Techaisle Blog

Zoom is gearing up for its next phase of innovation and growth, transitioning from a mere meetings provider to a comprehensive communications and collaboration platform. Central to Zoom’s strategy is the provision of choice and flexibility, allowing customers to work in ways that suit them best. Its rich ecosystem fosters seamless workflows across Zoom and third-party platforms. In the era of hybrid work, challenges abound in fostering employee engagement, productivity, and enhancing customer experiences. Zoom, with its communication and collaboration software and rapidly evolving cloud contact center solutions, has emerged as a preferred choice for improving both employee and customer experiences. As part of its growth trajectory, Zoom has introduced the Zoom AI Companion, an innovative AI assistant designed to enhance productivity and efficiency at both individual and team levels. This tool provides a convenient platform for connecting and collaborating with team members, external partners, and customers.

During Zoomtopia 2023, Zoom’s annual conference, it unveiled several enhancements for the Zoom AI Companion. It also launched Zoom Docs, an AI-powered workspace designed to tackle the challenges of hybrid and remote work with flexible AI-powered workspaces for documentation, wikis, project management, and more. Additionally, updates to its channel partner program were announced.

Zoom AI Companion

AI is at the core of Zoom’s offerings. Zoom already utilizes AI to enhance connectivity, video compression, and audio transmission, ensuring superior video quality. Features like anti-fraud measures, AI assistants, and Zoom Rooms with intelligent attendee auto-tracking have been integrated to elevate user experience and engagement. AI-enabled features like virtual backdrops, avatars, gesture detection, and background noise reduction make meetings more engaging and inclusive.

Zoom unveiled AI Companion on September 5, with further feature enhancements and platform expansions disclosed during Zoomtopia on October 3-4. All AI Companion capabilities are available at no extra pricing for paid subscribers. AI Companion aids users in managing note-taking activities during meetings, ensuring uninterrupted participation. It also simplifies summarizing lengthy chat threads, allowing users to concentrate on more strategic tasks. On the creative side, the Zoom Whiteboard, powered by AI companion, assists users in generating ideas for brainstorming sessions.

Zoom uses a federated approach to AI, incorporating its own large language models (LLMs) alongside Meta, Anthropic, and OpenAI models. This allows Zoom to tailor its AI solutions to meet users' unique needs and preferences. For the uninitiated, Federated AI is a dynamic approach to developing and deploying machine learning models. A Federated approach uses multiple AI models to optimize results while maintaining cost-effectiveness.

At the time of writing the report, AI Companion supported only English-language meetings, but Zoom is working on adding multi-language support soon. AI features are off by default and can be enabled by administrators and account owners. Meeting hosts can also control the AI features once enabled, and meeting participants can see when AI features are being used. AI companion currently only responds to topics discussed during active meetings.

According to data from Techaisle, it is projected that the global IT expenditure of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) will escalate to a staggering US$1.35 trillion by 2024. Furthermore, this spending is anticipated to experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.7%, extending through 2028. Cisco is making a significant push into the SMB market, a segment where it has enjoyed steady growth. In fiscal year 2023, which concluded in July, the SMB segment was Cisco’s top-performing customer category for a third consecutive year. Cisco sees this segment as a $25 billion addressable market opportunity, captured with mid to high-tier SMBs transitioning to cloud and SaaS solutions. Notably, about 20% of Cisco’s SMB business comes from new customers every year, underscoring this segment's critical role in expanding Cisco’s reach and reflecting on the growing demand for technology amongst SMBs.

Cisco’s go-to-market in the SMB segment is partner-led, catalyzed with continuous partner-focused programs, initiatives, and marketing investments to foster robust relationships. According to the latest research by Techaisle, a significant majority of SMBs, 87%, depend on their partners for technology solutions. Furthermore, these SMBs channel nearly 89% of their IT expenditure through these partners. Cisco is, therefore, continuously enhancing its engagement with partners, revamping its marketing strategies, and adapting to the changing needs of its customers. A vital part of this strategy is the focus on the new “Scale” go-to-market initiative, aligned to engaging SMB customers and Partners in this space, as unveiled at the company’s sales kickoff meeting in August. This model offers partners and customers enhanced sales and marketing support, ensuring that SMBs receive expert advice in crucial care-about areas such as cybersecurity or hybrid work.

The concept of “digital transformation” has become a staple in corporate discussions over the years. While some may write it off as a fad, many, particularly SMBs, understand its importance. For these businesses, digital transformation involves adopting digital technologies to streamline operations, improve customer relationships, and position themselves as agile and innovative entities in their respective fields. Techaisle data reveals that 71% of SMBs are investing in digital transformation, and 37% have a holistic digital strategy. SMBs, once perceived as technologically behind, are actively embracing cloud solutions to meet their IT requirements. These technologies have become crucial to their digital transformation journey, enabling them to automate various operational aspects and gain a competitive advantage through essential business process automation tools, orchestration, and integration or advanced offerings like custom AI and analytics applications hosted on cloud platforms.

Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) technology is a prime example of innovation and practicality in an era characterized by swift technological advancements. With its origins dating back to the latter half of the 20th century, DECT technology has evolved into a sophisticated communications network that redefines cordless phone communication standards. Mitel, a leading communication solutions provider, has been at the forefront of this evolution, offering DECT features such as over-the-air synchronization, enhanced signal strength, advanced security protocols, voice encryption, and reliable connectivity. The company’s commitment to innovation is further underscored by the impending launch of its 700d Series phones.

In addition to its DECT offerings, Mitel also provides the MiCollab app—a comprehensive communication solution designed to enhance collaboration. Among its many advanced features is Meetings—a multi-party video conferencing solution. The app’s most recent update (MiCollab 9.7 SP1) introduces several new features we will examine in detail.

Mitel: A Significant Player in the DECT Market

The global multicellular DECT market is fiercely competitive, with many companies competing for a share of the market. In 2022, Atos Utility and Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise held 18% and 15% of the market share, respectively. Companies such as Ascom Wireless, Yealink, Snom, and Avaya each had less than 10% of the market. Mitel stood out as the market leader, holding approximately one-fifth of the market share by consistently providing modern, comprehensive, and reliable solutions.

As the DECT market continues to evolve, competitors are focusing on differentiating their products by introducing solutions specific to various industries, improving audio quality, and adding mobile features to meet the diverse needs of their clients. Organizations are looking for solutions tailored to their unique requirements, and DECT players are responding by delivering innovative communication solutions that meet and exceed expectations and enhance connectivity.

Mitel’s strategy is to provide more choice and flexibility than any other vendor. Unlike most communications vendors offering off-the-shelf solutions, Mitel’s unique approach provides customizable options for cloud, deployment, collaboration, and vertical applications. In addition, Mitel helps customers navigate their communications and collaboration journey through its Customer Lifecycle initiative.

Mitel understands the importance of CLM in adopting UC and has made it a critical initiative. Mitel provides partners and customers with extensive CLM, data, and analysis to effectively plan their communications and collaboration solutions as part of its business strategy.

Techaisle data shows that 47% of SMBs and 49% of core & upper midmarket firms are focused on business resiliency enablement to manage change and uncertainty. At the same time, 27% of midsized businesses are targeting investments for growth and long-term success. In response to increasing business operating costs, economic uncertainty, and rising interest rates, customers are seeking communication solutions that are both flexible, effective, and affordable long term. Further, the shift towards hybrid work has increased the requirements of unified communications (UC) systems connecting individuals in different locations. 32% of SMBs and 22% of upper midmarket firms’ employees are expected to be hybrid. Updating UC systems to meet these changing requirements can be complex.

Future-ready businesses are seeking communications solutions that are agile, adaptive, transformative, flexible, and empowering. Thus, many organizations require guidance on the most efficient ways to invest in and modernize communication solutions. This is where customer lifecycle management (CLM) comes into play. By aligning an organization's goals with the UC technology being adopted or upgraded, CLM helps streamline the UC adoption process, ensuring that communication solutions are optimized to meet business objectives. As a result, CLM helps organizations maximize business value for customers and future-proof their investment in UC.

Mitel's approach to CLM

Mitel has differentiated itself from its competitors in the communication solutions industry by adopting a customer-centric approach that provides flexibility and choice throughout the communications lifecycle. Its CLM approach is designed to support customers using on-premise, hybrid, or cloud solutions. It has two main strategies – UC (communication and collaboration tools) and migrations (moving customers from on-premise or hybrid solutions to the cloud) – to ensure customers receive value and flexibility, regardless of their current solution.

Mitel's CLM approach focuses on delivering customer value in three key areas. Firstly, it adds value to existing customers' businesses by understanding their needs through innovative analytics. Secondly, it targets vertical markets such as healthcare, hospitality, state, local, and education (SLED), which require a private or hybrid cloud model due to security and regulatory requirements. Lastly, its strategic partnership with RingCentral helps customers migrate to public cloud solutions when most appropriate per their needs.

Techaisle survey data reveals that organizations have unique communications needs with a mix of infrastructures: on-prem, public cloud, private cloud, or a hybrid solution. A one-size-fits-all approach is only viable for some. It is a customer choice issue. Today, on-premises UC solutions are dominant, with 88% of organizations using some on-premises UC solutions. However, 44% are combining on-prem solutions with cloud solutions. Cloud communications solutions are also on their long-term plans, with 47% either evaluating or moving their on-prem communications to the cloud. However, customer choice and complexity create decision inertia for 64% of firms. Hence partners become the guiding beacon to manage the customer communications adoption lifecycle.