Today is the final day of Enterprise Connect; by the time you read this newsletter, there will have been a final session on how workplace leaders will be using technology to redefine the employee experience and our customary locknote session where our industry's leading analysts debate and deconstruct the Enterprise Connect that was.
One of the prevailing themes of the show was around artificial intelligence. Our keynote speakers highlighted different aspects of the communications and collaboration technology industry, focusing on everything from the quality of the connection to the transformative potential of AI-powered workflows and assistants.
Microsoft's Nicole Herskowitz, vice president of Microsoft Teams and Platform, framed the beginning of her Tuesday morning keynote at Enterprise Connect 2024 by identifying two themes: the new workplace normal and the AI reinvention. Those two themes shaped her entire address and culminated in many announcements around new features and updates in Teams.
Cisco's Senior Vice President and General Manager of Cisco Collaboration, Javed Khan, themed his keynote around the need for improving customer and employee experience via technology that works quietly and transparently in the background. Khan also previewed several capabilities coming to the Webex contact center including the use of AI to detect “stressed-out” agents and then dynamically giving those agents a break.
Cisco made several announcements, including the general availability of Webex CX Essentials which is one of several Webex contact center tiers (CX Basic, CX Essentials, CX Standard & Premium). It also announced two new products—the Cisco Board G2 and the Cisco Desk Phone 9800 Series—as multifunctional devices for hybrid work.
And Zoom announced its new, AI-powered Workplace; it's the company’s attempt to improve teamwork and productivity via a single workspace to access Zoom’s collaborative workplace tools. In her Enterprise Connect address, chief product officer Smita Hasham pointed out that the Workplace users could -- unlike Microsoft Teams Copilot customers -- access their GenAI assistant for free.
We also collected the product announcements from the vendors which attended the shows. They're rounded up in three digests, one for each of the first three days of the week.
No Jitter Roll EC24 Day One: Amazon Connect, NICE, RingCentral, Zoom and Cisco Among Those Making News: Amazon Connect, NICE, RingCentral, Zoom, Cisco and others roll out new devices and generative AI-powered capabilities.
No Jitter Roll EC24 Day Two: NICE, RingCentral, CallMiner and Unified Office Among Those Making News: NICE and CallMiner expand generative AI capabilities, Unifed Office offers sentiment analysis, RingCentral ups its RingCX game while others offer new devices and services for expanded connectivity, collaboration, and compliance.
No Jitter Roll EC24 Day Three: Twilio, Calabrio, Five9, GoTo Among Those Making News: Twilio, Calabrio, Five9, GoTo and Vonage all debut new generative AI-powered capabilities.
We'll be back soon with Eric Krapf's regular weekly commentary and exciting news about future shows.
