{"id":51691,"date":"2022-04-04T14:30:02","date_gmt":"2022-04-04T21:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/?p=51691"},"modified":"2025-07-01T00:24:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T07:24:16","slug":"enterprise-connect-2022-voice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/us\/en\/blog\/enterprise-connect-2022-voice\/","title":{"rendered":"4 ways next-gen voice will disrupt the workplace"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the last few years, workplaces have evolved at a head-spinning pace. At the same time, our communications tools have adapted at breakneck speeds. The question is, what\u2019s next?<\/span><\/p>\n

At <\/span>Enterprise Connect 2022<\/b>, I had an amazing opportunity to learn about what\u2019s happening in the communications world. And I wanted to share my thoughts about where workplace communications are headed next.<\/span><\/p>\n

If there\u2019s one major shift that will continue to improve how people work, it\u2019s the <\/span>future<\/b> innovations in voice technology<\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s the<\/span> New Age of Voice<\/b>. Here are our predictions:<\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/a>The current state of voice communications<\/b><\/h2>\n

Our voices are one of the simplest and most natural forms of communication, and it\u2019s only getting more ingrained in our everyday tools.<\/span><\/p>\n

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In 2020, <\/span>Verizon<\/b><\/a> handled an average of<\/span> 800 million<\/b><\/a> phone calls per day\u2014more than double the number that was once made on the historically busiest phone day of the year: Mother’s Day. <\/span>AT&T said call volume was up 35%<\/b> <\/a>in 2020 too, while the number of WiFi\/VoIP calls doubled. In comparison, internet traffic was up just <\/span>20-25%<\/b><\/a> over the same time period.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Roughly nine in 10 consumers say they do <\/span>voice searches or ask a voice assistant a question<\/b><\/a> on a daily or monthly basis. And while text-based chat support might be convenient, 40% of consumers say being able to speak to a human is one of the <\/span>keys to great customer service<\/b><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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At the same time, this<\/span> future of voice stud<\/b>y<\/b><\/a> revealed that <\/span>98%<\/b> of respondents expect their reliance on <\/span>voice technology<\/b><\/a> to either increase or stay the same in the coming years. This isn\u2019t surprising when you think of the popularity of voice assistants (think Alexa), whose global market size is expected to reach <\/span>$15.6 billion USD<\/b><\/a> by 2025<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So where are voice communications headed? And what are the key investments for your business?<\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/a>What is the new age of voice?<\/b><\/h2>\n

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The new age of voice is about so much more than just dialing a phone to reach another human. <\/span>It\u2019s about building the mobile experience first, leveraging the cloud to make businesses more scalable and flexible, composing advanced voice into all workflows, and delivering the world\u2019s most reliable, secure & advanced cloud PBX to all corners of the globe.<\/span><\/p>\n

And it can be broken down into four categories:<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>1. Intelligent voice<\/b><\/h3>\n

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Intelligent voice uses AI capabilities to improve call experiences and to more efficiently extract value from voice calls.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Robocall mitigation and spam blocking<\/b><\/p>\n

Using predictive AI, industry tracebacks, and the STIR\/ SHAKEN framework, we stop fraudulent robocalls and fraudulent spam attacks before they ever reach users.<\/span><\/p>\n

Voice analytics<\/b><\/p>\n

We make analytics a priority for both our IT and business users because we know how valuable they are in ensuring a quality experience making critical business decisions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Each of RingCentral analytics solutions is purpose-built for a specific type of user and their functional responsibility in the organization. We group them into 2 categories: IT Admins and Line of Business managers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Voice biometrics<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We imagine a future where all users will be able to authenticate themselves in their apps via voice or our apps can distinguish between speakers in a conversation automatically.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speech recognition<\/b><\/p>\n

Using AI and APIs to embed natural language processing (NLP), and real-time speech recognition to <\/span>analyze calls<\/b><\/a>, <\/span>visual voicemail<\/b><\/a>, and <\/span>digital conversations<\/b><\/a>. Taking telephone calls, email, IM, and other unstructured data and making them smart searchable.<\/span><\/p>\n

AI-powered live transcriptions<\/b><\/p>\n

A <\/span>live transcript<\/b><\/a> presents a full scope of any conversation in real-time. This allows sales assistants and customer support agents to scan over the conversation while still on the phone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>2. Contextual voice<\/b><\/h3>\n

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Contextual voice enriches conversations (and drives better business outcomes) with cues and insights based on the content of that conversation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Conversational AI<\/b><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve ever interacted with an automated support bot, there\u2019s a good chance you had a negative experience or two that left a bad taste in your mouth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But conversational AI, which includes technologies such as AI-powered chatbots and virtual agents, uses large volumes of data, machine learning, and natural language processing to make such interactions feel more human.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We imagine a future where conversational AI will be ubiquitous in all business workflows\u2014internal and external.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sentiment analysis<\/b><\/p>\n

Sentiment analysis<\/b><\/a> is used to provide businesses with the data they need to enhance the <\/span>customer experience<\/b><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

By using automatic speech recognition as a key tool in any <\/span>analytics solution<\/b><\/a>, voice data can be analyzed to reveal which responses evoke positive emotions based on the tone, pitch, and frequency of the customer or employee\u2019s voice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>3. Mobile voice<\/b><\/h3>\n

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Mobility meets the functional and accessibility needs of employees who are increasingly working from anywhere\u2014and need tools that do the same.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mobile phones as native business endpoints<\/b><\/p>\n

Workers can turn their smartphones into business-class phone systems complete with integrated native dialing (no app needed), call queues, instant recording, and other advanced features.<\/span><\/p>\n

Voice assistants in the workplace<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Provide the convenience and ease of use that we\u2019re used to in our personal lives via assistants like Siri and Alexa.<\/span><\/p>\n

Advanced PBX capabilities on mobile phones<\/b><\/p>\n

RingCentral is the <\/span>first-to-market<\/b> with mobile and desktop HUD functionality, making advanced phone capabilities for users such as receptionists and admins more mobile than ever before.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Typically only available on proprietary desk phones or desktops, customers can now easily view colleagues’ real-time availability and manage multiple incoming calls with the capability to answer and transfer an incoming call, add users to a current call, chat with a colleague directly, or pick up a call on behalf of colleagues\u2014all from both desktop or mobile devices.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>4. Composable voice<\/b><\/h3>\n

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Composable voice refers to embedding voice, SMS, and fax into all your critical workflows, allowing organizations to amplify the apps their business relies on to delight both employees and customers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This helps users get more out of the voice technologies that they use and reduces silos and friction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n