What I’ll Be Looking for at Enterprise Connect 2025

March 13, 2025

Written by Eric Krapf, General Manager and Program Co-Chair, Enterprise Connect Publisher

Enterprise Connect 2025 kicks off in less than a week. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been previewing the event in this newsletter by talking about the questions I’m taking into the show, and what I’m hoping to learn by getting together in person with a few thousand of the smartest people in the enterprise communications/CX industry.

For the last couple of years, the questions have begun with AI, and this year is no different. But with 2+ years’ experience under their belts, enterprise IT leaders are beginning to discover at least a few paths forward--for example with AI assistants.

One common theme I’m hearing from enterprise IT leaders is that their end users like the AI assistants and are making Microsoft Copilot, Zoom AI Companion, and/or Google Gemini a part of their productivity toolkit. A few IT leaders have raved about their satisfied users – while noting the growing wait lists among those who haven’t been lucky enough to get the tool yet.

Which brings us to the question: Is an AI assistant a product or a feature, and how will vendor decisions affect the future of these systems? Many enterprises are simply not going to roll out an AI assistant to tens or hundreds of thousands of users at $30 a pop (i.e., Microsoft Copilot). They can’t afford it. So will Microsoft give in on pricing, and if they don’t, will this create an opportunity for Zoom and Google, who are free or reducing their prices?

In the contact center, I’m wondering: Will AI deployments be more opportunistic than broad-based? Contact centers have more complicated challenges than AI assistants present in collaboration scenarios – more complex governance challenges, greater need for data normalization, more customized systems to interact with. It seems to me that CX leaders will need to dig deeper to find the most promising use cases, and IT leaders will need to continue sharpening their understanding of the goals and business processes that drive CX.

When it comes to video, I’m hoping to learn what features and functions are really important in the next phase. AI can improve audio and video quality, and the latest systems can provide a more visually appealing interface for those on video meetings – Brady Bunch-style single-person shots of those joining from a meeting room, versus the one-camera “bowling alley” view. I’m interested to find out which video capabilities are deemed worth paying for.

Finally, I’m hoping to learn whether the collaboration/CX industry is ready to take up the cause of cybersecurity in a more direct way. Whether it’s vishing in the contact center or new threats from and against AI-based tools, cybersecurity seems like it ought to be more important than ever. I’m looking forward to talking with attendees about whether their enterprises are putting more emphasis in this area.

There are lots more questions to be asked, answered, discussed, and debated at Enterprise Connect. You can still get your free Expo Pass (or a paid Conference Pass) and join us in sunny Florida for the biggest week in North America’s enterprise collaboration/CX industry. I hope to see you in Orlando!