Insights
Vendor independence means an advisor evaluates technology options without bias toward any provider. It does not mean staying neutral. A vendor-independent technology advisor should still deliver a clear recommendation that reflects the buyer’s specific priorities, backed by…
By the end of Part 2 , the groundwork was in place: requirements finalized, a channel strategy structured, EHR integrations validated, and every workflow exception captured in a gap register. But a foundation alone does not constitute a structure. Blueprints don't answer phones,…
A few weeks ago, I was reading through a forum for business owners that I belong to. One of the members posed the question, “As a customer, how do you feel when you call a business and an AI voice answers instead of a person?” Here’s just a sampling of the answers:
Implementing Healthcare UCaaS, Part 1 focused on Discovery, which provides vital visibility into how communication actually breaks down across clinical and operational environments, where workarounds introduce risk into patient care. But insight without structure is just…
On April 7, 2026, Anthropic released Claude Mythos, a model that quickly drew attention for its potential impact on offensive cybersecurity capability. Early reports described its ability to identify previously undiscovered vulnerabilities across major operating systems and…
Implementing a Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) platform in a healthcare environment is not simply a technology upgrade, it is a clinical transformation initiative. While many organizations focus heavily on features, pricing models, or contract terms, this narrow…
The ROI story is real. But the human story is what actually matters—and we almost never tell it. The Press Release Problem Last year, I helped publish a press release about a technology transformation we delivered with United Way’s 211 hotline in California. It highlighted that…
In the first post of this two-part series , we explored how contact centers were already implementing AI technologies to improve the experience for their customers, agents, and supervisors. But in the rapidly changing world of AI, the question remains, “What’s next?” In this…
Imagine you’re calling your internet service provider for technical support. An IVR system greets you cheerfully, but it is not sophisticated enough to understand your problem, and you ultimately end up talking to multiple support agents, having to repeatedly explain your issue…
Solve Communication Challenges Without the Long Wait When leaders identify a clear business challenge like inconsistent customer communication, the clock starts ticking. Yet too many technology rollouts are slow, complex, and disruptive, delaying benefits, straining budgets, and…
Clear communication can make or break customer experience. In global contact centers that serve customers across regions and languages, where demands are constant and expectations are high, every second spent clarifying a misunderstood word is a second lost in delivering value.…
In a recent session for the AI for CX Virtual Summit, CXponent and AmplifAI teamed up to tackle one of the biggest challenges in the industry: how to actually apply AI to improve customer experience and get real results.
We wish buying tech was as simple as vendors claim it to be. Apparently, all you need to do is complete a few demos, pick a provider, pay an implementation fee, and bam! – you’re up and running.
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) has been around for a while, but that doesn’t make them any less devastating. Since 1999, companies like Sony and US Bank have been brought to a standstill by these coordinated assaults on their network. While we hear about the attacks on…
Planning an IT implementation is like planning a family vacation: it’s complex and requires attention to detail. While everyone shares the same end goal (relaxing on the beach or launching a new cloud-based CCaaS solution), there’s a lot to consider after choosing your…
DaaS, also known as Digital Workspace, Digital Desktop, or Cloud Desktop, is a virtual desktop delivered to end-users over the internet. It’s quickly becoming a viable alternative to the more old school, in-house Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). DaaS has a number of…
Buying Enterprise Tech: An Escape Room Analogy
How to Revolutionize your IT Organization with a Culture Map
According to Gartner, 44% of millennials prefer a completely sales-rep free environment when buying technology . Even before the pandemic, B2B buyers were already conducting over 80% of their research prior to engaging with a sales rep. As millennials begin to make up more of…
4 Tips to Narrow Down the Market When Selecting a SaaS Vendor
Why Should You Trust The Technology Solutions Advisory Channel To Help Guide Your Purchase & Implementation — In today’s fiercely competitive business landscape, SaaS platforms are constantly on the lookout to enhance their customer experience offerings. A key strategy that has…
Being a part-time buyer can be an overwhelming task, especially when tasked with making a large purchase for your organization without the full-time resources and expertise to rely on. It can be stressful to balance executive expectations and team delivery, and to make decisions…
When it comes to finding the right technology for your company, there are two major components from CXponent’s perspective in ensuring a good match and therefore a successful buying cycle – making sure there is harmony between the needs and values of our client partners and our…
When it comes to technology buying decisions, there are a few major groups that need to be aligned in order for the process to go smoothly. These include (but aren’t limited to) CTOs, VP of Operations, Finance, and IT buyers. The challenge is in getting everyone on the same page…
How can your call center build a customer-centric culture, experience, and reputation?
Trust. It is a funny word. It is one of those words that is almost impossible to define without using the word itself. It is also one the most important elements for any successful business or business endeavor – including the buying process.
You just signed the deal. The ink is barely dry; the e-signature was submitted seconds ago. Congratulations! You’ve reached the pinnacle of inflated expectations when purchasing enterprise tech. Capabilities, functionality, price, AI, operating efficiencies – you want everything…
There are over around 150,000 B2B SaaS companies in the market, each vying for your attention. Forrester estimates that the number will reach 1 million by 2030 . As workforces and companies change, SaaS solutions are growing more and more prevalent across all industries. What…
Implementing a new contact center platform is truly something that can make or break your career. If you launch the right platform, you’re a hero – you save the company money, improve customer satisfaction, and give your organization a competitive advantage. But if you purchase…
To successfully execute your Customer Experience strategies, good technology vendor relationships are just as important as good technology. Even with the most cutting-edge solution, a strained relationship with the vendor can hinder progress. Vendors act as an extension of your…
A successful CX transformation involves more than just implementing new technology. One of the key factors of any CX project is the operating model you build moving forward. Gartner writes that an operating model “is the blueprint for how value will be created and delivered to…
It sounds like a simple question, and you’re probably thinking: Yes, of course, I do! The business is operating, my staff is getting paid, and everything is working as it should. That means we have enough resources, right?
In today’s digital age, customers interact with brands through various channels including social media, live chat, phone, and email. As a result, it’s become more critical than ever for businesses to have a robust omnichannel contact center solution in place to meet customers…
Taylor is a wizard of contact center technology because he has been on both sides of the contact center. First as an Agent on the end user’s side, where terrible digital employee experience led him to want to learn more about the technical side of things, and now leading a team…
You may not believe it but buying enterprise tech is the fun part of the job. The harder part of the job is the implementation. A bad deployment can hamstring your company, waste resources, and prevent people from doing basic job functions. Implementations make or break both…
If you work in tech, you’re no stranger to acronyms. Some are commonplace (it’s pronounced “gif”) some are redundant (SD-WAN network) and some sound so obscure you need to google them just to be sure what they’re even describing. And if you work with cloud technology? Well –…
Dominic Pasta has a lot of knowledge when it comes to technology transformations. With experience at Groupon, Rocket Mortgage, and Aon, Dominic is no stranger to contact center transformation. On episode 3 of the Catalyst Club Podcast, we discussed an increasingly important…
Multitasking used to be a strength people bragged about in job interviews. In today’s workforce, however, multitasking is a basic job requirement. Employees in every department are constantly balancing a huge array of applications, notifications, messages, spreadsheets,…
Debt can come in many forms, but in any context, it is typically not a good thing to have. Technical debt is an often misunderstood term that refers to the consequences of making short-term decisions when it comes to software and IT. It’s not just financial debt; it’s the…
When you have to make a change to your contact center, you’re faced with a lot of decisions. First off, you have to choose – do you build a custom solution or buy prepackaged software ? You might think that choosing to buy new software is the easiest path forward. But when you…
There’s an overwhelming number of SaaS vendors, and that number is only growing . Even when you narrow it down to just contact center software, it’s impossible for just one person to keep track of all the different vendors and tools in the market. Each vendor is constantly…
Credit Union members are different. On average, they’re older than banking members, and they have higher levels of education and homeownership than non-members. On top of that, credit union members are typically members for over a decade . These differences are more than just…
Analysis paralysis is real . It’s what happens when you need to decide, but are faced with so many choices, so much data, and so much to think about… that you end up not even making a decision at all. Studies show that the more choices you have, the harder it is to actually make…
It’s easy to talk about IT transformation. But Rich Mozak has actually done it. As an IT leader for over 20 years (10 of those years spent as a CIO), Rich has helped several companies completely revolutionize their IT spending. From network design to business software, Rich has…
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been a topic of curiosity since the classic movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey. But what exactly is AI and how can it help in a contact center environment? Put simply, AI is an advanced application that uses real-time data and leading algorithms to…
Dominic Pasta has a lot of knowledge when it comes to technology transformations. With experience at Groupon, Rocket Mortgage, and Aon, Dominic is no stranger to contact center transformation. That’s why we were so excited to sit down with him on the Catalyst Club Podcast.…
There’s an old saying that states that the best way to avoid buyer’s remorse is not to buy something right away. If you still yearn for it, days/weeks/months later, you’ll be less inclined to regret your decision when you buy it. Unfortunately, when it comes to B2B purchases,…
If you’re reading this, you’re likely in a role that involves buying tech. And if you’re in that role, you almost certainly have had to sit through meetings that are (no offense) a waste of your time. It comes with the role – as an IT leader, people value your opinion. But as a…
Have you used one of those Carvana Car Vending Machines? Maybe you’ve seen them: huge spirals of cars. Once you buy a car, you go to the machine, insert a custom coin that allows the machine to pick your car and bring it to the bay, and you drive away. If you don’t trust the…
We recently hosted Cloud & Shades, an event at the J Parker, a rooftop bar near historic Lincoln Park in Chicago, Illinois. If you missed it, well, we feel bad for you. It was a great way to network, connect with old friends, and make some new friends. Attendees were all part of…
Sometimes, the process of buying tech can feel like you’re on rails. The vendor leads your team through some demos, gives you their standard contract, and then gets you set up on their implementation plan. Even if you wanted to, it’s difficult to know when you can change course.
The best part of House Hunters is the fact that none of the couples come to the realtor with the same requirements for their new home. Never. One always wants to be in the city while the other in the country. One wants a large yard while the other wants nothing to do with yard…
There are thousands upon thousands of technology vendors vying for your attention, with more companies hitting the market every month. It’s a huge vendor ecosystem and trying to find the right vendor can feel like trying to navigate the ocean. This is why technology…
In the late 1900s, we mean, the 90s, there was an ad campaign: There’s No Wrong Way to Eat a Reese’s. There’s many examples of these ads online if you want a headrush of nostalgia, but it’s pretty straightforward – each ad features some celebrity or expert eating a Reese’s…
Change is hard, so getting to the root of the problem of why you aren’t making progress is key. Take our quiz and find out what kind of blockers of change your organization is dealing with. 1. Your employees tend to: A. Have good ideas B. Work well together C. Work independently…
All journeys start with a problem. Columbus sailed west to find new routes to Asia so Spain could compete with Portugal. People immigrate to the US in search of a better life. Jeff Bezos is exploring space because…he can? Never mind about that last one, but you get the idea.
First off, let’s note that no one just “buys IT”. That’s a laughable oversimplification. No one just walks into Best Buy and buys a new CCaaS solution after chatting to a Geek Squad member for 15 minutes. If only it were that simple. A corporate IT purchase is a process, one…
That moment you look at your calendar and you see it. The dreaded “status call update” blocking out valuable time you could be focusing on executing the project instead. You’re annoyed about the call before even dialing in. We know project status calls tend to suck, but they…
During the pandemic, sales of board games and puzzles soared . Confronted with endless work from home, many people wanted a “digital detox” where they could spend time without screens. Some folks played board games with friends, others built LEGO alone or with family. Even…
In Return of the Jedi , no one in the Rebel Alliance is sure if the (new) Death Star actually works. They’re not sure of how far along the Empire is on the construction of the superweapon. They also don’t know what it’s capable of. The rebels hold a meeting where they discuss…
Last month, ThreatConnect Inc. released its report on cybersecurity trends from 2021 and threats in 2022. To save you some time, here are the two main takeaways:
Picture it: Sicily 1912. Just kidding. But we will be channeling our inner Sophia Petrillo from Golden Girls to set the scene. Picture it: The world 2022. Your website is down and your customers can’t get the answers they are looking for. You finally pinpoint the issue and find…
Top Five Best Practices For Replacing Your Phone Systems with Microsoft Teams If you haven’t moved to a cloud-based Unified Communications system, we have one question for you – why not? Remote work is growing more common and companies need to adapt. Additionally, employees now…
According to Gartner, 44% of millennials – who now make up the largest demographic in the workforce, prefer a completely sales-rep-free environment when buying technology. Even before the pandemic, B2B buyers were already conducting over 80% of their research prior to engaging…
Since the beginning of the pandemic, companies have recognized the need to offer complete product suites across UCaaS and CCaaS as well as full integration with core client applications. Now over a year later, this transformation has become a requisite for survival.…
If you’ve been on a buying committee for an enterprise tech solution, chances are high that you’ve experienced buyer’s remorse at some point. It’s easy to understand why – the process of purchasing enterprise technology can be overwhelming and daunting. There are countless…
