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Enterprise Connect 2026 has come and gone—and as always, it was a whirlwind. I spent nearly all of my time in vendor meetings and recording video interviews, attending only a handful of sessions in addition to the one I moderated. Unsurprisingly, the event centered on AI—particularly agentic AI—including virtual agents, workflow and agent studios, analytics, testing, and more. Below are the key themes that emerged across conversations.   Key Themes The word of the week: “vibe.” This showed up in two ways. First, “vibe coding,” with vendors noting that some applications are now being built in days—or even hours—reshaping development cycles. Second, the overall vibe of the event felt different. The move to Las Vegas, along with the absence of companies like Microsoft and Cisco on stage and in the exhibit hall, changed the dynamic. And, of course, many people missed gathering at Wreckers Bar. Voice is back. Voice is re-emerging as a critical interface—natural, intuitive, and rich in data. It’s increasingly treated as a core data channel, capturing customer intent, behavior, and preferences. That data is essential for training AI and powering agentic systems. Trust and governance are table stakes—but not enough. Vendors are focused on enterprise trust in their platforms, but end-user trust in AI interactions is just as important and often overlooked. The shift to agentic AI is moving faster than organizations can absorb. The rapid transition from generative to agentic AI has caught many companies off guard. Planning even 12–18 months ahead is difficult, and adoption is lagging behind innovation. Differentiation is getting harder. Vendors are struggling to stand out in an increasingly crowded and converging market. Salesforce is disruptive, creating discussions about where the CX stack will live. Its contact center announcement is already influencing vendor strategies and positioning. While some question maturity and pricing, others see it as a logical step toward deeper convergence of CRM and CX platforms, combining the CRM system of record with the CCaaS system of engagement. ROI remains unclear for many organizations. Beyond productivity gains, businesses are still working to quantify the value of AI investments. “SaaSpocolypse” discussions are gaining traction. With tools like Claude and similar platforms, AI agents can perform tasks traditionally handled by SaaS applications. This is prompting enterprises to reassess their software stacks. Pricing for agentic AI is unresolved. The industry is moving away from per-seat pricing, but there’s no consensus on alternatives. Options being explored include consumption-based pricing, outcome-based pricing, and even revenue-sharing models. Token-based pricing is widely viewed as unsustainable. Verticalization as a differentiation strategy. Vendors are increasingly focusing on industry-specific solutions, particularly in healthcare, as a way to stand out. Several vendors announced specific vertical applications, including GoTo Connect CX for Healthcare, Amazon Connect Health, and RingCentral AIR Pro for Healthcare. Expect to see continued focus on vertical applications as a way to differentiate. Businesses are looking for ROI and outcomes from AI beyond productivity enhancements. In addition to AI agents and automation, buzzwords included orchestration, autonomous, single-stack platforms, Agent Studios, trust/governance, sovereignty, guardrails, workflows, and vibe coding.   Vendor Announcements and Interviews As noted, most of my time was spent in vendor briefings. Where possible, I recorded short video interviews to capture what these announcements actually mean in practice.   AWS Pasquale DeMaio, VP of Amazon Connect, emphasized that “deflection is dead,” arguing that companies should focus on engagement rather than containment. AWS is positioning its tools to help businesses build longer-term customer relationships using agentic AI. He highlighted capabilities such as customizable agent dashboards, no-code workflow tools for business users, and built-in security and governance. He also discussed Amazon Connect Health, AWS’s new healthcare-focused offering.   Crescendo Crescendo won “Overall Best of Enterprise Connect 2026” for its Multimodal AI platform, which unifies voice, text, and visual interactions into a single conversation. New key capabilities include: AI-Surfaced Insights and Dynamic Visualizations Built-In Evidence, where insights include supporting detail ‘Time Travel’ Analysis with  built-in historical comparisons that let leaders step back through time to see how performance shifted over time Shared, Governed Environment Tod Famous, Chief Product Officer, described Crescendo’s approach as AI-first, combining automation with human labor while continuously optimizing both. Key capabilities include multimodal interactions (including image sharing), an AI-driven Insights Dashboard, and MCP-based agentic experiences. Famous explained how Crescendo’s multimodal AI platform lets consumers share and receive images while engaging in an interaction with the AI agent. .     Dialpad Dialpad’s latest offerings are aimed at helping businesses quickly and effectively deploy agentic workflows where they can provide the greatest ROI and business outcomes. Dialpad is focusing on the full lifecycle of agentic AI—from discovery through deployment and governance. Its approach includes: Skill Mining to identify automation opportunities Agent Studio to build agents Proving Ground to test them Guardian to enforce compliance and safety Calvin Hohener, lead product manager, and Fabrice Della Mea , Vice President of Product Management, Contact Center emphasized how Dialpad’s agent AI solution with analytics across a single platform creates a continuous feedback loop between human and AI agents.       Five9 Five9’s Matt McGinnis, VP Product Marketing, provided an update on Five9’s AI progression, highlighting its continued AI evolution with: Genius Routing to match customers with the right agent (human or AI) AI Insights with Spotlight for visibility into key trends Agentic Quality Management for full interaction coverage across human and AI agents The company also expanded its Fusion ecosystem to go beyond integrations and support broader CX partnerships.     GoTo David Evans, VP Product Management, described how GoTo is expanding its vertical strategy into healthcare, building on its success in automotive. GoTo is focusing on SMB customers and large customers with multiple locations, particularly retail and clinic-based healthcare organizations, with its single unified communication and CX platform. Tools like AI Receptionist support 24/7 service and scheduling while maintaining compliance.     Infobip Infobip introduced AgentOS, a modular agentic platform spanning sales, marketing, and service. According to Krešo Žmak, Chief Information Officer, the company’s key differentiation is rapid deployment—enabling customers to define use cases and launch proofs of concept quickly—as well as strong native channel integration and MCP-based development for agentic workflows.     Journey Journey is  the Zero Knowledge transaction layer for contact centers and agentic AI—enabling payment completions, user authentication, and regulated data collection. Journey’s President, COO, and Founder, Alex Shockley, discussed the availability of Journey.ai  Payments, Journey Authentication, Journey Forms, and Journey Signatures within Zoom Virtual Agent (ZVA) to extend end-to-end automation to workflows involving sensitive, regulated, or complex data. These integrations extend automation into regulated workflows. Separately, during a hands-on demo of ZVA 3.0, I experienced first-hand how Zoom’s virtual agent seamlessly and quickly passed my food ordering interaction to Journey for payment authentication.   LeapXpert LeapXpert enables compliant business communication across messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Signal. The platform provides governance, security, and threat protection, while also capturing conversation data to generate insights and trigger workflows. Dima Gutzeit, Founder and CEO of LeapXpert, discussed how the company helps enterprises use messaging channels such as WhatsApp, Signal, etc., isecurely, providing governance, while protecting the company from threats such as viruses and malware.   Mitel Mitel introduced two major offerings: Mitel WX (Workforce Experience): A unified, AI-enabled platform connecting frontline, mobile, and knowledge workers within their workflows Mitel Edge: Extends hybrid communications to on-prem environments for resiliency, security, and local control. Designed for environments that need high reliability, security, and data control, features include: Local call control System survivability if connectivity fails Edge-based routing Secure remote access Data sovereignty support Mitel CMO Eric Hanson noted that Mitel WX is a new user experience for all types of workers – frontline, knowledge workers, and contact center agents - offering a widget-based design that surfaces the right tools for users in a single pane of glass. He explains that Mitel Edge builds on Mitel’s hybrid strategy, which can be deployed on-prem or private cloud. These announcements reinforce Mitel’s hybrid strategy and focus on vertical use cases.     NiCE NiCE won Best Innovation for Customer Experience for Automated Insights, which converts interaction data into structured intelligence and automatically generates AI agents. Carmit DiAndrea, head of AI Data Management, explained how the platform identifies automation opportunities, quantifies ROI, and continuously learns from high-performing interactions. Automated Insights analyzes cost to serve, customer experience, revenue, and compliance to identify top automation opportunities and generate workflows that drive business value. Built into NiCE AI Agents (Cognigy), Automated Insights continuously learns from top human interactions and ideal resolutions to automatically create high-performing AI agents.     Jennifer Wilson provided an update on NiCE Workforce Engagement Management (WEM) and Workforce Optimization (WFO). Using both human and AI agents in the workforce requires changes in the way organizations approach forecasting, scheduling, quality management, etc. Wilson noted that NiCE can monitor AI and human agents individually or together as a workforce and determine where interactions are best served by AI agents and where human agents should assist. She also discussed using copilots for workforce management to proactively assist supervisors and uncover trends and correlations.     Salesforce Salesforce’s Agentforce Contact Center was one of the most discussed announcements at Enterprise Connect. It brings voice, AI, and CRM into a single native platform. This move positions Salesforce more directly against traditional CCaaS vendors, many of whom have historically partnered with Salesforce. According to Ashish Seth, VP Products, Agentforce Contact Center, “For Salesforce to be successful in CX, we need to own voice and be in the contact center space. If you own the channels, you own agentic experiences. Convergence has been happening for a long time, CCaaS and CRM had to come together.” During a meeting, Seth explained that Salesforce owns the voice channel – from the edge to desktop, noting, “We created the telecom and voice infrastructure, which is 100% native and operated by Salesforce.” Agentforce Contact Center is generally available as an add-on to all Agentforce Service customers in the US and Canada.      Talkdesk Talkdesk introduced the CXA Operations Center along with enhanced analytics tools to manage AI agents alongside human workers. The focus is on operationalizing AI—covering discovery, deployment, monitoring, and optimization—while ensuring governance and performance in production environments. As Pedro Andrade, VP of AI for Talkdesk told a group of analysts,   “AI agents should be part of your workforce. The   challenge is coordinating AI with your human workforce. If AI is part of the team, it must be governed as part of the workforce. If AI is part of the team, it must be governed as part of the workforce.” The CXA Operations Center provides a centralized interface for managing the operational lifecycle of AI agents in live production, ensuring that AI performance remains consistent and safe as customer scenarios evolve. Key features include AI Agent Observability to provide real-time operational intelligence into how AI agents behave in production, and AI Agent Evaluation to ensure AI agents perform reliably, safely, and consistently. The enhanced Talkdesk Interaction and Quality Analytics provide CX Insights by connecting conversational intelligence directly to business outcomes, and Automation Mining to identify high-impact automation opportunities within customer interactions.     TechSee TechSee announced enhanced Visual AI capabilities integrated into Sophie Live, an intelligent remote visual assistant designed to help service organizations resolve their most complex and costly customer issues. Sophie Live is an intelligent visual service platform for enterprise contact centers that combines live visual assistance with embedded Visual AI to help agents resolve complex, situational issues faster. Features include Visual Agent Assist, pre-call visual intake, and built-in connectivity intelligence. Elizabeth Tobey, SVP of Marketing, explained how TechSee works with companies to help understand and solve the problem using visual capabilities. As a visual intelligence layer, TechSee works with third parties like Salesforce, NiCE, ServiceNow, and others, acting as a visual Tier 2 tech. At Enterprise Connect, TechSee announced an end-to-end solution for self-service through field service for a seamless journey. UJET UJET introduced AXO (Agentic Experience Orientation), a persistent AI layer that maintains context across the entire customer journey. The platform uses a “self-improving loop” to identify successful interactions and apply those patterns to future engagements. It also incorporates Computer Using Agents (CUAs) to execute workflows autonomously. According to CEO Vasili Triant, a self-Improving loop is where the conversational engine and the customer data are one and the same. He explains that when an interaction ends successfully, AXO identifies the ‘successful DNA’ of that call. The next time an agent faces a similar problem, the system proactively orchestrates the specific guidance based on the successful call. Matt Clare, UJET’s Vice President Product Marketing, explained that AXO unifies disparate data sources within the contact center and uses AI to consolidate this data and recommend what workflows to automate. It uses these contextual data sources to provide real-time assistance to contextually display information to agents in real time.     Verint Verint provided its first major update following the Calabrio acquisition. Key points: ·      There is no big ‘platform consolidation’ project ·      Verint is not going through a big ‘migrate the base’ project ·      Calabrio customers can now deploy Verint Bots to their existing environment ·      No products are targeted for end of life. For now, Verint will continue developing on both product lines. ·      There will be one product team for Verint and Calabrio. ·      Verint is maintaining the Calabrio name as a product brand. The strategy focuses on interoperability and expanding capabilities without disrupting customers. Calabrio customers now have access to Verint’s AI bots through the Verint CX Automation Platform, including Genie, TimeFlex, Intelligent Virtual Assistant, and Copilot. Verint customers now have access to Calabrio workforce engagement tools, such as workforce management, performance analytics, and quality monitoring, expanding Verint’s capabilities in agent management and scheduling.    Dave Singer, Global Vice President, Go-To-Market Strategy explained that the company is building all of its AI and bots to work on either of the product lines.     Zoom Zoom announced more than 45 AI enhancements, positioning its platform as a system of action rather than just a meetings tool. Key updates include: AI Companion as an agentic platform Zoom Virtual Agent 3.0 AI Expert Assist 3.0 Customer Workflow Orchestration using natural language   The Zoom enterprise agentic AI 3.0 platform features a range of new features, including: Custom and prebuilt AI agents with no-code orchestration New third-party integrations for AI Companion, including 10 secure enterprise search connectors New AI-first canvases (Zoom AI Docs, AI Sheets, and AI Slides) Zoom Phone Mobile SMS for Zoom Virtual Agent AI Receptionist AI Expert Assist 3.0 for Zoom Contact Center Natural-language customer workflow orchestration Meeting security enhancements   Zoom Phone features new Agentic workflows, SMS for Zoom Virtual Agent AI Receptionist (formerly AI Concierge), Zoom Phone Mobile, and more.   For Zoom CX, new capabilities include: Zoom Virtual Agent 3.0 Agentic AI Expert Assist 3.0   with a real-time, agentic AI layer empowering agents and supervisors with contextual guidance, intelligent orchestration, and automated task execution Zoom CX Insights, enabling businesses and CX leaders to ask questions about customer experience, workforce, and automation performance in natural language Customer Workflow Orchestration to   design and automate customer journeys across systems, channels, and teams using natural-language workflow creation triggered by contact center events or signals from enterprise systems Advanced Quality Management for Zoom Virtual Agent   The emphasis is on reducing friction and enabling workflows that translate interactions directly into outcomes. During a demo at Zoom’s booth I saw Zoom Virtual Agent (ZVA) 3.0, AI Expert Assist 3.0, and Customer Workflow Orchestration in action. ZVA makes it easy for customers to engage with businesses using natural language, while AI Expert Assist 3.0 helps contact center agents provide faster and better service to customers, even performing tasks on the human agent’s behalf. One of the most impressive product announcements made at Enterprise Connect was Zoom’s Customer Workflow Orchestration, which lets administrators simply use natural language to create workflows.   Ram Rajagopalan, Ted Yoshikawa, and Kentis Gopalla discussed Zoom Virtual Agent 3.0, Agentic Expert Assist, which offers a live AI interpreter for real-time speech translation, and CX Insights, providing recommended actions and more.     Final Thoughts on Enterprise Connect 2026   As noted, the vibe this year was different, with people speculating if this is the final year of our beloved Enterprise Connect. While Informa has plans to host the event at the MGM Grand in 2027, many vendors complained about the lack of customers attending the event, questioning whether the show has lost its mojo.   With its roots in enterprise business voice communications (the event was previously called VoiceCon), earlier sessions and conversations were around IP-PBXs, SIP trunking, SBCs, and softswitches. Today, Enterprise Connect is viewed as a CX show, with “traditional” UCaaS vendors touting their CX capabilities. Every keynote included a CX component, with CX vendors representing a large portion of the vendor sponsors and exhibitors.   Things are moving at an extremely fast pace. In 2025, people were just learning about AI and trying to figure out what agentic AI was all about; in 2026, agentic AI and autonomous AI agents were part of every discussion and demo. 2025 was about introducing the concept of AI agents; 2026 was about using low code/no code tools to build and integrate AI agents into workflows.   My prediction for 2027 – a key theme will be personal AI agents that perform tasks on behalf of individuals and interact with business AI agents. If you’d like to discuss this, have your AI agent call my AI agent.

RingCentral has had a busy year, with new products, ongoing innovation, and several leadership additions. At the company’s 2026 Analyst Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona, analysts received an update on RingCentral’s business momentum and a preview of upcoming announcements—some of which will be formally introduced at Enterprise Connect. In her first year as President and COO Kira Makagon, opened the event by framing the broader industry shift. She described the current moment as an inflection point, with AI reshaping how people work, evolving buyer expectations, and a market in transition. As she noted, “We’re in the industry that lets people communicate—we’re at the essence of what AI enables people to do.” Rather than replacing communication, AI enhances it. Makagon summarized RingCentral’s focus simply: “Our mission is to shape the communication that is now aided by AI.” Expanding the Portfolio with Agentic AI RingCentral has long been a major player in business communications, beginning as an early cloud telephony provider and expanding into meetings, collaboration, video, events, and contact center platforms. Today the company is embedding AI—and increasingly agentic AI—across both customer and employee communications. Over the past year, RingCentral introduced several new products while adding AI capabilities across its existing portfolio, including: AI Receptionist (AIR) AI Virtual Assistant (AVA) AI Conversational Expert (ACE) Workforce Engagement Management (RingWEM) Customer Engagement Bundle for informal contact centers AI Meetings (AIM) for video, meetings, and chat Adoption appears strong, as RingCentral reported more than $100 million in annual recurring revenue from new products in 2025. The “Three A’s”: AIR, AVA, and ACE A central theme of the event was what RingCentral calls the “Power of AND”—the way its three core AI offerings work together across the customer journey. AIR serves as the front door. This 24/7 voice AI agent greets customers, answers and routes calls, provides self-service, captures leads, and schedules appointments. When human interaction is needed, AVA assists employees in real time, acting as an AI coworker that provides guidance and support during the conversation. After the interaction, ACE analyzes conversations and calling patterns using conversation intelligence. The insights feed back into the system to support continuous learning and improvement. To explore RingCentral’s AI strategy in more detail, I spoke with Steven Zachok, VP and GM of AI. In the interview below, Zachok explains how RingCentral aims to deliver a “system of outcomes” that drives action throughout the customer engagement lifecycle. He also discusses how the three A’s work together to support customer engagement, and how RingCentral differentiates with a voice-first architecture where AI is built directly into the platform rather than added as a separate layer. AI Receptionist (AIR) AIR was one of the most discussed products at the event. The platform is designed to deliver a conversational, human-like experience while automating routine front-office tasks. AIR can: Answer and route calls Respond to common questions Capture and qualify leads Schedule appointments and reservations It can also run as a standalone solution alongside existing SIP-based PBXs, potentially opening the door for organizations that are not ready to replace their current phone systems. I spoke with Joe Fahrner, GM of AIR, about how organizations are deploying the solution. In the video below, Fahrner discusses common use cases, including how businesses use AIR to provide a 24/7 receptionist capability. He also outlines adoption patterns across several vertical markets and highlights operational and cost benefits customers are seeing. AVA: AI Assistance for Employees I also spoke with Ashu Varshney, SVP of EX Products, about AVA, RingCentral’s AI Voice Assistant. AVA functions as an AI copilot across RingCentral’s EX, CX, and meetings platforms. It allows users to interact with the system using natural language prompts similar to ChatGPT. During interactions and meetings, AVA can: Take notes automatically Generate summaries and insights Recommend next-best actions Transcribe conversations and meetings In this discussion, Varshney outlined several use cases and customer benefits, along with a preview of capabilities on the roadmap. ACE: Intelligence Across Interactions The third component of the “three A’s” is ACE, formerly RingSense, which provides conversation intelligence and analytics across interactions. ACE analyzes every conversation to identify why customers are calling, what topics they discuss, and even whether competitors are mentioned. The platform surfaces insights that help organizations identify customer friction points and convert those insights into operational improvements. CX Takes Center Stage RingCentral continues to expand its customer experience portfolio. In addition to RingCX, which targets mid-market and enterprise contact centers, and RingCentral Contact Center for large enterprises, the company now offers the Customer Engagement Bundle (CEB) for informal contact center environments. CEB runs on the RingEX platform and is designed for employees who interact with customers but are not traditional contact center agents. The goal is to provide contact-center-style capabilities with lower complexity and faster adoption. Since its availability in late 2025, more than 1,000 customers have deployed CEB. RingCX supports voice, along with 20 digital channels and recently added native workforce engagement management through RingWEM. RingCentral Contact Center, leverages technology from NICE for enterprise-grade deployments. In the following video, Jim Dvorkin, SVP of CX Products, provides an overview of the CX portfolio and recent momentum. He discusses the Customer Engagement Bundle, RingCX, RingCentral Contact Center, RingWEM, and AI Interaction Analytics. I also spoke with John Finch, VP, Global Product Marketing, about how RingCentral’s AI agents work together in real customer service scenarios. In this discussion, Finch explains how the company approaches automation across the full interaction lifecycle—before, during, and after conversations—and how AIR, AVA, and ACE combine to automate, assist, and analyze customer interactions while keeping humans in the loop. Bringing It All Together As President and COO, Makagon leads RingCentral’s product and technology organization, overseeing marketing, strategy, engineering, and operations. Throughout the event, she emphasized the company’s focus on practical innovation and customer outcomes. In this closing video, Makagon summarizes the event’s key themes, including RingCentral’s position in agentic AI and how AIR, AVA, and ACE work together under the “Power of AND.” She also highlights several sessions from the summit, including previews of upcoming announcements and discussions with customers and channel partners. Final Thoughts While RingCentral continues to innovate and increasingly focus on its CX and contact center offerings, it remains true to its roots as voice communications remain central to its strategy. Throughout the summit, executives emphasized the value of voice as a source of insight that can drive better business outcomes. The company has spent years enhancing its voice network, based on a redundant, reliable, secure standards-based architecture   With ongoing AI innovation and a broad portfolio spanning employee and customer communications – including calling, messaging, video, collaboration, and events, as well as a range of contact center and CX products, RingCentral is positioning itself to play a significant role as AI reshapes how businesses communicate.

At its Zoho Day analyst event in Austin, TX, Zoho marked several key milestones. The company celebrated its 30th anniversary and reported more than one million paying customers and 150 million users. For a privately-held company with a long-standing emphasis on engineering over marketing, these figures reflect sustained growth at scale. Strategic Context Vijay Sundaram, Chief Strategy Officer, outlined the trends shaping Zoho’s strategy: AI has moved from experimentation to operational deployment. AI is accelerating innovation—and raising expectations. Best-of-breed buying has created application sprawl; organizations now seek consolidation and a single system of record. Spending is under scrutiny; value is increasingly tied to measurable outcomes. Systems of record, APIs, and infrastructure layers have become strategic assets. Sundaram argued that AI and agentic systems are reshaping the SaaS model. Under traditional SaaS, economic, security, and operational risk shifted from customer to vendor. With AI and agentic systems, elements of that risk shift back toward customers—particularly as they design, train, and deploy their own agents. Customers are no longer just users of predefined workflows; they are designers of behavior. As control increases, so does responsibility. Organizations must determine whether they are prepared to manage that risk. Zoho is approaching these changes in several ways: ·       Maniacally focusing on value, by building a model that delivers value while giving customers the freedom to customize Serving as the corporate system of record, providing context, permissions, and governance for AI. Driving customization through platform approach that allows customers and partners to build applications within a unified ecosystem. ·      Enabling massive automation with AI/agents The objective is to expand customer control without increasing operational exposure. Addressing Fragmentation Mani Vembu, CEO – Zoho Division, highlighted the core problem of enterprise software: enterprises run too many disconnected applications, systems are difficult to change, and each new tool often adds complexity rather than reducing it. The best-of-breed procurement model has led to fragmented architectures, overlapping vendors, and limited incremental value. AI amplifies this issue. Without unified systems, shared data models, and consistent knowledge structures, AI outputs are costly and inconsistent. Fragmentation exists at three levels: applications, middleware, and data. Users must navigate multiple systems, and IT retains limited centralized control. Vembu noted that mid-to-large enterprises average roughly 275 SaaS applications, while IT directly manages only a subset. Fragmentation, he argued, ends when software is designed as an integrated system rather than assembled from components.   AppOS To address this, Zoho introduced AppOS, a unified business application operating system. AppOS provides: A shared data foundation. Common business and process models. Built-in workflows and automation. Identity, permissions, and governance by default. Applications are built natively within the platform rather than integrated after the fact. Key implications: Data is structured consistently across applications. Business rules execute uniformly. Teams retain application-level control within centrally enforced standards. Applications can evolve without architectural rework. For customers, this translates to reduced time to value, lower total cost of ownership, and predictable governance.     Vertical Integration Zoho is also pursuing vertical integration across the technology stack. The company operates its own operating system, database (optimized for GPU workloads), internally developed LLMs and SLMs, and is developing proprietary hardware (details remain under NDA). This “delayering” approach spans: User experience Orchestration and execution Software infrastructure Hardware infrastructure By controlling the stack, Zoho aims to improve cost efficiency, performance, and data sovereignty. It also enables tighter integration between AI models, data, and applications. Zoho manages its own data centers and supports cloud, hybrid, and on-premises deployments—an increasingly relevant capability as data sovereignty requirements expand globally. In a discussion on AppOS and vertical integration, LSP Chandrasheka, Managing Director, Zoho Canada, described Zoho’s evolution from a platform foundation  toward horizontal applications in HR, finance, and other domains. He explained that AppOS, once released, will serve as a platform layer that exposes core capabilities to partners and system integrators, enabling development of industry-specific solutions.     Zoho CX Within customer experience, Zoho emphasized orchestration across teams and workflows. The company’s CX focus includes: Unified CX work orchestration across customer-facing teams. Native, embedded AI for contextual intelligence. Personalization across stakeholders. A system of execution aligned to operational workflows. Modular architecture. Solution-oriented pricing. To get more insights into Zoho CX, I spoke with Dlip Nagarajan, Head of Product, Zoho CRM, and PVK, Head of Market Strategy, Zoho CX on CX Strategy  Cliq Zoho Cliq, the company’s team collaboration application, supports messaging, chat, voice and video calls, and meetings, didn’t get much attention on the stage, but is a key application for many customers. In a discussion with Shathantha Laksmi, Senior Marketing Analyst at Zoho, she noted that Zoho’s focus was on deeper AI integration into collaboration workflows. AI capabilities are being embedded directly into user workflows to act as proactive assistants. Zoho has also expanded workflow automation and unified related capabilities within the platform.   Customer Perspectives Customer sessions remain a core element of Zoho analyst events. I had the opportunity to speak with two customers who shared their experiences at the event. Newcross Healthcare Solutions Mo Umerji, Head of Enterprise Architecture, described Newcross’s use of Zoho One applications, including CRM, Creator, Recruit, Analytics, Campaigns, DataPrep, Expense, Desk, FlowMail, People, Sign, Survey, Contracts, Vault, and Cliq. Umerji emphasized that AI augments users rather than replaces them, noting “AI isn’t a replacement for a person. It’s about giving the user more power and more information to improve how they operate and how quickly they can do things." By building its healthcare application (Karivo) on Zoho Creator, Newcross can keep their data secure and centralized while reducing costs. Integris Credit Union Jeff Anderson, Vice President of IT, discussed Integris Credit Union’s use of Zoho applications, including CRM, Analytics, Directory, Expense, Cliq, Projects, Vault, Desk, Flow, SalesIQ, Campaigns, Assist, Bookings, DataPrep, Mail, Calendar, and Forms. Following a merger, Integris needed to integrate 30 applications, including Zoho and its in-house core banking system. Anderson explained that Zoho Analytics provides visibility into member behavior, churn, asset and loan aggregation, delinquency, and portfolio value. Key Themes Several themes emerged: ·      Platform over portfolio : Zoho is positioning itself as a unified application platform rather than a suite of loosely connected tools. With AppOS serving as the architectural foundation providing unification, rather than fragmentation, Zoho makes it easier for customer and partners to build custom app or customize existing Zoho apps using the same coding tools, with everything built on the same foundation. ·      Verticalized stack : By controlling hardware, infrastructure, database, operating system, and AI models, Zoho improves cost efficiency, optimizes performance, while better supporting data sovereignty by design. Zoho is in a unique position, as most competitors can’t provide this full stack at the cost and efficiency of Zoho. ·      Embedded AI : AI is integrated into the platform rather than layered on top. Internally developed LLMs and SLMs can be trained and deployed for specific customer requirements, with an emphasis on efficiency and latency control. ·      Data sovereignty and deployment flexibility : With owned data centers and support for cloud, hybrid, and on-premises models, Zoho addresses regulatory and geographic constraints. ·      Customization at scale : AppOS is intended to enable customers and partners to build vertical and team-specific applications using a shared foundation. Zoho’s goals for the event were to: ·      Strengthen its enterprise story year after year ·      Provide a clear understanding of the customer outcomes they want to create ·      Share its vision and strategy during this volatile, fast-changing time Based on what we heard at the event, the company succeeded in these areas.

B usiness C ommunications S trategies Expert analysis, insights, and opinions Search BC Strategies Welcome to Business Communications Strategies (BCS), your go-to source for expert insights and guidance for enterprise success in Communications and Collaboration. Popular Tags Artificial Intelligence (14) 14 posts CCaaS (4) 4 posts Future of Work (2) 2 posts UCaaS (2) 2 posts Generative AI (2) 2 posts 8x8 (2) 2 posts Follow Us Featured Article Enterprise Connect 2025 – A Farewell to the Gaylord Palms Blair Pleasant 6 days ago 13 min read Quick Picks Latest Events Upcoming Events AI Videos Featured Expert New Expert Latest Research Latest Podcasts Latest Events Upcoming Events AI Videos Featured Expert New Expert Latest Research Latest Podcasts Latest Events Upcoming Events AI Videos Featured Expert New Expert Latest Research Latest Podcasts Latest Events Upcoming Events AI Videos Featured Expert New Expert Latest Research Latest Podcasts Latest Events Upcoming Events AI Videos Featured Expert New Expert Latest Research Latest Podcasts Latest Podcasts Key takeaways from Enterprise Connect 2025 - Part 2 Mar 28 Takeaways from Enterprise Connect 2025 (part 1) Mar 27 Latest Posts 8x8 Analyst Summit Takeaways – Track Some Mud on the Carpet My favorite line from A Complete Unknown – “ Don’t be afraid to track some mud on the carpet ”. My favorite line – and pretty much... Jon Arnold 30 minutes ago Q&A with Pete Lavache, Avaya CMO and Blair Pleasant, COMMfusion president and principal analyst Expert Blair Pleasant asks questions of Avaya's CMO Pete Lavache Blair Pleasant 4 hours ago Chalice AI: The DeepSeek of Ad Tech In this exclusive interview, Adam Heimlich, Founder and CEO of Chalice AI, breaks down how his company is disrupting the ad tech space by... David Maldow 23 hours ago Unified Communications & Collaboration The Future of Eye Contact in Video Calls: Which of These 3 Methods Works Best? David Maldow 23 hours ago 1 min read Vedubox: The All-in-One LMS with Zoom-Powered Live Classes David Maldow 23 hours ago 1 min read Customer Experience 8x8 Analyst Summit Takeaways – Track Some Mud on the Carpet Jon Arnold 30 minutes ago 8 min read Q&A with Pete Lavache, Avaya CMO and Blair Pleasant, COMMfusion president and principal analyst Blair Pleasant 4 hours ago 6 min read Artificial Intelligence Chalice AI: The DeepSeek of Ad Tech David Maldow 23 hours ago 1 min read RingCentral Analyst Summit 2025 Blair Pleasant Mar 11 4 min read Infrastructure Das AI: The Good, Bad, and Weird from My Week in Berlin Tom Brannen Sep 12, 2024 4 min read The AI Chefs With Kevin Kieller and David Maldow The AI Chefs: AI Kitchen Tools and Inspiration Rodizio Feb 17 The AI Chefs: A Deep Dive into DeepSeek Jan 30 AI Show With Rob Scott and Kevin Kieller AI Show - The Fifth Industrial Revolution and Why AI is Reshaping Everything Nov 27, 2024 AI Show - Is Ambient AI Watching You? The Rise of 'Always-on' Technology Nov 15, 2024

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Latest Events BC Strategies Expert analysis, insights, and opinions Recent Events Inside Enterprise Connect 2025: Conversations, Insights, and Industry Trends A Farewell to the Gaylord Palms In this article, BCStrategy Expert Blair Pleasant covers key announcements and news, and offering valuable insights through informative vendor interviews she conducted at Enterprise Connect 2025. Read More A Congregation of Thoughts Read BCStrategy Expert Kevin Kieller's high-level impressions and takeways from Enterprise Connect 2025. Read More Key Takeaways - Part 1 Join BCStrategies Experts Kevin Kieller, David Danto, Thomas Brannen, Jon Arnold, Melissa Swartz, Robert Harris, and Steve Leaden as they share their key takeaways from Enterprise Connect 2025, highlighting the most surprising revelations, compelling insights, and overarching themes shaping the event. View Here Key Takeaways - Part 2 In this podcast, BCStrategies Experts Blair Pleasant , David Maldow , and Martha Buyer discuss their key takeaways and insights from Enterprise Connect 2025, offering thoughtful observations on the event's most impactful moments. View Here