Customer experience leaders are under pressure to do more than manage interactions. Yet many CX systems were designed to optimize individual interactions, not continuously improve outcomes across them. Insight often remains confined to dashboards. Automation operates in silos. Improvement happens in cycles rather than in motion.

Join us at CX Summit, our free, virtual event, to explore the next era of CX—one defined by continuous performance. Context carries forward across interactions. Automation becomes smarter based on real outcomes. Insights trigger coordinated action across teams and systems. Every interaction builds on the last, improving resolution performance over time.

At CX Summit, we’ll explore how leading organizations are operationalizing this shift. Through visionary perspectives, customer stories, and real-world innovation, you’ll see how unifying engagement, intelligence, and action enables CX leaders to simplify complexity, scale efficiently, and turn AI into measurable business impact.

https://www.zoom.com/en/products/ai-assistant/features/ai-note-taking/?ampDeviceId=bdb2abe2-bc78-45a5-b1a2-f9123e3b3eb1&ampSessionId=1775227772263

Reclaiming Your Lunch Break with AI

https://www.zoom.com/en/blog/call-center-voice-analytics/?ampDeviceId=bdb2abe2-bc78-45a5-b1a2-f9123e3b3eb1&ampSessionId=1773668462473&ampDeviceId=bdb2abe2-bc78-45a5-b1a2-f9123e3b3eb1&ampSessionId=1773690450535

As AI initiatives move from experimentation to production, execution becomes the real differentiator.

Forward deployed engineers (FDEs) embed directly with customer teams to help move AI from ambition to working systems. By bringing product, data, platform and AI expertise together, they reduce handoffs, accelerate delivery and keep work grounded in real-world
constraints.

Explore how Rackspace and Palantir Technologies can help bring AI into real-world production environments with FDEs.

Read the article by Nirmal Ranganathan and Vikram Reddy Kosanam 👉 https://www.rackspace.com/en-gb/blog/what-forward-deployed-engineer

Our new partnership with Palantir Technologies underscores a key reality: the difference between AI pilots and production results is execution inside real operating environments. In conversations with enterprise leaders, we consistently hear the same challenge: initiatives that perform well in pilots encounter friction once they meet the realities of production systems, data dependencies and operating constraints.

This article examines what actually drives measurable AI outcomes and why execution discipline is the deciding factor. Read it now from Racker ✨Madhavi Rajan → https://www.rackspace.com/blog/ai-pilots-production-results

Learn how Rackspace and Palantir help organizations operationalize AI in production environments.

Enterprise AI experimentation is widespread. Running AI securely in production within complex, regulated environments is far less common. In our e-book, “AI Customer Success Stories,” we examine production AI deployments across regulated and high-complexity verticals, including financial services, healthcare, logistics and retail.

These are not pilots. They are production deployments engineered to address compliance requirements, integrate with existing systems and deliver measurable results.

If you are evaluating how AI scales beyond experimentation, this is a practical look at what that transition requires

https://www.rackspace.com/resources/ai-customer-success-stories

Many organizations approach AI with assumptions that add unnecessary complexity or slow progress. The reality is that meaningful AI adoption often starts with practical use cases, realistic investments, and a clear understanding of how AI fits into existing data and processes.

Our latest article from ✨Madhavi Rajan shares a structured path forward for leaders focused on results, not hype. 👉 https://www.rackspace.com/blog/getting-started-ai-practical-path-forward

In 2000, email was simple.

You had an email server—maybe Exchange, maybe something else. It sat in your office. IT managed it. Email worked.

The decisions were straightforward: how much storage, how many users, done.

Now? Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace? Which license tier—and do you understand the seventeen different options? What about email security—because the built-in protection isn't enough anymore? Archiving for compliance? Data loss prevention? Encryption? Phishing simulation? Advanced threat protection?

And here's what most people don't realize: Microsoft 365 doesn't fully back up your email. If someone deletes something—or a ransomware attack encrypts your mailboxes—Microsoft's retention policies might not save you.

The vendors in this space? Dozens of them, all plugging gaps that Microsoft and Google leave open. All with overlapping features. All with different pricing models.

You just want email to work. But "email" hasn't been simple in years.

That's why we created VENSEARCH. We live in this ecosystem every day—the platforms, the gaps, and the vendors that fill them. We don't claim to know every option out there, but we're constantly learning so you don't have to navigate it alone.

Your IT provider might be in over their head. You wouldn't know.

Here's how it usually works: you hired them years ago when you were smaller. They were fine for what you needed then.

But you grew. Your technology got more complex. Your compliance requirements changed. Your risk profile expanded.

Did they grow with you? Maybe. Maybe not.

They're not going to tell you they're struggling. They're not going to admit they don't really understand cloud security or that they've never dealt with your industry's compliance requirements.

They'll just keep showing up, doing what they've always done, and hoping nothing goes wrong.

Meanwhile, you're assuming you're covered. You're assuming someone's watching. You're assuming the basics are handled.

That assumption might be costing you more than you know.

That's why we created VENSEARCH. We know what good IT support actually looks like at every stage of growth. Hundreds of providers out there—we help you figure out if yours is still the right fit.

I wanted to share an important industry update that may impact organizations still relying on traditional POTS or copper-based telephone services for critical communications.

AT&T has received federal approval to begin retiring more than 30% of its copper network footprint in 2026 (excluding California). This includes wire centers currently serving approximately 90,000 customers across 18 states. As carriers accelerate the retirement of legacy copper infrastructure, organizations that depend on POTS lines for life-safety and critical systems could face service disruption or forced migrations without proactive planning.

At Spectrotel, I work closely with customers navigating this transition through our POTS Transformation Solutions, which are designed to replace aging copper services while maintaining reliability, compliance, and operational continuity.

With Spectrotel’s POTS Transformation Solutions, you benefit from:

• Fully managed POTS replacement for fire alarms, elevators, emergency phones, and other life-safety systems

• POTS in a Box (PIAB) solutions that allow existing analog devices to remain in place while transitioning off copper

• Nationwide coverage with carrier-grade reliability and proactive monitoring

• Solutions designed to support regulatory and AHJ requirements

• A seamless migration path that reduces risk, avoids downtime, and future-proofs your environment

With copper retirement already underway, now is an ideal time to evaluate any POTS dependencies and develop a transition strategy before service availability becomes limited.

I would welcome the opportunity to review your environment, discuss options, and help you plan a smooth transition.

In 1998, you needed computers for your office.

You called Dell. Or you walked into the local shop. You picked a model. You wrote a check. They showed up in boxes. Your "IT guy" set them up.

Done.

Now? Laptops or desktops? Which processor generation actually matters for what your team does? How much RAM? Lease or buy? What's the refresh cycle? Who's imaging them with your software and security settings?

And that's before you get to: What about endpoint protection? Mobile device management? What happens when someone leaves and you need to wipe their machine remotely? How does this integrate with your cloud environment?

A computer isn't a purchase anymore. It's a node in a system you probably can't see clearly.

And there are countless vendors, resellers, and service providers ready to tell you why their approach is right.

That's why we created VENSEARCH. We understand how hardware decisions connect to everything else. Hundreds of vendors, all with opinions—we cut through it so you get the right fit, not just the best sales pitch.

In 1997, you needed internet for your business.

You called the phone company. Again. Maybe you had one other option. You picked a speed—probably the only one available. Someone came out. It worked. Mostly.

The decision took fifteen minutes.

Today? Fiber. Coax. Fixed wireless. Satellite. SD-WAN. Redundancy from a second carrier or the same one? Committed information rate or best effort? Synchronous or asynchronous speeds? What's the SLA? What happens when it goes down?

There are dozens of providers in most markets now. National carriers, regional players, new fiber builds, fixed wireless startups. They all claim to be faster, cheaper, more reliable.

You don't have time to vet all of them. You don't have visibility into who actually performs.

That's why we created VENSEARCH. We're in this market constantly—working with carriers, seeing contracts, learning who delivers and who doesn't. When you need connectivity, you're not starting from scratch. We can help you cut through the noise.

In 1995, you needed a phone system.

You called the local telephone company. Maybe the only telephone company. They sent someone out. They installed lines. They handed you a bill.

Decision made.

You didn't compare 47 vendors. You didn't Google "best business phone systems" and get buried in ads. You didn't sit through four demos wondering which salesperson was lying least.

You just... got phones.

That world is gone.

Now there are hundreds of phone system vendors. Hosted, on-premise, hybrid. Teams integration, call center features, SIP trunks, compliance recording. Every one of them says they're the best fit. Every one of them has a pitch.

You don't have time to sort through all of that. You have a business to run.

That's why we created VENSEARCH. We track the vendors—hundreds of them—so when you need a phone system, you're not starting from zero. You're not wading through pitches. You're getting a real answer from someone who already knows the landscape.

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes a foundational skill for the future workforce, Zoom Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) is reinforcing its commitment to AI literacy with Zoom Ahead: AI for Tomorrow’s Leaders. This live national learning experience is designed to help students understand how AI can be used responsibly, creatively, and confidently. It will include opening remarks live from the White House, delivered by Mrs. Melania Trump, First Lady of the United States. The event will take place on Friday, January 16, at 9:00 a.m. PT via Zoom Webinar. 

https://news.zoom.com/zoom-reinforces-commitment-to-ai-literacy-with-national-student-learning-experience/

Last December, at Oxfordshire County Council County Hall, a significant milestone in local government innovation was celebrated. Zoom officially presented the CX Excellence Award 2025 to Martin Reeves, CEO, and Councillor Dan Levy, recognising the Council's outstanding achievement in transforming the citizen experience.

This award highlights the Council's successful deployment of Zoom’s customer experience (ZCX) solutions to replace legacy infrastructure with a modern, AI-driven support system that puts residents' needs first.

Blog

https://www.zoom.com/en/blog/zoom-workplace-simplicity-ui-updates/?ampDeviceId=bdb2abe2-bc78-45a5-b1a2-f9123e3b3eb1&ampSessionId=1765830012799

https://www.zoom.com/en/blog/customer-experience-trends/?ampDeviceId=bdb2abe2-bc78-45a5-b1a2-f9123e3b3eb1&ampSessionId=1765830012799

Cloud Was Supposed to Save You Money. Now It’s Draining Your Budget.

This report exposes the financial playbook behind rising cloud bills, lock-made-legal pricing tactics, and the hidden costs buried in “as-a-service” models. You’ll learn how businesses are cutting spend, reducing lock-in risk, and shifting to smarter hybrid strategies.

• The 3-stage “hook, squeeze, harvest” model hyperscalers use to trap customers

• Real-world examples of 800%–1,500% price hikes after lock-in

• How egress fees function as an exit tax

• Why 86% of CIOs are repatriating workloads

• Cost models that prove when it’s cheaper to own, not rent

• A practical framework for building a controlled, hybrid cloud strategy

Some AI Leaders are moving beyond project-focused AI development. They are developing sustainable AI creation strategies. But other organizations have a long way to go to strengthen their AI strategy.

VP of AI and Sustainability at Rackspace Technology, Ben Blanquera, provides insights, tips and encouragement on how to create strategic AI development. https://www.rackspace.com/blog/your-ai-operation-achieving-long-term-sustainable-growth