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Real-time messaging platform “BBB now” gives businesses a simple, direct way to engage with customers on mobile

Santa Clara, Calif. – March 29, 2017 — Zang, an Avaya company, today announced its robust development technology Zang Cloud was used to create BBB now, a new messaging platform that will soon be available to businesses nationwide. Just launched by the Better Business Bureau of Los Angeles & Silicon Valley, BBB now allows consumers and businesses to quickly and easily communicate with each other via private text messages.

By the end of 2020, smartphones will be in the pockets of 91 percent of global consumers. And with today’s connected consumers expecting real-time responses to their requests, questions and complaints, BBB now gives businesses a simple and direct way to engage with their customers in the mobile world. Developed by Owner Listens Inc., a messaging company and Zang Cloud partner, BBB nowenables consumers to use an app (iOS or Android), Facebook Messenger or SMS texting to communicate with participating businesses. 

“Messaging is rapidly becoming the preferred way to communicate, and businesses are adapting to this trend by adding texting and IM options for their customers,” explains Adi Bittan, cofounder and CEO of Owner Listens Inc. “The Zang Cloud platform was a natural choice for us because it enabled all the critical messaging capabilities we needed, such as text enabling landlines and MMS support.”

With the Better Business Bureau planning to roll out the BBB now platform to chapters nationwide, with the San Francisco Bay Area, Fresno and Hawaii all on tap for April, Bittan said scalability was a key factor in choosing Zang, as the platform allows the company to “scale up reliably and quickly.”

Zang Cloud Messaging ensures that every customer text message is routed to the right place, and even allows businesses to text landlines. Participating businesses will receive a complete toolset to manage incoming messages from their email, a web dashboard, their existing helpdesk software, or their own mobile phone, allowing them to quickly address customer questions and feedback.

“We live in a digital world, and BBB now brings people together with greater speed and efficiency which improves marketplace trust,” says Steve McFarland, President & CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Los Angeles & Silicon Valley. “Thanks to the Zang Cloud platform, consumers can now text their favorite businesses in near-real time, helping them resolve issues, ask about products and services, or even make a reservation.”

“We’re excited to see our intuitive development platform used in a fantastic project that will transform the way businesses communicate with their customers,” said Davide Patramala, Executive Vice President, Zang. “This is another excellent example of how Zang’s dramatically simple tools and APIs are enabling developers and designers to embed communications right into mobile- and cloud-based applications.”

Zang Cloud provides a robust development platform and APIs that allow businesses to communication-enable any application, workflow or business process. Unlike other solutions today that offer rudimentary APIs that require complex coding skills, Zang Cloud offers developers and non-developers easy to use and sophisticated application development capabilities.

About BBB
BBB of Los Angeles & Silicon Valley serves the counties of Los Angeles, Monterey, San Benito, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz. For more than 100 years, Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands and charities they can trust. In 2016, people turned to BBB more than 172 million times for BBB Business Reviews on more than 5.3 million businesses, posted 350,181 customer reviews, maintained over 6.6 million business records, served over 400,000 accredited businesses, and processed over 70,000 complaints a month. All BBB services are available for free at bbb.org.

About Owner Listens Inc.
Owner Listens Inc. has been a leader in messaging between businesses and customers since its founding in 2011. It provides fast, safe, and scalable solutions built for the mobile era of customer communications. From humble beginnings in a small Palo Alto restaurant, OwnerListens has gone on to serve over 13,500 businesses including Bay Area favorite San Francisco 49ers. SMBs can learn more at ownerlistens.com, enterprises at impower.solutions.

About Zang, Inc.
Zang, an Avaya company, provides digitally-native communications solutions for organizations  and individuals. Zang solutions are the culmination of decades of communication innovation on a pure cloud platform and include Zang Cloud, a communications development platform and API used to embed voice and messaging capabilities into applications; Zang Office, a cloud phone system for businesses; and Zang Spaces, a meeting and team collaboration-as-a-service application.

Source: http://www.avaya.com/en/about-avaya/newsroom/news-releases/2017/pr-us-170329/