VMware by Broadcom‘s recent annual user event Explore in Las Vegas was like no other I can remember in recent history. The most notable change was the crowd size. Since acquiring VMware Inc., Broadcom Inc. has clarified that the focus is on the top 5,000 customers, which created a limited audience. That had a ripple effect on the event as the lack of audience created an Expo Hall that was a virtual ghost town, particularly for the sponsors.
Unlike previous VMware Explore/VMWorld events, which are typically filled with product announcements, this year’s VMware by Broadcom’s user event, Explore 2024, was very light on the news. The most notable announcement at the event in Las Vegas was the unveiling of VMware Cloud Foundation 9 and the company’s mission to be the leader in helping companies build out private clouds.
Recently, Five9 reported its second quarter FY24 results. While the quarter was strong, the forward-looking guidance was light, which sent the stock tumbling over 25%. I asked the company about the light outlook, and a spokesperson stated, “We reduced our 2024 revenue guidance by 3.8%, primarily driven by macro headwinds.” While the company cited macro as an issue, its guidance contradicted Five9’s publicly traded peers, which all echoed a more consistent outlook.
To AI or not to AI? That’s the question for many contact center leaders today. AI agents are a double-edged sword in that if deployed with the proper use cases, businesses can benefit significantly with improved brand loyalty, increased sales, and lower operational expenses. If done incorrectly, using AI will create a negative experience and drive customers away. The key is understanding the capabilities, where to deploy, and where not.
The communications artificial intelligence wars continue unabated as every unified communications-as-a-service and contact center-as-a-service vendor loads its products with new capabilities to one-up the competition. Today RingCentral Inc. added several new capabilities to RingCX, its AI-powered contact center solution. The California-based contact center solutions provider has added about 300 features to RingCX in the past quarter, bringing the total to more than 1,300.