Wrapping-up CCW 2025.

There’s a certain AI numbness and fatigue descending across the industry.

Wrapping-up CCW 2025. There’s a certain AI numbness and fatigue descending across the industry.

At no other time have I seen such a massive disconnect between (most) vendors and customers. Vendors are focused on the press release for “What’s Next” yet customers want to know what they’re actually getting from what they’ve already bought. And absolutely no end-user that I talked to gave a shit about Agentic AI or Orchestration, yet the vendors roll on.

Let’s review:

• Talkdesk “shatters the industry” with more Orchestration buzzwords and declares a new software category. Adoption pending.

• CEO of 8x8 corrects Talkdesk by saying they released theirs first. Meanwhile, customers are wondering why the hell they need Zappier in a Tuxedo.

• NiCE - We changed the “i” to lowercase and added a half-cocked smiley emoji to our logo. And we’re just getting started.-Oh, and we have an Orchestration thingy too.

• Five9 launches another Agentic whatcha-ma-call-it and apparently only one person in the entire company can demo it because it’s not yet in production. Discern what you will.

• BPOs struggling to rationalize an AI strategy that differentiates them from everyone else that’s just using whatever their CCaaS is giving them or an OpenAI wrapper. One BPO in particular expressed their displeasure with one of my recent posts, and let me know that “facts don’t matter”. Facts do, in fact, matter.

• Another cohort of AI startups that have never stepped foot in a call center telling you how they’ve reinvented it.

Now, for some upside.

• If you weren’t aware, Zoom has a contact center solution and once the industry figures that out, the legacies are in trouble. Zoom was pretty chill about the new Voice IVA they launched this week, but if you want to see it in action, follow Tommy Hart. It’s in production and they’re happy to demonstrate the results for you.

• After spending time with Cisco, I’m even more bullish on their comeback. There’s an incredible amount of humility around the challenges they face in adapting their GTM strategy to align with the current market, as well as playing catch-up to the cloud. And their approach to AI doesn't suck.

Both Zoom and Cisco continue to lead the market in openness and customer engagement. They’ll both acknowledge what they do well, and what they don’t and are happy to partner in the best interests of their customers.

I value that.