Can Security, Compliance, and Excellent CX Co-Exist?

Table of Contents, May 2026

FEATURE ARTICLE
Can Security, Compliance, and Excellent CX Co-Exist?
By Brendan Read; Q&A With James Laird, Verint
They must: and here’s how.

COACH’S CORNER
Average Handle Time vs. Human Time – Part 1
By Mark Pereira
Finding the right balance in the CX age.

CONTACT CENTER SKILLS
Why Screening Harder Won’t Win – Part 2
By April Cantwell
There is a new approach to attracting and keeping talent.

AI-DRIVEN RISKS
When AI Shops for Your Customers
By Shahar Yaari
How contact centers can manage the new risks.

CRM AI
CRM AI’s Hidden Security Risks
By Aaron Costello
How to manage them.

9-1-1
9-1-1 at Risk
By D. Jeremy DeMar
How to protect it.

PLATFORM INTEGRITY
Why Platform Integrity Matters
By Rachel Lutz Guevera
How contact centers can help.

CONTACT CENTER SECURITY
Can AI Pass The Checkpoints?
By Brad Murdoch
How to avoid blocking its adoption.

COMPLIANCE
Compliance as a CX Imperative
By Tod Chisholm
How to securely deliver excellent CXs.

DEEPFAKES
When the Voice Isn’t Human
By Rana Gujral
How to manage the growing deepfake threat.

CHATBOTS
Your Bot Just Became a Legal Problem
By Dhwani Soni
Here’s why and how to fix it.

STATE REGULATIONS
Automation, Refunds, and Rights to a Human
By Melody Morehouse
The wide implications of California’s new laws.

Taking Off With the Contact Center

Table of Contents, March 2026

FEATURE ARTICLE
Taking Off With the Contact Center
By Brendan Read; Q&A with Iker Urionaguena
How ultra-low-cost carrier Volaris provides excellent customer service.

RESEARCH
The Return to Voice
By Steve Morrell
Why customers prefer human connection for complex interactions.

INSIDE VIEW
An Interview with JM&A Group
By Linda Harden
How automation and AI are adding value.

WRITING WELL
When GenAI Should Do the Writing
By Leslie O’Flahavan
It can help the agents and the customers.

AUTOMATION
What Contact Centers Can Learn from ATMs
By Dina Vance
Why ATMs should make agents feel better about their jobs.

METRICS
Your Metrics Are Accurate…and Misleading
By Robert Bradshaw
And here’s how to fix them.

AGENT EXPERIENCE
Bullying, Burnout, and Interpersonal Breakdowns
By Joyce Odidison
Why and how they need to be addressed.

COACH’S CORNER
Beyond the Accent
By Mark Pereira
How to build interaction clarity and confidence.

VOICE INTERACTIONS
Accommodating the Accents
By Brendan Read; Q&A with Sharath Keshava Narayana
How new AI-powered tools can improve CX.

ACCESSIBILITY
The Hidden Accessibility Crisis
By Matthew Elefant
Why both customers and agents with disabilities matter now.

AGENT TURNOVER
Why Traditional Screening Misses Your Biggest Retention Risk
By Jens Näsström
The overlooked factor that predicts turnover and sick leave.

NEURODIVERSITY
The Neurodiversity Disconnect
By Pier Ragone
How to reconnect with excellent neurodivergent agents.

CONTACT CENTER INTEGRATION
Turning Acquisition Chaos into Clarity
By Michael Bidwell
How to untangle merged contact center operations.

Moving Forward: What Will 2026 Bring For Contact Centers?

Table of Contents, January 2026

FEATURE ARTICLE
Moving Forward: What Will 2026 Bring For Contact Centers?
By Brendan Read; Q&A With Advisory Board
Our Advisory Board shares timely insights to take into the New Year.

FROM THE SIDELINES
The “Little Bill”
By Kathleen M. Peterson
That says a lot.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Looking Beyond the AI Hype
By Jim Iyoob
What AI can actually deliver in contact centers.

IT CX
When IT Needs Support…
By Brendan Read
How automation, including AI, helps people help people.

RETAIL
Retail’s Loyalty Crisis
By Vasili Triant
Why excellent AI-driven customer service is the new storefront.

BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING
Moving to BPO-Hosted Voice AI?
By Davit Baghdasaryan
Risks, reality, and the path forward.

VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS
Mastering the Live Agent Transition
By Pranav Dalal
And how to simultaneously enhance VA efficiency.

CUSTOMER JOURNEY
The GPS for the CX
By Mike Bawn
How journey orchestration drives CX quality.

CUSTOMER TRUST
Why Trust is a Must in CX
By Ljubiša Velikić
And why customer safety is key.

STAFFING
The Workforce Implications of AI
By Brendan Read; Q&A with Tony Graczyk
The benefit of AI for agents and supervisors.

INSIDE VIEW
Is AI Contact Center-Ready?
By Brendan Read; Q&A with Vigneshwaran Jagadeesan Pugazhenthi
The answer appears to be yes: if organizations understand its true value.

CUSTOMER SERVICE
Relieving Active and Latent Customer Pain
By Jason Barr
Why contact centers must treat both for healthy CXs.

AVAYA USERS
Avaya at a Crossroads
By Tom Hanson
Will Avaya modernize as its enterprise customer users expect?

The CX Highwire Act

Table of Contents, November 2025

FEATURE ARTICLE
The CX Highwire Act
By Brendan Read; Q&A with Expert Panel
Can contact centers hold on?

SPONSORED SPOTLIGHT – NiCE
Contact Center AI at the Speed of Service
By Neeraj Verma
The future of CX is real-time.

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
Balancing High-Value Customer Interactions
By Nate Brown
Why a value-driven QM approach is best.

METRICS
Are You Listening For The Signals?
By Kumar Chinnakali
AI-assisted signal-centric metrics go beyond satisfaction scores.

SPECIAL REPORT
Is AI Falling into the IVR Traps?
By John Goodman
And how to avoid them.

GENERATIVE AI
Passing the Test
By Rishi Rana
How the new GenAI applications can be assured to function well.

AGENTIC AI
The Next Step in Contact Center Evolution
By Jurgen Hekkink
How agentic AI can improve the CX.

WebRTC
Taking the Real-Time Customer Journey
By David Fischer
With the help of AI-enabled WebRTC.

CUSTOMER TRUST
Trust Isn’t Built with Technology Alone…
By Chris Koehler
Trust is built with transparency.

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
Tapping The Power of Knowledge – Part 1
By Mark Pereira
How to use KM to empower agents and elevate CX.

QUALITY ASSURANCE
AI: The New QA Standard
By Michael Hutchison
Why and how AI improves interaction monitoring.

SMBs
Jumping the CX Hurdles
By Damon Covey
How new tools can give a lift.

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
Elevating Contact Center Performance
By Roman Davydov
Examples of how BI can give the lift.

Answering the Challenges

Table of Contents, September 2025

FEATURE ARTICLE
Answering the Challenges
By Brendan Read; Q&A With CCP Advisory Board
Our Advisory Board shares timely insights into key contact center issues.

COACH’S CORNER
Optimizing Workforce Management – Part 1
By Mark Pereira
Strategies for efficiency that strive for customer satisfaction.

WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT
The New Era of WFM
By Donna Fluss
AI is driving reimagined resource management.

INSIDE VIEW
Is WFM Keeping Up?
By Brendan Read; Q&A with Dan Smitley
What workforce management professionals need to do.

CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT
Improving Customer Engagement Amid Uncertainty
By Reggie Scales
Exploring AI’s role in making that happen.

CUSTOMER GATEWAYS
Why Your Contact Center Needs a Gateway
By Kumar Chinnakali
And not just an IVR.

AI VOICE AGENTS
Why Contact Centers Can’t Afford to Wait
By Cloud Tech Gurus
AI voice agents are transforming how contact centers operate.

LEADERSHIP
It’s Just People
By Charlie Adams
Leadership is about simplicity, humanity, and growth.

CORPORATE CULTURE
Mission Culture vs. Trench Culture
By Annette Franz
Bridging the gap between what is said and how work is done.

SPECIAL REPORT
Supreme Telemarketing Changes?
By Brendan Read; Q&A with Industry Experts
Key rulings on the TCPA and other regulations could create compliance uncertainty, for now.

OMNICHANNEL
How Automated Contact Channels are Evolving
By Afshan Kinder and David Burnie
And the steps to take to ensure excellent omnichannel CX.

AUTOMOTIVE CX
The Road Ahead for Auto Finance CX
By Brendan Read; Q&A with Tod Chisholm
How AI, automation can help automotive lending CXs move forward.

BACK-OFFICE INTEGRATION
Changing the WFM Game
By Sharon Shelly
How CRM platforms can help score corporate goals with back-office plays.

Making Connections Amidst Disruption

Table of Contents, July 2025

FEATURE ARTICLE
Making Connections Amidst Disruption
By Brendan Read; Q&A with Expert Panel
How AI and automation are changing them.

CONTACT CENTER ECONOMICS
Why Recession Planning Should Start in the Contact Center
By Cloud Tech Gurus
Economists are sounding the alarm.

AGENTIC AI
AI Agents and Human Agents – Better Together?
By Jon Arnold
Can Agentic AI help them live happier ever after?

BOTS
Are You Ready for Bots to Call?
By Jim Davies
You need to be thoroughly AI-fluent for when they do.

OUTBOUND
Breaking Through the Outbound Barriers
By Rob Auld and David Byck
Personalization, follow-up, AI, and compliance can connect with customers.

COMPLIANCE AND SECURITY
Rethinking Outbound
By Jim Tyrrell
Threats and new rules require strategy changes.

COACH’S CORNER
Tapping the Power of Culture – Part 1
By Mark Pereira
How CQ can connect with customers.

CHARGEBACKS
Charging Back at Chargebacks
By Monica Eaton
How customer response can help.

OMNICHANNEL
How To Avoid Repeats…Repeats…
By Vladimir Sterescu
Customers shouldn’t have to repeat themselves.

VOICE IVR
The Case for Voice IVR
By Daniel O’Sullivan
How it can provide excellent service.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Doubling Down on Digitization
By Meredith Keller
Why single-platform interaction solution integration is essential.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
How to Evolve With, Not Fight Against AI
By Andreas Orebo Wenzel
Investment in supporting methods, tools needed.

BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING
Navigating the Future of BPO
By Rommel Regino
BPO companies face treacherous global trade shifts.

Docking Contact Centers in Turbulent Seas

Table of Contents, May 2025

FEATURE ARTICLE
Docking Contact Centers in Turbulent Seas
By Brendan Read; Q&A with John H. (Jack) Boyd
Labor costs, AI, and White House policies are shaping decisions.

IDIOM INSIGHTS
Evolution of the Contact Center
By Kathleen M. Peterson
Past, present, and future.

AI READINESS
Why AI Readiness Should Be a 2025 Priority
By Fred Stacey
Laying the foundation for sustainable AI success.

INSIDE VIEW
Understanding FCC’s New Rules
By Brendan Read; Q&A with Paul St. Clair
How best to comply with them.

EMERGENCY CONTACT CENTERS
Why NG911 is No Longer Optional
By D. Jeremy DeMar
But providing it still faces technology, institutional challenges.

REGULATIONS
Steering Through Europe’s Regulations
By Frank Sherlock
AI can help comply while facing its own rules.

SOCIAL ENGINEERING
Is Evil Contacting Your Contact Center?
By Roger A. Grimes
How to defend against harm.

DEEPFAKES
Defending Against Deepfakes
By Richard Tsai
Contact centers are in fraudsters’ crosshairs.

VOICE SECURITY
The Growing Dangers Through Voice
By Brian McDonald
AI has magnified the risks and threats.

AGENTIC AI
The Lurking Dangers of Agentic AI
By Aaron Painter
How to minimize its risks to reap its benefits.

COMPLIANCE
The Competitive Advantage of Compliance
By Ryan Kahan
How AI can help provide it.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Humanizing the AI Experience
By Amitabh Misra
How Agentic AI plays a key role.

Speaking The Customers’ Language(s)

Table of Contents, March 2025

 

FEATURE ARTICLE
Speaking The Customers’ Language(s)
By Brendan Read; Q&A with Expert Panel
Multilingual agents and AI can help.

IDIOM INSIGHTS
Now Hear This!
By Kathleen M. Peterson
New Measures for Contact Centers

CUSTOMER COMMUNICATIONS
When English Is Not Your Customers’ First Language
By Leslie O’Flahavan
Writing simply, aided with visuals and links, is key.

GOALS AND INVESTMENTS
Vision 2025
By Donna Fluss
Key Contact Center Business Goals

AGENT WORKFORCES
The Contact Center Talent Crisis – Part 1
By Brent Holland
And how hiring underrepresented (and diverse) workforces can help.

CUSTOMER SERVICE
Why Augmented/Virtual Reality Are the Future
By Rama Sreenivasan
Here are three compelling reasons.

WOMEN IN WORKFORCE
Why Women Are Better Cold Callers
By Katelynn Blackburn
Women bring unique strengths but face challenges.

AGENT ATTRITION
How To Combat Agent Burnout and Attrition
By Jennifer Lee
Leverage AI to manage these critical issues.

KNOWLEDGE CRISIS
Solving the Knowledge Crisis
By Tom Bruhis
How technology can address this critical issue.

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
The Three Key Customer Service Trends
By Michelle Couture
Generational differences, AI, and video drive them.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Three Ways AI is Changing The Contact Center
By Devon Mychal
Delivering better CX through happier, more effective agents.

AGENT RECRUITMENT
How AI Can Help Solve Hiring Challenges
By Thad Price
Labor market changes make using new tools imperative.
 

 

Moving Forward: What Will 2025 Bring For Contact Centers?

Table of Contents, January 2025

FEATURE ARTICLE
Moving Forward: What Will 2025 Bring For Contact Centers?
By Brendan Read
Our Advisory Board shares timely insights to take into the New Year.

IDIOM INSIGHTS
The Irony of CX … Vision or Hallucination?
By Kathleen M. Peterson
Promises vs. Operational Realities

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – UPLAND PANVIVA
Human Over Hype
Presented by Upland Panviva
The reality behind AI in the contact center.

CHALLENGES AND PRIORITIES
New Year, Evolved Challenges, Compelling Priorities
By Lori Bocklund
What is top of mind in your center?

AI JOURNEY
Getting Past the AI Hype
By Jon Arnold
How AI can realistically improve the CX.

WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT
2025 Trends in WFM
By Tiffany LaReau
Insights from my Network of Experts.

RESEARCH
Predictions for the U.S. Contact Center Industry in 2025
By Steve Morrell
Research findings provide a look ahead.

CX QUALITY
Is CX Improving? Or Declining?
By Brendan Read
Leading industry experts offer their thoughts on the future of CX.

DATA MANAGEMENT
Harnessing the Power of Data and Analytics – Part 1
By Shane Devitt
How AI is making a difference for contact center data management.

HEALTHCARE CX
Looking Beyond NPS and CSAT
By Amy Brown
How conversational intelligence is transforming healthcare organizations’ CXs.

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
Improving CX in the AI Age
By David Karandish
How to meet evolving customer expectations.

INTERACTIVE VOICE RESPONSE
Humans or AI?
By Matt Strach
Which option is best for IVR?

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
How to Enhance the Human Touch
By Josh Feast
AI can benefit agent interactions and wellbeing.

Ensuring Quality in Anxious Times

Table of Contents, November 2024

FEATURE ARTICLE
Ensuring Quality in Anxious Times
By Brendan Read; Q&A with Expert Panel
Is it time, in these times, to move away from manual processes?

IDIOM INSIGHTS
Gracious Gratitude
By Kathleen M. Peterson
In spite of it all

DECISION INTELLIGENCE
Using Decision Intelligence to Make Better, More Informed Decisions
By Ryan Hollenbeck
Enhancing human decision-making through data-driven insights.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Integrating AI Into Your Contact Center
By Matthew Marion
Solid IT foundation needed to reap benefits.

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
How to Properly Serve Your Customers
By Laura Sikorski
Getting back to basics through your contact center.

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
Solving the CX Calculation Discrepancy – Part 2
By Rick McGlinchey
How to improve your reporting and results.

CUSTOMER AND AGENT VOICE
How to Clearly Hear Your Customers and Agents
By Mary Weiss
Does your survey process need tuning?

BRAND EXPERIENCE
How to Transcend Customer Expectations
By Jim Davies
Customer service needs to align with brand values.

WORKPLACE FRICTION
How to Lower Friction And Turnover
By Rama Sreenivasan
Four digital tools to smooth out the agent experience.

AGENT EXPERIENCE
Improving the Agent Experience
By Jeff Johnson
Here are several troubleshooting methods and tools.

TECHNOLOGY
When Technology is Both Panacea and Pitfall
By Chuck Schaeffer
Here’s how contact centers can sort out these tools.

CUSTOMER SURVEYS
“WhatsApp”-ening With Surveys?
By Sumit Saxena
How messaging apps can solve common issues.