CloudBoost Weekly UC & CX Highlights

CloudBoost

Weekly Insight

The UC and CX landscapes are undergoing significant transformation through strategic AI integration that balances automation with human connection. Organizations are prioritizing interoperability between previously competing platforms, as evidenced by unprecedented collaboration among major CRM and CCaaS providers. AI capabilities are evolving from simple assistive tools to autonomous virtual assistants capable of independent decision-making across collaboration platforms and contact centers. Despite this technological acceleration, industry leaders continue to emphasize the complementary relationship between AI and human interaction—maintaining that physical collaboration remains essential for innovation while AI transforms operational processes. For small and medium businesses, cloud-based communications solutions are increasingly accessible, with implementation strategies focusing on needs assessment before technology selection.

Unified Communications

How to integrate your phone system with Microsoft Teams

Organizations need to carefully select the right telephony architecture before migrating existing phone systems into Microsoft Teams. The article provides guidance on evaluating business requirements to determine the most appropriate integration approach, which is crucial for organizations transitioning their voice communications to Teams.

4 steps to implement UCaaS for small businesses

UCaaS solutions are particularly well-suited for small businesses due to their complementary agility and flexibility. The article outlines a four-step implementation process that emphasizes the importance of needs assessment before selecting a UCaaS product, providing practical guidance for SMBs considering cloud communications.

Collaboration

Zoom Supercharges AI Companion with GPT-5 to Redefine the Virtual Assistant

Zoom has integrated OpenAI’s GPT-5 into its federated AI architecture, significantly enhancing its AI Companion’s capabilities to function as a more autonomous virtual assistant. This upgrade represents a strategic positioning move that transforms AI Companion from a simple helper to a system that can independently think, decide, and act on behalf of users.

Cisco Q4 2025 Earnings: Webex Growth Accelerates Amid AI and Security Innovations

Cisco’s quarterly earnings reveal 2% year-on-year growth in Collaboration revenue to $1.1 billion, with Webex remaining central to their UC strategy while the company shows stronger acceleration in AI infrastructure. This performance indicates Cisco’s evolving value proposition that balances steady collaboration offerings with aggressive expansion into AI-powered enterprise solutions.

AWS CEO: The Future Is AI-Assisted, But Office Culture (and Pizza) Still Drives Innovation

AWS CEO Matt Garman has reaffirmed Amazon’s commitment to in-person collaboration despite increasing AI integration in the workplace. This stance from a major cloud provider emphasizes the continued importance of physical office environments for innovation, training, and culture-building even as AI transforms work processes.

Customer Experience & AI

Salesforce, ServiceNow invest in Genesys agentic AI workflow

Two major CRM competitors, Salesforce and ServiceNow, have made strategic investments in CCaaS leader Genesys to integrate their respective AI agents into Genesys contact centers. This unusual collaboration between rivals signals the growing importance of AI agent interoperability in the customer experience ecosystem.

Agent Productivity Reimagined: How AI Coaching Drives Contact Center Efficiency

AI-based coaching systems are enabling contact centers to monitor 100% of calls, analyze agent performance, and deliver targeted feedback in real time. This technology represents a significant advancement in contact center operations by automating quality management and providing continuous improvement opportunities for agents.

‘AI receptionist’ IVR takes flight with customer service

Traditional rules-based interactive voice response (IVR) systems are being rapidly replaced by AI-powered virtual receptionists that can handle complex customer interactions. This shift represents a fundamental transformation in how organizations manage inbound customer communications, potentially eliminating the frustrations associated with conventional IVR menus.

The Path to Conversational AI Must Follow the Customer Journey

Organizations are cautioned against using AI as a quick fix for underlying customer service issues, with experts emphasizing the need to optimize the customer journey before implementing conversational AI. This perspective highlights the strategic importance of process improvement as a prerequisite for successful AI deployment in customer experience.

Sales Tip of the Week

When discussing platform migration with prospects, avoid leading with technical specifications. Instead, focus on their current operational friction points by asking targeted questions about specific workflows that cause frustration. Document these pain points verbatim, then connect each one to your solution’s capabilities using their own language. This approach transforms the conversation from a technical comparison to a business value discussion. For multi-stakeholder environments, create a simple matrix mapping each stakeholder’s specific challenges to your solution’s relevant features, ensuring you’re addressing the distinct priorities of technical, financial and operational decision-makers.

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