Techaisle Blog

For years, midmarket businesses have been caught in a difficult position, forced to choose between the chaos of disparate, best-of-breed point solutions and the restrictive "walled gardens" of single-vendor platforms. At WebexOne 2025, Cisco presented a compelling third way: a vision of "Connected Intelligence" that delivers the power of a deeply integrated, cross-portfolio platform without the penalty of a closed ecosystem. This strategy, which Techaisle defines as Pragmatic Platformization, is a masterclass in meeting customers where they are. It is also the realization of a vision Techaisle first articulated in our 2018 white paper, "Interwork: the next step in connected businesses." In that analysis, we identified that the future of business IT would be defined by an 'Interwork platform' built from the interconnection of seven key domains, including "Connected security," "Connected collaboration," and "Connected insights." Cisco's 'Connected Intelligence' strategy is a powerful, real-world execution of this very concept. By combining the unique strengths of its networking, security, and collaboration portfolios while simultaneously forging deep, native integrations with its staunchest competitors, Cisco is building a platform that is uniquely suited to the heterogeneous and investment-conscious nature of the midmarket.

The 'One Cisco' Advantage: From Metal to Model

The foundation of the Connected Intelligence vision is the "true platform effect" that comes from leveraging Cisco's entire technology stack. This is not just a marketing concept; it is an organizational and engineering reality that allows Cisco to solve problems that no pure-play collaboration or networking vendor can address alone.

The most powerful new expression of this is the extension of AI Canvas to the collaboration portfolio. Initially announced for networking and security, AI Canvas is a collaborative, AI-powered troubleshooting tool. Integrating collaboration data means an IT admin can now investigate a "poor call quality" complaint and see correlated data from the Webex application, the user's Meraki access point, and the underlying Catalyst switch, all in a single, "multiplayer" interface. AI Canvas can then identify the root cause—such as a misconfigured QoS policy—and suggest a fix that can be applied in minutes, not days.

The narrative surrounding Artificial Intelligence in the workplace is undergoing a seismic shift. For the past several years, the conversation has been dominated by assistive AI—tools that could listen, transcribe, and summarize, acting as diligent but passive scribes. At its WebexOne 2025 event, Cisco signaled the definitive end of that era and the dawn of a new one: the age of Agentic AI. This is not merely an evolution; it is a re-imagining of AI's role from a helpful assistant to a proactive, autonomous "agentic teammate". While the scale of this vision is enterprise-grade, Techaisle analysis indicates that its most profound impact may be felt within the midmarket, where the automation of complex workflows is not a luxury, but a critical engine for growth and competitive advantage.

From Passive Assistance to Proactive Action

Cisco’s core message was a move "from this kind of notion of chat bots that intelligently answered our questions to agents that are going to conduct tasks and jobs almost fully autonomously on our behalf". This transition is the central pillar of its “Connected Intelligence” vision and is embodied by the introduction of five new AI Agents for the Webex Suite. These agents are designed to move beyond reporting on what happened in a meeting to actively participating in the work that follows.

• The Notetaker Agent: This agent captures summaries and action items from in-person conversations using the Webex app or a Cisco device.
• The Polling Agent: It contextually listens to meeting conversations and proactively suggests live polls to gauge team sentiment or gather immediate feedback, eliminating the friction of creating them manually.
• The Task Agent: Going beyond listing action items, this agent can be delegated to complete them—for example, by automatically creating a Jira ticket based on a technical discussion.
• The Meeting Scheduler Agent: This agent intelligently identifies the need for a follow-up, finds a suitable time for all required participants, and even drafts an agenda based on the prior conversation’s context.
• The Receptionist Agent: Leveraging technology from its Contact Center portfolio, this voice-enabled agent can handle routine inbound calls, answer queries, and route customers, acting as an AI-powered automated attendant for Webex Calling.

The Midmarket Perspective: A Productivity Force Multiplier

As an industry analyst and a market researcher, it is my job to cut through the noise of the technology market and identify strategies that deliver tangible value. In the current AI-obsessed landscape, the Customer Experience (CX) sector is perhaps the noisiest of all. Every vendor promises sweeping transformation, yet a crisis of confidence is brewing. Based on Techaisle's ongoing research into enterprise and midmarket IT priorities, businesses are increasingly trapped in "pilot purgatory," spending fortunes on AI science projects that fail to deliver measurable outcomes. A vast majority of AI initiatives reportedly fail, often because they are measured by vanity metrics like "tokens consumed" instead of tangible business results.

Against this backdrop, Verint’s recent "Engage" conference presented a refreshingly pragmatic and potent strategy. Under the banner of "AI Business Outcomes. Now," Verint is making a calculated bet not on the hype of a monolithic, all-knowing AI, but on a focused, measurable, and open approach to CX Automation. This strategy is particularly relevant for enterprise and midmarket customers who are weary of disruption and demand demonstrable returns on their technology investments.

The Verint Strategy: Pragmatism Over Platitudes

At its core, Verint’s strategy is built on the understanding that CX operations are a complex web of manual workflows - from quality assurance and coaching to analytics and compliance. The goal of AI, therefore, should not be a vague promise of "intelligence" but the specific, targeted automation of these workflows to create capacity, boost revenue, and elevate customer experience simultaneously.

This philosophy underpins Verint's entire platform and go-to-market motion. Verint announced that over 50% of its annual recurring revenue is now derived from AI-powered solutions, a staggering jump from virtually zero just two years ago. This growth is not accidental; it is the result of a differentiated approach that directly addresses the primary fears and frustrations of today's technology buyers.

Deconstructing "Unique": The Four Pillars of Verint’s Differentiated Strategy

While many vendors claim to be unique, Verint's claim is substantiated by four interconnected strategic pillars that directly address key customer pain points.

Techaisle's in-depth interviews with Cisco's SMB customers reveal a deep commitment from the vendor to solving their unique business challenges through its AI-powered offerings. Direct feedback from SMB customers, gathered through Techaisle's extensive interviews, confirms that Cisco's AI solutions are resonating precisely because they target the specific operational challenges these businesses face. SMBs are increasingly recognizing AI's potential, with many already having AI projects in the trial/pilot phase, and 92% expected to use AI by the end of 2025. A remarkable 75% of firms believe delaying AI adoption would lead to missed opportunities. Despite this positive outlook, many SMBs struggle with how to begin their AI adoption journey. The path is often fraught with numerous challenges, ranging from a lack of internal expertise and budgetary constraints to technical hurdles like reliance on legacy systems, limited network bandwidth, or data restrictions. Softer challenges, such as resistance to change or the absence of a clear strategy, can also impede effective AI adoption, sometimes leading to "checkbox solutions" that fail to meet real business needs.

Cisco’s Strategic Approach: Overcoming SMB Challenges with Tailored AI Innovations

Cisco deeply understands the unique needs of SMBs. Cisco’s AI-powered ecosystems are specifically designed to help SMBs unlock significant value without the burden of complex, stand-alone systems, addressing pressing challenges like limited resources, skills gaps, and operational inefficiencies. Let me first outline how Cisco’s approach to AI helps SMBs mitigate common adoption hurdles: