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AI hype is colliding with operational reality. A shoe company gains $127M in value by saying “AI,” while contact center leaders are told their entire model is obsolete. The shift from CCaaS to “Customer Experience Automation” reframes everything: not just support, but marketing, sales, and service collapsing into one AI-driven layer.The problem: the foundation is broken. Knowledge is fragmented. Customer data is duplicated. Organizations are misaligned.This episode dissects the gap between what the industry is promising and what companies can actually execute—and why customer service leaders are about to become the last line of defense when it fails.Key Quotes“Customer experience automation just means AI is now the one doing the talking.”“Your human agents can't find the right answers today—but now the AI is supposed to?”“This isn't a technology problem. It's an organizational problem.”“If this fails, customer service cleans it up. Again.”“The train is moving. You either help steer it or get run over by it.”Practical TakeawaysStop debating AI capability. Start fixing knowledge.Treat data quality as a blocking issue, not a backlog item.Force alignment between marketing, sales, and service before automation.Assume AI will act autonomously—and design safeguards accordingly.Position customer service as the control layer, not the endpoint.
On this episode, we explore AI orchestration in contact centers — and what CX leaders need to know to move from digitized chaos to operational clarity.Most brands have implemented AI in their customer experience operations to some degree. But when systems are siloed, data is fragmented and workflows are disconnected, AI can magnify problems instead of solving them.AI orchestration in the contact center changes that by connecting your data, systems and workflows so AI can make real decisions across every channel. This can increase resolution rates, improve agent experience and drive measurable business impact.Nuri Gocay, director of contact center platform architecture at Zendesk, and Abby Spahich, global vice president for digital CX solutions at TELUS Digital, map the path from operational fragmentation to orchestrated clarity, making the case that true AI orchestration is ultimately about delivering better customer experiences, not just better efficiency metrics. Their perspectives cover readiness, organizational barriers and the first steps toward a truly orchestrated CX operation. Show notesJoin us at Zendesk Relate 2026 in Denver, Colorado, May 18–20, 2026. TELUS Digital is a platinum sponsor — be sure to stop by our booth to connect with our team in person.Read Abby Spahich's latest article, The modern CCaaS strategy: Five steps for turning efficiency into growth. Connect with Abby Spahich on LinkedIn.Connect with Nuri Gocay on LinkedIn.
Join UC Today host Kieran Devlin as he sits down with William Rubio, Chief Revenue Officer at CallTower, and Elka Popova, Vice President and Senior Fellow at Frost & Sullivan. As AI features rapidly light up across communications platforms, internal IT governance models are struggling to keep pace. This insightful session dives into the hidden vulnerabilities of "shadow AI" and the messy reality of multi-vendor environments. If you're looking for a practical approach to standardizing policy, monitoring data usage, and holding vendors accountable without suffocating innovation, this conversation is essential viewing.The rush to implement AI in Unified Communications (UC) and Contact Center (CCaaS) platforms is outpacing IT's ability to safely secure it. When different teams own different parts of a fragmented tech stack, compliance risks multiply, and traditional governance breaks down. William and Elka break down the real-world friction of enterprise AI adoption and share practical strategies for maintaining control.Key takeaways from our discussion include:The Threat of Shadow AI: How personal use of unauthorized AI tools and a lack of specialized AI skillsets within IT departments are exposing organizations to hidden data vulnerabilities.Navigating Multi-Vendor Sprawl: Why a "one size fits all" approach fails, and how to maintain unified, proactive governance across complex hybrid environments featuring platforms like Microsoft, Cisco, and Genesys.Building a Culture of Compliance: Moving beyond the annual "check-the-box" mentality to create dynamic, ongoing security protocols that secure buy-in from business leaders across the organization.Vetting Your Vendors: The critical questions IT and CX buyers must ask during procurement regarding technology roadmaps, industry-specific expertise, and global data sovereignty.
AudioCodes at Channel Partners: From Voice Infrastructure to Cloud Integration Platform, Podcast By Doug Green “We're not focused on one platform—we're focused on integration and flexibility across all of them.” At the Channel Partners Conference in Las Vegas, I caught up with Paul Hunsucker and Mitch Hirschkowitz of AudioCodes to talk about how the company has evolved—and where the opportunity lies for channel partners today. AudioCodes is one of those companies that nearly everyone in telecom recognizes, but its identity has shifted significantly over time. What began more than 30 years ago in the early days of VoIP—building media gateways, session border controllers (SBCs), and voice infrastructure—has now evolved into something much broader. Today, AudioCodes positions itself as a SaaS platform company focused on managing and integrating UCaaS and CCaaS environments. Rather than competing as a single-platform provider, the company is leaning into a multi-platform strategy—certified across ecosystems like Microsoft, Cisco, and Zoom—giving customers and partners flexibility in how they build and manage communications environments. That shift reflects a larger industry trend. Enterprises are no longer standardizing on a single vendor. Instead, they are assembling communications stacks that span multiple platforms, carriers, and applications. The challenge—and opportunity—for partners is making those environments work seamlessly. AudioCodes is targeting that exact problem. The company's platform approach allows partners to deliver integrated solutions while still giving customers the freedom to choose their preferred UCaaS or CCaaS provider. It also enables enterprises to retain elements of control they previously had in on-prem environments—such as managing SBCs or bringing their own carrier—while benefiting from the scalability of the cloud. For MSPs and channel partners, this creates a clear path forward. Rather than selling a single solution, the opportunity is to become the integrator—the trusted advisor who can stitch together platforms, ensure interoperability, and deliver a consistent user experience. Visit www.audiocodes.com
By Doug Green “Tax compliance isn't just a regulatory issue—it's becoming a critical part of how service providers scale globally.” On the opening day of Channel Partners Conference & Expo in Las Vegas, I caught up with Spencer Lee of Telin to discuss an often-overlooked issue in unified communications: tax compliance. Lee, my first guest of the show, framed the conversation around a growing challenge for service providers and channel partners operating across borders. As UCaaS, CCaaS, and CPaaS offerings expand globally, tax exposure—particularly indirect taxes tied to communications services—is becoming more complex and harder to ignore. Telin positions itself as a channel-first provider, delivering the underlying infrastructure partners need to go to market. That includes SIP trunking, hosting, hardware, and integration support—essentially a bundled backend designed to simplify deployment for partners in the unified communications space. But increasingly, that backend must also account for compliance. As Lee explained, providers entering new markets often underestimate the tax implications tied to telecom services. These aren't traditional corporate taxes—they're jurisdiction-specific telecom taxes, regulatory fees, and compliance requirements that vary widely by country and even region. For channel partners, this creates both risk and opportunity. On one hand, failure to properly account for telecom taxes can lead to penalties, billing complications, and margin erosion. On the other, partners who align with infrastructure providers that manage these complexities can accelerate global expansion without taking on that burden directly. Telin's approach is to abstract much of that complexity away from the partner. By handling infrastructure, interconnection, and compliance considerations within its platform, the company enables partners to focus on customer relationships and service delivery. The conversation highlights a broader trend emerging across the channel: as communications becomes more global and software-driven, operational details like tax compliance are moving from back-office concerns to strategic differentiators. For partners attending Channel Partners this week, it's a reminder that winning in UCaaS isn't just about features—it's about everything behind the scenes that makes those services viable at scale.
By Doug Green “We saw where the market was going—and we made a deliberate decision to align with Microsoft Teams and deliver voice and contact center as a seamless outcome.” In this Cloud Communications Alliance podcast, I spoke with Dean Manzoori, CEO of UniVoIP, about the company's focused strategy around Microsoft Teams and a pair of announcements timed with the Channel Partners Conference & Expo. UniVoIP has positioned itself as a cloud communications provider built specifically for Microsoft Teams, with a voice-optimized platform designed to deliver Teams Phone System to enterprises without friction. That focus, Manzoori explained, was a strategic pivot made several years ago when it became clear that Microsoft would emerge as a dominant force in UCaaS. Rather than competing with Teams, UniVoIP chose to build around it. The result is a tightly integrated approach where voice is delivered as a native extension of Microsoft Teams, supported by the expertise and infrastructure needed to ensure performance, reliability, and enterprise-grade outcomes. At Channel Partners, UniVoIP is expanding that vision with two key developments. First, the company is advancing its contact center capabilities for Teams through a solution built on the Microsoft Unify framework, incorporating Heedify technology. This enables organizations to extend Teams into a more robust customer engagement platform, aligning UCaaS and CCaaS within a single user experience. Second, UniVoIP has announced a strategic partnership with Bridgepointe Technologies, creating new channel opportunities to bring this integrated Teams-based communications and contact center solution to a broader market. For partners, the opportunity is clear: enterprises standardizing on Microsoft Teams are looking for solutions that go beyond basic calling. They need integrated voice, contact center, and managed services that work seamlessly within the Teams environment. UniVoIP is aiming to meet that demand with a purpose-built platform and a channel-first go-to-market strategy. As Manzoori emphasized, success in this space is not just about technology—it's about delivering outcomes. By focusing exclusively on Teams and building a comprehensive ecosystem around it, UniVoIP is positioning partners to capture more value from the growing base of Teams-centric customers. Learn more at: https://www.univoip.com/
“Call transcription is dead. The conversation is the product.” For MSPs and channel partners, Abramson sees a meaningful opportunity—but not in simply reselling AI features. Instead, the role is becoming more strategic. Partners can help customers integrate conversational data across systems, implement governance frameworks, and ensure compliance in an increasingly complex regulatory environment @Doug Green The voice AI and transcription market is undergoing a fundamental shift—one that goes far beyond improving accuracy or lowering costs. In a recent Technology Reseller News podcast, I spoke with Andy Abramson about how platforms like Zoom and Slack are redefining the role of conversational data in the enterprise. At the center of this shift is a simple but powerful idea: transcription is no longer the end goal. It is becoming an embedded, expected feature—automated, commoditized, and increasingly invisible. The real value is moving upstream, toward what organizations can actually do with the data generated from conversations. “We've gone from ‘can we transcribe?' to ‘what can we do with it?'” That evolution signals the emergence of a new platform layer built around conversational intelligence. Rather than treating calls and meetings as ephemeral events, enterprises are beginning to view them as structured, persistent data assets—fuel for analytics, automation, compliance, and AI-driven decision-making. This has significant implications for the competitive landscape. Standalone transcription vendors, once differentiated by accuracy and pricing, now face pressure as transcription becomes native to broader platforms. At the same time, elements of the UCaaS and CCaaS stack may also be impacted, as value shifts away from transport and toward intelligence. A critical question emerging from this transition is ownership. As platforms embed AI more deeply, enterprises must consider who controls their conversational data—and how it can be accessed, governed, and leveraged. While some organizations may gain efficiency and insight, others risk becoming dependent on platform-defined workflows and data models. For MSPs and channel partners, Abramson sees a meaningful opportunity—but not in simply reselling AI features. Instead, the role is becoming more strategic. Partners can help customers integrate conversational data across systems, implement governance frameworks, and ensure compliance in an increasingly complex regulatory environment. In that sense, conversational data is becoming a new category of enterprise asset—one that requires oversight, architecture, and policy. The shift aligns closely with broader industry conversations around AI governance, auditability, and trust. Looking ahead, the next 12 to 24 months will be critical. The market could consolidate around a handful of dominant platforms, or it could evolve into a broader ecosystem where conversational intelligence is exposed through APIs and integrated across multiple environments. What is clear, however, is that the conversation itself is no longer just a byproduct of communication. It is the product. #VoiceAI #Transcription #ConversationalAI #UCaaS #CCaaS #ChannelPartners #MSP #AI #TechnologyResellerNews
Some Timeless Advice From CharlesYou need learn how to operate at the speed of the market, not your speed or the speed of the company.In your 20s and 30s you LEARNIn the 40s-60's you EARN60-100 you RETURNThis CEO Is Using AI Agents The World Communicate Better. Meet Charles Salameh, CEO, Sangoma TechnologiesGuestCharles Salameh, CEO, Sangoma TechnologiesTicker$SANG:Nasdaq $STC:TSX (Toronto Stock Exchange)BioCharles Salameh is a seasoned technology executive with more than three decades of international expertise, with a storied career spanning the Information Technology and Network industries. His notable contributions include pivotal roles in the global evolution of Infosys' Strategic go-to-market programs, SVP of Hewlett Packard Services Americas business, and occupying various high-ranking positions at DXC, Nortel Networks, and Bell Canada. Equipped with an MBA from the University of Toronto and a civil engineering degree, Charles combines robust academic foundations with his broad career experiences. Beyond his professional and academic accolades, he dedicates himself to advising the industry and passionately advocates for the advancement of technology.CompanySangoma Technologies, Tickers - SANG:Nasdaq, STC:TSX (Toronto Stock Exchange)Website https://sangoma.com/BioSangoma (TSX: STC; Nasdaq: SANG) is a leading business communications platform provider with solutions that include its award-winning UCaaS, CCaaS, CPaaS, and Trunking technologies. The enterprise-grade communications suite is developed in-house; available for cloud, hybrid, or on-premises setups. Additionally, Sangoma provides managed services for connectivity, network, and security. A trusted communications partner with over 40 years on the market, Sangoma has over 2.7 million UC seats across a diversified base of over 100,000 customers. Sangoma has been recognized for nine years running in the Gartner UCaaS Magic Quadrant. As the primary developer and sponsor of the open source Asterisk and FreePBX projects, Sangoma is determined to drive innovation in communication technology continuously. For more information, visit www.sangoma.com
Patrick Wilson of Cavell joined Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, for a Cloud Communications Alliance (CCA) podcast discussing the evolving cloud communications landscape, key market shifts, and the growing impact of AI across UCaaS and CCaaS. Wilson outlined how the industry is entering a new phase of maturity, where growth is no longer driven solely by seat expansion, but by value-added services, integration, and differentiation. As competition intensifies, providers are increasingly focused on delivering more complete solutions that combine communications, customer experience, and business applications. A central theme of the discussion was the rapid rise of AI-driven capabilities, particularly in the contact center. Wilson noted that AI is moving beyond experimentation into real deployment, where it is beginning to deliver measurable outcomes—improving efficiency, enhancing customer interactions, and enabling new service models. At the same time, he emphasized that successful adoption depends on integration with existing workflows and data environments. “We're seeing a shift from selling seats to delivering outcomes,” Wilson said. “AI and integration are becoming the key drivers of value in this next phase of the market.” Wilson also highlighted the continued convergence of UCaaS, CCaaS, and CRM platforms, pointing to moves by major vendors to expand into adjacent categories. This convergence is creating both opportunity and pressure for service providers, who must decide whether to specialize, partner, or broaden their own portfolios. For partners and service providers, the message is clear: success will depend on adaptability, vertical expertise, and the ability to align technology with real business outcomes. Those that can combine communications with intelligence and workflow integration will be best positioned to compete. As a member of the Cloud Communications Alliance, Cavell continues to provide market intelligence and strategic insight to help providers navigate this period of transformation. Learn more: https://www.cavell.com/
AudioCodes Expands Beyond Session Border Controllers with AI-Driven Communications, Microsoft Teams Contact Center, and Intelligent Conversation Insights for the Enterprise Channel, Podcast “AudioCodes is ever-evolving,” says Sharone Ben-Levi, Vice President of Business Development at AudioCodes. “Many people know us from Session Border Controllers, but today we're delivering a much broader portfolio of solutions.” In a recent Technology Reseller News podcast interview conducted by Moshe Beauford, Ben-Levi discussed how AudioCodes has evolved from its long-standing leadership in enterprise Session Border Controllers (SBCs) to become a broader communications solutions provider serving the UCaaS, CCaaS, and collaboration markets. For years, AudioCodes has played a foundational role in enterprise voice infrastructure, connecting carriers to platforms such as Microsoft Teams, UCaaS, and contact center environments. According to Ben-Levi, the company remains a market leader in SBCs, but the company's focus has expanded significantly. Today, AudioCodes delivers a wide range of enterprise solutions including a full contact center platform for Microsoft Teams, meeting recording and analytics tools, and collaboration insights that extract actionable intelligence from business conversations. A key theme in the discussion was the increasing role of artificial intelligence across enterprise communications. Ben-Levi emphasized that AI is no longer just a buzzword but a practical capability being embedded across collaboration and contact center environments. AudioCodes' solutions now incorporate AI-driven capabilities such as meeting analysis, automated insights, and advanced content extraction from conversations. These capabilities help organizations better understand interactions, improve customer experience, and generate value from the growing volume of enterprise communications data. Ben-Levi also highlighted the importance of the partner ecosystem. For resellers, systems integrators (SIs), and global systems integrators (GSIs), the expanding AudioCodes portfolio presents new opportunities to deliver AI-enabled communications solutions that integrate voice infrastructure, collaboration platforms, and contact center technology. As enterprise communications continue to evolve toward AI-enhanced platforms, AudioCodes is positioning itself not just as a voice infrastructure provider, but as a strategic partner delivering intelligent communications solutions across the enterprise.
Send a textSee our faces! Watch this episode on YouTube.In this episode of the Cloud Conversations Podcast, host Tom Wright is joined by Patrick Watson to unpack the key insights from Cavell Summit Asia‑Pacific, recently held in Sydney. Bringing together service providers, vendors and industry leaders from across the region, the Summit explored how APAC markets are evolving across UCaaS, CCaaS, AI, customer experience and partner models.Patrick shares his perspective on the overarching themes from the event, highlighting how APAC providers are thinking differently from their European and North American counterparts. The discussion looks at where AI is moving beyond hype into practical deployment, what Cavell's latest research reveals about enterprise priorities in Australia and New Zealand, and how market dynamics differ across Southeast Asia.The episode also draws on Cavell's ongoing APAC research, offering listeners a data‑led view of market maturity, buyer behaviour and growth opportunities across the region. Patrick explains how providers can use Cavell's insights to shape strategy, refine go‑to‑market approaches and prioritise investment as cloud communications demand continues to evolve across Asia‑Pacific.Next up: Cavell Summit Europe on 25th March! Want to come along? Click here.
Join Kieran Devlin from UC Today as he sits down with William Rubio, Chief Revenue Officer at CallTower, for a comprehensive "Big UC Update." If you are navigating the complex world of Unified Communications or trying to figure out where AI actually fits into your business strategy, this conversation sets the stage for what's working in 2026.In this candid session, Kieran and William explore the "colossal" year CallTower has had and what lies ahead. They move beyond the standard corporate pitch to discuss the "CallTower Dedicated" culture and the specific technologies that are solving real-world headaches for international businesses today.William breaks down CallTower's philosophy of "enabling people to connect," highlighting their agnostic approach to the big three - Microsoft, Cisco, and Zoom. The discussion gets specific on new innovations that are changing how employees communicate, shifting from general connectivity to seamless mobile integration. Key discussion points include:The "Dot Dot Dot" Ecosystem: How CallTower integrates over 30 applications - including CCaaS leaders like Genesys and Five9 - to create a turnkey solution that works identically in Germany, Brazil, or Canada.Product Innovation: A look at their game-changing WhatsApp integration for Microsoft Teams and the Dual eSIM technology that allows seamless, compliant separation of business and personal calls on a single mobile device.The AI Reality Check: William discusses the pressure boards are putting on CIOs to "implement AI," and how CallTower is helping clients take a practical, "build the house before the city" approach to avoid failed, massive projects.Market Outlook: Predictions on the inevitable consolidation of AI startups and the critical need for vendors to fill the education void for end-users.Connect with CallTower:Visit CallTower's website to learn more about their global coverage and "Connect" provisioning platform.
Send a textEverything I've learned about AI QA after 2 years of building OttoQA and being one of the first companies to fully automate contact center quality assurance with AI.I'm breaking down the biggest lessons, the biggest mistakes I see people making, and what actually works when you're implementing AI powered QA in a contact center.I cover why you should never reinvent your scorecard on day one, what "false hustle" questions are and why they're killing your QA program, why most AI QA companies won't publish their accuracy rate, how statistical sampling means you don't need to score 100% of calls, why human QA evaluators disagree 30 to 40% of the time and how AI fixes that, how aggregate data turns QA from a scoring exercise into a real coaching tool, and the REDO feature we built at OttoQA that lets agents practice failed calls with an AI customer.30 years of contact center operations. 2 years of building an AI QA platform. This is what I know. Through Expivia Digital, Tom works with contact center leaders on CCaaS platform selection, AI implementations, and NICE Studio and integration services. Same honest, vendor-neutral advice you hear on the Call Center Geek podcast, applied directly to your specific operational challenges. Schedule a consultation at ExpiviaDigital.com to discuss your contact center technology strategy. Click here:expiviadigital.comFollow Tom: @tlaird_expiviaJoin our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeekConnect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@callcenter_geekLinkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel OttoQA: try.ottoqa.com Expivia: Expiviausa.com
Today's episode of the Punk CX podcast features three interviews I recorded whilst at Medallia's Experience event in Las Vegas on the 10th, 11th and 12th February. The interviews are with Sid Banerjee, Chief Strategy Officer at Medallia, Mike Murchison, co-founder and CEO of Ada, and Paloma Paraja, Customer Experience Manager at Santalucia Seguros. We cover the big themes of the conference, the latest developments at Medallia, agentic CX, building an ACX team, the importance of context in empathy and what it takes to deliver an award-winning customer experience. This interview follows on from my recent interview – The dangers of a CCaaS monoculture – Interview with Paul Hughes of Mitel – and is number 574 in the series of interviews with authors and business leaders who are doing great things, providing valuable insights, helping businesses innovate and delivering great service and experience to both their customers and their employees.
Today's episode of the Punk CX podcast features Paul Hughes, who is Head of Direct Sales for the UKISA region at Mitel, where he helps organisations use technology to deliver human experiences built on trust, empathy, loyalty, and logic. Paul joins me today to talk about why hybrid is the new default and not a compromise, the dangers of a CCaaS monoculture, the problem with AI sameness and why most bots feel identical, linking UC/CX investment to business outcomes like revenue, resilience, and wellbeing as well as Paul's best advice, his Punk CX brand and his very own good news story. This interview follows on from my recent interview – Loyalty is the core economic engine – Interview with Sara Richter and Fred Reichheld – and is number 573 in the series of interviews with authors and business leaders who are doing great things, providing valuable insights, helping businesses innovate and delivering great service and experience to both their customers and their employees.
Brian Gregory of Intermedia joined Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, for a Cloud Communications Alliance (CCA) podcast discussing how Intermedia has quickly become a preferred platform for service providers seeking modern, cloud-based communications. Intermedia operates as a channel-first UCaaS and CCaaS provider, with more than 90 percent of its business delivered through partners. Gregory explained that the company formally launched its service provider program just two years ago, responding to market shifts as traditional feature-server platforms slowed and demand increased for more agile, cloud-native solutions. In that short time, Intermedia has signed roughly 30 percent of U.S. tier-two service providers, those with approximately $50 million to $2 billion in annual revenue—an adoption rate Gregory says reflects both timing and platform flexibility. “The market was ready for a more nimble, cloud-based provider,” Gregory said. “As a cloud platform, we can respond very quickly to changes—whether that's AI, Teams integration, or new go-to-market requirements—and our service providers can immediately take those capabilities to their customers.” Looking ahead to 2026, Intermedia's priorities include practical AI adoption with measurable ROI, deeper vertical-market integrations, and continued expansion of its Microsoft Teams strategy. Rather than replacing Teams, Intermedia enhances it by embedding enterprise-grade telephony and a fully integrated contact center—enabling partners to deliver higher-value services beyond low-margin trunking. Gregory also highlighted Intermedia's new migration program, designed to help service providers move legacy hosted PBX customers onto a single, modern platform using automated tools, overlay resources, and financial incentives. As cloud communications continue to evolve, Intermedia is positioning itself as a growth engine for service providers navigating AI-driven, Teams-centric customer environments. Learn more: www.intermedia.com
Tresic emerged from stealth with breaking news: the launch of Tresic Intelligence Cloud, a new add-on platform designed for CSPs and channel partners to layer AI-driven insights, automation, and coaching on top of existing UCaaS and CCaaS services. In a conversation with Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, Robert Galop and Kevin Nethercott said the timing is deliberate—service providers have spent two decades building the UCaaS/CCaaS/CPaaS foundation, and now have the opportunity to monetize intelligence on top of it. The core idea is to unlock the “dark data” inside everyday business conversations—calls, meetings, video, email, and more—then convert it into actionable outcomes like follow-ups, alerts, and performance improvement. “If I'm a business owner, the holy grail for me is if I knew what all of my customers were thinking and saying about me,” Nethercott said, framing how conversation intelligence can improve products, service, pricing, and strategy when delivered in a secure, privacy-respecting way. Tresic positions the Intelligence Cloud around three common business gaps: limited visibility into churn and compliance risk, missed commitments that never make it into systems of record, and the need to coach and improve frontline performance in sales and support. The company says it has packaged these capabilities as ready-to-deploy “co-pilots” that can be enabled quickly—avoiding the long, complex deployments that often slow AI projects. Galop emphasized the approach is meant to assist workers, not replace them, noting the platform is designed to fit into existing workflows with minimal training. For the channel, Tresic's pitch is also economic: by bundling add-on packages per location and per user, providers can move from selling “just seats” to selling higher-value intelligence services—often approaching 2x (and potentially more) revenue per customer relationship. Tresic also highlighted partner readiness, citing integration work—including a partnership mentioned with NetSapiens Crescendo—as part of its effort to make onboarding and activation simple for service providers and their customers. Learn more at tresic.cloud.
2025 predictions — graded AI-powered knowledge Bob's 2025 prediction: AI would dramatically improve knowledge in contact centers. Result: Early but mostly wrong. The technology moved, but the data did not. Knowledge bases were too fragmented, too dirty, and too poorly governed for AI to meaningfully improve frontline work. The industry instead spent another year chasing bots, automation, and surface-level "AI assistants." Grade: C+ The failure was not AI. It was the state of enterprise knowledge. Remote work reversal Bob's 2025 prediction: Work-from-home would shrink and revert toward pre-COVID norms. Result: Correct. Remote and hybrid work has fallen to within five percentage points of pre-COVID levels. Companies quietly reversed course not because it helped customers or employees, but because leadership never learned how to manage distributed teams. Hybrid was the worst of both worlds: frontline leaders juggling physical rooms, video calls, and dashboards without the training or structure to do any of it well. Grade: A Why remote work collapsed The reversal was not ideological. It was operational. Executives defaulted back to what felt controllable: physical presence. Organizations refused to do the hard work of re-engineering leadership, coaching, quality management, and accountability for a distributed workforce. They solved a people problem with proximity. Amas' prediction for 2026 Voice comes back. Digital channels absorbed most of the AI hype: chat, bots, messaging, and self-service. But customers never stopped calling. Voice is where frustration spikes, where trust is tested, and where automation breaks down. Amas' call: 2026 will be the year voice reasserts itself as the center of the customer relationship — and the CCaaS market will look radically different by 2027 because of it. Bob's prediction for 2026 Data becomes the bottleneck. AI will only become useful where it has access to clean, structured, reliable data. The industry rushed into AI before fixing the foundations: knowledge, case data, call logs, customer history, and operational context. 2026 will be the year contact centers slow down, audit their data, and rebuild the plumbing that AI actually runs on. No data. No intelligence. What the industry is claiming Analysts and vendors are promising three things for 2026: • Predictive and proactive service • Agent empowerment through AI • Fewer humans in contact centers Bob and Amas reject the third and remain skeptical of the first two without structural change. The hype assumes AI will replace labor. Reality says AI will expose how broken the systems around labor really are. Amas' 2026 wish Stop calling software "agents." For twenty years, "agent" meant a human being doing emotional, cognitive, and relational labor. Rebranding bots as agents erases the workforce and confuses accountability. Language shapes power. That battle matters. Bob's 2026 wish Focus on the employee. AI should not be used to replace people. It should be used to remove friction from their work: searching, documenting, switching systems, hunting for answers. Knowledge was always the real use case. The industry just skipped the hard part. Core takeaway 2025 proved that AI without data, governance, and human-centered design does not transform anything. It only adds noise. 2026 will reward the companies that stop chasing demos and start rebuilding the foundations: voice, knowledge, data, and frontline enablement. That is where the real disruption will come from.
2025 predictions — graded AI-powered knowledge Bob's 2025 prediction: AI would dramatically improve knowledge in contact centers. Result: Early but mostly wrong. The technology moved, but the data did not. Knowledge bases were too fragmented, too dirty, and too poorly governed for AI to meaningfully improve frontline work. The industry instead spent another year chasing bots, automation, and surface-level "AI assistants." Grade: C+ The failure was not AI. It was the state of enterprise knowledge. Remote work reversal Bob's 2025 prediction: Work-from-home would shrink and revert toward pre-COVID norms. Result: Correct. Remote and hybrid work has fallen to within five percentage points of pre-COVID levels. Companies quietly reversed course not because it helped customers or employees, but because leadership never learned how to manage distributed teams. Hybrid was the worst of both worlds: frontline leaders juggling physical rooms, video calls, and dashboards without the training or structure to do any of it well. Grade: A Why remote work collapsed The reversal was not ideological. It was operational. Executives defaulted back to what felt controllable: physical presence. Organizations refused to do the hard work of re-engineering leadership, coaching, quality management, and accountability for a distributed workforce. They solved a people problem with proximity. Amas' prediction for 2026 Voice comes back. Digital channels absorbed most of the AI hype: chat, bots, messaging, and self-service. But customers never stopped calling. Voice is where frustration spikes, where trust is tested, and where automation breaks down. Amas' call: 2026 will be the year voice reasserts itself as the center of the customer relationship — and the CCaaS market will look radically different by 2027 because of it. Bob's prediction for 2026 Data becomes the bottleneck. AI will only become useful where it has access to clean, structured, reliable data. The industry rushed into AI before fixing the foundations: knowledge, case data, call logs, customer history, and operational context. 2026 will be the year contact centers slow down, audit their data, and rebuild the plumbing that AI actually runs on. No data. No intelligence. What the industry is claiming Analysts and vendors are promising three things for 2026: • Predictive and proactive service • Agent empowerment through AI • Fewer humans in contact centers Bob and Amas reject the third and remain skeptical of the first two without structural change. The hype assumes AI will replace labor. Reality says AI will expose how broken the systems around labor really are. Amas' 2026 wish Stop calling software "agents." For twenty years, "agent" meant a human being doing emotional, cognitive, and relational labor. Rebranding bots as agents erases the workforce and confuses accountability. Language shapes power. That battle matters. Bob's 2026 wish Focus on the employee. AI should not be used to replace people. It should be used to remove friction from their work: searching, documenting, switching systems, hunting for answers. Knowledge was always the real use case. The industry just skipped the hard part. Core takeaway 2025 proved that AI without data, governance, and human-centered design does not transform anything. It only adds noise. 2026 will reward the companies that stop chasing demos and start rebuilding the foundations: voice, knowledge, data, and frontline enablement. That is where the real disruption will come from.
Send us a textSee our faces! Watch this episode on YouTube.In this episode of Cavell Cloud Conversations, Finbarr Begley and Patrick Watson explore the growing importance of data gravity and what it means for business efficiency, user experience, and the future of cloud communications. They unpack how the way data is stored, accessed, and connected increasingly determines how effectively organisations operate and serve customers.The discussion covers recent industry developments, including strategic partnerships such as CallTower and Tollring, and the rebranding of BCM1 under Pure IP, highlighting how providers are strengthening their data and insight capabilities. Finbarr and Patrick also examine why the convergence of UCaaS and CCaaS is being driven less by features and more by the need to unlock meaningful insights from communication data.The episode looks ahead to a future where AI reduces friction by minimising app switching, context-aware systems boost productivity, and businesses move beyond rigid, structured data models. With data-led communications accelerating, this conversation offers valuable insight into how integration, partnerships, and smarter use of data will shape customer experience and competitive advantage.Register for our free Security in Communications webinar!
Send us a textMost contact centers still believe scoring more calls means better QA.It doesn't.In this episode, we start with the Law of Large Numbers and break down why scoring 100% of calls doesn't give you better insight. It just gives you more work. We talk about where the push for full coverage really comes from. Fear. Compliance pressure. Old spreadsheet thinking. And why that mindset quietly hurts coaching, accuracy, and confidence.We also cover what the data actually shows, how statistical sampling works in the real world, where AI helps and where it doesn't, and what QA should really be optimizing for.If your QA program feels busy but not effective, this episode will make you rethink how many calls you really need to score. Through Expivia Digital, Tom works with contact center leaders on CCaaS platform selection, AI implementations, and NICE Studio and integration services. Same honest, vendor-neutral advice you hear on the Call Center Geek podcast, applied directly to your specific operational challenges. Schedule a consultation at ExpiviaDigital.com to discuss your contact center technology strategy. Click here:expiviadigital.comFollow Tom: @tlaird_expiviaJoin our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeekConnect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@callcenter_geekLinkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel OttoQA: try.ottoqa.com Expivia: Expiviausa.com
Send us a textSee our faces! Watch this episode on YouTube.In this episode of Cavell Cloud Conversations, Finbarr Begley and Patrick Watson take stock of how cloud communications evolved in 2025, reflecting on last year's predictions and exploring what's coming next. They discuss accelerating investment in high-growth markets, the growing importance of vertical specialisation among service providers, and the increasing impact of AI on customer experience and CCaaS performance.The conversation also looks ahead to 2026, with bold predictions around the future of chatbots, the rise of asynchronous communication over traditional voice calls, and the need for a new commercial model for mobile UC. Finbarr and Patrick also examine why metrics like average handle time are losing relevance, why deeper technology integration is becoming essential, and what increased M&A activity and potential price rises could mean for the market.A must-listen for anyone tracking the future direction of UCaaS, CCaaS and cloud communications more broadly.
Send us a textThis episode is my AI Christmas wish list for CCaaS. Not toys. Not buzzwords. The real AI tools contact centers should already have but don't. Everyone is focused on making AI talk to customers. That's missing the point. AI in CX isn't supposed to just talk. It's supposed to run the contact center. I break down the biggest opportunities CCaaS platforms are skipping, from AI flow builders you can prompt in plain English, to real-time workforce orchestration, predictive routing that replaces “next available agent,” dashboards built instantly by prompt, in-call coaching that actually helps agents in the moment, and real-time billing with zero surprises. This is a wish list, but it's not fantasy. This is practical, achievable AI that would make life easier for the people running the floor every day. If you're tired of AI demos that look good but don't change operations, this episode is for you. All I want for Christmas is CCaaS AI that actually works. Through Expivia Digital, Tom works with contact center leaders on CCaaS platform selection, AI implementations, and NICE Studio and integration services. Same honest, vendor-neutral advice you hear on the Call Center Geek podcast, applied directly to your specific operational challenges. Schedule a consultation at ExpiviaDigital.com to discuss your contact center technology strategy. Click here:expiviadigital.comFollow Tom: @tlaird_expiviaJoin our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeekConnect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@callcenter_geekLinkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel OttoQA: try.ottoqa.com Expivia: Expiviausa.com
UC Today's Kieran Devlin sits down with Gidi Adlersberg, Voca CIC Business Line Manager at AudioCodes, to explore what Microsoft's new Unify certification really means for Teams-based contact centers. With a decade at AudioCodes and a frontline role in developing Voca CIC, Gidi offers rare insight into how Azure-native integrations, SDK-driven stability, and AI standardisation are reshaping the CX landscape. If you're planning your next-generation customer experience strategy, this is an essential watch.Microsoft's Unify model is rapidly becoming the benchmark for Teams contact center integration — but what makes it different, and why does it matter? Gidi unpacks the technical and strategic implications, from five-nines reliability to the future of Azure-native voice.In this conversation, Gidi shares:
In this episode of Technology Reseller News, Publisher Doug Green speaks with Robert Galop and Kevin Nethercott, Co-Founders of Creo Solutions, about how service providers can turn years of “dark” conversation data into immediate, recurring revenue. Creo Solutions, founded two and a half years ago, focuses on helping carriers, CSPs and MSPs 2x–3x their revenue by layering AI-driven services on top of the UCaaS, CCaaS and CPaaS platforms they already sell. Their flagship offering, Pulse Conversation Intelligence, combines vCon-based conversation capture with AI analytics to unlock business value from every call. Galop explains that most organizations are still effectively “flying blind” with their customer conversations. Contact centers typically QA only about 2% of calls, leaving 98% unreviewed and unanalyzed. With Pulse, service providers can give their customers full visibility into compliance issues, churn signals, missed opportunities and coaching moments across all calls. As Galop puts it, “Within the first week, we're usually finding immediate ROI — a compliance risk, a security problem or a saveable customer that would have slipped away.” Nethercott emphasizes that the magic is in leveraging what service providers already have: their network, their platforms and their customer base. Using vCon as the standardized container, Pulse ingests existing call recordings and CDRs via API, processes them with Creo's AI stack, and returns focused insights, alerts, summaries and dashboards. There's no heavy integration project for the provider — “We can go to contract today, get integrated tomorrow, and by day three they can have it running in a customer,” notes Nethercott. Everything is delivered white-label, so the service provider owns the customer relationship and the new AI-powered revenue. For end customers, the platform is designed to reduce noise, not create more of it. Instead of a “data dump,” managers get the exceptions and patterns that matter: which agents handle certain call types best, which phrases correlate with successful sales, what recurring complaints are driving churn, and where frontline staff need coaching. Different roles see different slices of value: marketing can mine real customer language and enthusiasm, sales can see what actually moves deals forward, operations can spot systemic issues, and executives finally get a single source of truth about what customers are really saying. Creo sees strong early traction in healthcare, insurance, legal and home services—sectors where people spend their entire day on the phone but leadership can't possibly listen to every call. By turning every conversation into structured, searchable, AI-analyzed data, Pulse Conversation Intelligence gives service providers a high-impact, easy-to-launch AI story for 2026: a new, sticky revenue stream built entirely on top of services they're already delivering. Learn more about Creo Solutions and Pulse Conversation Intelligence at https://www.creosolutions.tech/ and intelligence.cloud.
CX Today's Charlie Mitchell reveals the big news that Content Guru has become the "first full-stack" CCaaS vendor to secure FedRAMP High Authorization.The High accreditation level is built for agencies handling highly sensitive data - like law enforcement, healthcare, emergency services, and finance - where strict security is critical. FedRAMP's High baseline safeguards the government's most sensitive unclassified data in the cloud, protecting lives, operations, and financial security.As such, this is a big step for Content Guru, which secures a big differentiator as it bids to bring cautious enterprises to the cloud, in the public sector, and beyond.Andrew Casson, VP of Public Sector at Content Guru, stresses this in his interview with CX Today's Head of Publication. He also discusses:- The ins and outs of the FedRAMP certification.- The differentiative features Content Guru offers in the public sector.- Examples of Content Guru supporting cautious customers through their CCaaS migrations.For more on Content Guru's expansive CCaaS portfolio, visit: https://www.contentguru.com/
At the Crexendo UGM, Sam Sklaroff, CEO of Axxess Networks, joined Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, to share how his company blends classic customer service values with cutting-edge communications technology. Axxess Networks, a leading provider of VoIP, UCaaS, and CCaaS solutions, stands out for what Sklaroff calls an old-school approach to customer care. “Whatever happened to good old-fashioned customer service?” Sklaroff asked. “At Axxess Networks, we treat every customer like family—from onboarding to support—and we make sure they're ready for success before the first call goes live.” Each Axxess customer is assigned a personal project manager and dedicated IT engineer to ensure network readiness and a smooth installation. “Our help desk is all U.S.-based,” Sklaroff noted. “Last week, our average time to answer was 13 seconds. When you call Axxess Networks, we're here for you.” The company's commitment to service extends to technological innovation. Sklaroff revealed Axxess' proprietary Live Failover feature—an automatic system that keeps calls active even if a customer's internet connection fails. “If your internet goes down, your calls don't,” he said. “In under one second, we switch to LTE with no dropped calls and no extra usage fees. One of our customers stayed fully operational for a week during a fiber outage.” Sklaroff also announced that Janet Schijns, a well-known channel leader, recently joined Axxess Networks' board of directors, marking another milestone in the company's growth. Axxess maintains strong partnerships with Crexendo and NetSapiens, and continues to advance in areas such as AI and vCon technology, with plans to launch new vCon apps later this year. “Technology evolves, but people still matter most,” Sklaroff said. “That's what drives us—service with a human touch.” To learn more about Axxess Networks' UCaaS and Live Failover solutions, visit www.axxessnetworks.com.
In this lively and insightful episode of UC Today, host David Dungay sits down with Dave Michels, Principal Analyst at TalkingPointz, to unpack the biggest revelations from his March Insider Report. From AI's disruptive evolution to Zoom's unexpected pivot and the heated debate around Slido, this is a conversation packed with fresh perspective, candid opinions, and razor-sharp analysis.Dave brings the heat as he reflects on Enterprise Connect, shares real-world examples of AI delivering ROI, and challenges industry norms—like whether we really need more polls in meetings. If you're in UC, CCaaS, or just curious about where workplace tech is going, this is a must-watch.What's real, what's hype, and what's next in AI and communications? In this episode:
In this lively and insightful episode of UC Today, host David Dungay sits down with Dave Michels, Principal Analyst at TalkingPointz, to unpack the biggest revelations from his March Insider Report. From AI's disruptive evolution to Zoom's unexpected pivot and the heated debate around Slido, this is a conversation packed with fresh perspective, candid opinions, and razor-sharp analysis.Dave brings the heat as he reflects on Enterprise Connect, shares real-world examples of AI delivering ROI, and challenges industry norms—like whether we really need more polls in meetings. If you're in UC, CCaaS, or just curious about where workplace tech is going, this is a must-watch.What's real, what's hype, and what's next in AI and communications? In this episode:
Traditionally seen as one of the most frustrating and time-consuming parts of any UCaaS or CCaaS migration, number porting can slow down even the best-planned IT projects. In this insightful discussion, Kieran and Rich explore how Gamma UCX is streamlining the process with a flexible, self-serve model that empowers enterprise IT teams across Europe.Number porting has long been a pain point for IT leaders managing complex UC migrations — but Gamma UCX is changing that. In this engaging conversation, Kieran and Rich unpack how automation, control, and visibility are transforming enterprise communications.
In this episode of Get Out of Wrap, I sit down with Olly Hobson, co-founder of Cloudax, to hear how he's making waves in the world of AI-powered voice technology — all before the age of 25.Olly shares his journey from building websites during his GCSEs to co-founding Cloudax and developing some of the most human-like AI voice systems on the market today.We dive into:✅ How AI voice can transform the contact centre experience — replacing IVRs and reducing wait times.✅ Why this isn't about replacing agents, but about freeing them up to focus on complex, high-value conversations.✅ Lessons Olly learned from the NatWest Accelerator and the power of community in our industry.✅ His vision for integrating AI voice with CCaaS platforms to create a seamless end-to-end customer journey.What struck me most? Olly's passion, work ethic, and belief that AI is here to augment, not replace. He's part of a new wave of entrepreneurs shaping the future of customer experience.
AI is a key driver of innovation in the Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) space, significantly improving agent efficiency and customer experience. However, when the rate of technology change outpaces the applicable legal frameworks, uncertainties and opportunities for disputes arise. In this 11-minute podcast, LB3 partner Laura McDonald joins Tony Mangino for an update on AI driven legal developments in the CCaaS space and to discuss strategies to mitigate the legal risks inherent in the technology. If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Network Services Transactions and Information Technology Advisory Services webpages.
Send us a textJoin us for an inside look at Expivia Digital and the current state of contact center technology. We share our 30-year journey from running contact centers to consulting on CCaaS platform selection, AI quality assurance, and NICE CXone implementations. As members of NICE's Executive Advisory Board, we discuss the biggest trends shaping the industry in 2025: usage-based pricing, AI automation, agent experience, and how to cut through vendor promises to find technology that actually delivers ROI. Whether you're evaluating platforms, implementing AI, or trying to optimize your current stack - this is the real talk contact center leaders need to hear.Come check us out at Expiviadigital.com Through Expivia Digital, Tom works with contact center leaders on CCaaS platform selection, AI implementations, and NICE Studio and integration services. Same honest, vendor-neutral advice you hear on the Call Center Geek podcast, applied directly to your specific operational challenges. Schedule a consultation at ExpiviaDigital.com to discuss your contact center technology strategy. Click here:expiviadigital.comFollow Tom: @tlaird_expiviaJoin our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeekConnect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@callcenter_geekLinkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel
“Our approach is simple: remove the PII from the data stream, and you don't have to worry about compliance,” said Bill Placke, President, Americas at SecurePII. At WebexOne in San Diego, Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, spoke with Jason Thals, COO of BroadSource, and Placke of SecurePII about their finalist recognition in Cisco's Dynamic Duo competition. The joint solution, built on Cisco Webex Contact Center, is designed to unlock AI's potential by enabling enterprises to leverage large language models without exposing sensitive personal data. SecurePII's flagship product, SecureCall, was purpose-built for Webex (and also available on Genesys) to deliver PCI compliance while removing personally identifiable information from voice interactions. This enables organizations to deploy AI and agentic automation confidently, without the regulatory risk tied to data privacy laws across the U.S., GDPR, and beyond. Thals emphasized BroadSource's role in delivering services that complement CCaaS and UCaaS platforms globally, while Placke framed the opportunity for Cisco partners: “This is a super easy bolt-on, available in the Webex App Hub. Customers can be up and running in 30 minutes and compliant.” The collaboration, already proven with a government-regulated client in Australia, is industry-agnostic and scalable from small deployments to 50,000+ users. For Cisco resellers, it represents a powerful, sticky service that integrates seamlessly into channel models while helping enterprises stay compliant as they modernize customer engagement. Learn more at BroadSource and SecurePII.
At the MSP Summit, Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, sat down with William Rubio, Chief Revenue Officer at CallTower, to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing MSPs as they prepare for 2026. Rubio emphasized that success in today's environment requires MSPs to choose the right partners rather than simply chasing products. With CallTower's expertise in cloud communications—including Microsoft, Cisco, Zoom, and CCaaS platforms such as Genesys and Five9—the company positions itself as an enabler for MSPs seeking to strengthen their portfolios without taking on every capability themselves. “It's not about selling a product—it's about building a partnership that helps MSPs grow their business and support their customers,” Rubio said. Key themes of the conversation included: AI adoption reality: While AI dominates conversations, only about 5% of businesses have actually adopted it. Rubio urged MSPs to take “baby steps”—simple automation projects that build champions and credibility inside customer organizations—before pursuing large-scale deployments. Cybersecurity opportunities: Rubio highlighted the importance of proactive communication. Instead of only responding to attacks, MSPs should show customers the value of the thousands of threats they've already blocked and explain vulnerabilities that could become future risks. The human factor: Despite the excitement around AI, Rubio stressed that relationships remain central. “AI is driven by what humans tell it to do,” he noted, underscoring that trust and tough conversations with customers are key to long-term success. Looking to 2026: MSPs must refine their self-awareness—knowing their strengths, defining their ideal customer profile, and planning thoughtfully whether to double down in a vertical or expand through partnerships. As Rubio summed it up, the MSPs that thrive will be those who plan carefully, partner wisely, and maintain strong customer relationships—balancing technology with the human element that drives growth. More at CallTower.
“Press 1 is dead. If you haven't integrated AI into your core telephony stack, you're on the path to obsolescence.” — Andy Abramson, Founder & CEO, Comunicano In this conversation with Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, Andy Abramson—32 years into leading Comunicano—explains why legacy, menu-tree IVRs are being displaced by SIP-native AI and real-time voice agents. The result: faster resolution, lower latency, and human-like interactions that finally match the urgency of today's callers. What's changing SIP ↔ AI interconnect: Direct SIP trunking into AI (e.g., OpenAI) turns agents into callable endpoints—simplifying deployment much like early CPaaS did. Network path matters: Zero-hop/HD direct connectivity (e.g., CarrierX/Found/freeconferencecall.com) and Cloudflare's global edge for WebRTC cut jitter, packet loss, and delay—feeding cleaner “robot food” to AI. Voice that sounds human: Advances in neural voices (e.g., ElevenLabs) raise comprehension and comfort, improving CX outcomes. Tool orchestration made simple: MCP/agent frameworks (e.g., Anthropic-style tool calling) connect CRM/ERP and data sources without brittle middleware. Who wins, who loses Winners: UCaaS/CPaaS and AI-forward CCaaS that treat AI agents as first-class endpoints; telcos bundling AI with SIP routing and data plans; high-volume enterprises offloading Tier-1 to real-time AI. At risk: IVR-only vendors, low-end CCaaS, and speech-to-text middleware that don't adopt AI—“adopt or die.” Why it matters for MSPs & channel partners The migration path is here now: swap tree-based IVR for NLP-driven, real-time voice agents, integrate with existing stacks via SIP, and monetize AI minutes + memories. Business impact: shorter handle times, higher first-contact resolution, lower OpEx, and fewer abandoned calls—especially for customers calling with urgent needs. This episode includes a slide presentation outlining the end of menu trees, the SIP-AI architecture, and four go-to-market “wins” for carriers, UC/CPaaS, CCaaS, and large enterprises. Learn more about Andy's work at comunicano.com (one “m”) and his commentary at AndyAbramson.com and on LinkedIn.
“We're now close to a quarter billion dollars in revenue, with operations across North America, EMEA, and APAC—and we're just getting started.” — Russ Reeder, CEO, XTIUM Technology Reseller News spoke with Russ Reeder, CEO, and Leon Schuurmans, Managing Director of EMEA at XTIUM, about the company's official launch of direct operations in Europe. The podcast, hosted by publisher Doug Green, offers a deep dive into XTIUM's journey from a merger of ATSG and Evolve IP into a global managed service provider (MSP) with a full suite of IT, UCaaS, CCaaS, MDR, and AI-powered offerings. The move into Europe builds on a longstanding foundation. Schuurmans recounted how the company—then Evolve IP—pioneered contact center and unified communications services in the Netherlands as early as 2007. Now, the new XTIUM brand brings integrated IT and communications services to a market increasingly seeking consolidation, scale, and security. Reeder emphasized the strategic advantages of global reach paired with local expertise. The company has over 1,700 customers and supports over one million endpoints. Backed by more than $1 billion in acquisitions and $350 million in private equity investment, XTIUM is well-positioned to serve multinational customers across North America, EMEA, and APAC. Key offerings discussed include: Full MSP services including managed network, help desk, UCaaS, and CCaaS AI-enabled services, from internal sales and support tools to client-facing AI onboarding, security, and optimization Cybersecurity and MDR, especially critical in the face of regulatory and infrastructure shifts like Windows 11 adoption The company also shared how its premium support model and customer success focus drive long-term growth. “We don't throw customers over the wall,” Reeder noted, outlining a high-touch process from onboarding to strategic reviews aimed at turning clients into evangelists. In EMEA, Schuurmans sees key vertical growth in healthcare, finance, retail, and professional services, driven by urgent needs around cybersecurity and desktop virtualization. He plans to scale both direct customer engagements and indirect channel partner relationships over the next 12–18 months. Looking ahead, XTIUM will continue to grow both organically and through acquisition. With a clearly stated goal to become the go-to global MSP for mid-market and enterprise customers, Reeder summed up the company's mission: “Think globally, act locally.” Learn more at: https://xtium.com
Technology Reseller News Podcast with Dave Michels, TalkingPointz "AI and automation is really all that anyone cares about right now. And this is a power combination." — Dave Michels, TalkingPointz In this Technology Reseller News podcast, publisher Doug Green speaks with Dave Michels of TalkingPointz to unpack NICE's blockbuster $955 million acquisition of Cognigy, a move that signals a transformative leap in the CX and CCaaS landscape. “This is a landmark moment,” said Michels. “We're watching the CCaaS space redefine itself around CX—and NICE is taking decisive action.” NICE, a global leader in AI-powered customer experience, announced it is acquiring Cognigy, the top enterprise provider of conversational and agentic AI. This acquisition unites NICE's CXone Mpower platform with Cognigy's Cognigy.AI, enabling organizations to orchestrate AI agents across front and back office functions with purpose-built CX AI models. Michels noted that while CCaaS providers have been increasingly positioning themselves under the broader ‘customer experience' banner, this acquisition may be the inflection point. “I've been wondering when the Magic Quadrant would shift from CCaaS to CX. This deal brings us closer.” Cognigy brings with it a blue-chip client list—including Lufthansa, Mercedes-Benz, Swissair, Nestlé, and Puma—and a projected 80% ARR growth in 2026. NICE gains not only powerful technology, but also an elite customer base and a strong European footprint. As for whether the nearly $1 billion price tag was justified, Michels pointed to investor confidence: “NICE gained $500 million in market cap within hours of the announcement. That's Wall Street's endorsement of the deal.” He also predicts that NICE will maintain Cognigy's independence. “To shut down their open ecosystem would be foolhardy. These are complementary solutions—this gives NICE a broader seat at the CX table.” From cultural alignment to AI-first innovation, Michels sees the deal as smart and strategically sound. “Both companies are platform-first. Both are chasing the same strategic vision—and they're better together.” As the contact center market pivots to CX orchestration powered by AI, this acquisition may come to be seen not just as timely, but foundational. To hear more insights from Dave Michels, visit TalkingPointz.com, and stay tuned to Technology Reseller News for continued coverage of this evolving story.
From the hype cycle around AI to the real-world constraints enterprises face when adopting new tech, we explore the opportunities shaping the future of business communications in this episode. We're joined by Jon Arnold, an independent tech analyst, for a conversation about the shifting landscape of enterprise communications. We talk about analysts' unique role in shaping vendor strategy and market perception. We discuss the current state of business communications technology, examining what Jon describes as the "three-legged stool" of cloud communications: CCaaS, CPaaS, and UCaaS. We discuss how these previously distinct domains are converging, with vendors increasingly offering capabilities across all three areas.We also explore how AI is disrupting the traditional communications technology landscape. Jon offers valuable insights into why AI-native companies may have advantages over traditional contact centre vendors who are adding AI capabilities, and why the pace of AI adoption varies significantly across different industries and organisations.This episode is brought to you by NLX.NLX is a conversational AI platform enabling brands to build and manage chat, voice and multimodal applications. NLX's patented Voice+ technology synchronizes voice with digital channels, making it possible to automate complex use cases typically handled by a human agent. When a customer calls, the voice AI guides them to resolve their inquiry through self-service using the brand's digital asset, resulting in automation and CSAT scores well above industry average. Just ask United Airlines.Shownotes:Find out more about Jon Arnold: https://www.jarnoldassociates.com/about/jon-arnoldSubscribe to VUX World: https://vuxworld.typeform.com/to/Qlo5aaeWSubscribe to The AI Ultimatum Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/kanesimmsGet in touch with Kane on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kanesimms Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Intermedia's Brian Gregory on portfolios, Teams integration, and AI that partners can actually resell “We're not just selling AI—we're giving service providers real products they can sell under their own brand.” — Brian Gregory, Director of Product Marketing, Intermedia As cloud communications enters a new chapter shaped by Microsoft Teams, agentic AI, and rising customer expectations, Intermedia is helping service providers rethink and rebuild their portfolios from the ground up. In this episode of Technology Reseller News, Brian Gregory, Director of Product Marketing at Intermedia, joins Doug Green to explore how service providers can capitalize on their home-field advantage—strong customer relationships, existing network services, and trusted brands—by delivering white-labeled UCaaS, CCaaS, and integrated Teams solutions with Intermedia. Key Takeaways: White Label Everything Intermedia's business is 92% channel-driven, enabling providers to fully brand and resell its unified communications, contact center, and Microsoft 365 offerings—keeping customer ownership and brand equity intact. Monetizing Microsoft Teams With Microsoft Teams commanding nearly 50% of the collaboration market, Intermedia's Teams-integrated telephony solution (launched August 2024) gives providers a clear path to offer high-margin, full-featured phone and contact center services—all within the Teams interface. AI You Can Sell Intermedia integrates real-world AI functions—like meeting summarization, sentiment analysis, real-time assist, and CRM integrations—into its UCaaS and CCaaS platforms. These features are practical, deployable today, and tailored for mid-market customers and partners. Service Provider-Ready No minimums. No upfront hurdles. Just a success-based model designed to align with provider needs. Vertical integrations (like recent auto dealer CRM tie-ins) and robust APIs help expand revenue streams across industries. Intermedia's Formula for Service Provider Growth: ✅ Strong economics and white-label branding ✅ Integrated Teams calling and contact center ✅ AI-powered productivity tools (resellable today) ✅ Flexible contracts with no minimums ✅ Vertical solutions + CRM/API support To learn more about Intermedia's full service provider offering, visit: www.intermedia.com.
This week, Marc Bernstein sits down with David Karandish, Founder and CEO of Capacity, for a conversation that stretches beyond tech stacks and into the future of how humans and systems work together. From the outdated CRM to the rise of “systems of engagement,” Marc and David unpack why the traditional software hierarchy is being flipped—and how AI copilots are becoming essential teammates, not replacements. They explore what it takes to design tech that aligns with how people actually get work done, the role of smart automation in the “Decade of the Agent,” and the real story behind the latest M&A movement in contact centers. Whether you're thinking about how to structure your tools or your team, this episode is a masterclass in strategic clarity.Timestamps:00:00 Introduction01:24 Before Capacity02:32 CRM, CCaaS, & AI12:56 Decade of the Agent18:26 System of Engagement23:13 M&A Activity in the Contact Center34:13 Organizing Frameworks47:00 AI in 3 Years
n this episode of JSA TV, William Rubio, Chief Revenue Officer at CallTower, joins us to discuss the company's recent acquisition of Inoria and the updates it brings to CallTower's CX and CCaaS portfolio. William shares how this acquisition enhances the company's ability to help businesses improve their customer experience and contact center operations. We also dive into the role of AI in CallTower's solutions and explore relevant trends in the telecom and cloud communications sectors. Don't miss William's insights on the future of communications and collaboration.
JSA TV caught up with Warren Reyburn, COO of White Label Communications, to discuss their expansion into CPaaS, a new partnership with InfoBip, and a major brand refresh on the horizon.Stay tuned for updated messaging, a new website, and exciting innovations in CPaaS & CCaaS!
Send us a textThis episode sounds as good as it gets — huge thanks to Christopher Irwin-Dudek, VP of Marketing Communications at NICE, for joining me.We dive into a wide-ranging conversation covering:The new leadership vision at NICE and what it means for the futureWhether NICE sees itself as a CCaaS platform, an AI powerhouse, or bothThe evolving role of major CRMs in the contact center AI landscapeAnd a whole lot more behind-the-scenes insight from one of the most influential CX tech companies out thereIf you're in the contact center, customer experience, or enterprise tech space, this is a must-listen. Don't miss it. Tom Laird's 100% USA-based, AI-powered contact center. As the only outsourcing partner on the NICE CXone Customer Executive Council, Expivia is redefining what it means to be a CX tech partner. Learn more at expiviausa.com. Follow Tom: @tlaird_expiviaJoin our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeekConnect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@callcenter_geekLinkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel
AI is everywhere—but are we using it wisely?In this episode of Reimagining the Contact Center, Marc Bernstein sits down with Sam Wilson, CEO of 8x8, to dissect the current wave of AI adoption in CCaaS and beyond. Sam shares his perspective on balancing innovation with customer trust, integrating AI that actually works, and redefining what “good” looks like in the modern contact center. Whether you're a tech-forward leader or a skeptic with scars from failed pilots, this episode will shift how you think about AI's role in your operation.Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction01:00 Impact of AI on CCaaS10:05 Contact Center Disruption12:40 AI vs. Human Hallucinations15:40 Agent Assist20:50 Prioritizing AI Investments30:07 Per Agent Use Cases34:30 AI Outcomes42:40 AI in 3 Years
On this episode of Press 1 For Nick, host Nick Glimsdahl sits down with Brandon Knight, Head of CX Ecosystem at Zoom, for a candid and insightful conversation about the future of customer experience and the powerful role AI is playing in transforming the contact center space. Brandon shares his unique, never-before-told journey from managing a Philadelphia doctor's office to becoming a contact center agent, eventually climbing the ladder to leadership and innovation at Zoom.Nick and Brandon dive deep into some of the most persistent misconceptions about Zoom's CCaaS platform, what's truly changed in the last year, and why AI is more than just a buzzword—it's evolving at lightning speed and shaping real outcomes for businesses and their customers. You'll hear exclusive thoughts on the rapid acceleration of AI in CX, how Zoom is working to create seamless, orchestrated customer and employee experiences, and what exciting features are coming down the pipeline.Whether you're curious about AI's impact, looking to avoid common pitfalls in cloud contact center migrations, or want an inside look at how Zoom partners with organizations to maximize success, this episode is packed with insights, honest reflections, and actionable advice. Stick around for the lightning round and find out Brandon's personal favorite Zoom feature, plus his best pitch for why frustrated customer service leaders should give Zoom Contact Center another look. Don't miss this engaging conversation on the next frontier of customer experience!
“If you don't ask your AI what it used to make a decision, it might cost you your reputation—or worse.” — Matt Bramson, Chief Revenue Officer, Frontline Frontline's Matt Bramson on the Monumental Implications of vCon and the Urgent Need for Ethical Oversight in AI Hyannis, MA - April 2025 - As the first-ever vCon Conference concluded, Matt Bramson of Frontline offered a compelling vision of both the promise and the peril emerging from virtualized conversations and AI-driven decision-making. In a far-ranging conversation that blended philosophy, ethics, and enterprise AI, Bramson challenged business leaders to think well beyond lanes, silos, and conventional product rollouts. “We're looking at something civilization-transforming,” said Bramson. “Imagine a mountain of vCons—every conversation, everywhere, stored in a structured format and interrogated by AI. The insights could be profound, even world-changing. But there's a moral cost if we don't ask the right questions.” From Ephemeral Talk to Structured Truth At its core, the vCon standard captures and containers conversations—text, voice, email—across every modality in a standardized format. These containers can then be appended with CRM data, sentiment analysis, and other metadata, unlocking unprecedented insights through AI interrogation. “Conversations are how we share heartbreaks, solve problems, build businesses. They've always been ephemeral. vCons make them permanent—and actionable,” Bramson noted. Yet with such power comes risk. Bramson recounted a chilling real-world example: an AI used by a beverage company to optimize pricing based on customer characteristics. What seemed like a smart revenue idea risked violating anti-discrimination laws—and damaging the brand—because no one had taught the AI what not to use. “Who's teaching the AI business ethics, social ethics? In many cases, no one,” Bramson warned. “If you're not interrogating the AI's output, you might not know it's discriminating—until a journalist does.” A Philosopher's Take on AI With a background in philosophy, Bramson brought a rare perspective to the discussion. Where some see hallucinations in LLMs, he sees echoes of ancient debates in epistemology and metaphysics. “We're overdue for philosophers in tech boardrooms,” he said. “What's unfolding now has been pondered for millennia. Ethics and AI are now converging in real time—and most companies aren't prepared.” He challenged executives to go beyond staying in their lanes: “CEOs must ask how their AIs are making decisions—not just what those decisions are.” Frontline: CX Innovation with Real-World Impact Frontline, Bramson explained, stands at the intersection of contact center services, CCaaS technology sales, and AI-enabled agent software. But what truly excites his team is their work with social impact programs. “We take thousands of 2-1-1 calls—from people seeking food, housing, utility help,” said Bramson. “These conversations are rich with insight, and vCons give us a framework to share that data responsibly across municipalities.” Unlike private-sector rivals, 2-1-1 providers collaborate freely, and Bramson believes vCons will allow best practices in social services to travel faster, more efficiently, and with more measurable impact. Where to Learn More To explore Frontline's technology and mission-driven solutions, visit: frontline.group #vCon #AIandEthics #FrontlineGroup #ConversationalAI #DigitalHumanity #VoiceOfTheCustomer #ResponsibleAI #CCaaS #211Services #TechForGood
Cloud Connections 2025 Podcast Interview with Jon Arnold, Principal, J. Arnold & Associates ST. PETERSBURG, FL - Jon Arnold, Principal of J. Arnold & Associates, delivered a clear message to managed service providers (MSPs) at Cloud Connections 2025: it's time to evolve beyond UCaaS commoditization and begin leveraging AI not just as a buzzword, but as a strategic offering. In a podcast conversation with Technology Reseller News, Arnold reflected on insights shared during two panels at the conference—one on market outlook and another focused on UCaaS. “UCaaS, CCaaS, CPaaS—they're all mature, well-understood offerings,” said Arnold. “But AI is where the next frontier lies. Most customers know they need it, but they don't know how to use it—and that's where MSPs have a real opportunity.” Arnold emphasized that MSPs, trusted for their delivery of cloud and voice services, are in a prime position to elevate their value by integrating AI into business operations—both internally and in customer-facing applications. The key, he said, lies in viewing voice as data, a concept that aligns with AI's data-driven architecture. “If you're not capturing the data from voice, you're missing one of the most powerful communication channels businesses rely on,” Arnold explained. “MSPs already understand voice. That's their credibility. Now it's about helping customers harness that voice data to power AI.” On the second panel, Arnold addressed a recurring challenge: UCaaS as a commodity. As major players like Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and RingCentral dominate the landscape, differentiation has become more difficult. “If all MSPs are selling the same thing, they risk becoming arms dealers—no value, no margin,” he said. Arnold encouraged MSPs to think beyond unified communications and adopt a more holistic, strategic view, where AI is integrated across workflows, departments, and functions—far beyond the contact center. “AI isn't waiting for you to catch up. It's creating new ways of working,” he said. “There's a real risk of being left behind if MSPs don't evolve. A new generation of AI-centric MSPs will emerge—those who know how to sell it, implement it, and build strategy around it.” Reflecting on his first time attending the CCA's Cloud Connections event, Arnold noted the strong value of its focused community. “It's big enough to meet new people, but small enough to build real relationships,” he said. “It's not a trade show—it's a learning and collaboration environment.” Learn more about Jon Arnold and J. Arnold & Associates at: www.jarnoldassociates.com
Cloud Connections 2025 Podcast Interview with Peter Eisengrein, SVP of Service, Delivery & Operations at XTIUM ST. PETERSBURG, FL - A new managed services powerhouse has emerged. Speaking with Technology Reseller News at Cloud Connections 2025, Peter Eisengrein, Senior Vice President of Service, Delivery & Operations, introduced XTIUM—a new brand created from the merger of Evolve IP's MSP business with ATSG. “XTIUM is a fresh brand built from two strong companies,” said Eisengrein. “We've taken everything Evolve IP was known for—managed cloud, UCaaS, CCaaS, DaaS—and added a full suite of managed network, managed security, and managed operations services.” The merger, announced just weeks earlier at Channel Partners, significantly expands the portfolio available to XTIUM's channel partners. Of particular interest to the channel: Managed Detection and Response (MDR) security services, enterprise help desk outsourcing, and the ability to deliver turnkey network management alongside voice and compute. “We're hearing a lot of excitement around security and network services,” said Eisengrein. “It's what customers are asking for—and what the channel didn't always associate with us before.” At the conference, Eisengrein also joined two merger-focused sessions to share lessons from XTIUM's own experience. His message? M&A success takes time, careful planning, and clean financials. “You can't rush it. Lenders move at their own pace, and you need to be prepared—especially when it comes to audited books and integration plans.” For partners, the opportunity lies in XTIUM's ability to meet customers where they are. “Most buyers are only in market for one service at a time,” said Eisengrein. “The key for channel partners is being able to pivot. If it's not UC today, maybe it's security, or help desk, or compute. Now, we can support all of it.” XTIUM positions itself as a white-glove, customer-centric provider that integrates with, rather than displaces, enterprise IT. “We don't just offer services,” said Eisengrein. “We solve problems. That's our mission.” Learn more at: www.xtium.com
Send us a textIn this episode of the Advice from a Call Center Geek podcast, we unveil our highly anticipated 2025 Geek Gauge CCaaS Rankings. We break down the comprehensive analysis of the top 19 Contact Center as a Service platforms, showing which vendors truly lead the pack in 2025. Using a groundbreaking approach that combines ChatGPT's analytical capabilities with Deep Research, we've evaluated each platform across 18 critical criteria. Whether you're considering a CCaaS migration, evaluating your current vendor, or just keeping tabs on the industry, this vendor-neutral assessment provides the clarity you need to make informed decisions. From AI capabilities to cost transparency, integration ecosystems to operational excellence try to cover it all. Don't miss this essential guide to the current CCaaS landscape, where technology meets practical real-world application through the eyes of AI. Tom Laird's 100% USA-based, AI-powered contact center. As the only outsourcing partner on the NICE CXone Customer Executive Council, Expivia is redefining what it means to be a CX tech partner. Learn more at expiviausa.com. Follow Tom: @tlaird_expiviaJoin our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeekConnect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@callcenter_geekLinkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel
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