Thought Leader | Technology Consultant

ZKast

ZKast, is a thought leadership series where Zeus Kerravala interviews thought leaders from the technology community. To be a guest on ZKast, please contact Zeus Kerravala at zeus@zkresearch.com

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Zeus Kerravala (ZK Research) and Juanita Coley (the "Contact Center Whisperer") are back for another episode of What’s New in CX! After a busy season of jet-setting and "AI in the Wild" dinners, they dive into the massive regulatory shifts and executive moves shaping the contact center landscape in 2026.In this episode, we discuss:The FCC’s Offshoring Proposal: The FCC wants to limit offshore calls to 30%. Is this a "job creator" or a "forcing function" for companies to ditch human agents for AI? The "Avalara Reunion" at Five9: New CEO Amit Mathradas taps Jay Lee as Chief Marketing and Growth Officer. We break down why tying the top and bottom of the funnel is a power move. Verint’s Post-Merger Strategy: With Teresa Anania joining as Chief Customer Officer, can the "New Verint" (Verint + Calabrio) deliver on the promise of outcome-based AI?Sanas & The Accent Barrier: How real-time accent translation is reducing agent abuse, lowering handle times, and driving 20% sales growth.Key Takeaway:Whether it’s regulation or innovation, the goal remains the same: the best customer call is the one that never had to happen.#CX #CustomerExperience #AI #ContactCenter #FCC #Five9 #Verint #Sanas #GenerativeAI #ZKResearch

Zeus Kerravala 30K

2026 ZKast #90 - Will the FCC Kill Offshoring? The Rise of AI Agents and CX Executive Shuffles

Zeus Kerravala May 11, 2026 9:24 am

2026 ZKast #90 - Will the FCC Kill Offshoring? The Rise of AI Agents and CX Executive Shuffles

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2026 ZKast #90 - Will the FCC Kill Offshoring? The Rise of AI Agents and CX Executive Shuffles

Zeus Kerravala 4.1K views May 11, 2026 9:24 am

Is the network still just "plumbing," or is it now the engine of business? From @nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square, Zeus Kerravala (ZK Research) sits down with Åsa Tamsons, @ericsson’s Head of Enterprise Wireless Solutions, to celebrate Ericsson’s 150th anniversary.They dive deep into why "best effort" Wi-Fi isn't enough for the era of Physical AI and edge inferencing. From autonomous bulldozers in mines to streamlining retail payments, learn how deterministic 5G is transforming dark assets into intelligent operations.Key highlights:150 Years of Innovation: Ericsson’s journey from telegraphy to ringing the NASDAQ bell.The AI Connection: Why NVIDIA and Jensen Huang are finally talking about the network.Wireless WAN: How to bring secure, reliable connectivity to ambulances and distributed fleets.Outcome-Driven IT: Moving from "annoying outages" to business-critical uptime.For more on Ericsson's Enterprise Porfolio, see: https://www.ericsson.com/en/enterprise

2026 ZKast #89 - Why Private 5G is the Backbone of Physical AI | Ericsson’s Åsa Tamsons

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2026 ZKast #89 - Why Private 5G is the Backbone of Physical AI | Ericsson’s Åsa Tamsons

Zeus Kerravala 5.1K views May 11, 2026 9:21 am

Stop building demos and start solving problems. In this exclusive interview from the expo hall at #GoogleCloudNext, Zeus Kerravala of ZK Research sits down with Dinesh Venugopal, CEO of Tenarai (formerly Infogain). They dive deep into why most enterprises struggle to realize ROI from AI and how Tenarai is pivoting to bridge the "value gap."Dinesh explains the bold claim that the "Knowledge Worker Era" is coming to an end, replaced by a new focus on Outcome Engineering and Forward Deployment.In this video, we discuss:The Rebrand: Why Infogain became Tenarai to meet the "speed of AI."The ROI Gap: Addressing why 55% of CXOs aren't seeing value in their AI investments.Digitization vs. AI: Why AI requires a different mindset than traditional digital transformation.The Startup Ecosystem: How Tenarai works with partners like 11Labs and Gradio to drive 2-week processes down to 2 hours.New AI Job Roles: What is a "Forward Deployment Engineer" and an "Agentic Design Lead"?2026 Industry Outlook: Which sectors (Retail, Travel, Healthcare) will be unrecognizable a year from now."AI is not going to take your job away, but if you don't use AI, your job is going to be taken by another human who knows AI." — Dinesh VenugopalAbout TenaraiTenarai is an Enterprise AI acceleration company focused on delivering proof-of-value and production-ready outcomes. By combining customer context, domain expertise, and a nimble partner ecosystem, Tenarai helps the Fortune 500 move past the hype into tangible business results.Learn more about Tenarai: https://www.tenarai.com/ #GoogleCloudNext #GenAI #DigitalTransformation #Tenarai #EnterpriseAI #BusinessROI #TechLeadership #AIRevolution

2026 ZKast #87- Why 55% of CXOs Don't See AI Value And How to Fix It | Dinesh Venugopal, CEO Tenarai

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2026 ZKast #87- Why 55% of CXOs Don't See AI Value And How to Fix It | Dinesh Venugopal, CEO Tenarai

Zeus Kerravala 9.4K views May 7, 2026 1:00 am

2026 ZKast #88 - Inside the RSA 2026 SOC: From AI Defense to "Passwords in the Clear"

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2026 ZKast #88 - Inside the RSA 2026 SOC: From AI Defense to "Passwords in the Clear"

Zeus Kerravala 8.3K views May 6, 2026 1:40 pm

2026 ZKast #86 - From "High Roller" to AI Genius: Five 9’s Vision for the Future of CX

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2026 ZKast #86 - From "High Roller" to AI Genius: Five 9’s Vision for the Future of CX

Zeus Kerravala 23.1K views May 1, 2026 10:27 am

Is the era of "customer deflection" finally over?In this episode of ZKast, Zeus Kerravala of ZK Research sits down with Pasquale DeMaio (PQ), VP and GM of Amazon Connect, live from Enterprise Connect 2026. Celebrating nearly a decade since the launch of Amazon Connect, PQ shares why AWS is pivoting from "Contact Center" branding to becoming a leader in Customer and Back Office AI.In this video, we discuss:The Death of Deflection: Why the old metric of "saving money by avoiding customers" is failing businesses and how AI enables a more "agentic" and engaging future.Agentic AI in the Real World: How major insurance and energy companies are already seeing results with self-service AI that feels natural and empathetic.Expanding to the Back Office: The launch of Solution Studio, a no-code environment that allows business users to automate complex back-office workflows like insurance claims and fraud investigations.Empowering Managers: New AI tools that act as a "right hand" for supervisors, predicting workforce needs before they become a crisis.The "Human" Element: Why PQ believes AI won't replace agents, but will instead remove the "tedium" of tasks like password resets, allowing humans to focus on high-value, emotional connections.Key Moments/Timestamps:0:00 – Intro: Zeus Kerravala & PQ at Enterprise Connect 202603:45 – AI touching every interaction: From proactive outreach to "Superhuman" agents06:30 – Why "Deflection is Dead" and the shift to customer value12:00 – New AI Manager Tools for real-time contact center insights15:30 – The Future of Agent-to-Agent communication and security18:00 – PQ’s advice for getting started with AI today#EnterpriseConnect #AmazonConnect #AWS #GenerativeAI #CustomerExperience #AgenticAI #ContactCenter #ZKast

2026 ZKast #85 - Amazon Connect & the Agentic Future: A Conversation with GM Pasquale DeMaio

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2026 ZKast #85 - Amazon Connect & the Agentic Future: A Conversation with GM Pasquale DeMaio

Zeus Kerravala 22.6K views May 1, 2026 9:27 am

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Real-Time, Recorded

The Heard is a weekly talk/chat format where Dave Michels and Zeus Kerravala discuss current topics in enterprise communications.

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Dave and Zeus discuss NICE Interactions and Five9.

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RealTime Recorded: CCaaS June

Real-Time, Recorded June 28, 2024 10:57 pm

RealTime Recorded: CCaaS June

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RealTime Recorded: CCaaS June

Real-Time, Recorded 20 views June 28, 2024 10:57 pm

Dave and Zeus provide updates on 5 recent events: #MWC24, #8x8AnalystSummit, #RingCentralAnalystSummit, #HPAmplify, #Five9AnalystSummit.00:00 Intro00:55 MWC4:55 RingCentral Summit7:40 8x8 Summit13:25 HP Amplify.18:44 Five9 Analyst Summit25:25 EC24 Upcoming27:55 NVidia and AI

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Real TIme Recorded Q124 Events

Real-Time, Recorded 2.1K views March 19, 2024 7:14 am

Dave and Zeus discuss recent earnings reports in enterprise comms.

Real-Time, Recorded Earnings Reports

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Real-Time, Recorded Earnings Reports

Real-Time, Recorded 41 views February 24, 2024 2:57 am

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Real-Time, Recorded 131 views January 3, 2024 11:34 pm

Real-Time, Recorded! Zoomtopia 2023

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Real-Time, Recorded! Zoomtopia 2023

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Dave and Zeus discuss the Zoom Analyst event #ZoomPerspective23.

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Real-Time, Recorded 26 views August 8, 2023 6:02 am

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ZKast

2026 ZKast #90 - Will the FCC Kill Offshoring? The Rise of AI Agents and CX Executive Shuffles

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RealTime Recorded: CCaaS June