We’ve heard your feedback, we’ve seen your successes, and we’re thrilled to announce the next major evolution of our platform: App Connect 2.0 -- the beta coming later this month!
This isn't just a minor update; it’s a complete transformation built around making your day-to-day work faster, smarter, and more integrated than ever before. App Connect 2.0 delivers powerful new features for both users and administrators, introduces a revolutionary new Developer Framework, and provides a clear, disruption-free rollout plan.
Ready to see what the future of integrated communication and CRM looks like? Let’s dive in!
Features That Will Transform Your Workflow
App Connect 2.0 is packed with game-changing features designed to boost productivity and provide deeper insights.
For Admins and Teams: Better Visibility and Collaboration
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Admin Metrics: Collective & Individual Performance Reporting: Following the success of user reports in 1.6, we're giving administrators the tools they need to lead effectively. Admins can now view company-wide performance collectively or drill down into the performance of any individual agent. This delivers the visibility you need to drive success.
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New Heads-Up Display (HUD): Bringing the popular HUD functionality from our desktop application to App Connect and Embeddable, users can now monitor team member presence, see which calls are parked or queued, and answer those calls directly. It’s real-time call management right where you work.
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Enhanced Call Park User Experience: Parking a call is now a breeze! Mirroring the intuitive functionality of our desktop app, you can now select exactly where you want to park a call and even automatically text a colleague to notify them to pick it up.
For Users: More Reliable and Efficient Calling
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More Reliable Auto-Logging with Custom Rules: Say goodbye to missed logs! We’re adding new options that allow users to create rules for logging calls that previously failed due to contact lookup issues (e.g., contact not found, or too many contacts found for one number). Now, you can choose how to log these tricky calls, leading to more logged calls with less manual effort.
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Better Outbound Calling with "Calldown Lists": Get organized and stay on track. Users can now create and maintain "calldown lists"—a systematic list of people they want to call later. When ready, simply pull up the list and systematically call each person scheduled for the day. Plus, you can now schedule a call back right from the logging screen.
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Voicemail Drop for Consistent Messaging: Be a productivity powerhouse! With voicemail drop, you can pre-record your perfectly scripted messages and drop them into an inbox, then immediately move on to your next call. Let RingCentral "wait for the beep" while you get back to business.
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Mask Phone Numbers for Enhanced Privacy: For companies with strict privacy controls, App Connect 2.0 now allows you to mask phone numbers so that full customer data is not displayed to your agents.
Expanding Your Reach: New Developer Framework & CRMs
App Connect 2.0 also includes a foundational shift with the introduction of a brand new developer framework. This powerful platform allows for dramatically improved CRM connection and an exciting expansion of our supported integrations.
New CRM Integrations
The new developer framework aids in the first-time user experience and opens the door to connect with an ever-growing list of CRMs. We are thrilled to announce commitments from third parties to bring support for:
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Smokeball
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ServiceTitan
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RecruiterPM
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Zoho
A New Era for Developers
For our developer community, this evolution brings a host of tools to make building and deploying connectors (previously "adapters") easier than ever:
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Brand New Developer Console: The new console will be your centralized hub for creating and deploying manifest files, sharing connectors with specific users and accounts, and accessing detailed, personalized instructions on how to build an adapter.
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"Proxy Adapter" for Existing Code: Developers can now leverage their existing codebases to reach more customers via App Connect. The new proxy adapter will help bridge App Connect to call logging solutions you may have already built in another language, saving you time and effort.
We will have an entire dedicated blog post in the coming weeks to go deeper into the new developer experience!
Rollout Plan: Minimizing Disruption
We know that major releases can sometimes be disruptive. This time, we are prioritizing the stability you rely on in App Connect 1.6 while allowing you to experience the exciting new features of 2.0.
Seamless Beta Experience
To manage this transition and prevent any disruption, the App Connect 2.0 beta will be released under the name “App Connect 1.7” and as a separate Chrome extension during this critical beta period.
This approach allows you and your team to:
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Continue using the stable App Connect 1.6 extension without interruption.
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Test the new App Connect 2.0 extension in parallel.
This allows us to leverage our community’s feedback and agile process while protecting the stability of your daily operations.
A Note on App Connect’s Future
We want to be transparent about the continued growth and sustainability of App Connect. We are moving forward with a plan to charge customers for the logging of call transcripts. The core ability of App Connect to log and track calls will remain free—as we believe this is an essential service.
To ensure we can continue to invest and expand the platform, some of App Connect 2.0's new features may be bound to this paid plan. This allows us to make App Connect economically sustainable while keeping the essential functionality free for everyone. We will share concrete pricing and feature plans very soon.
App Connect 2.0 is the result of countless hours of direct conversations with you our community and customers, two years of development and a deep commitment to improving how you connect with your customers. We can’t wait for you to experience the future of the platform.
Stay tuned for our next post detailing the developer experience and full details on the rollout!