Zendesk Contact Center is powered by select AWS services, including Amazon Connect. As anAWS partner, Zendesk builds and supports the solution in close collaboration with AWS. This article describes the base and optional AWS services, support, and data handling practices.

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Explore AWS services in Contact Center, including Amazon Connect. Use base services like telephony, storage, and APIs, and optionally add features like in-app calling or outbound campaigns. For support, contact Zendesk Customer Support, who will handle escalations to AWS if needed. Data handling aligns with your AWS terms, ensuring privacy and compliance.

Zendesk Contact Center is powered by select AWS services, including Amazon Connect. As an AWS partner, Zendesk builds and supports the solution in close collaboration with AWS. This article describes the base and optional AWS services, support, and data handling practices.

This article contains the following topics:

  • Understanding the base AWS services in Contact Center
  • Accessing AWS services and resources
  • Adding AWS services
  • Requesting support
  • Data handling and privacy

Related articles:

  • Getting started with Zendesk Contact Center
  • Understanding Contact Center billing

Understanding the base AWS services in Contact Center

Contact Center runs on a curated set of AWS services. The service types are:

  • Software as a Service (SaaS): Ready‑to‑use AWS applications that Zendesk provisions and configures for Contact Center.
  • Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): AWS compute, storage, and networking that power the service.
  • Platform as a Service (PaaS): Managed AWS integration and orchestration services that move and transform data and connect SaaS, AWS, and on‑premises systems.
  • Telephony: Public telephone network (PSTN) connectivity for voice calls, with direct inward dial (DID) numbers and toll‑free (TFN) numbers for inbound and outbound calling.

The following table lists the AWS services that form the base on which Contact Center runs:

AWS service or feature Type Description
Amazon Connect SaaS Core cloud contact center platform for routing, flows, IVR, and agent experiences.
Telephony (DID/TFN) Telephony Phone numbers and per‑minute calling; number rental billed daily.
Amazon S3 IaaS Object storage for configurations, logs, and artifacts used by Contact Center.
AWS Lambda IaaS Serverless compute for orchestration and backend logic.
Amazon API Gateway IaaS Managed APIs used by Contact Center services and integrations.

Amazon CloudWatch

(including Logs)

SaaS Monitoring, metrics, and log ingestion and retention for Contact Center.
AWS CloudFormation SaaS Infrastructure‑as‑code to provision and manage Contact Center stacks.
Amazon DynamoDB IaaS Managed NoSQL database for Contact Center state and configuration.
AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) IaaS Access control and permissions for Contact Center resources.
AWS Key Management Service (KMS) IaaS Encryption key management for data at rest and in transit.
Amazon Kinesis (CTRs) IaaS Streams Contact Trace Records and real‑time events for processing.
Amazon Kinesis Data Streams IaaS Scalable real‑time data streams supporting CTR and event flows.
Amazon Kinesis Video Streams IaaS Secure video streaming for analytics, machine learning, and playback.
AWS Secrets Manager SaaS Secure storage and rotation for credentials, keys, and API secrets.

Tag Policies

(AWS Organizations)

IaaS Organization‑wide rules to standardize and enforce resource tagging.
AWS End User Messaging SaaS Targeted, outbound customer messaging (for example, SMS) used by Contact Center.
Customer Profiles SaaS Unified customer record in the agent workspace.
CloudWatch Dashboards and Alarms SaaS Custom dashboards and alarms for metrics and health.
AWS CloudTrail SaaS Audit logging of API activity across the environment.
Amazon Cognito SaaS Authentication, authorization, and user management.
Amazon EventBridge IaaS Event bus for integrations and event-driven extensions.

For more information about the core AWS service, see What is Amazon Connect?.

Accessing AWS services and resources

You access your AWS accounts provisioned for Contact Center through a Zendesk-federated user authenticated by Zendesk identity provider (IdP). Only users with the Zendesk Support admin role can access the AWS Console.

When you’re federated into AWS, you receive only the permissions granted by the Customer IAM role. This role is scoped to the resources available to you and is designed to protect Zendesk-managed Contact Center resources from modification.

You can create and manage supported AWS resources, such as Lambda functions, within your permitted scope.

For more information about how responsibilities are divided between Zendesk and customers, see The Zendesk Shared Responsibility Model.

Adding AWS services

To add optional AWS services to your instance, contact your Zendesk account representative.

Here are some of the add-on services that are available:

AWS service or feature Type Description
In-app calling SaaS Start voice or video calls from your app or website.
Video calling SaaS Embed face-to-face video interactions in web and mobile.
Outbound Campaigns SaaS Proactive voice, SMS, and email outreach with predictive or progressive dialing.
Screen Recording SaaS Capture agent desktop activity alongside audio for QA and coaching.
AWS Directory Service IaaS Managed Microsoft Active Directory (AD) or integration with on-premises AD.
Amazon SNS SaaS Publish and subscribe messaging for notifications and fan-out.

Requesting support

If you need help, contact Zendesk Customer Support. We’ll triage and resolve your request from start to finish and, when needed, escalate to AWS on your behalf. No separate AWS ticket is required because you’ll receive all updates in your Zendesk ticket.

Note: If you manage your own AWS instance instead of having the Zendesk Contact Center bundle with Amazon Connect, then you might need to contact AWS Support when you have an AWS issue.

Data handling and privacy

Zendesk processes interaction and operational data related to the applicable AWS services, and Zendesk may share necessary details with Amazon to operate the service or resolve issues. Any data that AWS processes in your AWS accounts, including data within your Amazon Connect instance, is handled in accordance with your terms with AWS.

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