By
Eric Krapf
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Date Published: January 08, 2026 - Last Updated January 08, 2026
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Comments
Contact center decision-makers face massive technology-driven transformations that impact customer engagement, agent experience, and workforce management; and the rise of generative AI is turbo-charging these dynamics. But use cases and ROI for AI deployments remain uncertain, while enterprise contact center, IT, and business leaders find themselves navigating new and challenging needs for collaboration and integration among their organizations and systems.
As the longtime Program Chair of Enterprise Connect, the leading independent conference and expo for IT and CX technology decision-makers, I’ve seen the frustration and FOMO, as well as the successes that enterprises have experienced as they attempt to use technology as a key element in delivering world-class customer experience. AI promises to improve everything from self-service to agent support to workforce management. But in the real world, enterprises are finding AI challenging to scale, and fraught with concerns over governance and security.
AI also promises to change the relationship of the agent, customer, and business, affecting not just staffing levels but what it means to be an agent. For example, if AI succeeds in offloading all but the most complex customer interactions, what will that mean for agents who now find much more of their time spent with difficult problems and potentially a higher share of unhappy customers? And metrics may need to evolve: for example, if agents are dealing with more challenging interactions, or possibly taking on more of an up-selling role, perhaps higher average handle times will actually become a more positive indicator?
At Enterprise Connect, we come at the contact center from a technology perspective, as our audience includes a strong contingent of enterprise technology pros who specialize in the contact center, or are embarked on major contact center technology projects. But in recent years we’ve found that almost every session benefits from at least some consideration of a holistic approach – in other words, how the technology impacts business and contact center managers.
A great example is a keynote panel session at Enterprise Connect 2026, in which an industry analyst will lead a discussion with top execs from major contact center technology suppliers on the question of, Does More Technology = Happier Customers? We’re complementing this strategic view with a number of breakout sessions aimed at helping decision-makers with specific issues around the application of technology to the contact center, including, The Economics of AI to Improve CX, While Reducing Costs, and Journey Orchestration Beyond the Contact Center: Embedding AI-Service Touchpoints in Unexpected Enterprise Workflows. In addition, our show opens with a half-day summit on CX, with technology updates, customer case studies, a panel on Agentic AI, plus small-group discussions in which attendees will be able to share their own stories and hear from their peers.
If your role in the contact center is impacted by the technology you use – as I suspect it is -I invite you to join us at Caesars Forum in Las Vegas March 10 – 12 for Enterprise Connect 2026. I’d also love to hear from you about your experiences in tech-enabling your contact center. Please drop me a line at [email protected].