It’s been another busy week in the world of CX. There are automation stories from Gartner and Zendesk, as well as Oracle and SAP both making moves in the cloud services sector.
Here are the extracts from some of our most popular news stories over the last seven days.
Gartner Predicts the Rise of Autonomous Agents
Gartner has predicted that by 2028 one third of interactions with generative AI will use action models and autonomous agents to complete tasks.
Autonomous agents are a group of systems that can handle defined tasks without the need for regular human input, instead leveraging AI technologies to make decisions and act. Moreover, they can learn from their environment and make improvements, allowing them to perform more complex tasks.
- Gartner Warns that GenAI “Will Directly Lead to the Death of a Customer” by 2027
- By 2028, the EU Will Mandate “the Right to Talk to a Human” In Customer Service, Predicts Gartner
- Gartner: Customer Service Leaders Have Three Priorities to Improve Customer Experience In 2024
The technology research and consultancy firm Gartner believes that the advanced AI will have clear use cases across various sectors including healthcare, education, insurance, and gaming (Read on…).
Oracle Has “Crossed Over” – Cloud Becomes Top Revenue Driver
Oracle has announced a total cloud revenue of $5.1 billion – a 24% increase that has seen cloud become the company’s primary revenue stream.
Announced for the 2024 Q3 period, the news marks the first time in Oracle’s history that cloud has overtaken total license support revenue.
Following the announcement, shares in the cloud applications and infrastructure provider surged 13% to an all-time $129 record, putting 2024 year-to-date gains at 24%.
This is a marked turnaround from Q2, which saw share prices drop after falling short of revenue expectations, despite sales growing and demand for Oracle Cloud infrastructure increasing.
It appears that the interest in Oracle’s cloud offerings has continued into Q3, with CEO, Safra Catz, praising the company’s cloud applications, autonomous databases, and OCI for driving revenue forward – stating that Oracle had “crossed over”.
In expounding on this point, Catz commented:
OCI has emerged as the largest driver of our overall revenue acceleration, growing much much faster than our cloud competitors. Customers have figured out that by moving to OCI, they can really get more while paying less, but it’s not just the cost that matters to our customers.
So, what exactly differentiates Oracle from other cloud service providers? (Read on…).
Zendesk to Acquire Service Automation Provider Ultimate
Zendesk is to acquire the service automation provider Ultimate.
In an acquisition that Zendesk says will allow it to deliver the most complete AI offering for CX in the market, with Ultimate, Zendesk will provide AI agents with advanced intelligence, empowering them to be proactive problem solvers and reactive responders. This complements human expertise, creating a powerful synergy between AI and human agents.
“AI is the future of CX, and the next generation of AI agents are not just a tool, but a necessary and fundamental shift in how businesses will engage with their customers,” said Tom Eggemeier, CEO of Zendesk.
With Ultimate, we will help our customers set a new standard, with AI agents giving customers the support they need quickly and effortlessly. This means human agents can focus on what they do best: building relationships, resolving complex challenges, and applying innovation and creativity to move businesses forward.
The acquisition was driven by the unprecedented demand for AI, which has accelerated the speed and frequency of customer engagement. AI agents now go beyond traditional bot capabilities, allowing brands to transform CX into a competitive advantage (Read on…).
SAP Announces New Commerce Cloud Payment Solution that Places Retailers “Front and Center”
SAP has launched a new open payment framework, as it aims to provide retailers with the tools to navigate the changing payment solution landscape.
With payment options such as buy-now, pay-later becoming increasingly popular, the SAP Commerce Cloud leverages third-party payment service providers (PSP) – allowing retailers to choose the PSP that best suits their specific needs and requirements.
These PSPs include Stripe, Adyen, WorldPay and Airwallex, all of which can be seamlessly integrated into SAP’s solution, due to its “native integration capabilities.”
By simplifying the integration process and removing the need to build extensions, SAP believes that its latest solution will reduce unnecessary complications and allow retailers to be more agile with new payment options.
Moreover, the CRM provider claims that its Commerce Cloud has the capacity to enhance the overall checkout customer experience.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the features that SAP is promising its retail customers (Read on…).
