Tim Banting doesn’t mince words. “Given that we’ve just had Halloween, I’m introducing the term: Frankenstack,” says the Head of Research at Techtelligence. The definition?

“A horrible cobbled together layering of bots and automation and analytics.”

It’s a vivid metaphor for a very real enterprise challenge. In their race to modernise customer experience, many organisations have piled on AI tools, each solving isolated problems but collectively creating confusion. He explains:

“They’ve hit this wall where adding tech adds cost and complexity and it doesn’t provide any degree of clarity.”

Instead of scaling value, enterprises are scaling frustration.

From AI overload to orchestration clarity: Making CX systems sing

The pendulum, Banting argues, is now swinging back. “What we’re looking at now is this resurgence of journey orchestration,” he says. “It offers a way to make existing systems talk to each other and automate handoffs between these Frankenstack systems.”

He explains that AI excels at optimizing moments within the customer journey, for example, agent assist tools or chatbots handling simple transactions. However orchestration optimizes the full journey.

Banting compares it to a conductor leading an orchestra: “You don’t have the brass section doing their own thing and percussion doing their own thing. It really does require something at the top to help guide it, coordinate it, schedule it and orchestrate that journey.”

Ultimately, the goal should be not more machinery but a smoother flow.

The buying shift: From AI expansion to workflow simplification

Techtelligence’s latest data backs up this trend. “Buyers aren’t hunting for new AI platforms,” Banting confirms. “They’re researching workflow orchestration, data unification, and process simplification.”

This is the latest chapter in 2025’s quietly growing trend – a lean towards ‘cost to serve’ as the key metric for success. Especially as enterprises are under pressure to do more but with a fewer headcount.

When “every customer interaction involves three or four different systems and multiple handoffs, your cost to serve really skyrockets”, Banting says. Automating this process is where orchestration shines, enabling enterprises to increase productivity.

Less tech, more flow

As enterprises consolidate, one message rings clear: the AI arms race is over; orchestration wins the war on complexity.

“There’s no one platform to rule them all,” Banting concludes.

“You really need to do your due diligence and talk about workflow integration with vendors. That will become more important to get the best productivity, both from individuals and also from teams.”

Orchestration is the quiet revolution bringing order to the AI chaos – and the smartest CIOs and CX leaders are already tuning in.

Keep up to date with the latest tech buyer trends

Find Tim’s full analysis on Techtelligence.

If you’re an enterprise technology buyer or involved in procurement decisions for your business, follow Techtelligence on LinkedIn for weekly insights, analysis, and expert advice to help you make smarter technology choices.

You can also join its growing LinkedIn Community Group to discuss trends, share experiences, and connect with like-minded business professionals driving digital transformation in their industries.

In its quarterly report on Wednesday, the technology company revealed several high-value investments in its AI products. 

In the earnings call, Cisco emphasized that this rapid growth in AI product adoption indicates a rising demand for secure networking. 

Customer-Centric Strategy 

Over the past year, Cisco’s quarterly results have demonstrated high levels of growth after several previous declines, and it is now reaping the benefits of its increased customer spending and investment. 

This has included various AI products and suites, as well as investments in data centers to support the demands for AI-driven workloads and cloud networking. 

However, the attention has turned towards its customers and their willingness to adopt these products into their workflows. 

Despite this growth in demand, a Cisco study revealed that only a third of companies are certain that their IT infrastructure can safely integrate their AI projects, which Cisco views as favorable for them. 

With its extensive networking portfolio, the company believes it is on track to deliver the critical infrastructure to its customer enterprises, enabling them to adapt to the AI era. 

Modernizing Customer Experience 

In response to the study, Cisco has acknowledged that many companies are still far off from where they’ve been expected to be with AI. 

Charles Robbins, CEO and Chairman at Cisco, recognized the readiness gap between planning and execution when it came to adopting AI. 

He said:

“We know many customers still have a lot of work to do to ensure they have the modern, scalable, secure networking infrastructure to support their AI goals.” 

Cisco has already begun its move toward a modernized customer experience through various upgrades and expansions, allowing for simpler large-scale AI deployments. 

This has included its global network and infrastructure upgrades, allowing Cisco to enhance its enterprise switching, routing, and Wi-Fi to conduct large-scale AI and data-intensive workloads with fast, scalable, and secure performance. 

From this, Cisco expects its enterprise customers to switch from legacy networking equipment to its newer systems, collectively spending billions as part of its multiyear, multibillion-dollar refresh opportunity. 

With global data expansion, Cisco has established numerous regional data centers worldwide, as well as a European customer-based sovereign critical infrastructure portfolio, focusing on a global scale-up with region-focused deployments. 

By supplying software and cloud-native transformation, customer enterprises can also receive automated network surveillance and deliver secure, scalable customer experiences. 

In addition, Cisco offers end-to-end security integrated into the network, supporting modernized infrastructure for reliable and capable traffic pattern management. 

Workloads with Agentic AI 

Cisco’s earnings call reported a surge in agentic AI activity, with the number of queries through agentic AI measuring at 25x higher in network traffic than chatbots. 

And demand for AI has increased with it, with Cisco expecting AI infrastructure to generate $3BN in revenue for fiscal year 2026. 

A contributing factor is the AI workloads needing the necessary models and infrastructure to process locally. To support this, Cisco announced the release of its Unified Edge last week, as part of its strategy to process AI at a speedier and secure level. 

This platform offers integration for compute, networking, and storage into one system, enabling enterprises to receive real-time predictions and decisions for secure AI management. 

Another recent release is the Cisco Data Fabric architecture, which allows for the unification and management of various machine data sources, enabling companies to create more innovative AI models, adding to Cisco’s value when it comes to technology investments. 

Cisco Webex Winter 2025

Cisco has also published its Webex Winter 2025 press release, detailing its recent updates in CX technologies. 

Some key results from the season include: AI translation capabilities now expanding to 120 languages for meeting summaries; its regional cloud infrastructure locations such as the UK, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the UAE; a 3D workspace designer for visual blueprints; and AI Assistant for Calling for live and post-meeting summaries. 

These help to enable higher productivity levels, improve global coverage, and drive flexible working systems, with Webex allowing customers to use meeting rooms, calls, and contact center through one platform. 

However, not all these features are available for deployment as of yet. 

In conversation with CX Today, Tim Banting, Head of Research at Techtelligence, discussed Cisco’s decision to strengthen its overall CX stack across AI, global scale, and device flexibility. 

He said, “The move aligns with current Techtelligence buying-intent data showing a 19% rise in enterprise research around UC productivity and automation, involving more than 29,000 companies actively investigating process and workflow automation in communications suites. 

“However, Cisco faces an execution challenge. Several key AI and automation capabilities remain in the “coming soon” category, creating a perception gap in a market that rewards immediacy and credibility. 

“Techtelligence data shows that buyers are rewarding vendors delivering deployable automation and measurable risk controls now – not future roadmap promises. 

He added: “For CX buyers, the practical value lies in features that are globally available and compliance-ready today. The platform consolidation trend is undeniable.  

“Cisco’s success will hinge on whether it can deliver AI responsibly, at scale, and ahead of rivals who are already reshaping perception around “secure AI collaboration.” 

Cisco Key Earnings Results

After enterprise customers’ strong demand for its AI products, Cisco has risen above estimates for the quarter. 

• Cisco’s revenue is up to $14.9BN, increasing 8% year-over-year  
• Its product orders are up 13% year-over-year, with growth across all markets and geographies 
• AI infrastructures currently stand at $1.3BN 
• Service revenue increased by approximately 2% 
• Product revenue increased by approximately 10%

The next twelve months will test every assumption in customer experience. Economic pressure, rising costs, and cautious spending are pushing CX leaders to prove value faster. 

Tim Banting, Head of Research at Techtelligence, says: 

“The latter half of 2025 and 2026 will be a year of pragmatism.” 

“Enterprises aren’t slamming on the brakes – they’re shifting focus toward tangible benefits.” 

According to Techtelligence data from more than 1,800 organizations, 62% are actively researching or deploying new CX and UC platforms. These companies want measurable efficiency, reduced redundancy, and technology that pays back in time saved, not just promises kept. 

Predictive, Personal, and Human: The New CX Frontier 

An emerging CX trend focuses on evolving from reactive customer service to predictive empathy. Banting explains: 

“We’re seeing AI move from automation toward predictive and personal intelligence. It’s becoming a more empathetic layer rather than a reactive service.” 

Techtelligence data shows over 1,100 enterprises are currently exploring systems that combine automation with emotion-sensing AI to anticipate dissatisfaction before it surfaces. The intent is to retain loyalty in a slower economy where every customer counts. 

However, this personal touch introduces new governance challenges. “You need to make sure your AI is explainable and that your data policies are auditable,” Banting warns. “You can’t just take AI’s word for it.” 

For CX buyers, key evaluation questions include: 

• How does the vendor ensure AI explainability? 

• Is there a unified data layer to fuel the AI’s learning? 

• What metrics show measurable impact on resolution speed or satisfaction? 

Time Capital as the New Resource to Watch 

If 2023 was about ROI,  a CX trend to watch for in 2026 is ROT – Return on Time. “Success is being measured by time given back to employees and customers, not just money saved,” Banting explains. “Time capital will become as valuable as financial capital.” 

This shift reframes efficiency from cost-cutting to time-creation. Shaving seconds off a call or automating back-office tasks compounds across thousands of interactions. Yet Banting cautions against shallow interpretations: “Time saved doesn’t automatically mean it’s used wisely. We should look at how AI helps productivity, not how many employees can be replaced with the time saved”. 

For CX leaders, this is a wake-up call to expand metrics beyond the contact center. True efficiency spans the entire customer journey, from inquiry to resolution. Measuring time across departments – support, logistics, and product – reveals the real impact of AI on business productivity. 

Experience Infrastructure: Where CX Meets UC 

The boundary between customer experience and collaboration is fading fast. “By 2026, unified communications and customer experience won’t be treated as separate categories,” says Banting. “They’ll merge into what we call experience infrastructure.” 

Techtelligence defines Experience Infrastructure as the unified system that connects employee collaboration (UC) with customer engagement (CX). Nearly one in five enterprises are already researching both areas together. 

The logic is simple: internal speed equals external satisfaction. When back-office experts, service agents, and AI tools share data in real time, resolution times shrink, and consistency improves. The outcome is a seamless flow from internal teamwork to external delivery. 

CX buyers evaluating new platforms should ask vendors: 

• Can our UC and CX data layers interoperate natively? 

• How easily can customer-facing insights flow back to internal teams? 

• What governance controls exist across both systems? 

From Testing to Doing: The Execution Era 

Enterprises are done experimenting. “We’re moving from experimentation to execution,” Banting says. “AI and automation aren’t pilots anymore—they’re being scaled for measurable outcomes.” 

Techtelligence’s Q4 2025 Buyer Intent Index shows that 41% of large enterprises are using AI to improve collaboration and 39% are adopting predictive CX tools. This marks a shift from proof-of-concept to proof-of-performance. 

Conclusion: The CX Buyer’s 2026 Playbook 

The next phase of CX maturity will hinge on efficiency, intelligence, and trust – the three benchmarks Techtelligence calls the “enterprise decision-maker’s agenda.” 

To stay ahead, CX leaders should: 

• Invest in predictive AI that understands emotion and intent. 

• Quantify “time capital” across the full customer journey. 

• Demand explainable AI and visible data governance. 

• Align UC and CX investments within an experience infrastructure framework. 

• Prioritize partners that show proof over promises. 

In Banting’s words, “This is really the year of implementation and the year of pragmatism.” For CX buyers, that means acting on insight, measuring in time, and proving value – fast. 

Follow for More Buyer Trends & Insights 

To find Tim’s advice on buyer power in 2026, dive into his article on Techtelligence.

If you’re an enterprise technology buyer or involved in procurement decisions for your business, follow Techtelligence on LinkedIn for weekly insights, analysis, and expert advice to help you make smarter technology choices. 

You can also join its growing LinkedIn Community Group to discuss trends, share experiences, and connect with like-minded business professionals driving digital transformation in their industries. 

“CX isn’t viewed as a single application anymore. It’s just a systems integration problem,” says Tim Banting, Head of Research at Techtelligence.

Modern CX enterprises juggle dozens of disconnected systems – CRM, HR, marketing, data lakes – all tracking partial versions of the customer.

Even something as simple as moving contacts from one phone to another can be painful, Banting notes. Multiply that complexity across global systems, and it’s easy to see where things start to break.

AI Doesn’t Fix Bad Data – It Exposes It

The belief that AI can “make sense” of messy data is widespread – and wrong.

“A lot of people think all I need to do is turn it on, point it to a whole load of PDFs, and AI will make sense of it,” Banting explains. “But it takes a lot of data hygiene, a lot of taxonomy, a lot of clearing up.”

Rather than clarifying customer insights, AI often compounds the confusion. “It’s got so many sources that it just shows you everything and doesn’t know how to react,” he says.

Without a unified data layer, AI in customer experience will churn out inconsistent results and unreliable recommendations.

The outcome: stalled AI initiatives and frustrated leadership teams waiting for their data foundations to catch up.

The New Battleground: Data Integrity

Techtelligence forecasts that by 2027, businesses that unify CX and communications data could reduce service costs by up to 25% and improve retention by 10–15%.

The shift is already visible. Banting observes that “the most read articles on CX Today recently have been about integration, like the Agentforce rollout, rather than new features.”

Buyers, he says, are now prioritizing orchestration and connected workflows over flashy tools. Clean, unified data is fast becoming the new competitive weapon.

The Pressure to Unify Is Mounting

Data unification can no longer be an afterthought. Regulatory, financial, and operational pressures are accelerating the need for action:

• Regulation: New frameworks such as the EU AI Act demand clear data lineage and consent management.
• Economics: With static IT budgets, “buyers want fewer vendors and not more middleware.”
• Fatigue: “People are done stitching together best-of-breed tools that don’t talk to each other.”

Delaying data integration now risks slowing growth, introducing compliance hurdles, and increasing technical debt, Banting highlights.

Four Lenses to Evaluate CX and AI Vendors

Banting warns against chasing the next “shiny object” to fix data chaos. Instead, he suggests evaluating vendors through four practical lenses:

• Data Architecture: Does it build a single, unified customer profile?
• Explainability: Can AI “show its workings out”?
• Openness: Does it support open standards like MCP for integrating multiple AI agents?
• Governance: Is the solution “audit proof” with full data lineage and compliance tracking?

“You need AI to explain how it’s reached a decision,” Banting adds. “I was always told to show my workings out in maths class – AI needs to do the same.”

Matching Tools to Strategy, Not Hype

Techtelligence’s “strategic clusters” framework offers a smarter way to align CX investments.

“If the best car is a Ferrari, that’s great for racing, but not for your groceries,” Banting quips. “The same applies to CX solutions. You match the tool to the task.”

He advises buyers to focus less on technical specs and more on long-term alignment – how well a vendor fits enterprise data strategy, IT architecture, and financial goals.

The right match can transform data from a bottleneck into a springboard, reigniting stalled AI projects and restoring the promise of intelligent customer experience.

Stay Ahead in Enterprise Technology

To find Tim Banting’s full advice for tech buyers, read his latest post on Techtelligence.com.

If you’re an enterprise technology buyer or involved in procurement decisions for your business, follow Techtelligence on LinkedIn for weekly insights, analysis, and expert advice to help you make smarter technology choices.

You can also join its growing LinkedIn Community Group to discuss trends, share experiences, and connect with like-minded business professionals driving digital transformation in their industries.