Rhys Fisher sits down with Thor Mitskog, CEO of Cyber Acoustics, for a no-nonsense deep-dive into one of the most overlooked security debates in modern customer experience: hardware vs. software noise cancellation.

As enterprises race toward the cloud, Thor breaks down the hidden compliance traps, IT headaches, and cybersecurity risks that come with that shift – and why hardware might just be the unsung hero of secure communication.

If you’ve ever wondered how something as simple as a headset could protect sensitive data in finance, healthcare, or contact centers, this conversation is a must-watch.

When it comes to noise cancellation, the question isn’t just “how good does it sound?” –it’s “how safe is it?”

Join Rhys Fisher and Thor Mitskog as they unpack the real-world security implications of cloud-based software tools and why leading enterprises are turning back to hardware-driven solutions for peace of mind and performance.

Key discussion points

Cloud security pitfalls: How moving audio processing to the cloud opens doors to compliance and data breach risks.
Hardware simplicity: Why plug-and-play devices slash IT setup time, cut costs, and sidestep configuration nightmares.
Industry sensitivity: How financial services, healthcare, and contact centers are leading the charge in hardware adoption for regulatory reasons.
Future trends: Why Thor predicts consolidation in cloud noise-cancellation software – and a new wave of intelligent hardware innovation.

Explore Cyber Acoustics’ latest hardware solutions for secure communication.

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This new partnership will have both companies co-developing AI-focused strategies to market to global customers. 

This partnership will also allow both to expand AI productivity on their respective platforms. 

ServiceNow and NTT DATA have begun their joint plans to market AI-driven solutions, including developing and selling these products to transform how AI is used in the workplace. 

These are set to include various enterprises, commercial companies, and mid-market segments. 

This new strategy emphasizes the companies’ previous partnerships, focusing on their commitments to advise other enterprises to adopt and execute AI into their businesses. 

ServiceNow also intends to use the expanded partnership to place NTT DATA as a delivery partner in its services to guide customers in safely deploying AI-powered automations and enhance operational efficiency. 

Amit Zavery, President, COO, and CPO at ServiceNow, highlighted how this new partnership development will improve AI across businesses, stating:

“ServiceNow and NTT DATA are expanding access to AI-powered automation across any industry and any geography to achieve measurable business impact for organizations at every stage of the AI journey, 

“Together, we’re transforming how the world’s leading enterprises operate, making work simpler, smarter, and more resilient with the ServiceNow AI Platform.”

NTT DATA will be using the partnership to escalate the ServiceNow AI platform to its business to improve its levels of productivity, efficiency, and make improvements to its customer experience across the enterprise, by adopting its AI agents and Global Business Services. 

Abhijit Dubey, President, CEO, and Chief AI Officer at NTT DATA, emphasizes how the partnership can benefit both NTT DATA and other enterprises. He said:

“Expanding our partnership with ServiceNow is a key milestone in our mission to build the world’s leading AI-native services company,”  

“By combining ServiceNow’s agentic AI platform with NTT DATA’s global delivery scale and industry expertise, we’re enabling enterprises to accelerate innovation, enhance productivity, and achieve sustainable growth.” 

Who is NTT DATA?

The technology services company provides enterprises and governments with responsible innovations for cloud, AI, security, data centers, connectivity, and application services. 

This latest partnership allows NTT DATA to access ServiceNow’s generative AI and workflow automation, enabling it to supply improved offerings to its customers by integrating more complex solutions, positioning itself as a leader of enterprise AI transformation within the industry. 

NTT DATA can also use this opportunity to expand its market reach by co-developing AI tools with a well-established company, especially in the US and Europe, where ServiceNow holds strong brand recognition. 

What This Partnership Means

This partnership expansion reflects the increasing intensification of AI-led transformation investments amongst current major vendors. 

The collaboration allows both companies to become more central in their position as leaders in enterprise software strategy development, highlighting to other vendors where they stand to build better relationships instead of developing capabilities independently. 

By fully aligning operations such as products and delivery services, more companies can join the competition and adapt to trends cost-effectively. 

As the telecoms ecosystem shifts to IP and cloud-based systems, fraudsters are exploiting vulnerabilities that can hurt companies’ reputations as well as their finances.

The UK’s biggest mobile networks have responded by signing a new Telecommunications Fraud Charter with the government, ahead of the upcoming UK Government Fraud Strategy, to introduce various measures aimed at reducing telecoms fraud. The signatories include BT EE, Virgin Media, O2, VodafoneThree, Tesco Mobile, Talk Talk, Sky, and trade association Comms Council UK (CCUK).

The networks have committed to upgrading their systems within the next year to stop overseas call centers spoofing UK phone numbers, making it clear when calls impersonating legitimate organizations originate from other countries.

Around 96 percent of UK mobile users decide whether to pick up a call based on the number shown onscreen, and three-quarters are unlikely to answer calls from an unidentified international number.

The mobile networks will develop call tracing technology to track down the origin of suspicious or fraudulent calls across interconnected networks and give police the information they need to find scammers operating in the country and dismantle their operations.

They will also design scalable, collaborative data-sharing models between telecoms service providers as well as banking and technology firms to make it harder for scams to go on undetected.

The agreement includes a B2B voice and telephony sub-charter focused on assisting business customers. CCUK, which represents the UK’s IP communications and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) industry, will develop business victim support principles and best practice guidance to help members handle how to identify and respond to fraud.

Telecoms Fraud Increases Cost of Business Communications

Telephony fraud takes many forms, including spoofed numbers, call hijacking, PBX hacking, and toll fraud. And those threats are only increasing with the proliferation of AI tools. As fraudsters become more sophisticated, every interaction now carries a layer of doubt. Criminals use legitimate-looking numbers or brands to trick customers, or infiltrate business phone systems to route high-value calls overseas.

“The scammers are getting much more sophisticated. So although there’s great general awareness, I think it’s so easy to still get caught out,” Tracey Wright, Managing Director at Magrathea Telecoms and CCUK chair, told CX Today.

The immediate financial losses can be steep. A single incident of toll fraud can leave rack up thousands in unauthorized charges. But the broader damage—disrupted operations, lost productivity and compromised customer trust—is longer lasting.

Telecoms companies themselves take a hit because of the perception that they have failed to protect their customers or secure their networks.

“[T]he impact on telecoms businesses… is quite serious and quite considerable. Not only in the financial sense of losing money on bad payments, but the reputational risk is considerable,” Wright explained. “It doesn’t take long at all for consumers to pick up on what they perceive as a bad actor in the market.”

Companies are engaged in a constant battle against sophisticated and fast-moving schemes. While some forms of fraud are relatively easy to identify, others are far more subtle, using legitimate communications channels to trick unsuspecting customers.

“[T]he mass calling episodes, selling things that don’t exist… are quite easy to detect. We’re still seeing those, unfortunately; they slip through the net quite frequently,” Wright said. “It is constant whack-a-mole. These people move around the industry, blast these calls out, get caught, shut down, and move on.”

The more insidious threat comes from fraud that crosses multiple communication platforms.

“[T]he more challenging one to properly understand is where the telecoms network is used as part of social engineering. So you’ve already had an email or WhatsApp, or someone’s been sent a phone number in a text message… It’s much harder to detect because it might just be one or two phone calls and not look like anything suspicious.”

While the industry is improving its ability to identify and block fraudulent traffic, many cases still slip through.

“As a service provider, we collect a lot of information from customers on those things. And unfortunately, it is almost a daily occurrence that we get reports,” Wright said.

Many companies underestimate how fraud can ripple through the customer experience. When customers start doubting the authenticity of incoming calls, legitimate outreach can suffer. That erosion of trust can quickly translate into fewer answered calls, slower issue resolution and increased customer frustration.

Still, striking the right balance between robust security and a frictionless customer experience isn’t easy. Too much verification can frustrate users, but too little invites risk. The goal for most companies is to integrate protective measures without customers even noticing.

Breaking Down Barriers to Cross-Industry Data Sharing

The biggest challenge for telecoms service providers in thwarting fraud is sharing intelligence quickly and securely. There are significant barriers to creating an effective data-sharing framework across providers and industries.

“It has been the focus of our attention for most of this year,” Wright said. The trade association held a summit earlier this year that brought stakeholders together to address the problem.

“Not only is there the technical challenge of how to share data in a safe, secure way… The bigger issue is around creating a system that all types of service provider—telecoms company, banking, everyone—can use, and the law that goes behind that to allow us to do so.”

Without the proper mechanisms, vital information can remain siloed within individual networks, allowing fraudulent activity to spill across industries unchecked.

“We’re pushing on both sides of that to have the cover of the legal and regulatory side to allow us to proactively share information. For example, if in the telecoms industry we have access to a potential scam, we’d like to be able to share that with the banking sector to say ‘you might find all these people are victims’. And at the moment, we neither have the route to do it or the legal position in which to do it.”

“So those are our big asks. And one of our commitments under the Charter is to keep working on those. We’ve had a commitment in return from the Home Office and others that are going to work with us on that.”

That ongoing dialogue between industry, regulators, and government will be the key to unlocking progress. For now, CCUK and its members are developing their own models to test what secure, compliant data sharing could look like in practice.

“We don’t have the specifics at the moment on exactly what it looks like. We’re working on our own proof of concept as a membership that, if it works, we will roll out to the wider industry.”

“It is the hardest part, but we are determined because it really does unlock so much of the rest of the things we want to do if we can just find the magic key. And there are lots of steps going forward. We can learn a lot from the finance sector; they’ve already achieved quite a lot in that space. So we’re hoping to work quite closely with them and take all the best bits of the schemes that are already out there.”

This is where the traceback technology that the phone networks are developing—to verify that callers are who they appear to be—is essential.

“That ties in with the data sharing, because at the moment, there is no method for doing this—unless you are providing a call, it’s your vertical market and you own the customer and the whole network—we’ve got otherwise no way of knowing that a caller is who they say they are,” Wright said. “If we can figure that out as an industry, then we’ll be halfway there.”

From AI-driven analytics to automated monitoring systems, new tools are helping providers detect unusual activity faster and respond before customers are affected. But for CCUK, the focus is on solutions that can help providers of all sizes strengthen their defences without adding unnecessary complexity.

“We’re certainly committed to promoting any technology; it doesn’t necessarily have to be AI,” Wright said. “We are… keeping an open mind that it’s not necessarily the kind of silver bullet to fix all this… We’re not going to put all our eggs in one basket to try and overcome this problem. We need to be looking at different solutions.”

For many of its members—who are often smaller and more agile service providers—the emphasis is on accessibility. “Whatever we do has to be simple and accessible to the smaller provider. So one of the proof of concepts we’re looking at is a much more simple API-driven data sharing tool, which any one of our members could just use at very low cost,” Wright said.

Educating Businesses to Strengthen Defenses

Technology alone won’t solve the problem. Businesses need to raise their awareness of how telephony fraud works and how to protect themselves. Clear internal policies, staff training and customer communication all play a role.

Customers, too, need to understand what legitimate contact from a business looks like. When companies proactively explain how they communicate, detailing what numbers they use and what information they’ll never ask for, they help close the information gap that fraudsters rely on.

Under the Charter, the phone networks and CCUK will work together to help improve public awareness, and enhance the protection and support that victims of fraud receive. The networks aim to reduce the time it takes for victims to receive support to two weeks.

Telecoms fraud tactics evolve constantly, so timely information is crucial. By ensuring members have access to the latest intelligence and resources, CCUK UK aims to help providers recognise emerging threats and communicate those risks clearly to their customers.

“There are existing schemes out there that we will support and promote… on our website to our members,” Wright said. “But we’re also developing some awareness specifically for telecoms companies to give their staff the skills to talk to their customers. That’s going to be evolving over the next few months.”

Navigating Legal Grey Areas to Battle Telecoms Fraud

While there’s widespread agreement that better data sharing is vital to combating telecoms fraud, the legal framework that governs it remains an obstacle. On paper, UK data protection and law enforcement rules appear to offer clear guidance on when information can be exchanged, but in practice, the reality is far more complicated.

There are loopholes and ambiguities that can make compliance difficult, particularly for smaller providers without in-house legal teams. “If you’re not on the law enforcement list, for example, you can’t be shared certain data,” Wright said. “We’ve got some great guidance from the ICO on data sharing. But when you actually start digging into the laws and look at the exceptions that are in there, you keep getting tripped up.”

Companies want to do the right thing but fear falling foul of privacy laws in the process. “That’s what we’re trying to overcome. It’s trying to find someone give us the law or the cover from the law to say, if you follow these guidelines, you can’t get in trouble. And that probably needs some kind of regulatory or legal shift,” Wright said.

By creating a framework for ongoing education, CCUK aims to build awareness across the industry, so that telecoms providers can secure their own networks against fraud and empower their customers to stay safe.

Enterprises have embraced tools like visual engagement, cobrowsing, and AI-powered guidance to reduce user friction.  

Meanwhile, public sector agencies – often bound by complex procurement processes, stringent compliance standards, and legacy infrastructure – have struggled to keep up.  

That gap isn’t about ambition; it’s about access.  

As Zac Scalzi, Director of Sales at Cobrowse, puts it:  

“Public sector organizations know exactly what their constituents expect: fast, secure, and intuitive support on web and mobile channels.  

“What’s held them back isn’t a lack of vision; it’s the complexity of procurement and the compliance hurdles they face at every turn.” 

However, this dynamic is starting to shift, with vendors like Cobrowse helping to equip the public sector for the modern customer service space.   

Indeed, the company recently announced a new strategic partnership with Carahsoft, a leading IT solutions distributor and government-trusted provider.  

The collaboration is designed to make next-generation cobrowsing and digital support capabilities more accessible to U.S. federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as education and healthcare institutions.  

The partnership also aims to bring modern cobrowsing technology directly into the procurement frameworks that agencies already trust – bridging a gap that has existed for years.  

Procurement Roadblocks and the Innovation Gap  

In the main, public sector agencies have managed, or at least attempted to, keep pace with rising customer expectations.  

This means that citizens, patients, and students are accustomed to the slick, seamless support experiences they receive from their banks, telecom providers, and retail platforms. So, when they interact with government services, they expect the same.  

Yet, while the demand is clear, delivering those experiences has historically been difficult.  

“Even when an agency finds a solution that meets their technical needs, it can take months, or even longer, just to clear the procurement and security review process,” Scalzi explains.  

“That delay doesn’t just impact IT teams; it impacts end users who are left waiting for better experiences.” 

Several factors contribute to this challenge:  

• Many vendors lack the certifications and contract vehicles needed to be procured by public sector agencies.  

• Security and IT teams – responsible for protecting sensitive citizen, student, or patient data – are rightly cautious.  

• Tools that aren’t pre-vetted or listed on government catalogs often require lengthy due diligence before deployment.  

These hurdles have left many agencies reliant on outdated support channels, forcing users to navigate complex portals and applications with little real-time assistance.  

“When digital journeys become too complicated, users don’t just get frustrated, they abandon them,” Scalzi notes.  

“For critical services like healthcare enrollment or student applications, that’s not acceptable.  

Carahsoft + Cobrowse = Security, Compliance, and Speed  

The new partnership between Cobrowse and Carahsoft directly addresses those procurement barriers.  

Carahsoft is a well-established partner to U.S. government and public sector organizations, offering pre-approved contract vehicles like GSA, SEWP, and NASPO.  

By aligning with Carahsoft, Cobrowse’s technology can now be acquired through these trusted frameworks, dramatically reducing procurement friction.  

Scalzi explains how Carahsoft “gives agencies the confidence that they’re working within compliance-ready frameworks.  

“We’re meeting them where they are, inside the procurement and security structures they already use,” he said.   

Of course, availability is only half of the equation.  

Public sector organizations also require technology that meets strict security and compliance standards.  

Cobrowse was designed with these priorities at its core. Key features include:  

• DOM-based cobrowsing, rather than traditional screen sharing, so only the web or mobile interface is shared – not the user’s entire screen.  

• Data masking and redaction, ensuring that sensitive fields such as personal health information or student IDs remain invisible to agents.  

• Self-hosted deployment options, giving agencies control over where data is processed.  

• Audit logging and retention controls, enabling traceable, compliant interactions.  

• Accessibility compliance (WCAG / ADA), ensuring every user can access support.  

This combination of features allows agencies to modernize their support channels without compromising on their strict security or compliance requirements.  

Real Outcomes for Agencies and Customers  

For public sector leaders, the benefits of this partnership are both operational and human.  

Faster procurement cycles mean agencies can deploy modern support tools more quickly. Lowered security risks provide assurance to compliance teams. And the result is improved digital experiences for the people who rely on these services every day.  

“With this partnership, agencies don’t have to choose between modernization and compliance,” Scalzi emphasizes.  

“They can give their support teams the tools they need to guide users through complex processes in real time.” 

For example, a state health department could use cobrowsing to assist patients navigating insurance portals, or a school district could support teachers and students with digital learning platforms.  

Instead of long email chains or confusing phone calls, agents can guide users visually through each step.  

Enabling Modernization Mandates  

Many public sector agencies already have digital modernization mandates in place, which focus on improving accessibility, reducing friction, and increasing citizen satisfaction. But mandates require practical solutions to become a reality.  

Scalzi says that he views Cobrowse “as an enabler.  

“Public sector organizations have the strategy, Carahsoft has the procurement infrastructure, Cobrowse provides the technology; together, we’re accelerating modernization.”  

This alignment reflects a broader industry trend.  

As government agencies continue to digitize services, cobrowsing and visual assistance tools are increasingly viewed not as optional enhancements, but as essential components of an accessible digital service stack.  

Looking Ahead 

The Cobrowse–Carahsoft partnership is more than a procurement shortcut. It’s a catalyst for change in how government, healthcare, and education organizations deliver digital experiences.  

In the coming months, the two companies plan to roll out training programs, support resources, and pilot projects to help agencies realize quick wins in support time reduction, error resolution, and user satisfaction.  

“Modernizing digital support isn’t just about technology,” Scalzi concludes.  

“It’s about delivering experiences that are secure, compliant, and human, so that every citizen, patient, or student can get the help they need, when they need it.” 

For public sector agencies, the modernization frontier just moved closer. For the people they serve, the experience is about to get a lot smoother.  

You can find out more about how Cobrowse’s technology is being deployed within the contact center space by checking out this article. 

You can also discover the company’s full suite of services and solutions by visiting the website today. 

For years, the contact center playbook focused on adding more channels, assuming that more touchpoints automatically improved experiences.

Yet, despite investments, many organizations found themselves facing fragmented journeys, silos, and duplicated efforts.

Enter CCaaS 3.0, the latest evolution in cloud contact center technology.

Unlike its predecessors, this iteration isn’t about piling on channels; it’s about creating connected, contextual interactions that can be resolved in real time.

In a discussion with CX Today, Zac Scalzi, Director of Sales at Cobrowse, summed the concept up nicely:

“A new model has emerged. CCaaS 3.0 is defined by AI assistance and rich contextual data, both for human and virtual agent-led interactions, which finally closes the gap between digital complexity and customer clarity.”

“Together, they form the new customer standard: real-time guidance, context-rich engagement, and seamless resolution.”

The Evolution of CCaaS

Like any major technology or platform that persevered, CCaaS has already undergone a few iterations.

However, while tech staples like the iPhone seem to have a new version every other month, the evolution of CCaaS has been more considered.

In its original format, CCaaS 1.0 was essentially responsible for moving voice and multichannel support into the cloud.

CCaaS 2.0, on the other hand, stitched together chat, email, and social channels. Yet, despite the improvements, it still relied heavily on integrations and often left customers repeating themselves.

CCaaS 3.0 is a different animal. The latest iteration is CRM-first, AI-enhanced, and designed to integrate powerful contextual tools like native cobrowsing as a core component.

This evolution reflects a broader shift: from simply offering more channels to creating an environment where every interaction is seamless, visible, and capable of resolution in the moment.

As one of the pioneers of CCaaS 3.0, Google Cloud Contact Center defines the latest version of the technology with the following four pillars:

• Omnichannel & Embedded Experience: Customers can move fluidly between voice, chat, email, and digital channels without losing context, while embedded experiences keep interactions within the apps and portals they already use.
• AI Automation & Continuous Optimization: AI-powered routing, self-service, and predictive engagement ensure issues are handled quickly, while analytics and conversational insights surface trends, sentiment, and opportunities for ongoing improvement.
• Agent Empowerment & Assist: Human agents gain real-time insights, contextual guidance, and suggested actions, allowing them to focus on resolution instead of gathering basic details.
• Rich Contextual Evidence: AI outcomes depend on the quality and breadth of data. By combining structured knowledge from support systems, real-time account information, and AI cobrowsing, the critical layer of visual context is added. This missing piece enables agentic AI systems to guide customers with confidence and deliver successful outcomes at scale.

Google’s blending of AI intelligence and visual context sets a new enterprise benchmark.

Why Omnichannel Alone Isn’t Enough

Although omnichannel systems have their merits and are a popular choice for many in the customer service and experience space, Scalzi argues that they are no longer enough to navigate today’s digital complexity.

In modern society, customers now face multi-step loan applications with identity verification, e-commerce checkouts juggling payments and promo codes, telecom and utility apps handling complex account issues, and insurance claims requiring documents and cross-references.

Scalzi explains how these processes can sometimes overwhelm people:

“Customers often get stuck partway through, not because they lack motivation, but because digital portals have grown intricate, layered, and sometimes overwhelming.”

Cobrowsing addresses this problem.

By allowing agents to step directly into a customer’s digital space, enterprises move support from reactive troubleshooting to proactive enablement.

In doing so, this helps users complete tasks in real time rather than just receiving verbal guidance.

The AI + Cobrowsing Advantage

Another advantage of CCaaS 3.0 is its ability to combine intelligence with visibility.

Google AI is key to delivering this. The solution powers self-service, predictive routing, automated summaries, and agent assistance.

When customers are stuck navigating your websites and apps, cobrowsing brings visual context into the interaction seamlessly.

“Without insight into what is actually happening inside digital portals, both human and virtual agents are left guessing.

“Cobrowse is a tool that provides rich context in real time to both human and virtual agents, and we’ve seen tremendous results. ” Scalzi explains.

CCaaS 3.0 fixes this gap, making context inseparable from every interaction.

The benefits extend beyond quicker resolution; guided experiences also support customer education and digital adoption, giving users the confidence to navigate complex channels independently.

Real Benefits for Enterprises

Outside of some of the more general features and benefits of CCaaS 3.0, the solution also delivers the following measurable outcomes:

• Digital Adoption: Guided interactions double as teaching moments, helping customers master previously confusing features.
• User Empowerment: Customers grow self-sufficient, reducing repeat support requests.
• Agent Efficiency: Agents resolve cases faster with deeper context and understanding.
• Operational Gains: Shorter handle times, fewer escalations, and less training overhead.
• Compliance: Sensitive information is masked or redacted in real time, meeting enterprise and regulatory standards.

Scalzi emphasizes the wider impact, stating:

“Google AI and native cobrowsing shift the contact center away from being a reactive cost center; instead, they establish it as a proactive engine driving customer loyalty and digital adoption.”

Redefining the Contact Center

In short, CCaaS 3.0 reimagines the contact center.

It is no longer just a call-answering hub; it has become the digital front door of customer relationships, where trust is built, journeys are supported, and brand experiences are defined.

The combination of AI and rich context from tools like cobrowsing, enables enterprises to move from reactive problem-solving to proactive engagement, setting a new standard where customers feel supported and confident every time they interact digitally.

In today’s fast-moving digital landscape, the message is clear: those who combine intelligence, context, and real-time guidance will set the benchmark for customer engagement.

CCaaS 3.0 isn’t just another contact center upgrade; it’s the blueprint for the future of customer experience.

You can find out more about Cobrowse’s CCaaS 3.0 philosophy and relationship with Google by visiting the website today.

Two months later, Google removed all references to Speaker ID from its website while redirecting visitors from its voice biometric solution’s web page.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is slowly retreating from the space. Its Nuance Gatekeeper offering once dominated the market. However, its share dropped as the original Nuance team departed, and the institutional knowledge has fallen away.

Matt Smallman, Founder of SymNex Consulting, made this observation in a conversation with CX Today. He said:

They’re still making iterative improvements, but relationships with major clients have faded, the roadmap is unclear, and the product sits outside Microsoft’s core tech stack… I’m 95 percent sure the product will look very different, or be gone, in five years.

Smallman also suggested that Gatekeeper hasn’t been “officially” on sale since July 2024, although it’s still being bought and used, with no end-of-life date set.

Why Are Tech Giants Abandoning Voice Biometrics?

Voice biometrics for call centers has always been a niche market. Indeed, many businesses don’t implement it due to concerns around costs and abiding by privacy laws.

Therefore, it’s a marginal product for all three tech giants, even Microsoft, which owned 80-90 percent of the market when it acquired Nuance in 2022.

Yet, not only is it a marginal product, it doesn’t quite fit their operating models, especially Microsoft’s, which doesn’t favor the high-touch, professional services approach required for a successful deployment.

Regarding Microsoft specifically, it has reduced its voice biometrics product team, as noted earlier. It’s also rolled most sales into its Dynamics Contact Center 365 platform, and the solution hasn’t had the focus it once did.

Smallman noted: “My view is they didn’t make a deliberate exit decision, but a series of decisions that will likely lead to the product fading over time.”

Regarding AWS and Google, Smallman noted: “They produced ‘good enough’ products at unbeatable price points but without the customization, fraud watchlists, or synthetic speech detection needed by top-tier banks.

They never achieved deep product-market fit, and as synthetic speech becomes harder to detect, the reputational risk of a compromise grew, making it easier for them to step away.

Who Are the Main Players Now?

Pindrop is perhaps the most prominent provider to keep pace with the latest industry advances. Meanwhile, Daon and Veridas also offer voice biometrics as part of broader identity solutions.

Smaller niche players that are innovating in this space include Auraya (Australia), ValidSoft (US/UK), Voice Biometrics Group (US), and InGenID (US).

Some CCaaS providers also offer voice biometrics, but typically sell through partnerships. For example, Talkdesk has a voice biometric solution, but it’s white-labeled from another vendor.

There is also Omilia, which focuses on voice self-service, and Phonexia from Czechia, which works in public safety and national security. These also offer robust solutions, per Smallman.

Yet, the consultant summarized:

The market is still in flux because Nuance dominated for so long. As contracts expire, others are positioning as alternatives, seeking investment, and enhancing their offerings.

The Future of Voice Biometrics in the Age of Deepfakes

To Smallman’s earlier point, synthetic speech is becoming harder to track. As this technology has evolved, so has chatter around fraudsters being able to breach voice biometrics systems.

Go back to April 2024, and OpenAI warned businesses to take steps “like phasing out voice-based authentication” ahead of the launch of its voice cloning tool. 16 months later, and the AI giant is still delaying that solution’s release.

Nevertheless, the “main players” above are taking measures to stay one step ahead, such as tracking telltale artifacts. Moreover, voice biometrics will always be powerful as part of a multi-factor authentication system.

Yet, there’s more that providers can do to bolster their authentication systems, so long as telcos play ball. As Smallman said:

The real missed opportunity is telcos not exposing device-level authentication data to enterprises, which could massively improve call security.

However, the biggest risk when it comes to voice fraud is synthetic speech in scams targeting vulnerable people.

For instance, an attacker could call a customer, convince them they’re an employee, and trick them into revealing credentials or authorizing payments.

While that risk affects knowledge-based credentials far more than biometrics, it’s the biggest threat deepfakes currently pose to customer safety.

The solution, built by AWS’s partner Digiclarity, is essentially a boiled-down, tailored, and augmented version of Amazon Connect.

In its promotion, AWS highlights how service providers and telcos can resell the offering to the underserved small business market.

Those businesses can be as small as one-to-nine employees, with Digiclarity targeting service-based businesses, such as electricians, painters, and plumbers.

Such companies usually find enterprise tech, like Amazon Connect, too complex or expensive. However, the brandable solution – going under the banner “Amazon Connect-powered SMB communications as a service” – is simplified to meet their needs.

Jason Keel, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at DigiClarity, introduced the solution on the AWS YouTube channel. He said:

We wanted to create a platform that could give small business owners a complete contact center, customer management system, and invoicing and billing, in less than five minutes.

SMBs of up to 500 employees can test the solution at no cost, with Digiclarity offering a free seven-day trial.

During setup, they’ll go through three basic steps on a single dashboard: entering the business name, selecting the industry, and specifying the business size.

With this information, the solution adapts to the business, leveraging Amazon Bedrock on the backend.

In doing so, it configures menus, greetings, and workflows, customized specifically for that industry.

From there, users can upload their logo, enter their business hours, and get a dedicated phone number via Amazon Connect in minutes.

What Else Is Included?

After setup, businesses can utilize several of the platform’s core features. These include:

• Appointment Scheduling: For businesses where technicians visit customers (like electricians), or vice versa (like pet grooming), the scheduling system adapts accordingly.
• Invoicing & Quotes: Users can send quotes and invoices within minutes.
• Team Management: Businesses may simply add staff members.
• Customer Import: Sync customer contacts from iOS or Android apps, which is especially useful for businesses operating without a CRM system.
• Voice Setup: Configure IVR menus, greetings, and self-service options via Amazon Connect.

Yet, there are also more advanced features. For instance, there’s a customer-facing portal for the SMB’s clients.

Through this, customers can book services, view past appointments, and track request updates in real time. They may also monitor their appointment statuses, when a technician is en route (via native location tracking tech), and past and upcoming jobs. If they want something else, they can chat directly with an employee.

One final notable feature is the solution’s embedded AI workflows. With these, users can automate processes via simple written commands.

For instance, they can ask the platform to: “Create an invoice for John for $300,” and it will automatically generate and send the invoice.

It may also ask questions to uncover extra details, if necessary, and then take care of the rest.

“We really wanted to bring the type of technology used in food delivery or rideshare apps down to this segment – HVAC contractors, painters, electricians – any home service industry,” concluded Keel.

Our goal was to make it simple for small business owners and their customers to communicate and work better together.

Communications Platforms for SMBs, an Underserved Market

There is no shortage of contact center providers. Indeed, hyperscalers – like AWS, Google, and Microsoft – are competing with market stalwarts and various new entrants.

Some of the latter have marketed to SMBs, but once they close platform gaps with enterprise providers, their focus shoots upmarket, where they can secure big-buck contracts.

That leaves a massive gap for platforms like the AWS-Digiclarity offering.

After all, SMBs are typically stuck buying a platform that’s too capable or juggling point solutions for calling, scheduling, invoicing, etc.

With this offering, AWS suggests that SMBs get a future-proof contact center solution, while resellers can meet an underserved market with value-adding services.

The cloud-based call recording software provider made headlines in March of last year when it suspended CEO and Managing Director Steve McGovern following the discovery that AU$26.6MN was missing from the company’s accounts.

Dubber discovered the financial discrepancy during its half-year audit, prompting the company to notify the market and issue a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange ASX.

In said statement, the firm confirmed that a preliminary investigation had revealed that funds believed to be in a term deposit may have been used elsewhere and are no longer available to the company.

McGovern was subsequently dismissed, with Matthew Bellizia taking over in September 2024.

Having secured $25 million in funding to address the financial shortfall late last year, Dubber is now looking to recoup its losses in court.

The company has launched legal action against its former auditors BDO Audit, seeking $26.6 million in damages, along with interest and legal costs.

Dubber is accusing BDO Audit of failing to properly conduct audits for FY20, FY21, and FY22, and alternatively alleges that BDO acted in a misleading and deceptive manner by neglecting its obligations.

In a statement given to ASX today, Dubber said:

It [Dubber] asserts that, but for that conduct, it would not have suffered the loss that it did as the known parties would have been unable to misappropriate the funds or otherwise the funds would have been partly or wholly recovered.

What’s Next for Dubber?

The missing millions have cast a long shadow over Dubber’s recent trajectory.

Once hailed as a trailblazer in voice intelligence, the company has spent the past 18 months scrambling to contain the fallout – replacing leadership, patching financial holes, and attempting to rebuild market confidence.

While its core technology remains in place and operational, investor sentiment has taken a hit. That much is clear from its battered share price, which still hovers well below pre-incident levels.

For a company operating in a trust-centric domain like cloud communications, reputational recovery is just as crucial as recouping the funds.

Dubber will view the lawsuit against BDO as more than a legal dispute; they will be hoping that it serves as a potential turning point.

A win in court could restore a significant portion of the missing capital and help Dubber restore its reputation. But success is far from guaranteed, and the outcome may take months, if not years, to materialize.

Until then, the company remains in damage control mode, juggling courtroom battles with the everyday demands of delivering mission-critical voice solutions to a global enterprise customer base.

While this connectivity is vital for operations, it also opens the door to sophisticated fraud schemes.

Among these, Artificial Inflation of Traffic (AIT) poses a significant threat, draining resources, compromising user experiences, and resulting in substantial financial losses.

To combat these evolving threats, many now consider the integration of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in CPaaS networks as a strategic necessity, not just a choice.

The Threat of Artificial Inflation of Traffic (AIT)

Understanding AIT is crucial. Consider a business relying on One-Time Password (OTP) verification for secure user authentication via messaging services. Now, imagine someone manipulating this system by generating numerous fake OTP requests, artificially inflating messaging traffic. This tactic disrupts operations and leads to fraudulent billing activities.

According to reports, Enterprises like X, commonly referred to by its former name Twitter, have faced staggering losses of up to $60 million annually due to AIT fraud.

Traditional fraud detection systems, with their rigid rules, struggle to keep up with these tactics, often missing fraudulent activities or inundating businesses with false positives.

GenAI: The Future of Fraud Detection

Generative AI stands out as a differentiator in the battle against AIT fraud.

With models powered by dynamic machine learning and deep learning algorithms, GenAI continuously evolves, adapting to new data streams and refining its detection mechanisms.

Such adaptability helps GenAI stay ahead of complex AIT patterns, ensuring robust fraud prevention.

Key Advantages of GenAI

1. Dynamic Detection Models: GenAI algorithms update with fresh data, enhancing accuracy in identifying AIT schemes. This continuous learning process ensures that detection mechanisms evolve with new fraud tactics.
2. Anomaly Detection Prowess: Leveraging historical and real-time traffic analysis, GenAI excels in identifying deviations from normal traffic patterns, helping to spot potential AIT and address anomalies promptly.
3. Behavioral Traffic Insights: GenAI’s ability to differentiate between legitimate user activities and fraudulent traffic significantly reduces false positives, enhancing user experience by minimizing disruptions while maintaining high security.
4. Real-Time Analysis at Scale: GenAI enables prompt detection and response to fraudulent activities by processing large volumes of data in real time. This is essential in the vast, fast-paced landscape of CPaaS networks, where delays can lead to significant losses

Strategic Considerations for GenAI Deployment

While GenAI presents a promising frontier in fraud detection, deploying it requires strategic considerations:

• Data Excellence and Reachability: High-quality datasets are essential for effectively training GenAI models.
• Computational Capacity: Leveraging cloud infrastructure and powerful processors like GPUs is crucial to meet the computational demands of GenAI models.
• Privacy and Security Assurance: Robust data protection measures ensure compliance with regulations while effectively detecting fraud.

Consider OTP verification. GenAI analyzes behavior, device, location, and other factors to verify legitimacy when a user receives an OTP for authentication.

Also, GenAI flags anomalies – such as multiple OTP requests from different locations – as potentially fraudulent, preventing unauthorized access.

The Future of Fraud Detection in Telecom

For Comviva, the integration of GenAI for fraud detection is critical. It revolutionizes fraud detection in telecoms by addressing the dynamic and diverse nature of fraudulent activity.

Traditional methods like manual processes and rule-based detection fail against modern fraud schemes.

GenAI’s capability to learn from network behavior and detect anomalies indicative of fraud ensures faster detection, quicker response times, enhanced security, and minimized revenue leakage.

With continuous learning capabilities, GenAI also ensures lasting returns and comprehensive security, making it indispensable in safeguarding telecom networks against evolving threats.

In essence, GenAI isn’t just another technology—it’s the cornerstone of security for CPaaS providers against fraud.

By embracing GenAI-powered fraud detection, businesses can fortify their networks, ensuring resilience and integrity across various services, including messaging, WhatsApp, and other OTT channels.

As businesses prioritize GenAI-driven fraud prevention, they safeguard their operations, reputation, and bottom line, confidently navigating the complexities of modern telecom data security.

By understanding and addressing key risks with proactive measures and robust security protocols, organizations can strengthen their security posture and safeguard sensitive information from evolving threats.

In the rapidly evolving telecom landscape, data security remains a top priority, and GenAI is key to achieving it.

Thanks to Deshbandhu Bansal, COO of RevTech Solutions by Comviva, for submitting this article.

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For the former, the enterprise tech giant has unveiled several industry-specific AI agents that aim to drive productivity across the service lifecycle. These stem from its ongoing collaboration with NVIDIA.

Meanwhile, ServiceNow acquired the Quality 360 solution from Advania last week to bolster its Manufacturing Commercial Operations (MCO) product with new quality management capabilities.

Both moves underline ServiceNow’s intent to push forward its industry innovation, help businesses overcome sector-specific challenges, and – ultimately – simplify enterprise operations.

That’s crucial, as some consider ServiceNow’s offerings complex – despite its strong customer retention rates.

By delivering more pre-configured innovations and flows for specific industries, ServiceNow can improve time to value and challenge these assumptions.

Additionally, industry-specific innovation will help ServiceNow position itself as the “platform of platforms”.

After all, customers shouldn’t view ServiceNow as a traditional suite of tools for individual departments. Instead, it has a vision to connect the enterprise.

“Our focus extends beyond platform solutions to deeper, industry-specific capabilities,” wrote Amit Zavery, President, Chief Product Officer, & Chief Operating Officer at ServiceNow, in a recent blog.

In the near term, you can expect to see us amplify our efforts in the front office and partner with customers to enable each focus industry to meet its unique needs more effectively.

With this industry focus, ServiceNow supports more sector-specific flows that cross functions, helping businesses automate more of the enterprise.

Consider other announcements from earlier this year, too, including its bid to hire 3,000 employees before the close of 2025.

This recruitment effort isn’t just about selling more solutions; it’s also about implementing them.

That’s critical, as with its deep platform, businesses need skilled experts to help them integrate these solutions and workflows effectively.

So far, giving companies AI tools without proper support has not worked so well for everyone.

With industry-specific innovations and heightened support, ServiceNow may execute on its “platform of platforms” vision.

More on the New AI Agents for Telcos

ServiceNow’s release of several telco-specific AI agents came at MWC. These agents collaborate to automate common workflows that run across customer service and network operations.

The tech juggernaut gave several examples here. “Issue resolution” is one, with its AI agents scouring network data, diagnosing faults, and proactively recommending solutions.

Interestingly, ServiceNow’s AI agents may also help coordinate some of the repair actions, such as scheduling a field service engineer.

Another example is “billing resolution”. Here, the AI agents detect unusual usage patterns on the network, give real-time explanations, and send proactive notifications to customers, recommending more cost-effective plans.

According to ServiceNow, this increases transparency, reduces unexpected charges, and – ultimately – lowers billing complaints.

These new AI agent use cases result from an ongoing partnership with NVIDIA, with ServiceNow one of the first tech providers to access its latest agentic AI innovations.

Celebrating their release, Rohit Batra, GM & VP for Manufacturing, Telecommunications, Media, and Technology at ServiceNow, said:

The launch of new AI agents developed specifically for the telecom industry demonstrates our continued commitment to building solutions that help solve the biggest challenges facing business leaders.

“ServiceNow has been at the forefront of AI innovation for years, and this collaboration with NVIDIA marks the next step in delivering agentic AI-powered automation that transforms how CSPs operate and serve their customers,” he concluded.

The announcement builds upon the Now Assist for Telecom Service Management (TSM) solution that ServiceNow launched with NVIDIA in 2024, with BT amongst the early adopters.

More on the Quality 360 Acquisition

Last week, ServiceNow announced that it acquired Quality 360 from Advania.

Quality 360 is a solution that aims to isolate and suggest resolutions for quality issues across the manufacturing chain, from production to service delivery.

ServiceNow will embed the solution within its MCO product, offering manufacturers new insights that will help them better manage quality issues.

That’s according to Batra, who said: “Manufacturers are under increasing pressure to maintain high-quality standards while managing complex supply chains.

By integrating Advania’s Quality 360 into the ServiceNow platform, we’re providing manufacturers with the AI-driven insights and automation they need to proactively manage quality issues, drive operational efficiency, and enhance customer trust.

“This acquisition exemplifies our commitment to partner-led innovation and delivering industry-specific solutions that drive meaningful transformation.”

With the acquisition, ServiceNow hopes to help manufacturers improve their efficiency, enhance customer trust, and expand its presence in manufacturing.

Yet, critically, this is another example of ServiceNow delivering new solutions to help overcome the unique challenges of a particular industry.

ServiceNow’s Mission to Connect the Enterprise

Many enterprise tech providers claim to connect the front and back office, but it often boils down to loosely integrated bots that serve particular functions.

ServiceNow takes it further, driving enterprise-wide connections across field service, contact centers, ERP, finance, and other systems.

Industry-specific innovations and AI agents represent the next frontier.

For customer experience leaders learning about ServiceNow from product champions in IT teams, consider its CRM portfolio.

Ask: How is it implemented? What processes is it improving? How can we replicate that success across our systems?

It’s a fascinating option, as CX Today highlights in the article: ServiceNow Is Co-Innovating With CCaaS Leaders: Why?