Just back from CCWberlin. Really glad I went.
Two groups of companies stood out to me.
The big contact centres and BPOs. Huge operations, tens of thousands of agents, and they are building the full stack now. Language training, AI practice, co-pilots, post-call coaching and review. All in one platform. The ambition is impressive.
Then the omni-channel platforms, Genesys, NiCE, Five9 and others. Older companies that own the calling infrastructure and are now integrating AI in interesting ways. The agentic conversation was everywhere. The model that stuck with me: a human directs a group of AI agents, nudges them in the right direction, and the agents either keep going or escalate back to the human when they need to. I found that genuinely inspiring. No one has cracked it yet, which means it is still wide open.
What I noticed underneath all of it was nervousness. AI is moving fast and everyone in the room knows it means fewer jobs in contact centres. That tension was real. At the same time the focus on people, happy teams and happy customers, was still there. I think that matters.
The big players had serious stands. Well designed, great branding, parties in the evening. You could feel the industry is doing well and is excited about where it's going.
Excited to be building in this space.