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Conference Whispers: Call & Contact Center Expo Las Vegas 2023
Analyst: Dr. Doreen Galli

Published May 1, 2023

ABSTRACT

The Call & Contact Center Expo was held in Las Vegas from April 26-27. The conference featured 94 educational sessions across 8 theatres. This two-day packed event featured 94 educational sessions. Attendees witnessed numerous examples of generative AI changing their industry right before their eyes. Finding and securing remote talent were also showcased. Unfortunately, the conference organizers were unable to provide any attendance or show metrics by the time of press; they are in the unique position of being the only conference to fail in this regard.

Conference Vibe

The Call & Contact Center Expo was best described as short and sweet and to the point. There were eight presentation theaters with constant sessions during the two-day expo held in the Las Vegas Convention Center South Upper Hall. Each day featured a Vegas 10am start and ended by 4pm so conversations could continue through offsite business dinners. Exhibitors considered it a successful conference and were pleased with those in attendance. Some attendees represented start-ups looking to decide on a solution. There were a surprising number of outsourcers also looking to acquire technology for their customers. Overall, attendees were delighted at the plethora of generative AI sessions.

Advancements in Generative AI: Key insights and best practices

The Call & Contact Center Expo showcased significant advancements in generative AI. Several key insights emerged regarding the application of generative AI for call centers. First generative AI or AI based on large language models (LLM), is already being successfully deployed in production. Birch.ai demonstrated how their technology is used to summarize complex after call work (1). SliceX.ai showcased their solution which can readily summarize content out of the box (2). Tomato.ai demonstrated their solution that remarkably changes the accent of contact center worker (3).

Second, generative AI works best when combined with human agents conversational AI, and remote process automation. As noted by Thrio, it took 77 years for the telephone to get 100 million users and 16 years for mobile phones, whereas Chat GPT only took two months. Effective utilization of generative AI requires integrating it with remote process automation, connecting the new tool with human agents and other technologies (4). Typically, the process involves pre-filtering data to remove personal identifiable information (PII) then applying generative AI. Finally conversational AI or similar technologies are then deployed to remove hallucinations – when generates incorrect or baseless claims. Laivly emphasized the importance of combining generative AI and human agents (5). Kore.ai improved poorly trained agent performance through generative and conversational AI (6). Smartbots.ai discussed the deployment journey depending on your legacy technologies in place and willingness to jump into new solutions (7). Openstream.ai which built their business on conversational AI, expressed some caution, and warned of the potential risks associated with this emerging technology (8). Fiber.ai had a new product for automated customer support leveraging AI and was seeking customers (9). Finally, Talon displayed their browser based on Chrome that can ensure the wrong data doesn’t get entered on web based generative AI solutions. (10).

Finding and Securing Remote Workers

During the pandemic, contact centers faced significant challenges and underwent major changes. Finding and retaining talent became a crucial task for the industry. Scalepex highlighted the advantages of tapping into the talent pool in Mexico (11). Google emphasized the benefits of ChromeOS for remote and on-site call center employees during their presentation (12).

Addressing the concerns surrounding cybersecurity in the context of remote work, Pentamix delved into the topic (13). They shed light on the importance of securing the remote workforce and ensuring data protection. Additionally, Magnitech discussed the significance of training staff in both onsite and remote environments, emphasizing the need for cybersecurity awareness (14).

In response to the increasing need for endpoint security, Watchguard presented their solution (15), offering a comprehensive approach to safeguarding endpoints and protecting sensitive information.

Overall, these presentations and discussions at the conference provided valuable insights into talent acquisition, technology adoption, cybersecurity, and endpoint security in the evolving landscape of contact centers.

Citations
^*When vendors’ names are shared as examples in this document, it is to provide a concrete example of what was on display at the conference, not an evaluation or recommendation. Evaluation and recommendation of these vendors are beyond the scope of this specific research document. Other examples products in the same category may have also been on display.

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©2019-2023 TBW Advisors LLC. All rights reserved. TBW, Conference Whispers, Technical Business Whispers, Whisper Reports, Whisper Studies, Whisper Ranking and Fact-based Research and Advisory are trademarks or registered trademarks of TBW Advisors LLC. This publication may not be reproduced or distributed in any form without TBW’s prior written permission. It consists of the opinions of TBW’s research organization which should not be construed as statements of fact. While the information contained in this publication has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, TBW disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of such information. TBW does not provide legal, or investment advice and its research should not be construed or used as such. Your access and use of this publication are governed by the TBW Usage Policy. TBW research is produced independently by its research organization without influence or input from a third party. For further information, see Fact-based research publications on our website for more details.
May 2, 2023
Conference Whispers: 100th Anniversary NABShow

Analyst: Dr. Doreen Galli

ABSTRACT

The 100^th Anniversary of NABShow, National Association of Broadcasters Conference, was held in Las Vegas from April 15-19. It is the premier event for content professionals in the media, entertainment, and technology ecosystem seeking to create superior and innovative audio and video experiences. The conference featured over635,000 net square feet of exhibits, more than 1200 exhibitors, 700+ educational courses and sessions, and over 65,000 attendees from an amazing 166 countries. Attendees witnessed endless examples of cloud enabled remote production, early implementations of generative AI, and discussions on sustainability in production and technical security for remote live production.

April 24, 2023
Conference Whispers: CONEXPO-CON/AGG & IFPE 2023
Analyst: Dr. Doreen Galli

Photojournalist: Dr. Doreen Galli

ABSTRACT

North America’s largest construction trade show, CONEXPO-CON/AGG and IFPE are held together every three years in Las Vegas. The conference featured over 3 million net square feet of exhibits, over 2400 exhibitors, 200 educational courses, and 139,000 attendees from 133 countries. There were endless examples of Industrial Intelligence of Things (IIoT) and early examples of digitally transformed construction sites. The digital transformation of the construction site is well underway enabling multivendor views to optimize asset use and the total carbon footprint of a given job.

The Conference
- The first CONEXPO was held in 1909 in Columbus, Ohio. The first CON/AGG was held in Detroit Michigan in 1928. CONEXPO and CON/AGG merged for the 1996¹ show held in Las Vegas. The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) is responsible for putting on the show. Today, CONEPXO is one conferences with three domains: specifically, CONEXPO, CON/AGG and IFPE. Due the size and complexity of bringing all the equipment together, it is held every 3 years at the LVCC – the only location that can physically accommodate the weight of the equipment.
- CONEXPO-CONN/AGG and IFPE was held in Las Vegas and leveraging the entire expanded LVCC including West, Central, South and North Halls and the festival lot. The Conference featured with 139,000 registered attendees including international attendees from 133 countries. The exhibitions featured over 2400 exhibitors in over 3 million net square feet of exhibits. There was a significant presence of women at the conference not simply joining attendees.
- Attendees at CONEXPO-CONN/AGG and IFPE 2020 held titles such as Job Site Director, Director Heavy Equipment Rentals, Machine Operator, Logistics Manager, Electrical Engineer, Mechanical Engineer, Director of Product Management, Director City Planning, and new this time – data scientist.
Highlights
- Sensors is standard on heavy equipment this time around. Today’s sensor solutions are more intelligent than ever. Predictive maintenance is a reality when information from telematics systems is integrated into maintenance systems.
- Digital transformation is arriving at construction job sites and heavy equipment rentals.
- While there are new Government regulations such as US bidding requirements to disclose carbon footprint and plan to reduce emissions, OEM (original equipment manufacturers) equipment itself does not provide this information. Additional work is required to understand one’s footprint.
Cautions
- The industry would benefit from leveraging six sigma or other practices common in manufacturing to formally document the business benefit of their digital transformation.
- There are many lessons learned in IT data management and manufacturing transformations that can benefit the construction digital transformation. Hopefully, these lessons will be shared so maximum success can be achieved.
Conference Vibe

The largest North American construction conference surpassed the attendance of their last conference which was held while Covid 19 was declared a pandemic². The conference requires an entire month to set up – complex enough that it is only held every 3 years. The exhibits leveraged the entire Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC). It spanned the parking lots, South Hall, North Hall, Central Hall, the new West Hall, and the Las Vegas Festival Grounds. When asked attendees reported meeting their business objectives, the answer was a resounding Yes. Some indicated the expected deals came through along with a few pleasant surprises. Once again – the quality of attendees itself was mentioned by the exhibitors. Fortunately, the press room and many exhibits had coffee available – both regular and decaffeinated AND hot water for tea this time around.

Digital Transformation of Commercial Fleets and Job Sites

According to IFM³, 85% of vehicle telematics is used for vehicle tracking with only 27% used to track fatigue management. While the 2020 conference had education modules on digital transformation, in 2023 there were competing modules. CONEXPO 2023 live forced one to choose between ‘Top 10 Uses Cases using advanced Machine Data⁴’ and ‘Predictive Maintenance: Plan the Work and Work the Plan’. In 2020 participants were told the value of sharing one important piece of data⁵. In 2023, the conference offered a plethora of machine data transformational use cases.

Attendees saw a Plante Moran’s customer discuss how they learned to leverage data to better manage their fleets⁶. ICC provided a great session on crane operation safety using data analysis of standards and incidents. When all was finished, the audience understood that less than 23.8% of crane safety responsibility falls on the operator’s shoulders⁷.

POLARIS Laboratories® demonstrated the advantages of simply connecting one’s fluid analysis to the maintenance management system⁸. In another session, participants learned how to use their machine data for 10 separate use cases. The use cases varied from maximizing the ROI of their machines, saving money by maximizing use of remote investigation to minimizing the costs of batteries⁹. Another topic growing in popularity due to federal contracting requirements was understanding the carbon footprint of a job site. A complete solution set with various accuracy levels to measure fleet emissions was presented by Clue¹⁰. DOKA presented a platform that can estimate your carbon footprint. In addition, DOKA platform can optimize most metrics for job sites across the company and across machine vendors¹¹. Furthermore, DOKA offers an augmented reality solution to help customers and teams picture the job site before it is realized¹².

Finally, one cannot discuss all this technology and data without a great session on cybersecurity. To that end CONEXPO did not disappoint with a great panel revealing ransomware and DDOS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks are top of mind¹³.

In conclusion, it was exciting to see how far and how fast the construction and agricultural industries are progressing toward digital transformed job sites and enterprises. Unfortunately, transformations stories frequently could not communicate their business impact. If I had one piece of advice to share with the industry it would be leverage six sigma or some business process impact/improvement (BPI) assessment during the transformations. These types of processes capture the financial advantage of the actual transformation. Despite the lack of BPI assessment, construction benefits from the constant turnover of construction equipment within companies. Thus, I would not be surprised to see the construction industry successfully transform faster than manufacturing.

Next Year’s Conference

CONEXPO-CON/AGG is held every three years. The next CONEXPO-CON/AGG and IFPE will occur March 3-7, 2026, in Las Vegas, NV. One may find more information here: The Future of Construction on Display: CONEXPO-CON/AGG Exhibitors Take the Industry.

Citations
©2019-2023 TBW Advisors LLC. All rights reserved. TBW, Conference Whispers, Technical Business Whispers, Whisper Reports, Whisper Studies, Whisper Ranking and Fact-based Research and Advisory are trademarks or registered trademarks of TBW Advisors LLC. This publication may not be reproduced or distributed in any form without TBW’s prior written permission. It consists of the opinions of TBW’s research organization which should not be construed as statements of fact. While the information contained in this publication has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, TBW disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of such information. TBW does not provide legal or investment advice and its research should not be construed or used as such. Your access and use of this publication are governed by the TBW Usage Policy. TBW research is produced independently by its research organization without influence or input from a third party. For further information, see Fact-based research publications on our website for more details.
March 22, 2023
Conference Whispers: Tableau Conference 2019

Playlist for Conference Whispers: Tableau Conference 2019

ABSTRACT

Summary: Tableau Conference 2019 allowed 18,000+ attendees to see over 650 presentations. Attendees described the event as fun, although more than a few were disappointed. There were major advances and capability announcements across the platform, including data management and augmented analytics. Some capabilities, such as write to database, require enterprises to take additional independent steps to avoid orphaned data copies and the related governance issues. The conference was notably inclusive, featuring closed captioning, signing and the story of the historical achievements by the group known as the Code Girls.

November 20, 2019
Conference Whispers: World Crypto Con Las Vegas 2019

Playlist for Conference Whispers: World Crypto Con Las Vegas 2019

ABSTRACT

World Crypto Con 2019 (WCC) was part of Vegas Blockchain Week, which also included CoinAgenda, WCC Mine and World Crypto Poker Tournament (WCPT0). WCC had 2,000 attendees and 137 speakers on panels in four major streams. The four streams at WCC included a Main Conference, Blockchain Developer Conference, Mining Conference and educational workshops. The conference had 85 sponsors and 40,000 net square feet of exhibits.

November 7, 2019
Conference Whispers: Teradata Universe 2019

Conference Whispers: Teradata Universe 2019

ABSTRACT

Teradata Universe 2019 allowed 2,000+ attendees to see over 250 customer sessions and workshops highlighting Teradata’s technology in real-world, and often highly complicated, environments. Attendees felt their goal of seeing what worked for others was met by the conference. Major announcements by Teradata included their Cloud Forward/Cloud First initiatives and the introduction of Teradata Vantage to Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Teradata Vantage, which can leverage object store in Azure and AWS, is available “as a service,” and can be purchased on a consumption basis. Teradata officially entered the analytics market with the announcement of Vantage Analysts and Teradata Customer Experience. Teradata’s Hadoop Migration Program announcement was well received by those with large installations.

October 28, 2019
Whisper Report: Decision Integrity Requires Data Validation

Online Research Summary

ABSTRACT

Digitally transformed organizations expect reliable, data-driven decisions, but data-driven decisions require reliable data if the business is to maintain decision integrity. Don’t stop short with only providing data quality that is responsible for standardizing data. All data integrations must be verified and transformations must be validated to ensure decision integrity. Historical methods of “stare and compare” or leveraging SQL scripts are not efficient, nor do they meet governance requirements. Some modern data validation tools can validate even the largest data sets.

October 19, 2019
Conference Whispers: PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2019

Conference Whispers: PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2019 Video Playlist TBW1010

ABSTRACT

PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2019 allowed 30,000+ attendees to see over 2,000 machine providers over 900,000 net square feet of exhibits. There were vendors ready for Industry 4.0 that could collect any and all of the data you would like – and those that weren’t. Some data requires a separate license, some is stored in historians, and some is stored in the cloud. There were machines that are reconfigurable and those that can teach themselves. There was even a robot with a neural network embedded on a chip that only needs to see examples to learn.

September 30, 2019
Whisper Report: Seven Security and Governance Data Space Issues CxOs Don’t Know About

Online Research Summary

ABSTRACT

CCPA and GDPR expect CxOs to be able to answer the question, “who shared what customer data with whom.” Unfortunately, due to configuration errors, missing driver updates, missing log files or lack of understanding of vulnerabilities, many CxOs are not aware of which data copies exist, let alone how they are being shared. This research shares seven security and governance issues in the data space that compromise security and governance, yet, unfortunately, remain generally unknown by CxOs. Remedies are also discussed.

August 29, 2019
Conference Whispers: Black Hat USA 2019

Conference Whispers: Black Hat USA 2019 Video Playlist TBW1006

ABSTRACT

Black Hat USA 2019 provided 20,200+ attendees with an opportunity to dive into training, try their hand at white hat activities, attend briefings, listen to the keynote and attend a large variety of sponsored parties. Artificial intelligence-based security tools have arrived and may foreshadow the future state of cyber warfare. Solutions for data management and related actions focused on security operations centers were displayed. White hat tools to self-test Windows 10 against process injection and self-protecting data software development kits were announced, as were vulnerabilities in common consumer products. Finally, the gaping privacy loopholes created by GDPR were also presented.

August 15, 2019