From new CCaaS packages to more tech industry layoffs, here are some extracts from our most popular news stories over the last seven days.
Five9 Breaks General Policy to Quash Acquisition Rumors
Five9 has quickly stepped in to shut down rumors that it is “weighing options for a sale.”
Bloomberg News broke the news late on Monday, citing “people familiar with the matter.”
Moreover, Bloomberg seemed to hint that Zoom may have provided one such sales option by reaching out to the enterprise communications giant for comment.
Yet, Five9 swooped in yesterday, releasing the following statement:
Although Five9’s general policy is not to comment on market rumors or media speculation, Five9 was approached with such an opportunity; however, Five9 is not pursuing any such acquisition.
Interestingly, Five9 didn’t confirm that Zoom had approached them. The “opportunity” may well have come from another company.
Of course, Zoom had agreed to acquire Five9 in 2021 for $14.7BN. Yet, a lot has changed since then.
Most significantly, Zoom has built and rapidly innovated on its own contact center platform, with hundreds of businesses already deploying it.
Moreover, it acquired Solvvy last year, bringing native conversational AI into the fold. So, Five9’s intelligent virtual agents (IVAs) wouldn’t fill a gap in its offering.
Nothing this Dave Michels, Lead Analyst at TalkingPointz, said in a video posted on X:
No longer do they fit together like a jigsaw puzzle; there is more of an overlap.
As such, the ship has likely sailed for Zoom, and seemingly for other potential buyers too, with Five9 not pursuing any such acquisition. (Read on…).
Zoom Creates New Contact Center Packages for “Flexibility and Value”
Zoom has developed three new CCaaS packages to meet the needs of its customers, “no matter their size”. Each will become generally available within the coming weeks.
First is the Essentials package. At $69 per month, this includes omnichannel voice, chat, SMS, and video, alongside remote control, privacy and security capabilities, the Zoom AI Companion, and much more.
Next is the Premium package, which starts at $99 per month. In addition to all the Essentials package’s features, this adds email, numerous social channels, and an outbound dialer.
Finally, there is an Elite package. Available from $149 per month, this adds Zoom’s new workforce engagement management (WEM) suite, Zoom AI Expert Assist, and more to the Premium offering.
Critically, Zoom confirms that customers can mix and match all of its product offerings. The aim is to deliver the maximum value alongside the flexibility to build the ideal service operation.
For instance, a customer on the Essentials or Premium package can add Zoom WEM or agent-assist as add-ons to their chosen package.
In piecing together this strategy, Zoom meets the needs of its varied install base, which already includes global enterprises. (Read on…).
Twilio Kicks Off Third Round of Layoffs, Changes Its CCaaS Sales Strategy
Twilio has announced a third round of layoffs in 15 months, which will impact five percent of its workforce – equating to around 295 employees.
Those affected employees – who have now received the news – work in Twilio’s Flex and Segment go-to-market (GTM) teams – alongside some of their supporting functions.
According to Jeff Lawson, Co-Founder and CEO of Twilio, the support functions primarily impacted will be marketing and finance.
Lawson made the revelation in a letter attached to a regulatory filing, noting that the cuts are part of a continued effort to streamline Twilio’s offering.
That aligns with the reasoning behind the previous round of job cuts in February when the vendor laid off 17 percent of “Twilions”.
Those followed an 11 percent staff reduction in September 2022.
Digging deeper into the cause of the latest round of layoffs, Lawson wrote:
Last year, we made the decision to invest, ahead of growth, in go-to-market for Segment. Unfortunately, that bet hasn’t led to the growth outcome we’d hoped for. As a result, we’re simply spending too much.
Recent Twilio earnings support these claims, with the vendor recording a GAAP loss from operations of $108.9MN in Q3 of 2023. (Read on…).
Verint Secures $20MN Megadeal as It Bets Big on Bots
Verint has secured a $20MN deal – in total contract value (TCV) – from a prominent entertainment services company in Europe.
The massive win pushed the vendor’s revenues to above $219MN last quarter, representing 11 percent growth year-over-year (YoY).
While Dan Bodner, CEO of Verint, didn’t confirm the company’s name, he did note that Sky – alongside CarMax and Louis Vuitton – was one of 100 new logos added last quarter.
Moreover, he highlighted that the deal included AI-powered bots, which is unsurprising as nine of Verint’s ten largest bundled SaaS deals in Q3 did so.
Those other deals included a $6MN TCV order from a telecoms company in North America and a $4MN TCV order from a healthcare organization in the US.
Such bundles are a signal of the emerging Verint 4.0. First, it was a call recording company. Next, it became a workforce optimization (WFO) business. Then, it was workforce engagement (WEM).
Now, for this latest evolution, Verint has become the company of openness, data, and AI delivered by bots into workflows.
During a recent earnings call, Bodner reflected on its progress: “Verint is shifting to more bundled SaaS, and our TAM (total addressable market) is growing because we have a much larger AI opportunity in the future.”
Indeed, more than 50 percent of Verint’s SaaS bookings included AI-powered bots, a significant increase from the previous year – as per Bodner. (Read on…).
