---
title: "Understand basic entities of 8x8 Contact Center"
slug: "understand-basic-entities-of-8x8-contact-center"
updated: 2026-07-23T10:07:25Z
published: 2026-07-23T10:07:25Z
canonical: "help.8x8.com/understand-basic-entities-of-8x8-contact-center"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.8x8.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Understand basic entities of 8x8 Contact Center

The primary call-handling characteristics of your **8x8 Contact Center** are determined by four interaction processing and reporting entities. When a phone, chat, or email interaction enter **8x8 Contact Center**, appropriate channels receive them, direct them to the desired queues, and lastly to agents who are members of the queue. The following image shows an overview of **8x8 Contact Center** entities and relationships. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/e3a59e39-abd3-4423-964c-0a4008dc5673/Images/Documentation/8x8_overview_block_detail.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-03T22%3A40%3A31Z&se=2026-11-03T23%3A40%3A31Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=ChxYko9BLoIdOojVba2lEswZT1SyR3Xbqt2wgxVvc0g%3D)

The following table lists the entities in the order they process an incoming service request:

| Call handling or reporting entity | Description of inputs, operation, and outputs |
| --- | --- |
| Channels | - Receive new service requests (calls or interactions) from phone, email, or chat communications media. - Categorize each incoming service request. - Send incoming service requests to the appropriate queue. |
| Queues | - Receive service requests from one or more channels. - Prioritize each service request. - Send service requests to the agents assigned to the queues. |
| Agents | - Receive prioritized service requests from queues. - Service the incoming interaction. - Complete the interaction. |
| Groups | Specify organizational categories, such as Sales or Support, used to analyze and report upon the performance of the contact center's Channels, Queues, and Agents. |