All in With Partners as AI Comes to the Fore!

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/all-partners-ai-comes-fore-joslin-vethakumar-dryrc/

If French author Jules Verne took readers Around the World in Eighty Days, AI can launch you into space in a flash and make you ace the F1 race!

That was a fun voyage of AI discovery I experienced on the first day of the Genesys APAC Partner Conference in Bangkok on Tuesday!

A Genesys kiosk at the event helped attendees (me included) turn the clock back and be dazzled by gleaming, AI-generated photos. So what if they made me look like what I am not, it represents a happy application of AI technology when weighted against decadent deepfake situations!

• That’s the power of AI in bringing about a myriad of experiences that can invite a chuckle with possibilities that are delightfully endless! Some illusory, some packed with cheer!

Here are some highlights at the end of Day 2 of the 2024 APAC Partner Conference:

1. The commitment to partners by Gwilym Funnell, Senior VP of Genesys APAC, that “We are all in with our partners.” George Aprane, VP, Partner & Alliance Sales (APAC) left none in doubt about this resolve by bringing up examples to highlight how Genesys was focused on partner enablement for a win-win-win (Partners, Customers and Genesys) situation
2. Genesys AI in various dimensions (Generative AI, Conversational AI, Predictive AI) helping deliver experience orchestration and optimisation. In an off-the-stage conversation with Rahul Garg, VP, Product, AI & Self Service, I got to understand how Genesys AI stands apart from competitors with its native strength. In my opinion, where there is ballyhoo truth often lies hidden! The accent of Genesys on advancing rapid innovation and balancing it with AI ethics was clear from the various sessions at the conference.
3. This was something that James Walford, Genesys Senior Director, Global Innovation, had earlier emphasised that in an environment of AI fear it was important to have guardrails in place to deal with issues such as bias, hallucinations, privacy violations, security vulnerabilities and the menace of deepfakes.
4. Emphatic viewpoints on how Genesys is accelerating its future in the age of AI, including from Antoine Ducarme, VP of Solution Consulting (APAC) made us ponder.
5. Our resident superstar, Shanker Ramaiyah, the global winner of the Genesys Got Talent contest earlier, came up with another stellar performance giving AI cruise control.

6. An engaging panel discussion on Going Big with AWS and Salesforce, with stakeholders from the two strategic partners – Corrie Briscoe, AWS Head of Partner Sales for APAC and Japan, plus Rabos Suvanamas, Senior Manager, Salesforce) as well as from Accenture (Boo Beng Khoo, MD and Customer Services Practice Lead). The value of their partnership with Genesys found articulation in the conversation steered by Nora DiBene, Senior Director, Genesys Global Alliances.

7. Build a Bot: 3-Legged Race: An electrifying demonstration by Jarryd Tuyav, Principal Solution Consultant at Genesys Australia, of how a bot can be built in less than seven minutes, beating the fun challenge from two racers and even before show host Jim Wagstaff, MD of Jam Factory, could be through with his Tom Yum Soup!

8. Partner Awards, with BT (Significant Win of the Year), NTT, Telstra and Tata Communications being among the winners.

Having worked for BT earlier, the significant win that fetched them the award was an opportunity for me to work closely with some of my former colleagues there!

9. Accelerate as One: This theme of the event was sharp in its import – that partners and Genesys working together help deliver value to our mutual customers, accelerating our future as one!

10. Some rich AppFoundry / partner solutions were also showcased. They included AIVolveX / 1Cloud Hub (with impressive post-call analytics capabilities, multilingual support and E2E Gen AI centricity), AudioCodes, Success KPI and Celebal.

With the Partner Conference readying for a Thursday wrap, the unambiguous message is that AI will drive the future for partners, Genesys and the customers we cruise along with!

G Joslin Vethakumar