketer of telecommunications services for Internet protocol (IP), telephony and video applications, as well as Web-based conferencing and unified communications services, managed hosting and cloud-based computing services. It was established in February 1987.

Its primary products are the following:

• Virtual Office hosted private branch exchange (PBX) service
• Complete Contact Center service
•  Trunking service
•  Hosted Key System service
•  MobileTalk services
•  Virtual Meeting Web conferencing service
•  Virtual Office Pro unified communications solution
•  Managed Hosting and Cloud-Based Computing Solutions

The Company introduced the 8×8 Virtual Office Pro unified communications solution in January 2010. In the same year, it purchased Central Host, Inc. which provides managed hosting and cloud-based computing solutions. In line with this, the Company started to offer 8×8 Managed Hosting and Cloud-Based Computing solutions to business customers.

By 2011, the Company had approximately 24,000 business customers using its services as their primary business telephone system such as IP dial tone, long distance and all of the business class features associated with a traditional phone system or PBX. Moreover, the Company’s 8×8 Virtual Office suite of business phone services provides small and medium-sized businesses feature-rich, high definition (HD) audio-enhanced communications services.

This solution is a replacement of on-premise PBX telephone system with a hosted, Internet-based business phone service that is delivered over a managed or unmanaged Internet connection. The Company sells pre-programmed IP telephones with speakerphones and a display screen along with its Virtual Office service plans.

8×8 Virtual Office Business Telephone Service

This targets small and medium-sized business market. It is an alternative to traditional PBX systems or Centrex class services from legacy telecommunications providers that offers features and services neither provide.

8×8 Complete Contact Center

It is an integrated hosted call center solution. It functions with any broadband Internet service. Through it, the Company provides enterprise class contact center functionality combined with Virtual Office hosted PBX calling features.

8×8 IP Telephones

Through this, the Company sold the following:

• Four models of Polycom IP phones
• Three models of Polycom IP speakerphones

8×8 Virtual Meeting

The 8×8 Virtual Meeting video Web conferencing service is an online collaboration tool immediately available from any Web browser and any computing platform.

8×8, Inc. (NASDAQ: EGHT) 52 week: 2.80 – 5.44   Mkt cap: 283.71M   Shares:  69.54M