Is the contact center going to be the next big tech frontier?

Many publicly traded tech stocks have had a torrid time lately as investors move away from lofty visions and future promises of growth to focus on revenue and earnings fundamentals.

The same dynamic plays out in the minds of CFOs as they make choices about their investment priorities in the coming year. In a recent survey, Gartner found that despite the economic pressures facing many organizations, "only 7% of CFOs plan to reduce customer service spending over the next 12 months," with 21% planning to increase their spending and 72% plan to maintain their spending. .

The survey also revealed that nearly all CFOs will prioritize investments in technologies that improve current revenue streams or help reduce costs.

It also appears that a group of VCs in the services and experience space have received the same memo and are doubling down on investments that can help increase revenue, reduce costs, or both.

For example, Invoca, a leading AI-based call tracking and analytics platform that helps provide marketers and revenue teams with campaign attribution and actionable data from inbound phone calls, has helped clients like DirectTV achieve a 110% improvement in sales agent closing. rates while lowering their cost per acquisition.

Based on successes like these, earlier this year they raised $83 million at a valuation of $1 billion, 4x more than their last round in 2019. That valuation has been propelled by the fact that the company has surpassed $100 million in run-rate earnings and the strength of its long-term fundamentals.

The success of their fundraising comes as no surprise to Gregg Johnson, CEO of Invoca, who says, "There has been a clear shift in the market from a focus of pure growth to a balance between growth and profitability. At Invoca, we have always focused on the latter while ensuring continuous product innovation and customer success. We have always taken a disciplined approach to growth and established long-term trust with our When we discussed our funding earlier this year, these factors were key because today's investors have a critical role to keep an eye on verified business fundamentals and long-term market potential. solid, stable and proven companies."

Meanwhile, in the area of ​​cost management and efficiency improvement, ASAPP, the research-driven artificial intelligence company, is developing products to help contact center workers deliver better experiences and manage more volume of customer engagement in less time while allowing consumers to benefit from faster resolution of their needs. Last year they