Verint, a company that many might recognize from the familiar phrase, "your call may be recorded for quality or training purposes," is more than just a background player in the world of customer service.
Founded in 1994, and now a global leader in CX automation, Verint has built a massive reputation on innovation and adaptability.
In an exclusive interview with TechDay, Martyn Riddle, Verint's Vice President of Marketing for the Asia Pacific region, shared insights into the company's evolution and its current standing in the market.
"Most people have probably experienced Verint when they've made a call to a customer service centre," Riddle explained. "If you've heard that phrase before, chances are the organization is using Verint to record, analyze, and provide quality monitoring on that call."
With nearly three decades of experience, Verint has grown to serve a vast and diverse clientele.
"We are a global organization headquartered in the USA, and we have 10,000 customers, including 80 of the Fortune 100 companies," Riddle expressed, highlighting the company's broad reach across different industries and regions.
Verint's customer base includes major banks, insurance companies, telecommunications providers, and government departments.
These organizations, often with thousands of customer service agents, rely on Verint's solutions to enhance both customer and employee experiences.
As the nature of customer interactions has evolved, so too has Verint's approach. "The very nature of those calls has changed a lot in the past 25 to 30 years," Riddle said.
"Originally, the platform was mainly utilised as a quality monitoring tool, but nowadays organizations are using those transactions to continually optimise both the customer experience and operational efficiency."
This evolution became particularly apparent during the pandemic when organizations had to pivot quickly from traditional, centralized call centres to remote, distributed teams.
Riddle highlighted how Verint adapted to this shift: "Organizations that typically operated with hundreds or thousands of agents in a call centre suddenly had to manage those agents working from home. The use of digital channels increased, and organizations started looking at how they could use information in real-time to improve efficiency and customer service."
Verint's open platform, which allows for the integration of data from various sources, has been key to its success. "We take an open approach," Riddle explained.
"While many technology vendors try to confine organizations to their own ecosystems, we can ingest data from different interaction points. This openness is a big part of why our customers choose us."
Artificial intelligence (AI) has also played a significant role in Verint's strategy. The company utilizes both its own AI engines and third-party public engines to drive analytics and improve customer engagement.
However, Riddle was quick to point out the importance of privacy.
"We don't expose data in a public environment. We use the core concepts of AI while ensuring that transactional data remains secure," he said.
When asked what customers would likely identify as Verint's best solution, Riddle hoped they would appreciate the company's openness and history of innovation. "We've been doing this for over 25 years. Our history of innovation and progression probably stands on its own and now some of the world's most iconic brands rely on our open platform and team of AI-powered bots to create tangible business outcomes."
The AI-driven solutions that Verint offers are varied and sophisticated. Riddle described several, including a chatbot known as an Interactive Virtual Assistant (IVA) and a "Wrap-Up Bot" that automatically transcribes and summarizes customer calls. "Using our Wrap-Up Bot, we can automatically transcribe the conversation as soon as the call has ended, saving the agent time and ensuring accuracy," he explained.
Verint has also developed a "TimeFlex Bot," designed to enhance employee engagement by allowing for micro-shift scheduling. This innovation, born out of the changing work environment during the pandemic, offers employees greater flexibility, something Riddle believes is essential in today's market. "The industry is changing, and organizations need to adapt to meet employee expectations," he said.
Looking ahead, Riddle sees AI as a driving force in the industry.
"AI is driving all the conversations right now," he noted. However, he also emphasized the importance of not becoming overly reliant on new technologies at the expense of proven methods. "It's important that organizations don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. They need to use what they have effectively while exploring new possibilities."
When asked what sets Verint apart from its competitors, Riddle pointed to the company's long history and its commitment to openness. "We've been doing this for so long, and we have a deep understanding of how customers engage with organizations. That's almost priceless," he said.
As Verint approaches its 30th anniversary, the company continues to innovate and adapt, ensuring that it remains a leader in the customer engagement industry.
"We are standing proud on our history," Riddle said. "If we weren't constantly innovating and living up to our customers' expectations, we would fall off that perch. But we're still out there, leading the way."
With events like the upcoming gathering in Australia, Engage on the Road 2024, in Brisbane (27 August); Melbourne (3 September) and Sydney (10 September), Verint continues to showcase its solutions to new and existing customers. 3
"The fact that we're still here, still innovating, and still leading our markets speaks volumes about who we are."
