Zendesk

Zendesk
Type of business Public
Traded as NYSE: ZEN
Headquarters San Francisco, California
Key people
  • Mikkel Svane
  • Alexander Aghassipour
  • Morten Primdahl
Revenue Increase US$208.77 million (2015)
Employees 1,400
Website www.zendesk.com
Launched 2007 (2007)

Zendesk Inc. is an American customer service software company based in San Francisco, California. Zendesk provides a cloud-based customer support platform which allows quicker and easier interaction between businesses and customers.[1] Zendesk has offices worldwide in London, Madison, Taguig (Manila), Copenhagen, Dublin, Tokyo, Montpellier, Berlin, Melbourne, Singapore, and Sao Paulo.[2] It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange with the symbol ZEN and is a constituent of the Russell 2000 Index.[3] Founded in 2007, the company now has over 1,400 employees and serves 75,000 paid customers in 150 countries and territories.[4]

History

Zendesk was founded in 2007 by Mikkel Svane, Morten Primdahl, and Alexander Aghassipour. The company was started in a loft located in Copenhagen, Denmark.[5] The three used their background in customer service programs to create an alternative that would be easier to use for customer tracking and incident reporting .[6] In June 2008, the firm received $500,000 in seed funding,[7] followed in 2009 by a $6 million series B funding from Charles River Ventures and Benchmark Capital,[8] That year, the company moved to San Francisco.

In April 2014, Zendesk acquired Zopim Technologies Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based provider of live chat software.[9] The firm would eventually turn this software into Zopim Premium Live Chat.[10] In May 2014, Zendesk became a publicly-traded company, debuting with an IPO price of $9 per share.[11] On October 13, 2015, the firm acquired We Are Cloud SAS for $45.0 million.[12] We Are Cloud is the maker of BIME Analytics software, the technology that Zendesk now uses for its customer data platform.[13]

Products and Technology

Zendesk

Zendesk’s primary product is a cloud-based customer service and support ticketing platform that handles customer calls, emails, and other tech support inquiries without needing physical help center equipment.[14] Because the software is cloud-based, a customer service representative can respond to clients through different phone numbers and email addresses all on the same interface. In addition, customers can contact the business directly through the company’s website or app, making the help process both easier and quicker. The software is written in Ruby on Rails, and is notable for its ability to integrate with dozens of content management systems, customer relationship management tools, and web apps.[15][16] The platform is available for mobile and tablet.[17] In 2011 the firm founded the Networked Help Desk initiative to create an open standard for sharing information between separate customer support applications.[18] In December 2013, the firm announced integrations with SurveyMonkey and MailChimp to support the launch of surveys and email campaigns from within Zendesk.[19]

Help Center

Help Center is a self-service tool, allowing companies to set up knowledge bases, online communities, and self-service portals for customers.[20] This entices users to start community discussions and crowdsource ideas as customers post questions.[21]

Embeddables

Embeddables allows companies to build customer support functions into mobile and web applications.[22] This includes a mobile Software Development Kit, which lets companies offer self-service via Help Center. Embeddables lets users create support tickets or chat with a Help Center representative in real-time through the user’s preferred mobile apps or online sites. This eliminates the need to leave the app for a third-party help center.[23] Embeddables marks an industry shift for customer service, as the tech support process can now be part of the native experience on the site or application.[24]

Satisfaction Prediction

In 2015, Zendesk rolled out Satisfaction Prediction, which is the first machine learning predictive analytics feature specifically made to measure customer satisfaction.[25] Satisfaction Prediction takes historical customer interaction data to find which occurrences are most likely to lead to a negative customer experience. These negative experiences are defined via surveys while the customer journey events are diagnosed through artificial intelligence.[26] When new customer service tickets arise, Satisfaction Prediction analyzes the customer signals and compares them to existing data. In doing this, Satisfaction Prediction can intelligently estimate the user’s overall satisfaction and allow companies to proactively identify customers that may be dissatisfied.[27]

Talk

Talk is a cloud-based call center software that can immediately get customers in touch with a company representative via any Internet-connected device.[28] Talk allows businesses to create phone numbers and forward calls to customer representatives’ devices, forgoing the need for physical call centers.[29] Advanced Voice, the latest iteration of Zendesk’s Voice software, also uses interactive voice response technology to correctly route customers to the relevant agent or department.[30]

Zendesk Chat

Following the acquisition of Zopim Technologies Pte Ltd in April 2014, Zendesk announced Zopim Premium in April 2015. Zopim Premium is an advanced version of Zendesk’s live chat software, allowing larger teams to communicate with customers in real-time.[31] Zopim also features workforce management tools, where team leaders can track chat agents’ performance and productivity.[32]

BIME

After Zendesk acquired We Are Cloud SAS, the company announced that BIME Analytics would be the core technology powering Zendesk’s customer data platform.[33] BIME aggregates data from multiple sources (including CSV, Microsoft Excel, Bigquery, Intercom, Google Analytics, and Salesforce) to enhance Zendesk’s data-driven business intelligence.[34]

Relate

Relate is Zendesk’s online publication, featuring editorial content dedicated customer service and business relationships.[35] Relate has also been adopted as the branding name for Zendesk conferences, which specialize in customer service case studies, brand relationships and engagement, and industry changes.[36][37]

Accolades

Philanthropy

Zendesk Neighbor Foundation

Zendesk’s headquarters is located in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco and has made several philanthropic initiatives and charitable donations to the area. The Zendesk Neighbor Foundation, a nonprofit organization started by Zendesk, launched $1 million in funding for local charities working on social issues.[45] In 2015, Zendesk Neighbor Foundation donated $100,000 to St. Anthony’s Tenderloin Technology Lab.[46] Since then, the Zendesk Neighbor Foundation has also expanded to the communities of Melbourne,[47] London,[48] and Madison,[49] where the company has made $100,000+ donations per community to Boys and Girls Clubs, public libraries, employment workshops, Autism organizations, and other local non-profits.

Link-SF, Copenhelp and Link-Dane

Aside from monetary contributions, Zendesk has also used its technology to develop Link-SF. Link-SF is an app that helps homeless people find shelter, food, medical care, technology access, and hygiene services.[50][51][52] Subsequent to Link SF, Zendesk launched two similar apps: Copenhelp (for Copenhagen)[53] and Link-Dane (for Madison, Wisconsin).[54]

References

  1. ↑ DeFrancesco, Robert (2014-09-25). "Zendesk Masters Customer Service". CMS Wire. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Zendesk Press Center". Zendesk. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  3. ↑ Equities Staff (2016-02-17). "Zendesk Inc (ZEN) Jumps 8.93% on February 17". Equities.com. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Press Releases & Announcements | Zendesk". Zendesk. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  5. ↑ "In The Beginning". Zendesk. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  6. ↑ Rao, Leena (2013-11-16). "From Its Beginnings In A Denmark Loft, Zendesk's Steady Rise To The Top Of The Helpdesk Heap". Tech Crunch. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  7. ↑ Malik, Om (2008-06-18). "Zendesk for Help Gets Seed Funding — Tech News and Analysis". Gigaom.com. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  8. ↑ Schonfeld, Erick (2009-08-17). "Zendesk Raises $6 Million In B Round, Benchmark's Peter Fenton Joins Board". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Zendesk Acquires Live Chat Leader Zopim". Zendesk. 2014-04-10. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Zendesk Introduces Zopim Premium Live Chat for Larger Teams". Zendesk. 2015-04-16. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  11. ↑ Owens, Jeremy C. (2014-05-14). "Zendesk prices IPO at $9 a share, brings in $100 million". Mercury News. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Zendesk Acquires the Company Behind BIME Analytics". Zendesk. 2015-10-13. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  13. ↑ Novet, Jordan (2015-10-13). "Zendesk acquires cloud business intelligence startup BIME Analytics for $45M". Venture Beat. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Why Zendesk". Zendesk. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Zendesk | The leading cloud-based customer service software solution". Stacksharek.io. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Zendesk Apps & Integrations". Zendesk.com. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  17. ↑ Alex Williams (2013-03-26). "Zendesk's New iPad App Is Made For Simple Customer Service Tasks, Built For Mountains And Enhanced For Couches". Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  18. ↑ Hinchcliffe, Dion (2011-06-18). "Enabling collaboration with open APIs". ZDNet. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
  19. ↑ "Zendesk Integrates with SurveyMonkey and MailChimp". 2013-10-10. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Power Self-Service with Help Center". Zendesk. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  21. ↑ Williams, Alex (2013-08-21). "Zendesk Launches A Help Center That Combines Self-Service With Design Themes Reminiscent Of Tumblr". Tech Crunch. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Zendesk Introduces Embeddables to Put Customer Service at Forefront of Mobile and Online Experiences". Business Wire. 2014-12-03. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  23. ↑ Wright, Mic (2014-12-03). "Zendesk Embeddables put customer service at the heart of websites and apps". The Next Web. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  24. ↑ O’Connor, Fred (2014-12-03). "Zendesk brings embedded customer service tools to mobile apps". PC World. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  25. ↑ "Zendesk Brings Sixth Sense to Customer Conversations". Business Wire. 2015-10-07. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  26. ↑ Ovide, Shira (2015-10-07). "Zendesk Harnesses Big Data to Predict Unhappy Customers". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  27. ↑ Noyes, Katherine (2015-10-07). "Zendesk taps machine learning for its Satisfaction Prediction tool". Computer World. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  28. ↑ "Zendesk Voice". Zendesk. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  29. ↑ "Zendesk Simplifies Phone Support with New Voice Offering". Business Wire. 2015-10-10. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  30. ↑ Klostermann, Jennifer (2015-12-16). "Customer Service Evolution". Cloud Tweaks. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  31. ↑ "Zendesk Introduces Zopim Premium LIve Chat for Larger Teams". Zendesk. 2015-04-16. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  32. ↑ Kepes, Ben (2015-04-16). "Zendesk Leverages Its Zopim Acquisition, Introduces Live Chat". Forbes. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  33. ↑ "Zendesk Acquires the Company Behind BIME Analytics". Zendesk. 2015-10-13. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  34. ↑ Dillet, Romain (2015-10-13). "Zendesk Acquires Business Intelligence Startup BIME Analytics for $45M". Tech Crunch. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  35. ↑ "About". Relate. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  36. ↑ "Relate Live". Eventbrite. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  37. ↑ Roy, Rohit (2015-10-07). "Zendesk Launches Relate, an Online Magazine". Martech Advisor. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  38. ↑ "The Most Innovate Companies of 2016: Top Companies by Sector". Fast Company. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  39. ↑ Inc. Founders 40
  40. ↑ "Zendesk Selected Winner In 2014-15 Cloud Awards Programme". Contact Centres. 2015-01-28. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  41. ↑ Martin, Emmie; Kosoff, Maya; Stanger, Melissa (2015-06-24). "THE SILICON VALLEY 100: The most amazing and inspiring people in tech right now". Business Insider. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  42. ↑ Schurenberg, Eric. "The Founders 40: Secrets of Crazy Fast Growth". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  43. ↑ Quinn, Michelle (2015-11-23). "Quinn: Women changing Silicon Valley from the top". Mercury News. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  44. ↑ "2015 Stevie Award Winners". Stevie Awards. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  45. ↑ "Zendesk Announces Global Foundation for Local Giving". Zendesk. 2015-05-13. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  46. ↑ Vanian, Jonathan (2015-05-13). "Zendesk's new nonprofit aims to do more than just customer service". Fortune. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  47. ↑ Swan, David (2015-11-09). "Victorian government partners with global start-up Zendesk". The Australian Business Review. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  48. ↑ Styles, Kirsty (2015-06-16). "#LDN TechWeek: Zendesk gives ￡150,000 to help youth employment in London". Tech City News. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  49. ↑ Newman, Judy (2015-05-28). "Zendesk delivers a philanthropic message by air mail". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  50. ↑ Homeless Mobile SF
  51. ↑ Here and Now
  52. ↑ SF Tackles Homelessness With Smartphones
  53. ↑ "Copenhelp: An App To Help Copenhagen's Homeless Population". Zendesk Neighbor Foundation. 2016-01-06. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  54. ↑ "Link-Dane Launch in Madison". Zendesk Neighbor Foundation. 2016-02-24. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
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