Telecom Reseller / Technology Reseller News

By Doug Green “The workplace is becoming an active participant in work — sensing, reasoning and acting.” In this Technology Reseller News podcast recorded at WebexOne, Bob Cicero, Global Director of Intelligent Workplace Experience for Cisco Webex, discusses how AI, networking, collaboration devices and workplace data are coming together to create a new generation of intelligent offices. Cicero says the intelligent workplace sits at the intersection of people, technology and physical space. The idea goes beyond hybrid work. Instead of simply adding collaboration technology to an office, organizations can design environments where the network, meeting devices, sensors and workplace systems work together as one platform. That can allow the workplace to respond dynamically to what employees need. Cicero gives the example of a meeting room experiencing a Wi-Fi problem. An intelligent system could identify that the issue is local wireless interference, determine that it cannot be fixed before the next meeting and automatically direct participants to another available room. That experience requires networking, collaboration devices, observability, assurance and location services to work together. Office design is also changing. Cicero says IT traditionally entered the process late, after architects had drawn walls and workplace teams had selected furniture. Cisco is helping turn that model around. “Start with the end-user experience, then the technology, then the furniture, then draw the walls,” Cicero says. The same technology can also provide organizations with a much better understanding of how offices are actually being used. Cisco collaboration devices and networking infrastructure can provide information about occupancy, meeting sizes, temperature, humidity and other characteristics of the workplace. That can help IT and real estate teams determine whether spaces are designed appropriately and where changes should be made. Cicero says the best technology should ultimately disappear into the experience. With RoomOS 27 and increasingly intelligent meeting spaces, employees should be able to walk into a room and simply have the environment work around them. Cisco is also extending its multi-platform strategy. Webex devices can support Webex, Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Google Meet while continuing to provide workplace intelligence regardless of the meeting platform being used. Looking several years ahead, Cicero expects agentic AI to make workplaces capable of sensing conditions, reasoning about what employees need and taking action automatically. As digital workers take on more routine tasks, he believes the physical workplace may actually become more important for human-to-human interaction. Visit Cisco.com and search for Intelligent Workplace Experience to learn more.  

By Doug Green “The AI agent can keep working on your behalf even after the conversation is over.” In this Technology Reseller News podcast recorded at WebexOne in Austin, Chang Chang, Senior Director and Head of Product for Webex CX Cloud Solutions, discusses Dialog and how Cisco sees agentic AI changing the customer experience. Dialog is designed to move customer service beyond isolated interactions and toward an ongoing relationship between a brand and a customer. Chang says the platform is built around four core ideas: long-range actions, persistent context, self-learning and easier deployment of AI agents. The long-range element is especially important. Instead of ending when the call or chat ends, the AI agent can continue working toward the customer’s desired outcome. Chang gives the example of an insurance claim after a car accident. Rather than forcing the customer to coordinate separately with claims, towing, liability and rental-car teams, an AI agent could continue working across those functions after the initial interaction. That reduces what Chang calls the “coordination tax” placed on the customer. Persistent context adds another layer. Dialog can retain information from previous interactions, preferences and customer journeys so the customer does not have to repeatedly explain who they are, what happened and how they prefer to communicate. That context can include preferred channels, timing and prior conversations, helping create a more personalized experience. Chang says Dialog can also learn from customer journeys and other enterprise information, including systems of record and live conversations. But greater autonomy also requires stronger controls. Chang says accountability, security, observability and manageability are essential if enterprises are going to trust AI agents with more responsibility. The agent also needs to operate within the policies, rules and procedures established by the organization. For Cisco partners, MSPs and CX providers, Chang recommends starting with specific use cases where the customer experience is clearly broken. Understand the desired outcome first, then determine how an agentic system such as Dialog can help deliver it. Visit Webex.com to learn more about Webex AI Agent and Dialog.  

By Doug Green “We’re not just giving them a home. We’re giving them an office and a connection to the next world.” In this Technology Reseller News podcast recorded at WebexOne in Austin, Saleema Sayed of Cisco Webex and Anthony Flynn of Covenant House Texas discuss how technology, financial support and mentorship are helping young people experiencing homelessness move toward education, employment and economic independence. Covenant House Texas serves young adults ages 18 to 24 and is part of a broader Covenant House federation with 33 sites across five countries. Flynn stresses that Covenant House is much more than a shelter. Young people receive housing, healthcare, mental health services, meals, career support and other wraparound services designed to help them build sustainable, independent lives. Cisco has become a major technology and financial partner in that mission. Through Cisco Meraki networking and Webex collaboration devices, Covenant House can provide secure connectivity, interview rooms and access to the tools young people need for education, job searches, mentorship and remote work. For a young adult without reliable connectivity elsewhere, that can be transformative. “They can walk into Covenant House, get on a Webex device, connect through secure Meraki networking and actually do their jobs,” Sayed says. Cisco’s support also extends well beyond donating hardware. Sayed says Cisco teams help maintain, update and support the technology, treating Covenant House much like a customer rather than dropping off equipment and walking away. Flynn says Cisco has invested more than $20 million across the Covenant House federation over the years through technology, financial resources and human capital. He shared the story of one young woman who came to Covenant House after losing her mother, becoming homeless and later being robbed while making deliveries. Within nine months, Flynn says she had moved into independent living and secured a job at a major law firm earning nearly $70,000 a year. “That’s what an investment in Covenant House can do,” Flynn says. Cisco employees and partners can also participate through Covenant House Sleep Out events, where executives and other supporters spend a night outside while raising funds and awareness around youth homelessness. For the broader technology community, Flynn says there are opportunities to contribute money, technology, skills, mentorship and time. Visit CovenantHouseTX.org to learn more about Covenant House Texas and ways to support its work.  

By Doug Green “A buyer isn’t paying for the deal you did yesterday. They’re paying for the certainty of tomorrow.” In this Technology Reseller News podcast recorded at MSP Summit, Patrick O’Dell of Ingram Micro discusses the shift from traditional managed service provider to what he calls the strategic service provider — and how distribution can help partners make that transition faster and with less risk. Ingram Micro has evolved far beyond its traditional role as a hardware distributor. Today, O’Dell says the company supports partners across the broader IT lifecycle, including cloud services, hyperscalers, software, professional services and AI-enabled tools through platforms such as Xvantage. That evolution mirrors what is happening to MSPs. O’Dell says managed services remain a strong foundation, but many partners are being pushed toward a more strategic role with customers. The challenge is getting there without dramatically increasing operating expenses. MSPs can try to build every competency internally, hire specialized staff and maintain certifications themselves, but that can be expensive, slow and risky. O’Dell says Ingram Micro can serve as a scale engine. Partners can draw on Ingram’s technical resources, certifications, project management, sales enablement and expertise rather than adding every capability to their own payroll. That can be particularly valuable for smaller MSPs. “The qualification question isn’t how big you are,” O’Dell says. “It’s what you’re trying to accomplish.” Ingram can work with partners from initial consultation through project delivery and ongoing governance, allowing smaller providers to tap into resources that might otherwise be difficult to build internally. The transition is also about more than technology. O’Dell says becoming a strategic service provider can require changes in mindset, sales processes, training and corporate culture. The economic goal is to create more recurring, higher-quality revenue. For MSP owners thinking about future valuation or M&A, that matters. One-time transactions and hardware refresh cycles can produce revenue, but recurring services can create greater predictability — and predictability can translate into stronger enterprise value. O’Dell’s message to MSPs is that they do not have to make the transition alone. Visit IngramMicro.com or connect through Xvantage to learn more.  

“We connect, we communicate and we automate.” In this Technology Reseller News podcast, Doug Derstine, President and CEO of NetCarrier, discusses his new role, the company’s thirty-plus-year communications heritage and how NetCarrier is extending that foundation into AI and business process automation. Derstine says what attracted him to NetCarrier was the strength of what was already in place: an established customer base, long-standing partner relationships, proprietary technology and an experienced team. “You can’t easily replicate thirty years of experience,” Derstine says. The opportunity now is to combine that communications foundation with newer technologies. NetCarrier describes its evolving strategy around three areas: Connect, Communicate and Automate. Connect represents the company’s network and connectivity services. Communicate includes UCaaS, contact center and messaging. Automate brings AI and intelligent workflow capabilities into the portfolio. At the center of that automation strategy is ConnectSmart, NetCarrier’s agentic AI voice offering. Derstine says the objective is not to add AI simply because it is fashionable. Instead, the focus is on solving specific customer problems such as missed calls, repetitive manual tasks, inefficient routing and inconsistent follow-up. “We’re not looking to replace people,” Derstine says. “We’re looking to replace repetitive tasks.” That approach can help businesses free employees to concentrate on work requiring judgment, expertise and empathy while automation handles more predictable processes. For channel partners, Derstine says the opportunity is equally important. NetCarrier wants partners to take these new capabilities to their own customers while continuing to rely on the company for communications infrastructure, technology and support. The goal, he says, is for NetCarrier to become an integral part of both the partner’s business and the customer experience. Visit NetCarrier.com to learn more about its services and partner opportunities.