English (US)
  1. Zendesk help
  2. Zendesk updates
  3. Announcements

Removal of Zendesk Connect

Aimee Spanier
  • Edited
Zendesk Documentation Team
Announced on Removal

October 30, 2020

October 31, 2021

Zendesk is removing Connect, its proactive messaging platform, effective October 31, 2021.

This article addresses the following questions:

Why did you decide to no longer offer Connect?

After careful evaluation, Zendesk has decided to invest more in other messaging capabilities to benefit our overall customer base.

Can I still use Connect?

If you are currently using Connect, you can continue to use the product for the next year, until we officially remove Connect in October 2021. You should not experience any change in functionality or support until then. We recommend you explore options available through our preferred partners to continue using proactive customer communications.

What are my options for continuing to use proactive messaging?

Zendesk has identified a number of preferred partners that offer products similar to Connect, including:

Use the links above to jump to more information about each partner.

The table below compares the features available in Connect and these preferred partners:

Note: Zendesk is not responsible for providing feature parity with alternative solutions, or for your experience or pricing with these solutions.
Table 1.
  Connect Klaviyo Iterable Customer.io Mailchimp
Messaging capabilities
App push No Yes Yes No No
Web push Yes No Yes No No
Device push Yes Yes Yes Yes No
SMS push See list here Twilio Twilio Twilio See list at mailchimp.com
Integrations
Segment integration Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Amplitude integration Yes No Yes No No
Zendesk integration Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Webhooks Yes No Yes Yes Yes
Content creation
Landing page No No Yes No Yes
Forms No Yes Yes No Yes
Email Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Visual flow builder No Yes Yes Yes Yes

Klaviyo

Klaviyo is a customer lifecycle management tool for targeting your customers based on what they have or haven't done. By pulling together your purchase, help desk, and mail data, Klaviyo gives you a complete view into your customers, and then lets you easily identify customers to target, schedule automated emails, and then measure the impact.

Iterable

Iterable is an integrated, cross-channel messaging platform—built for marketers, trusted by engineers, designed with intelligence.

Lifecycle Marketing Made Simple

  • Engage your customers at each touchpoint of their buying journey—from sign-up to check-out and beyond.
  • Drive user activation, nurture, and reactivation with relevant cross-channel messaging.

Robust Re-Engagement

  • Keep customers coming back for more by reactivating their interest to drive retention and loyalty.
  • Deploy cart abandonment campaigns to complete more checkouts, then trigger post-purchase or renewal sequences when the time is right.

Warmer Welcomes

  • Activate consumer attention and interest with stand-out content that makes an impactful first impression.
  • Get new customers acquainted with your products and services with personalized welcome, trial and onboarding campaigns.

Customer.io

Customer.io is a marketing platform for sending targeted and automated emails, push notifications, and SMS messages to engage and retain an audience.

Harnessing real-time behavioral data and advanced segmentation across web and mobile channels, Customer.io empowers marketers to send contextually-relevant communication that creates a great customer experience leading to retention and conversion.

Mailchimp

More than 4 million people use Mailchimp to create, send, and track email newsletters. Create signup forms that match your brand’s look and feel, and send your subscribers product updates, event invitations, announcements, or editorial content. Use our reports to improve your campaigns and learn more about your subscribers. Best of all? Mailchimp is free for lists of up to 2,000 subscribers.

What happens to my data?

To provide a smooth offboarding experience, we will provide an export of your user data, formatted as a CSV or JSON file, to take to your next provider.

This section addresses the following questions:

How do I get my data?

To download your Connect user data, contact us at zendeskconnect@zendesk.com and we’ll begin sending data to customers in January 2021.

What data will you send me?

User data includes the following user attributes:

  • user_id: Unique user ID
  • first_name: User's first name
  • last_name: User's last name
  • email: User's email
  • apns: Apple Push Notification service device tokens
  • gcm: Google Cloud Messaging device tokens and/or Firebase Cloud messaging tokens
  • phone_number: User's phone number with country code
  • timezone: Valid tz database name.
  • attributes: Custom user attributes, such as 'username', 'date of birth', or 'address'
  • previous_id: Previously-assigned ID

User data does not include the following:

  • Any events the user has done
  • Any campaigns or messages the user has received
  • Any API calls received for the user
  • Any data in Connect that is not user specific (eg. campaign data)

How is user data transferred?

For data privacy purposes, Zendesk must transfer data directly to customers. We will not transfer data directly to your new provider.

There are two ways you can receive your data:

  • Transfer to a secure file location (recommended)
  • Transfer via email

To receive your data:

  • You must make an explicit request for the data by contacting zendeskconnect@zendesk.com starting in January 2021.
  • If you choose to transfer user data via email, the data must be password protected.

Can I export data myself?

No, you cannot export data yourself from within the product.

Return to top
Have more questions? Submit a request

0 Comments

Please sign in to leave a comment.

Related articles

Powered by Zendesk