Front is a cloud-based customer communication platform designed to help teams manage shared inboxes and collaborate on customer conversations at scale. It brings individual communication channels into a single, team-friendly workspace, allowing organisations to respond more efficiently while maintaining visibility and accountability.
The application addresses common problems associated with traditional shared email inboxes, such as lack of ownership, limited collaboration, and poor reporting. By combining familiar email-style interfaces with structured workflows, Front is intended to help teams handle high volumes of customer messages without losing context or control.
Front is used by support, operations, sales, and account management teams that rely heavily on ongoing customer communication. It is particularly suited to organisations that want to improve response times, internal coordination, and transparency without replacing their existing communication habits.
What is Front?
Front is a shared inbox and customer communication hub that allows multiple team members to manage incoming messages together. Instead of messages being locked inside individual inboxes, Front centralises conversations so they can be assigned, discussed internally, and resolved collaboratively.
The platform is positioned between traditional email clients and full customer support systems. It retains the simplicity of email while adding features such as assignment, internal comments, and workflow automation. This makes it suitable for teams that need structure and insight without adopting a complex ticketing environment.
Key Features and Capabilities
- Shared inboxes that allow teams to manage customer messages collaboratively
- Message assignment and ownership to clarify responsibility and reduce duplication
- Internal comments and mentions for private team discussions within conversations
- Automation rules for routing, tagging, and prioritising incoming messages
- Customer context panels showing relevant information alongside conversations
- Analytics and reporting on response times, workload, and team performance
- Templates and saved replies to support consistent and efficient responses
- Permissions and roles to control access and visibility across teams
How Front Is Typically Used
Front is commonly used by customer support teams that want to move away from unmanaged shared inboxes. Incoming enquiries are routed to a shared inbox, assigned to specific team members, and tracked until resolution, with managers able to see progress in real time.
Account management and customer success teams use Front to manage ongoing client communication. Conversations remain visible to the wider team, making it easier to provide cover, share context, and maintain continuity when team members are unavailable.
Operations and logistics teams often use Front to coordinate time-sensitive communication with customers or partners. Internal comments allow staff to discuss next steps privately while keeping the external conversation clear and consistent.
Sales and pre-sales teams may also use Front to manage inbound enquiries, ensuring messages are responded to promptly and handed off smoothly between team members as opportunities progress.
Who Front Is Best Suited For
Front is designed for small to mid-sized teams as well as larger organisations that handle a significant volume of customer communication. It is particularly relevant where multiple people need access to the same conversations.
The platform is well suited to:
- Customer support and service teams
- Account management and customer success teams
- Operations and logistics departments
- Sales teams managing inbound communication
- Organisations that rely heavily on email-based workflows
Front is used across a wide range of industries, including technology, professional services, e-commerce, and logistics, where timely and coordinated communication is critical.
Deployment, Access and Integrations
Front is delivered as a cloud-based SaaS application, with no on-premise deployment required. Users access the platform through a web interface, with dedicated desktop and mobile applications also available to support flexible working.
The application supports integration with a range of third-party tools commonly used by customer-facing teams. These integrations are designed to surface relevant customer and business data directly within Front, reducing the need to switch between systems.
Front also provides an API, allowing organisations to connect the platform with internal systems or build custom workflows where required.
Summary
Front provides a structured way for teams to manage shared customer communication without abandoning familiar email-based workflows. Its focus on collaboration, visibility, and accountability addresses common challenges associated with shared inboxes.
By combining shared access, internal discussion, automation, and reporting within a single cloud-based platform, Front supports teams that need to handle high volumes of communication in a coordinated and transparent way.
Example workflow
A Front conversation is triaged, tagged and routed automatically. No manual work.
Frequently asked questions
Is Front a helpdesk or ticketing system?
Front is not a traditional ticketing system. It focuses on shared inboxes and collaborative communication, offering more structure than standard email without the full complexity of a helpdesk.
Can multiple people work on the same conversation?
Yes, Front allows multiple team members to view, comment on, and collaborate within the same conversation while maintaining clear ownership.
Does Front replace individual email inboxes?
Front connects to existing inboxes and brings messages into shared team views. Users can continue working in an email-style interface while benefiting from shared workflows.
How does Front help improve response times?
Features such as assignment, automation rules, and visibility into team workload help ensure messages are handled promptly and do not go unanswered.
Is Front suitable for remote or distributed teams?
As a cloud-based platform with web and mobile access, Front supports teams working across different locations and time zones.
Can managers track team performance in Front?
Front includes reporting and analytics that provide insight into response times, volume, and workload across teams and inboxes.