Cisco reasserts its position in the contact center market

I attended Cisco WebExOne online. The vibe was different from previous editions, showcasing a reenergized Cisco with newfound assertiveness in the space.

Having not written about the company for some time, I wanted to take stock of the recent developments.

Cisco's business performance in the CX space is not easy to track: the company reports aggregate numbers for its overall Collaboration business — encompassing communications, video devices, and contact center portfolios. For its last fiscal year ending in July, Cisco reported $4.1B in collaboration revenues, a slight increase over the previous year. It ended several consecutive years of decline, primarily due to decreasing sales of video equipment and the erosion of its communications business. Notably, Webex Contact Center seats surged by 75%, signaling market momentum.

At the event, the company made a significant move with the announcement of its AI agents, scheduled for release in early 2025. This follows the general availability of its long-awaited Journey Data Services (JDS) this Summer.

To provide context for these developments: Cisco's entry into the cloud contact center market came relatively late in 2018, following its Broadsoft acquisition. It then adopted its contact center software, originally from Transera, which targeted the SMB segment. Subsequently, Cisco invested several years in fortifying its WebEx Contact Center software, enhancing scalability and feature depth, which required several architectural redesigns.

This year's announcement signals Cisco's shift to an offensive strategy. The upcoming Cisco AI Agent Studio appears very promising. It offers a choice between two modes: scripted and autonomous. The solution leverages technology from previous acquisitions—IMI and Mindmeld—explaining its rapid development timeline. Notably, the IMI platform (now Cisco Connect) brings robust workflow capabilities and numerous integrations with a wide range of systems. The platform supports multiple LLM models, offering deployment flexibility.

JDS, which had been touted for some time, is now generally available. It addresses a critical market need: a robust data foundation has become indispensable for any credible CX platform. Cisco has adopted an API-first approach. JDS enables dynamic profiling and interaction identity linking. It can record interactions handled by the WebEx contact center and ingest data from other systems via API. Journey data is available through a widget for the agent desktop, from Webex Connect Flow Builder, or to third-party systems via egress APIs.

These developments, also reflected in Cisco's latest ranking in Gartner's CCaaS Magic Quadrant, point to its resurgence as a key contender in the contact center market.