エピソード

  • Teams Can Run Your Contact Center. Here's How to Know If It Should. | Ep. 28

    Teams Can Run Your Contact Center. Here's How to Know If It Should. | Ep. 28
    2026/05/21
    Sometimes, the part of the business that ends up driving the most growth is the part you didn't plan for. Sam Hasson and Tinkle started out selling cloud communications and Microsoft Teams telephony. Then customers kept asking the same question: Can it do contact center, too? Today, the contact center practice is the fastest-growing part of the business.ㅤOn this episode, Jon Zoltie, host of Always On CX:EX and contact center SME for EMEA at AudioCodes, sits down with Sam to break down when Microsoft Teams actually works as a contact center, where the mid-market sweet spot lives, and what to look at if you're starting to question whether your current setup still makes sense.ㅤThey get into the 250 to 3,000 user band where this story plays out most often, the hidden cost of bolting third-party CX platforms onto Teams, the single fabric problem of connecting back office, front of house, and contact center, and why being late to mention AI in a conversation might be the most refreshing thing about it.ㅤ👤 Guest BioSam Hasson is co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer of Tinkle, a Leeds-based AI communications service provider that delivers cloud telephony, managed Microsoft Teams Direct Routing, and contact center AI to UK SMEs and mid-market customers through an exclusive channel of MSPs and resellers. Founded in 2017 alongside Joseph Flahive, Tinkle has built its Teams voice and contact center stack in partnership with AudioCodes. Sam has more than 15 years of commercial experience across UK managed IT and communications, and is a regular voice on the UK channel stage at events such as Channel Live.ㅤ📌 What We CoverㅤHow Tinkle ended up in the contact center was because customers pulled them in, not because they planned to be thereThe 250 to 3,000 user mid-market sweet spot for Microsoft Teams as a contact center platformA recent UK legal sector win at around 1,400 employees, and why the 100 customer-facing users are the real storyWhy bolting a third-party CX platform onto Teams comes with what Sam calls "an extra pop" The difference between integrating with Teams and being native in Teams, and when each one mattersHow Microsoft's closing of the workaround for free presence integration about a year ago changed the buying calculusConnecting back office, front of house, and contact center on a single presence fabricWhy leading with AI features misses what mid-market customers actually want from a contact center platformㅤ🔗 Resources MentionedTinkleAudioCodesㅤGet Started with Voca CIC👉 Start a free trial of the Voca Conversational Interaction Center for 30-days: https://voca.audiocodes.io/signup👉 Learn more about AudioCodes Voca CIC: https://www.audiocodes.com/solutions-products/voiceai/voca-conversational-interaction-center
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    19 分
  • The Hidden Work That Makes a CCaaS Migration Successful | Ep. 27

    The Hidden Work That Makes a CCaaS Migration Successful | Ep. 27
    2026/03/13
    When contact centers migrate to Microsoft Teams, the technology itself is rarely the bottleneck. The real challenge comes down to human habits. ㅤHost Jon Zoltie sits down with Richard Sewell to examine what happens immediately after a new system goes live. They discuss the stark contrast between adaptable users and those who struggle to understand that a computer and a phone are now the same device.ㅤRichard explains how modern analytics give managers undeniable proof of workload and staffing gaps. He also highlights why organizations must leave legacy concepts such as pickup groups behind as they move to dispersed cloud environments. Ultimately, success relies on early adoption, proper training, and letting go of analog mindsets.ㅤ👤 Guest BioRichard Sewell is the Client IT Manager at Chartered Institute of Housing. For over sixteen years, Richard has managed technical operations and client infrastructure. He specializes in Citrix and remote support technologies.ㅤRichard focuses on a collaborative approach to IT, helping businesses move from legacy setups to modern, flexible systems. Outside of managing technology, Richard is a dedicated family man who enjoys the gym, cars, and playing computer games with his young son.ㅤ📌 What We CoverThe wild card of migration: why user mindset causes more support tickets than the technical setup itself.Breaking the muscle memory of the traditional desk phone and adapting to presence status controls like "Do Not Disturb".Why does internet quality completely change the troubleshooting process for remote workers?Using new communication flexibility to work seamlessly from a home office, an airport, or abroad.How managers use call analytics to visualize team workloads and justify hiring requests to the finance department.The problem with requesting legacy features like pickup groups for teams spread across different cities.Turning off analog systems requires early planning and mandatory user training well before the switch.ㅤ🔗 Resources MentionedAudioCodesMicrosoft TeamsㅤGet Started with Voca CIC👉 Start a free trial of the Voca Conversational Interaction Center for 30-days: https://voca.audiocodes.io/signup👉 Learn more about AudioCodes Voca CIC: https://www.audiocodes.com/solutions-products/voiceai/voca-conversational-interaction-center
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    25 分
  • How to Get to “Where’s My Package” | Ep. 26

    How to Get to “Where’s My Package” | Ep. 26
    2026/02/06
    One in two calls never reaches a human agent. This statistic highlights a shift from using AI strictly for routing to using it for true resolution. Jon Zoltie joins Oren Batchelor to discuss the mechanics of resolving high-volume requests—like "where is my package"—without human intervention. The conversation explains how Large Language Models (LLMs) and APIs work together to perform data queries, check order statuses, and even use external data, such as weather reports, to explain delays.ㅤThey also address the dangers of the "Super Bot"—an attempt to automate sales, billing, and support in a single unmanageable system. Oren explains why specialized agents are more effective and details how to establish guardrails to prevent AI from hallucinating or accessing sensitive data. The discussion concludes with practical steps for leaders to help identify call topics suitable for automation.ㅤGuest BioOren Batchelor is a Contact Center Specialist at AudioCodes, working within the UK team to bridge the gap between technical capability and business requirements. He focuses on migrating and operationalizing contact center solutions within the Microsoft Teams ecosystem, specifically handling the Voca CIC line of business.ㅤWhat We CoverThe technical process behind AI resolution includes intent detection and API lookups for real-time tracking.Using external data reasoning (e.g., snowstorms in Germany) to explain delivery delays to customers.The "Human in the Loop" concept: allowing AI to process small refunds while routing high-value approvals to agents.Why high-empathy scenarios, such as grief or bereavement, must always bypass automation.The seamlessness of modern insurance policy updates compared to legacy voice interactions.The efficiency gains of removing mundane tasks like password resets from an agent's workload.The "Super Bot" mistake: Why trying to build one bot for every department often fails.Practical first steps: analyzing the last six months of call data to find candidates for automation.ㅤResources MentionedAudioCodesVoca CICGoogle AI Report 2026ㅤGet Started with Voca CIC👉 Start a free trial of the Voca Conversational Interaction Center for 30-days: https://voca.audiocodes.io/signup👉 Learn more about AudioCodes Voca CIC: https://www.audiocodes.com/solutions-products/voiceai/voca-conversational-interaction-center
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    20 分
  • Practical AI in CX: From Tedious Call Notes to Instant AI Summaries | Ep. 25

    Practical AI in CX: From Tedious Call Notes to Instant AI Summaries | Ep. 25
    2026/01/09

    With all the excitement, confusion, and hype around AI, it's tough to cut through the noise and figure out what works and what's worth investing in. On Always On CX:EX, host Sarah Skidd, product marketing manager at Voca by AudioCodes, talks with Jon Zoltie, an AI and contact center expert, to talk about using AI at the end of the call.

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    They break down the practical steps: turning on call recording, getting accurate transcription, unlocking AI summarization, and adding AI sentiment analysis. Using a university handling a million calls a year across IT, enrollment, financial aid, and campus security as an example, they show how customized AI summaries, AI sentiment analysis, and seamless CRM integration give agents, supervisors, and leadership the clean, structured insights they need—all while keeping the customer and employee experience front and center.

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    Guest Bio

    Jon Zoltie is an expert in AI and contact centers.

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    What We Cover

    1. Why call wrap-up is the most logical next step in your AI journey after conversational IVA
    2. How manual wrap-up work—racing against KPIs and typing notes mid-call—creates inconsistent, subjective data that leads to weak insights
    3. Why turning on compliance call recording is step one, so AI can access your conversation data
    4. Using accurate transcription as the foundation that unlocks everything else
    5. Adding custom AI summarization to turn massive transcripts into quick overviews, bullet points, and clear action items
    6. Tailoring AI summaries by department so each team gets relevant information
    7. Using AI sentiment analysis to understand not just what was said, but how it was said—tracking customer mood and spotting both frustration and delight
    8. How AI summaries and sentiment analysis free up agents to focus on customers, give supervisors quickly scannable data, and provide leadership with structured, objective insights that inform strategy
    9. Pushing conversation data, AI summaries, and sentiment straight into your CRM or database—Salesforce, HubSpot, Power BI—with one click

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    Resources Mentioned

    1. Voca, at AudioCodes
    2. Salesforce (CRM)
    3. HubSpot (CRM)
    4. Power BI
    5. Microsoft Teams contact center

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    Get Started with Voca CIC

    👉 Start a free trial of the Voca Conversational Interaction Center for 30-days: https://voca.audiocodes.io/signup

    👉 Learn more about AudioCodes Voca CIC: https://www.audiocodes.com/solutions-products/voiceai/voca-conversational-interaction-center
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    17 分
  • 2026 Predictions with Jon Zoltie | Ep. 24

    2026 Predictions with Jon Zoltie | Ep. 24
    2025/12/29

    Humans win, and bots assist. A return to real human connections, contact centers being designed for people first and bot second, and customers increasingly opting out of those AI loops that go round in circles. Jon Zoltie talk through top five predictions for 2026 in the contact center environment: the option to speak to a human at every step rather than buried deep within menu systems; CRMs losing a little bit of their status as the gospel of truth as organizations realize the contact center captures what customers actually said, how they said it, how they felt—more objective—and that becoming the source of truth. Voice as a primary interface across devices, apps, and workflows. AI is built into tools and embedded in existing platforms rather than delivered as point solutions. And the ROI element: measurable business impact, clear KPIs, average handle time, misroutes, deflection, wrap-up time, and data that can be proven and quantifiable.

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    📌 What We Cover
    • Humans win, and bots assist: over automation, a return to real human connections, people first and bot second
    • Customers opting out of AI loops and requesting human agents straight away
    • IVR flows to always include the option to speak to a human at every step, not buried deep within menu systems
    • CRMs losing status as the gospel of truth; contact center conversations as the source of truth
    • Investing massive amounts in conversation intelligence rather than relying on manual CRM entry
    • Automatically pushing transcripts, summaries, and sentiment analysis from contact centers into the CRM
    • Voice as a primary interface across devices, apps, and workflows; conversational IVR, long prompts, and AI assistants
    • ROI as a key driver: measurable business impact, clear KPIs, average handle time, misroutes, deflection, wrap-up time, time to resolution

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    🔗 Resources Mentioned
    • CRM
    • IVA
    • IVR
    • conversational IVR
    • conversation intelligence
    • transcripts and summaries
    • sentiment analysis
    • large language models
    • AI assistants

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    Get Started with Voca CIC

    👉 Start a free trial of the Voca Conversational Interaction Center for 30-days: https://voca.audiocodes.io/signup

    👉 Learn more about AudioCodes Voca CIC: https://www.audiocodes.com/solutions-products/voiceai/voca-conversational-interaction-center
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    9 分
  • From “Press One, Press Two” to "How Can I Help?" | Ep. 23

    From “Press One, Press Two” to "How Can I Help?" | Ep. 23
    2025/11/21

    If your contact center is still feeling like it’s stuck in 2019, this new series of Always On CX:EX is specifically for you. Host Jon Zoltie walks through the move from traditional DTMF “press one for sales, press two for support” IVR to IVA and conversational AI with Levent Gunsuren.

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    They decode IVR, IVA, and conversational AI, explore why enterprises finally abandon hardcoded keypad navigation, and share real examples where one-to-one IVR replication hid abandoned calls and pain points. Jon and Levent talk through customer frustration, expectations, and the impact on satisfaction, brand loyalty, and even agent experience when callers land in the wrong place.

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    The conversation then follows a step-by-step journey: starting simple, combining IVR and IVA, using reporting and analytics to see what customers actually say, and moving toward CRM integration, password resets, invoice questions, and AI summaries that help agents greet callers with the right information already on screen.

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    📌 What We Cover

    • Breaking down IVR, IVA, DTMF and conversational AI, and how “press one, press two” differs from speech-based routing.
    • Why customer frustration with long menus, repeated information and getting stuck in trees pushes enterprises to move on from traditional IVR.
    • How one-to-one IVR migration to a new system exposed that around 60% of calls were missed or abandoned – and how that was reduced to about 10%.
    • The problem with “it was working, so don’t touch it” and why migration is a chance to see new opportunities in analytics and reporting.
    • Starting simple and easy: combining IVR with IVA, asking open questions like “can you describe your problem?” and building step by step.
    • Using voice-to-text, full questions and keywords to understand why people are calling, find pain points, and enhance customer and agent journeys.
    • Fear of unexpected bot behavior, losing control, and how the right design and testing keep conversational AI intuitive and customer friendly.
    • Moving from routing only to CRM integration, password resets, invoice questions and AI summarization, so agents don’t repeat every question and can help faster.
    • Why modern conversational AI can sound almost like real human interaction, with a safe plan that always honors “I want to talk to an agent.”

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    🔗 Resources Mentioned

    • Jon Zoltie – Host
    • Levent Gunsuren – Product delivery manager
    • Microsoft ecosystems and Microsoft Teams contact center
    • IVR, IVA, and conversational AI
    • CRM
    • Voca CIC website

    ㅤ

    Get Started with Voca CIC

    👉 Start a free trial of the Voca Conversational Interaction Center for 30-days: https://voca.audiocodes.io/signup

    👉 Learn more about AudioCodes Voca CIC: https://www.audiocodes.com/solutions-products/voiceai/voca-conversational-interaction-center
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    26 分
  • 22. The Brain Behind the Call: Call Automation, Teams Phone, and Intelligent Voice Agents with Sean Keegan (Microsoft)

    22. The Brain Behind the Call: Call Automation, Teams Phone, and Intelligent Voice Agents with Sean Keegan (Microsoft)
    2025/06/12
    When your contact center is responsible for supporting reps, customers, and the technology that holds it all together, stability is essential. In this conversation, host Josh Chronister welcomes Sean Keegan from Microsoft to talk all things Azure Communication Services: from integrating communication methods like voice, video, chat, and SMS, to the powerful, low-latency audio streaming API that enables new real-time experiences. Hear how the platform lets organizations build programmable call flows, enable real-time transcription and translation, and use AI for smarter routing and sentiment analysis. The discussion highlights practical scenarios in healthcare, government, and beyond, always coming back to the importance of reliability, five nine uptime, and the ability to trust the infrastructure powering Microsoft Teams Phone.👤 Guest BioSean Keegan is a Developer Evangelist at Microsoft. Sean focuses on helping organizations and developers leverage Azure Communication Services for voice, video, chat, and advanced call automation. In this conversation, he shares examples and insights from working directly with customers across multiple industries.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanryankeegan/📌 What We CoverAzure Communication Services as Microsoft’s AI-ready communication platform for integrating voice, video, chat, SMS, and telephony into applicationsWhy call automation is described as “the brain behind the call,” controlling responses, routing, IVRs, and actions programmaticallyProduction use cases in healthcare, banking, and government agencies, especially for contact routing and reducing manual effortThe ease of getting started with call automation, available documentation, and how complexity depends on features like AI logicHow the Calling SDK brings powerful voice and video capabilities into apps, and enables real-time features like transcription, sentiment analysis, and translationIntroduction of the bi-directional audio streaming API for low-latency, real-time audio, and what’s possible now for global communicationThe significance of Teams Phone extensibility, powered by Azure Communication Services, for customizable call flows and advanced call control in the contact centerCombining Azure Communication Services with Azure Cognitive Services and OpenAI to create intelligent voice bots, real-time translation, and unbiased sentiment analysis for agentsThe central importance of reliability, uptime, and enterprise-grade infrastructure for contact centers🔗 Resources MentionedSean Keegan LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanryankeegan/AudioCodes Voca CIC: https://www.audiocodes.com/solutions-products/voiceai/voca-conversational-interaction-centerStart a free trial of the Voca Conversational Interaction Center for 30-days: https://voca.audiocodes.io/signupGet Started with Voca CIC👉 Start a free trial of the Voca Conversational Interaction Center for 30-days: https://voca.audiocodes.io/signup👉 Learn more about AudioCodes Voca CIC: https://www.audiocodes.com/solutions-products/voiceai/voca-conversational-interaction-center
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    26 分
  • 21. Teams Phone Extensibility and Unify—A New Era for Contact Center Integration

    21. Teams Phone Extensibility and Unify—A New Era for Contact Center Integration
    2025/05/29

    Between supporting your contact center reps, your customers, and the tech that keeps the contact center stable, the pressure to deliver an uninterrupted customer and employee experience is higher than ever. Host Josh Chronister is joined by Tom Arbuthnot and Gidi Adlersberg for an in-depth conversation focused on Microsoft Teams contact centers, Teams Phone extensibility, the Unify integration model, and how these pieces come together with Azure Communication Services. The discussion covers the significance of Microsoft’s new certification paths, how third-party solutions work alongside Teams, and why tight integration and reliability matter when it comes to delivering 99.999% uptime. Listeners will gain insights into choosing between Connect, Extend, and Unify certifications, the advantages of using Azure’s native capabilities, and what it means for scaling, onboarding, and future-ready contact center solutions.

    👤 Guest Bio

    Tom Arbuthnot

    Tom Arbuthnot shares his perspective as a Microsoft MVP expert on Teams, with first-hand insights into the evolution of Teams Phone extensibility, integration models, and the contact center certification landscape.

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomarbuthnot/

    Gidi Adlersberg

    Gidi Adlersberg brings his experience as a contact center leader at AudioCodes, highlighting the journey from early adoption of Azure Communication Services to bringing unified contact center solutions into production.

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gidiadlersberg/

    📌 What We Cover

    What Teams Phone extensibility means for contact centers and how it enables new types of integrated experiences

    The difference between Teams Phone extensibility as a technology platform and Unify as the certification model for Microsoft Teams contact centers

    Why Microsoft transitioned from the “Power” model to “Unify,” and what that change means for integration and terminology

    A comparison of Connect, Extend, and Unify certifications, and what to consider when selecting a vendor or solution

    The pivotal role of Azure Communication Services as the engine under Teams Phone, including practical examples of SDK-based integration

    Benefits of tight integration: seamless management of Teams phone numbers, direct routing, and five nines uptime for voice

    How Teams Phone extensibility and Unify make deployment and onboarding easier, supporting incremental migrations and scaling for large enterprises

    Key factors to consider when selecting a Unify-certified contact center solution—including vendor experience, delivery, implementation, and the importance of being future-ready with AI

    🔗 Resources Mentioned

    Microsoft Learn documentation page for certified contact center vendors

    Azure Communication Services (also referenced as “the engine under Teams Phone”)

    Teams Admin Center

    Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Center

    AudioCodes Voca CIC (referenced as Voca CIC, with 99.999% uptime for voice)

    Microsoft Teams Enterprise Connect 2024

    LinkedIn profiles:

    Tom Arbuthnot: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomarbuthnot/

    Gidi Adlersberg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gidiadlersberg/

    ============================================================

    Get Started with Voca CIC:

    👉 Start a free trial of the Voca Conversational Interaction Center for 30-days: https://voca.audiocodes.io/signup 

    👉 Learn more about AudioCodes Voca CIC: https://www.audiocodes.com/solutions-products/voiceai/voca-conversational-interaction-center 
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    31 分