Insider Report June 2025

Curated Enterprise Communications News and Insights from June 2025

Featured

In a recent interview, Peter Thiel shared his “stagnation thesis.” It’s the uncomfortable acknowledgement that human innovation has stagnated. He observes that we’ve exited a 200-year period of accelerating change from 1750 to 1970. It was an amazing period of breakthroughs that culminated with the Concorde and the Apollo moon landings. Since then, our innovation has largely been dominated by digitization — namely, the internet.  The digitization of everything has been impressive, but not of the magnitude of the breakthroughs of the computer, the moon landings, or nuclear weapons. Theil is cautiously optimistic that AI will trigger a new wave. He says AI is “more than a nothingburger, less than a total transformation.” He has some concern, however, that AI will reinforce conformity rather than challenge it.

AI could be a nothingburger. Certainly, the hype and expectations are getting ahead of the science. A few years ago, AI was going to completely automate customer service. It hasn’t even come close. Certainly, the contact center is rapidly changing, but the improvements are mostly incremental, such as faster wrap-ups, faster onboarding, and better analytics. 

Still, AI is transforming entire sectors, starting with software development. Medicine and education are likely next. Traditional industries like pharma, banking, manufacturing, and defense are rapidly embracing AI’s potential. What once cost $100M and years, such as protein design, is now achievable with a few million and AI. 

It’s easy to get sucked into the Large Language Model (LLM) variants. We have stopped referring to AI as a feature. It’s more foundational than that. It is sometimes compared to electricity — omnipresent and powerful, but not a competitive advantage alone. AI is changing both everything and nothing at the same time. Let’s take a look at what we know now. 

• AI will permeate every aspect of our existence, from personalized medicine and autonomous transportation to creative arts and scientific discovery. AI will equip us with the ability to process, understand, and act upon information at scale, and in ways we’re only just beginning to imagine.
• AI is enabling voice as an interface. Voice will be how humans interact with AI and how AI systems interact with each other. Voice is easy. Anyone else receiving more voice messages? While reading messages remains my preference, the convenience of voice for multitasking or avoiding mobile keyboards is undeniable. With voice as a universal interface, the next wave of AI can focus on automating entire workflows. RPA 1.0 nailed repetitive tasks; RPA 2.0 (or agentic AI) will tackle complex workflows that require decision-making and contextual understanding.
• AI adoption is unprecedented. ChatGPT hit 800M weekly active users in just 17 months — a user growth curve unprecedented in tech. In under two years, ChatGPT accumulated about 365 billion annual searches, a milestone that took Google 11 years to achieve. So far, adoption has not turned into revenue, but that usually follows. 
• Mary Meeker highlighted that AI’s biggest impacts are showing up at the intersection of software and the physical world. The last innovation cycle was digitalization, but sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and manufacturing are using AI to treat people, grow food, and make products. Innovation isn’t just about cool apps after all. Meeker’s report highlighted Roomba robots and driverless cars. AI’s transformative power extends to “real economy” industries. 
• Software is far from dead. Large companies will continue to buy or license solutions, prioritizing speed and leveraging external expertise, especially in areas where talent or time-to-market is critical. Meta’s recent $15B acquisition of ScaleAI proves the point: It was a strategic acqui-hire at mega/Meta-scale. This is why IPOs are warming up. The appetite is there, but market volatility stifles investments. 

There’s a strong perception that things are moving very quickly, and in many ways they are, but hallucinations and ROI remain stubborn problems. Fourteen years passed between the milestones of Big Blue beating Kasparov at Chess and Watson winning Jeopardy in 2011. It could take decades of LLM improvements until the next big breakthrough … or it could happen tomorrow. Regardless, AI provides an opportunity to reimagine new possibilities that will unlock innovation across every conceivable domain.

General News

IPOs: In addition to WFH and RTO, another post-pandemic trend to watch is IPOs. Banking app Chime’s share price jumped 37% above its IPO price on its first day of trading on Nasdaq, lifting its market cap past $15B, though still below its 2021 valuation of $25B. In addition to Chime, we have seen successful IPOs from Circle Internet Group (shares up over 300%), CoreWeave (up 270%), and Voyager Technologies (up over 80%). 

These positive results are encouraging for upcoming IPOs from companies such as StubHub, Klarna, Navan, and Figma. Within enterprise comms, all eyes are on Dialpad, Genesys, Nextiva, and Talkdesk.

The Trump Mobile Phone: Trump Mobile has generated a lot of conversation, but the Insider will limit itself to two points: MVNOs and the T1 phone. MVNOs are starting to take off in the US. MNOs, or mobile network operators, represent a brand and network. The V in MVNOs stands for virtual; these are brands riding on an MNO’s network. Trump Mobile is a brand on the T-Mobile network, just as Trump steaks were a brand on some rancher’s livestock. MVNOs are responsible for sales, billing, and support, but those services can be easily outsourced. TP expects a US boom in MVNOs because they have already boomed elsewhere (The US generally lags in mobile, charges more, and locks phones). Every UCaaS provider should be reserving their MVNO. It’s going to be a new dotcom domain bonanza. 

The T1 is the new Trump Mobile phone, and it’s definitely on brand. It’s a mid-range Android phone that only comes in Gold. No one has seen the actual phone, but its specs and $500 price are reasonable with one exception: its claim to be made in the US. Currently, only one smartphone meets the FTC’s standards to label itself as “Made in the USA.” It has less memory and a lower-spec camera than the T1 and retails for $2K. Update: The Verge reports that all of the “made in America” claims have been stripped from the Trump Mobile website, replaced with vague language about how the phone is ambiguously American.

Death of Death: Microsoft is retiring the iconic Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) after nearly 40 years, replacing it with a simplified black version in Windows 11 24H2. The new screen removes visual elements like the frowny face and QR code, instead focusing on clearer diagnostic information and faster recovery. This change follows the massive 2024 CrowdStrike incident that crashed millions of Windows systems and has prompted Microsoft to further isolate third-party antivirus tools from the Windows kernel. The shift signals a more serious, security-conscious era for Windows, replacing legacy symbols with more purposeful, support-focused tools.

AI News

Amazon Jobs: Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told employees that the company expects to reduce corporate headcount as generative AI tools streamline work. While no specific roles or numbers were cited, Jassy noted that autonomous agents and other technologies will change how tasks are performed. He encouraged employees to learn about AI to stay relevant. This reflects a growing trend among tech firms where AI replaces, not just enhances, white-collar jobs.

At Intel, Too, AI Is Taking Jobs: Intel is outsourcing most of its marketing operations to Accenture, using AI to streamline functions like content creation and customer engagement. This shift comes with layoffs, although Intel hasn’t disclosed numbers. The reliance on external, AI-powered marketing raises questions about long-term brand control and internal talent strategy.

Weedkiller for Third-Party AI: Microsoft, continuing to build a walled garden, will soon change the default setting to block third-party apps from accessing Office 365 data (including files, emails, and calendars) unless explicit consent is given. This likely aims to prevent external AI tools from scraping calendar data, generating summaries, or collecting participant email addresses. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s Researcher and Analyst Agents have gone generally available, with Copilot users now allotted 25 queries per month.

Cheating with Cluely: The May Insider described Cluely as “Agent Assist for the rest of us.” Cluely is often associated with cheating. That’s brilliant marketing, up there with “Seinfeld is a show about nothing.” “Agent Assist for the rest of us” is more accurate, for those who know what Agent Assist does. Are teleprompters and cue cards cheating? Hacks to appear more knowledgeable are hardly new. 

ChatGPT could likely be more helpful, but it waits for prompts. Cluely is AI not waiting to help. Cluely secured $15M from Andreessen Horowitz because it’s shifting AI from reactive to proactive. Like most of the current AI solutions, Cluely’s AI isn’t that useful. But AI models are getting better, and Cluely’s users and UI will be there as AI improves. Andreessen Horowitz is betting on Cluely for AI distribution. 

AI will evolve past its answer box phase into an ambient intelligence layer that anticipates our needs. But how does it reach us? Today, Cluely is oblivious to the applications you run and the screens you share. It listens (and sometimes watches) to proactively assist. 

Meetings and AV

InfoComm 2025: InfoComm 2025, held June 11–13, showcased two major forms of convergence in the AV world. First, AV is shifting its focus from dedicated devices to smart applications, with software handling more of the heavy lifting and standard IP networks replacing legacy cabling. Second, the lines between IT and AV are fading. AV technology has emerged as just another specialty being absorbed into IT. In that vein, Microsoft (which wasn’t an exhibitor) was everywhere, signaling its deepening AV ambitions with Teams and MDEP (further details below).  InfoComm 2025 Selected Expo Highlights:

• AudioCodes: Demonstrated camera tracking that locks to a specific presenter even as others enter the frame, highlighting smart framing capabilities embedded into Kramer’s room platform.
• Boom ARC: Boom collaboration introduced ARC, a new dual-host connectivity hub that enables automatic switching between in-room systems and BYOM devices. It includes USB-C power delivery, HDMI, and multiple I/O ports. The device is designed to simplify transitions between shared room setups and personal laptops without manual reconfiguration, making the ARC one of the few dedicated hardware products that directly address this hybrid connectivity need.
• Cisco Rooms at IC25: Cisco and Zoom announced native Zoom Meeting support on Cisco RoomOS devices via a secure Android container. This development allows full Zoom experiences — including whiteboarding and AI features — without SIP or CRC workarounds. Two modes are supported: a guest mode for one-touch join and a full-featured signed-in mode. Microsoft Teams mode on Cisco devices remains incompatible due to app restrictions. Beta is expected Q3 2025, with GA by year-end. Cisco also introduced Room Vision PTZ, a high-resolution mechanical camera that uses only a single Ethernet cable to do everything — AV-over-IP, control, and PoE. This continues Cisco’s simplification of meeting technology. Video.
• ClickShare by Barco: Barco introduced ClickShare Hub Core and Pro, modular wireless conferencing systems built on Microsoft’s MDEP platform. These systems will allow native UC apps to run on the device. They will also support 4K wireless sharing via a new USB-C DisplayPort ClickShare Button, and enable full cloud management. The guest-friendly experience streamlines BYOD and room-based meetings. Available by the end of 2025. Video.
• Crestron: Unified its platform under the Three Cs — Content, Collaboration, and Control — supported by live demos of edge AI camera tracking, AV-over-IP, and modern workspaces. Updates to Flex systems and work on MDEP compatibility underscored Crestron’s long-term strategy. Video.
• HP: Unveiled HP Dimension with Google Beam. The Dimension hardware includes a 65” light field display, new A2 Microphones, and lots of hidden cameras. Beam attempts to recreate spatial presence with volumetric depth — a clear nod to the original telepresence era, now reimagined with less bulk. See below. Video.
• Huddly: Showcased the Huddly C1, a sharp-edged USB videobar with integrated camera, speaker, and mic array. It can act as the hub for Huddly Crew multi-camera configurations, managing up to four add-on units with real-time AI switching — all without external DSP. Designed for clean installs and wipeable surfaces, it’s a standout in healthcare and education. Video.
• Innex: Debuted the Omni, a puck-shaped USB camera with four 8MP sensors creating a 360-degree panoramic image. Designed for BYOD setups, it offers speaker tracking, flexible layouts, and 4K resolution in a compact, center-of-table form factor.
• Lenovo: Lenovo quietly launched the ThinkSmart One Pro, an all-in-one Windows-based videobar with built-in compute, AI-powered camera features, and full-room audio designed for small meeting rooms and executive offices. It supports all major meeting platforms and includes a touchscreen controller, optional BYOD mode, and ThinkSmart Manager for IT deployment and monitoring. Pricing starts at $2,999, and shipping is expected in Q3 2025. It is surprising that Lenovo is expanding into video even as HP falters. Also unexpectedly, they went with Windows over MDEP. 
• Logitech: Expanded its Sight offering with the ability to deploy two units at longer tables. The dual Sight configuration enables better audio and visual coverage across extended meeting spaces. We are glad to see this because it addresses equity in larger rooms, where a single tabletop device may fall short.
• MAXHUB: Introduced the XBar Series, led by the U50 — a USB-based, dual-camera bar built for BYOD in small and mid-sized rooms. The U50 enables plug-and-play meetings, while the V50 (Teams Rooms certified) and upcoming Android/Windows variants support broader deployment options. XBar bridges entry-level setups and certified platforms.
• Microsoft: Microsoft expanded its MDEP platform beyond Teams by announcing partnerships with IAdea to bring MDEP to digital signage. This reinforces Microsoft’s broader goal of standardizing Android-based enterprise experiences across applications. We expect MDEP to continue expanding into different use cases. It is all growth for Microsoft, as Windows has had limited success compared to Android on specialized devices. Video.
• Neat: Neat announced dual Neat Center support for large rooms, added speaker framing intelligence, and introduced Neat Focus — camera zoning to prioritize key areas. Neat Bar Gen 2 now allows BYOD use without a Neat Pad, and Neat App Hub has expanded to offer native app support, including Dialpad and Airtame.
• Nureva: Previewed the HDX series — a wall-mounted pro audio system with integrated voice lift and AI processing that eliminates the need for racks, DSPs, or handheld mics. Microphone Mist, adaptive voice lift, and AV-over-IP architecture make it ideal for large rooms that require pro-grade audio with minimal complexity. The system supports Copilot and Zoom AI and is managed via a mobile app. Video.
• Zoom: Released previously announced updates to Zoom Spaces. See more details in the UC section. 

We Have Seen the Future: At InfoComm 2025, we experienced the most impressive video meeting: Google Beam (formerly Project Starline), running on HP Dimension hardware. This mesmerizing one-on-one video conversation takes place inside a private booth, offering an impressive 3D effect. After years of demos, the system is almost ready for pre-orders. While this is the future of video communication, its high cost and limited use cases (designed for face-to-face meetings and requiring specific hardware and Google Cloud services) will likely prevent widespread adoption. Though fascinating, the light field display technology, which provides a 3D effect without goggles, faces challenges compared to more scalable and affordable VR experiences, such as the Apple goggle experience available from Cisco and Zoom. This technology will undoubtedly be ubiquitous eventually — but not likely in the 21st century.

Beam and the Dimension hardware were the most interesting things in the HP|Poly IC25 booth. The company indirectly acknowledged that the future is not tomorrow, as it continues to reduce the product’s headcount. 

Cisco Live 2025: Held simultaneously with InfoComm, Cisco Live 2025 showcased a broad, AI-driven vision for the workplace. In collaboration, Cisco expanded on its Room Vision PTZ system (as mentioned above), which features cinematic framing and speaker tracking for more natural hybrid meetings. Cisco also introduced AgenticOps, a centralized AI platform for troubleshooting and managing Webex, Meraki, Catalyst, ThousandEyes, and Splunk devices from a single pane. AI Canvas was unveiled as a real-time, cross-domain workspace that blends dashboards, workflows, and generative agents. Rounding out the announcements, Cisco extended its zero-trust security model to include AI agents, offering consistent policy enforcement across people, devices, and automated systems.

Customer Experience

Five9 launches Agentic CX: Five9 enhanced its Genius AI suite with AI Agents, and its AI Trust & Governance with agentic workflows. AI Agents can summarize interactions, generate contextual responses with RAG, and use LLMs for intent detection and JavaScript generation. AI Trust & Governance provides guardrails and monitoring.

The trend toward AI agents for workflow automation is growing, requiring a rethink of platform architecture and trust mechanisms. Five9’s Agentic Experience Engine is integrated directly into its Intelligent CX Platform, allowing AI agents to access existing customer context and data flows. This architecture supports various LLMs and offers starter templates for common use cases. 

Cisco Agentic CC: Cisco has introduced a major update to its Webex AI Agent, now offering pre-built templates designed to accelerate deployment for common, industry-specific use cases. These templates simplify the setup process, allowing users to quickly create AI-powered agents for tasks like reporting fraud or updating personal information. Each template comes with settings such as supported languages, interaction modes, and preferred channels. The templates, which will be generally available in Q3 2025, are expected to help drive faster implementation and broader organizational buy-in.

Cisco is prioritizing AI company-wide, including Webex Contact Center and CCE. Cisco also announced new capabilities for its AI Assistant in Webex Contact Center, including real-time transcription and suggested responses, both aimed at improving agent efficiency and customer experience. Real-time transcription, arriving in Q2 2025, will offer closed captioning during live calls. Suggested responses, launching in Q3 2025, will use customer history and context to provide agents with relevant replies in real time. Cisco Contact Center Enterprise 15 is now GA, bringing AI enhancements to on-prem customers, improved scalability, and support for integrating third-party virtual agents.

NiCE Mpower Agents: NiCE announced the launch of CXone Mpower Agents. The solution is intended to fully automate the creation and deployment of AI agents (in seconds) that can work across the customer service ecosystem. Mpower Agents make use of CXone Mpower’s proprietary CX AI models, trained on rich use case-specific data and optimized workflows. They can trigger actions and work together (with humans and other AI agents) across systems. 

AI agents are perceived to be an essential component of modern CS, but most fall short of expectations. NiCE’s solution claims to focus on outcomes, not conversations. Mpower Agents work across the entire CXone Mpower platform to deliver outcomes. 

As providers roll out agentic solutions, NiCE’s approach moves beyond conventional front-office applications. NiCE aims to support workflows that span various departments and systems, a goal that is ambitious yet promising. A key differentiator is its Mpower AI Studio, designed to identify high-impact automation opportunities. This studio enables the creation of agents using no-code, outcomes-based prompts. Agents can be deployed inside Copilot to automate agent tasks, in AutoPilot to enhance self-service, as Proactive AI Agents, or within workflows orchestrated via Orchestrator.

This strategy represents a #landgrab expansion for CXone, shifting from reactive conversational bots to proactive, fulfillment-oriented autonomous agents. This aligns with NiCE’s updated vision: transforming from CCaaS to a comprehensive CX solution that leverages AI for interaction management and fulfillment orchestration. NiCE is signaling that the future of CX automation lies in intelligent, multi-tasking AI agents deeply embedded across an enterprise’s operational fabric.

Partners represent another shift occurring under the new leadership at NiCE. NiCE has always been preferential to its own solutions and channels. Suddenly, it’s announcing alliances with CRM vendors and hyperscalers. Snowflake joins AWS and ServiceNow as recent strategic alliances. 

Snowflake’s AI Data Cloud allows customer interaction data to flow across front, middle, and back-office systems. The goal is to use AI to power and automate operations like billing, claims, and account updates. Snowflake now forms the foundation of CXone Mpower’s data lake. It’s a consistent move with its revised vision that, simply stated, takes a village. NiCE is executing on a plan that seems obvious, and doing so much faster than the industry as a whole. Another NiCE Interactions takes place in early July in London. Will it be the usual repeat of Interactions US, or will there be new announcements? 

8x8@NiCEi25: An executive from 8x8 posted and deleted his excitement about being at NiCE Interactions for the first time. This prompted some inquiries about why 8x8 was attending a competitor’s customer event. 8x8 became a NiCE partner this year. It’s very likely RingCentral stimulated a partnership between 8x8 and NiCE. 

RingCentral and NiCE have enjoyed a partnership for a long time. But over the past few years, RingCentral has launched competitive CCaaS services, and NiCE launched a competitive UCaaS service. The partnership remains intact on the surface, but these companies are no longer as complementary as they once were. 

RingCentral has converted a portion of its NiCE base to RingCX, but some customers remain on CXone. It appears that 8x8 is targeting those customers. NiCE is likely contractually restricted from taking the customers direct, nor is its UCaaS offering robust enough to displace RingEX for discerning customers. 8x8 likely agreed to put competitive differences aside, target these customers (with CXone), take the UCaaS natively, and increase its revenue with CXone resell. 8x8 is also positioned to offer complementary services such as CPaaS (RCS) and its Intelligent Customer Assistant (ICA). 

RingCentral Announces Customer Journey Analytics: RingCentral has introduced Customer Journey Analytics, a new tool that provides visibility into call flows across both its UCaaS (RingEX) and CCaaS (RingCX) platforms. The key value props of the UC/CC combo play are vendor consolidation and improved intelligence. It’s a good move by RingCentral, as it can get past the silos with voice analytics. It also strengthens the CX play as customer interactions occur over UC and CC. 

Bet on the Human Agents: Gartner predicted this month that by 2027, half of the organizations that intend to make major customer service workforce cuts will abandon those plans. Kudos to Gartner, as this shift in AI expectations was inevitable. AI does enable measurable improvements in speed and quality (although it sometimes fails spectacularly), but ROIs are still a work in progress. As headcount reduction euphoria fades, the inevitable buzzkill of using AI to drive better outcomes hits. 

Conversely, Cavell is forecasting that 1.9M human agents will be replaced by AI or agent-assist tools by 2029. It is possible that both perspectives could be true. We know that AI will take on more of the easy stuff, but there’s no indication the hard stuff is getting smaller. Cavell may be counting current agent jobs, and Gartner may be counting overall headcounts, including new roles. 

8x8: 8x8 has launched Verif8, a streamlined omnichannel One-Time Password (OTP) solution that works across SMS, voice, and Viber. Verif8 aims to give businesses an easier-to-deploy, cost-effective way to protect customer interactions without the need for complex infrastructure or long development cycles. Verif8 touts rapid onboarding, same-day deployment, 43 languages, voice fallback, and fraud protection through premium delivery routes. The 8x8 Platform for CX is doubling down on combo plays (CCaaS + UCaaS + CPaaS). #SmartMove #DumbName 

Enhanced Connect Views: Profile Explorer enhances Amazon Connect Customer Profiles with customizable views of customer profiles. Profile Explorer allows users to search for customers using multiple identifiers simultaneously. Customer service teams can customize views to highlight relevant information, such as demographics, communication history, behavioral patterns, and segment membership. It also provides AI-generated customer summaries and personalized behavioral insights.

UC and Messaging

Meta-Morphosis — WhatsApp Ads: WhatsApp will begin introducing advertisements for the first time in its 16-year history. It’s a slow-boil rollout, with ads initially appearing in the app’s “updates” section, but more ads are on the way. Yes, the E2E encryption means ads won’t be quite as targeted as those on Facebook and Instagram, but they know a lot about us. Just by appearing in other address books, they have an idea about social circles. The move opens a new revenue stream that investors welcomed. It’s a fantastic gift for RCS, which without a doubt will eat into WhatsApp. 

The decision marks a sharp departure from the original vision of WhatsApp’s founders. As WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum once warned: “Advertising isn’t just the disruption of aesthetics, the insults to your intelligence and the interruption of your train of thought … [it’s] writing better code to collect all your personal data … and making sure it’s all being logged and collated and sliced and packaged and shipped out.” Honestly, Danto wouldn’t mind the ads if they could stop the unsolicited group messages about “hot stocks to buy.”

Zoom Phone Calling CSPs: Zoom announced a new Cloud Service Provider (CSP) program for Zoom Phone at the Cloud Communications Alliance event in Brussels. It’s an unexpected and interesting move that could deliver growth from a market ignored mainly by OEM UCaaS providers. RingCentral has had reasonable success with service providers. 

The program offers fixed license costs combined with a consumption-based pricing model and margin protection, with the intent to appeal to service providers. Operational benefits include APIs for OSS/BSS integration and dedicated support resources. Zoom also highlighted opportunities for CSPs to expand their offerings with add-ons like AI services, workflow automation, CCaaS, Zoom Workplace, and deep platform integrations. 

Zoom Spaces: Zoom also announced updates for its Zoom Spaces platform, which includes Workspace Reservation, Rooms, Visitor Management, and Digital Signage. Last year, TalkingPointz/Danto published a report on space management/reservations, an area with growing importance in the UC Suite. The report looked primarily at Zoom Workspace Reservation and Cisco Spaces. Since then, Microsoft has released Places, and now we have this update from Zoom. Danto is working on an updated report, including a proposed framework for the entire space. 

Zoom’s enhancements include AI Companion-based suggestions for optimal in-office days, virtual name tags for participants in Zoom Rooms, and a photo-based visitor check-in at kiosks. The AI-powered voice recorder, previously mobile-only, is now available in Zoom Rooms, further unifying room-based and personal collaboration experiences. 

VoiceWorks UK: Voiceworks, a UK company, launched in the UK, offering a suite of hosted VoIP, mobile, connectivity, and cloud communication tools. The service is a voice-first offering. Enreach acquired Voiceworks and now positions the brand for indirect sales through its partners.  

PanTerra Joins the AIR Club: PanTerra launched Luna AI, an integrated conversational AI receptionist. Luna AI is designed to replace hold times, call queues, and missed calls with instant, intelligent conversational responses in line with a brand’s tone and values. Luna AI answers, routes, and filters inbound calls. It can integrate with existing team structures, schedules, and business systems like Salesforce, GSuite, and Zoho. When a conversation requires a live touch, Luna AI escalates the call and context to the best available team member. RingCentral and GoTo also offer AIR solutions. Too early to tell how these products differ. 

Enreach UCM3: European UCaaS and mobility provider launched Mobile on Microsoft Teams, which integrates fixed business numbers with the native dialer on mobile phones. Calls are delivered via the mobile operator’s voice channel at a higher quality of service than OTT apps. Call control and routing remain managed in Microsoft Teams. TalkingPointz refers to this UCaaS Mobility 3.0 (UCM3), which was presented at CCA Brussels this month (see below for slides). The convergence of UCaaS and cellular is inevitable and can be accomplished in several ways. Enreach also offers UCM3 with its own UCaaS, Contact. 

The Business Section

AVI‑SPL To Be Acquired: AVI‑SPL is being acquired by private equity firm 26North Partners, which will take over the controlling stake from Marlin Equity Partners and other shareholders. The deal, expected to close in Q3 2025, represents a new chapter for the company created by the 2020 merger of AVI‑SPL and Whitlock. Financial terms were not disclosed, though Marlin will retain a minority interest. 26North says it will bring in its Alpha Creation Team to help drive operational growth. While this continues the trend of private equity interest in AV and hybrid work services, such involvement in AV integration hasn’t historically ended well. Marlin exits majority ownership before anything has unraveled, and 26North — at least on paper — is stepping into a crowded, increasingly commoditized enterprise collaboration market to capitalize on the growing opportunity.

LeapXpert and StartADAM: LeapXpert acquired StartADAM, a startup focused on B2C cross-platform messaging. It appears StartADAM raised 1.6M in a seed round two years ago, so it looks like an acqui-hire. Nonetheless, a smart one. A few years ago, there was a frenzy of messaging app interop companies. The frenzy died, but the need remains. 

LeapXpert will gain some tech and experienced staff that can get messages from Microsoft Teams to consumer messaging apps like iMessage and WhatsApp (Discord coming). There are also integrations with Slack, Salesforce, HubSpot, and Dynamics. Messaging continues to grow as a business channel, and it is increasingly used with external users. LeapXpert is making significant progress with RCS, which threatens to weaken messaging islands. StartADAM is a slightly different play than Mio, which focuses more on B2B messaging interoperability. 

Genesys Pre-IPO: As Genesys prepares for its IPO, it’s revealing some financial metrics. The provider reported 35% YoY growth in ARR FQ1 2026. That’s partially because the company optimized its books for ARR as a cloud pure-play. It’s still odd that it hung a “Closed” sign on its “legacy” solutions as Avaya practically dared its larger customer base to migrate. 

Genesys is in a strong position (growth, revenue, and recognized leader) for CCaaS, but SaaS is losing its luster. CCaaS is shifting to CX with broader and bigger competitors, and AI is disrupting all the moats Genesys has built. CEO Tony Bates was in a similar situation when he led GoPro from 2014 to 2016. After a highly successful IPO, the company was unable to sustain the high growth trajectory implied by its IPO. Bates Left GoPro following significant sales declines and a larger-than-expected net loss. 

Mitel Emerges From Restructuring: Sound familiar? This was sorta announced back in March, the same month its prepackaged Chapter 11 was announced. That was record speed, but it didn’t account for the government approvals, which took two and half more months. Mitel is now born again with a significantly stronger balance sheet. Mitel managed to reduce its debt by about $1.15B, which cut its annual interest payments by approximately $135M. It also raised $125M in new funding. Adios Searchlight, no one will miss you. Mitel has committed itself to prioritizing hybrid communications. The company claims to serve 70M users in over 100 countries.

Synthflow Series A: The young AI company raised $20M Series A led by Accel, with continued support from existing investors. Singular and Atlantic Labs. Sythflow claims to power 5M calls monthly for 1000 companies worldwide. Funds will be used for the ongoing development of its Voice AI OS and US expansion.

Leadership Changes

Chris Barwick is now leading Americas sales for Zoom. Beau Wilder, John Lamarque, Ted Thompson, and others are leaving HP|Poly. 

Upcoming for TalkingPointz Subscribers

• Research Note: What is MDEP, and why should you care about it?

Meet Us

Dave Michels is Founder and Chief Protagonist at TalkingPointz and Editor in Chief of the Insider Report. [email protected]. David Danto is AV Aficionado at TalkingPointz. [email protected]. 

Goodreads

1. Is Jeetu Patel Bringing Cisco Investors a Satya Nadella Moment? Gary Steele’s decision to leave paved the way for Patel’s rise inside Cisco, where he is clearly being positioned as the next CEO.
2. WhatsApp is officially getting ads Meta has hinted at bringing ads to WhatsApp for years. Now, they’re finally here.
3. Microsoft expands MDEP from meetings to digital signage The expansion announced at InfoComm 25.
4. What we know about Trump Organization’s mobile service Trump Mobile even has a gold-colored smartphone starting at $499.
5. When the Booth Lights Go Out: What InfoComm 2025 Revealed About Vendor Values One vendor laid off its booth staff before and after the event.
6. Something Alarming Is Happening to the Job Market A new sign that AI is competing with college grads.
7. Experts question whether $499 gold Trump phone can be US-made It would be “virtually impossible” for the gold-coloured handset — which will retail at $499 (£367.50) — to be built in the United States.
8. Salesforce changes Slack API terms to block bulk data access for LLMs Dreamt up by Einstein, no doubt. 
9. X’s Sales Pitch: Give Us Your Ad Business or We’ll Sue X is suing advertisers for pulling their ads, and it’s working. 
10. Hyatt Just Reportedly Fired Nearly Hundreds Of US Call Center Agent Overnight — Now Your Calls Are Answered For $400/Month In El Salvador There are no more physical U.S. call centers, with remaining local agents remote.
11. Amazon expects to cut corporate jobs as it relies more on AI CEO Andy Jassy says the retail and tech giant “will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today.”
12. Call Center Workers Are Tired of Being Mistaken for AI As more workers are asked by strangers if they’re bots, surreal conversations are prompting introspection in the industry about what it means to be human.
13. Tesla says it delivered its first car autonomously from factory to customer Tesla says a Model Y drove itself from Gigafactory Texas to a buyer’s home 30 minutes away, marking its first fully autonomous vehicle delivery.
14. Canada Orders Hikvision to Cease Local Operations ​​Canadian Industry Minister Melanie Joly says that the government has ordered Hikvision Canada to cease all operations in the country and close its business.
15. Republican governors want state AI pause out of budget bill A group of 17 Republican governors are calling for the state AI bill moratorium to be stripped from the reconciliation bill.
16. The Impending Disruption of Search Jason Goldberg examines how generative AI, LLMs, and agentic AI are disrupting commerce search — and what brand and retail executives must do.

Other Recent Stuff

Effective in 2025, we moved Insider Lite to Substack. You can view the most recent edition here. This is free content, and Substack makes things easier for everyone, but you will need to subscribe separately here. Insider Lites typically publish 1-3x a month.

• A Closer Look at the Sennheiser TC Bar S (Product Review and Video)
• Non-AI Priorities for the Contact Center (will post soon on NoJitter)
• Why FedRAMP Is the Ultimate Badge of Trust in Cloud Services 
• Slides: Michels presented to CCA The Inevitable Convergence of UCaaS and Mobility
• TalkingPointz Deep Dive: Forrester CCaaS Wave 2025 
• AV Extravaganza in MCO Michels, Infocomm trip report. 
• InfoComm 2025: The TalkingPointz Pick Hitz (Blog)
• TalkingPointz Deep Dive: Forrester CCaaS Wave 2025 (Research Note)
• Barco ClickShare Goes MDEP (Blog)
• UC Weekly News — InfoComm 25 and Our PickHitz (Video)
• InfoComm 2025: AV’s Slow Boil Into IT (Opinion on InfoComm and the AV industry)
• Videoconferencing Interoperability: Evolution, Challenges, and Today’s Solutions (Research Note)
• TalkingPointz Chatz May 2025 (Video — Sea Change in Search and Meetings)
• Who Will Buy Poly? (Dave Michels’ radar is pinging around HP Poly)
• A Dash of Irony: When AI Changed the Way We Write (When humans need to write badly to differentiate from AI)
• QSC’s iPhone Moment (Full stack AV becomes a reality)
• Your Devices Are Talking — But Not Just to You (Are you managing the data your systems are collecting?)
• Videoconferencing and Interoperability (whitepaper)
• TalkingPointz Deep Dive: Enterprise Connect 2025 (research note)
• Agentic AI and the Curious Case of Commander Data (When did society change our collective minds about machines replacing living beings?)
• Phone.com launches ProSIM (Video)
• 8x8: Game, Set, Match 
• Escalator Keynotes #EC25: Generative AI summarizes, but look how an escalator shortens keynotes. (Video)

Recent Insider Reports (only new Insider Reports are behind the paywall) 

1. Insider Jan 2024
2. Insider Feb 2024
3. Insider March 2024
4. Insider April 20, 2024
5. Insider May 2024
6. Insider June 2024 
7. Insider July 2024
8. Insider August 2024
9. Insider September 2024
10. Insider October 2024
11. Insider November 2024
12. Insider December 2024
13. Insider January 2025
14. Insider February 2025
15. Insider March 2025
16. Insider April 2025
17. Insider May 2025

TalkingPointz Insider Reports are available through a subscription service at TalkingPointz.com.

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Insider Reports offer timely, curated, and opinionated news. The Insider Report is published the first week of every month. Enterprise subscriptions also include TalkingPointz research notes. These reports are geared toward the industry itself, though some enterprises subscribe, too. Core subscribers are vendors, providers, consultants, and (financial and industry) analysts. TalkingPointz offers Enterprise-vendor, channel, consultant, and personal subscriptions.