Ask the Experts: How Do Next-Gen Portals Boost CX?

Welcome to Ask the Experts, brought to you by CloudServicesUniversity.com. In this video, Intelisys’ Cloud Evangelist Brandon Knight discusses how next-gen portals boost agent and customer experience with Serenova’s John Charles. Learn more about CCaaS solutions from the Serenova team here: https://cloudservicesuniversity.com/supplier-directory/serenova/

Brandon: Here we go, guys. We have a special Ask the Experts segment here. We’ve been talking about next-gen portals. As you know from the certification, we’re talking about how we’re seeing this evolution of the agent portal becoming true multichannel experience for the agent. And I’m very excited to bring back into our studio John Charles from Serenova. John, how’s it going buddy?
John: It’s going good, Brandon. Thanks for having me.
Brandon: All right, good. I’m glad you’re here actually, because you guys have a product–and I don’t want to steal your thunder–but you guys have a product that is really exciting me about this whole push towards a unified agent portal. So, talk to us about CxEngage.
John: Yeah, so the CxEngage platform was really developed from the ground up, based on the omnichannel or multichannel aspect. Some of the channels that we support today are the common standard voice, email, web chat, SMS, but we also support social channels like Facebook Messenger. Then, there’s also new concept of this whole work item. So, it could be an Internet of Things event happening somewhere on the planet that we can actually put in to queue and just offer up work for the agent to do, just that work.
Now, the other thing is, is that we provided some toolbar interfaces that can be put in or embedded into a CRM application. We’ve also created what we call Skylight. That’s actually an interface for the agent that doesn’t have a CRM, so they can actually use our tools to manage their contact records and interactions. With this multichannel, one of the key things is being able to move amongst channels at any given time.
So, as an example, maybe they’re on a voice call, and the call gets hung up, maybe by a poor mobile carrier. The ability for the agent to maybe switch to SMS to see if they’d like to continue communicating on that different channel. So being able to pivot amongst those.
Then finally, it’s really being able to allow the customer to create whatever they want. So if they don’t like my toolbar, or if they don’t like my Skylight interface, they can actually go off and build a complete integration using all of our backend API channels, very similar to what our good friends at Electronic Arts have done. You can imagine what they do for a living; they make interfaces, or user interfaces. They saw my nice demo, and they said, “Man, we got this, so we’ll go off and build our own.”
Brandon: Wow. Wow. So, you guys can see why I’m excited about that. Can you imagine the experience for the customer when they’re able to move between various methods of communication. The contact center agent doesn’t lose a beat, they just move along with them. What an awesome experience that would be. And for the agent themselves. Being able to stay in one UI, and be able to carry that conversation from start to finish. So I’m very excited at what’s going on over at Serenova.
John, thank you for taking some time to share that with us. For those of you out there, if you want to find out more about CxEngage, and Serenova in general, please check out their site on iCSU.

Ken Mills

President

Ken Mills serves as President of Intelisys and is committed to driving growth for Intelisys and our partners. As a distinguished technology executive with over two decades of experience, Ken has previously held leadership roles at EPIC iO, Dell Technologies and Cisco, and served as a fellow with the U.S. Department of State. His strategic mindset has been an integral part of launching innovative products and solutions in the fields of AI, IoT, and 5G. Ken is driven by his curiosity and passion for groundbreaking technology and complex problems, and constantly explores new frontiers in the world of technology.

Monica Lutes

Manager, People & Culture, ScanSource, Inc. and Intelisys

As Manager, People & Culture, Monica has worked closely with Intelisys employees and leaders since 2018 and has worked with ScanSource companies since 2016. A Human Resources professional with 11 years of experience encompassing all areas of HR, especially employee relations, recruiting, compliance, and training, Monica approaches her role as Manager, People & Culture from a consultative perspective. Her goal is to provide advice and guidance to leaders so they can focus on growing the best teams for the business while also supporting employees’ goals.

Ansley Hoke

SVP Marketing, ScanSource, Inc. and Intelisys

Ansley Hoke is the Senior Vice President of Marketing at ScanSource, Inc., a role she has held since 2019, and extended her leadership to include Intelisys in 2023. She joined the company in 2001, serving in merchandising leadership roles for ScanSource POS and Barcode, including acting Vice President of Merchandising and then later VP of Merchandising for ScanSource Catalyst and overall VP of ScanSource Catalyst. She oversaw sales, supplier relations, and services. Known for her pivotal role in creating effective marketing strategies, Ansley has been integral in driving demand, enhancing partner programs, and significantly contributing to the company’s revenue growth and channel relationships.

Mike Baur

CEO of ScanSource, Inc. and Interim President of Intelisys

Mike Baur serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at ScanSource. Mike has served as the Company’s President or CEO since its inception, as a director since December 1995, and as Chairman of the Board since February 2019. Mike has developed a deep institutional knowledge and perspective regarding ScanSource’s strengths, challenges and opportunities. He has more than 30 years of experience in the IT industry, having served in various leadership and senior management roles in the technology and distribution industries before joining ScanSource. Mike brings strong leadership, entrepreneurial, business building and development skills and experience to the Board.

Stephanie Bouras

Regional Vice President, Southeast

Driven by a partner-first philosophy and a passion for innovation, Bouras embodies a leadership style that’s both compassionate and data-driven. As the Regional Vice President, Southeast, at Intelisys, she’s leveraged her extensive marketing and sales experience to propel her team to new heights. A firm believer in aligning herself with her partners, she sees herself as a collaborator and an integral part of their business. This perspective has allowed her to forge deep connections and drive success. A Florida native, Stephanie’s attention to detail and unwavering commitment to her partners have been key factors in her success.

Michael Raspanti

Regional Vice President, Northeast

Michael joined Intelisys in June of 2020, as a long-time channel veteran. He is responsible for leading the Northeast Region, helping continue the tremendous momentum in one of our strongest markets while also recruiting new up and coming partners that will be the growth engine of our future success.

Kristy Thomas

Vice President, Partner Experience and Enablement

Thomas is responsible for Sales Partner enablement and education for all our technology segments, including CX, managed security, mobility, and connectivity. With over 20 years of executive background in telephony, UCaaS, CCaaS and Cloud services, Kristy enables her customers to think broader and deeper as she guides them through their decision journey. Some of the biggest deals in the channel have become a reality thanks to the expertise and humble excellence Kristy brings to her client’s projects.