It’s a pivotal time in how enterprises approach customer service. The industry is shifting from tech focus (contact center) to outcome focus (customer experience, or CX). We have seen similar shifts before, such as VoIP to Unified Communications and messaging or video conferencing to collaboration.
This outcome-focused shift is more than a name change. It also represents a broader problem to solve. Quite simply, CX requires a bigger tool bag than traditional contact centers offered. CX encompasses numerous customer touchpoints.
Customer Experience is the theme for this year’s Innovation Showcase. This is a session within Enterprise Connect that highlights several companies worthy of broader recognition. The goal is to introduce the Enterprise Connect audience to new, innovative companies that haven’t previously exhibited at Enterprise Connect. The Innovation Showcase spotlights breakthroughs, advancements, and cutting-edge technologies that this year, enhance customer experiences.
Introduction to the Innovation Showcase:
The Innovation Showcase judges evaluate numerous companies to select a group of innovative companies. It provides a unique opportunity for smaller businesses to make a lasting impression. For companies that have previously participated in Enterprise Connect, there are alternate conference programs available, such as the prestigious Best of Show, which recognizes outstanding products and solutions.
This year, 17 companies applied for consideration, but only five were selected. Each company was evaluated (at least) three times by three judges. The companies were evaluated for innovation, enterprise fit, and business value.
This year, the judges were Dominic Kent, Maribel Lopez, and David Myron. Demonstrating a strong commitment, they devoted significant time to their roles. In many instances, they exceeded expectations by thoroughly assessing the companies and extending their evaluations beyond the submitted applications. The applicants were very strong this year, and the judging took about a week longer than usual.
"This year's showcase had the potential to be flooded with “me too” AI applications," said Dominic Kent. "It was refreshing to see the unique, innovative, and enterprise-ready ways communications tech can make agents more efficient while improving customer experiences.”
The judges selected five companies for the showcase, and you’ll be able to learn more about each company during the showcase presentations at Enterprise Connect. The session is Monday morning, March 25, and is open to all attendees, including Expo Pass badge holders. Each vendor will present their solution with "Shark Tank" style pitches.
Below are the Innovation Showcase companies for Enterprise Connect 2024. They are listed alphabetically, as showcase companies are not ranked:
HumanFirst: HumanFirst offers a data-driven productivity platform with a low-code approach. The solution offers a combination of prompt engineering, data engineering, and generative AI that empowers organizations to unlock their customer data.
New ways to apply natural language processing to organizational data opens up new possibilities. HumanFirst harnesses these advancements, and can transform raw data into meaningful insights. HumanFirst empowers businesses to easily access and embrace the power of generative AI.
NLX: Conversations by NLX is a platform that can be used by businesses to create and deliver self-service customer experiences powered by generative AI. The platform has a no-code interface and features cutting-edge generative AI models, which allow businesses to create highly customized, accurate conversational AI solutions without needing extensive engineering resources. NLX guides customers through the process of building, testing, and deploying these experiences and then provides support to optimize them over time.
NLX offers multichannel mobile and web SDKs that allow businesses to integrate their conversational capabilities into their existing digital assets. This makes it easy for customers to get help when they need it, on the channels they prefer, without having to contact a human agent.
Operata: If your data lakes are overflowing, insights can remain elusive. Operata monitors technical, operations, and experience data as calls unfold, sparking actions that drive your contact center to new heights. Operata claims to be the world’s first CX Observability platform built exclusively for cloud contact centers. It is powered by Operata’s fast-growing trove of over 1 trillion data points. The Operata Platform monitors every second of every call, providing end-to-end observability with AI-powered insights and recommendations for enhanced customer experience.
Quiq: Quiq delivers AI-powered self-service solutions for customers. With Quiq's AI Contact Center solution, enterprises can empower customers to self-serve via voice, web chat, and text messaging. When AI cannot resolve a query, the solution seamlessly escalates the customer to a human agent. The agent, assisted by AI technology, can provide faster and more accurate resolution, improving customer satisfaction. Quiq allows enterprises to scale customer service capacity while reducing costs and enhancing CSAT.
Verbal Transactions: Studies by Verbal Transactions reveal that over 70% of customer churn is caused by negative customer service experiences. Many customer-facing employees lack proper training, which contributes to high turnover rates.
Verbal Transactions provides a platform that leverages Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The platform enables clients to simulate various customer interactions, equipping employees to handle a wide range of situations. Agents become more confident and make fewer errors, leading to enhanced customer satisfaction as a result.
All five of these companies will present their solutions in more detail at the Innovation Showcase session on Monday morning at EC24. Check them out and consider if your company can benefit from such innovation.
Enterprise Connect 2024 will be held at the Gaylord Palms in Orlando, FL, from March 25-28. Previewthe conference schedule or register to attend. To keep on top of all Enterprise Connect developments, subscribe to the weekly newsletter.
Dave Michels is a contributing editor and analyst at TalkingPointz.
