Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The business press is awash in articles proclaiming the revolutionary impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and speech analytics (SA) to reshape how humans interact with computer systems. However, those grand proclamations typically lack near-term applications that would support such a position. The good news is that we are starting to see real world implementations and the benefits of applying AI to customer interactions in the contact center space in real time, and those deployments are showing measurable hard dollar payoffs.

I am in awe of and enjoy deferring to the incredible expertise of my BCStrategies colleagues. They are not just some of the brightest but also the hardest working people I know, thoughtful and thought-provoking. They have their ears, eyes and minds laser-focused on our industry. It is why they are recognized not merely as trusted thought leaders but also as integral to actually impacting the shape of the future. 

If the primary objective of your project is to move your communications, collaboration or contact center to the cloud, then you are likely on the wrong path.

This is not to say that moving to the cloud is a bad thing; but rather, project objectives should be based on measurable business outcomes and then the appropriate solution, which may include a cloud-based solution, should be identified. Deciding to move to the cloud is putting the cart before the horse.

With the conference name of Xperience19, it’s clear that the key focus of this year’s Genesys’ annual customer conference was customer experience. During Xperience 19, Genesys hosted a group of analysts to give us an update on its products and services with a view to its roadmap. We were also treated to private demos, as well as meetings with execs (including new CEO Tony Bates) and several customers.

The two major themes were clearly Artificial intelligence (AI) and the move to the cloud.

Before getting to a few companies that I believe can be transformational, a few comments on the event in general. This week the annual gathering of the Business Communication industry occurred in Orlando. While the formal name is Enterprise Connect, this year I would refer to it as Easy Connect. Virtually every session and presentation included the easy or simple or intuitive word to describe the user experience.

Masergy, a leading provider of secure SD-WAN, cloud communications, and managed security solutions, announced today the launch of a new Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered virtual agent. Masergy Intelligent Virtual Agent powers virtual assistant and chatbot features for Masergy Global UCaaS solutions. It also serves as the queueing agent for Masergy Cloud Contact Center.

Artificial intelligence is one of those concepts that is thrown at, into or added whenever someone wants to demonstrate they are using this new concept. Traditional AI is not something that is achieved or ever finished; it is a process by which you incorporate various kinds of machine technology with human efforts. Today various kinds of machine intelligence in the form of cognitive behavioral analysis, natural language processing, analysis of vast arrays of data and larger computing efforts are used to solve all the problems we face each day. 

Image credit: Pixabay

Despite being in widespread use throughout countless industries, machine learning remains commonly misunderstood (much like AI in general), even though it’s a fairly straightforward concept. To clarify, it involves programming computer systems with the capability to adapt their operations based on the data they receive and the conclusions they can reach from it.

This may be oversimplifying things, but IT had better have an answer ready when it comes from executive management. It’s a highly loaded question, since it implies that you should have AI – whatever “AI” actually means. For those in IT circles, AI has a lot to do with technology, but your management team is likely thinking more about business outcomes and how to keep pace with competitors. Worse yet, they may see AI as the latest shiny ball they must have, and that it will somehow make the business more successful.

I can’t speak for the rest of my BCStrategies colleagues, but I am incredibly tired of the hyperbole surrounding artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, automation and “digital transformation.” The truths are: