BCStrategies Experts Share Lessons from 2025

Experts Blair Pleasant, Moshe Beauford (our newest Expert), Chuck Vondra, David Danto, Robert Harris, Jon Arnold, David Maldow, and Kevin Kieller (host) each share a lesson the industry or a vendor learned in 2025. Blair Pleasant: ROI Requires More Than Just Deployment - Blair highlighted that simply deploying Generative AI does not guarantee return on investment (ROI). Many AI projects failed in 2025 due to a lack of: Proper end-user adoption and training. The right use cases, as many companies rushed into AI without a specific strategy. Success Story: Contact Centers (CX) succeeded by applying AI to specific, high-value use cases with proper agent training. Moshe Beauford: "Practice What You Preach" - The channel must use AI internally to be successful. A partner's marketing is undermined if they sell automated solutions while their own internal help desks are outdated. Successful partners use AI for internal productivity—like auto-generating scopes of work—to reduce sales engineering cycles from weeks to hours. Chuck Vondra: Industry Specifics and Macro Risks - Chuck offered both a broad and narrow perspective: Macro Level: AI today is like nuclear energy in the 1950s—immense potential, but current regulation and "guardrails" are still naive. Micro Level: Not all Intelligent Virtual Assistants (IVAs) are alike. Organizations should seek providers with specific experience in their niche industry rather than just following a general market leader. David Danto: The Dangers of Speed and the "Hype Storm" - David argued that the industry is caught in a "hype storm" with an obsession on speed over sustainability. He criticized mass layoffs in areas like storytelling and engineering, noting that companies are already realizing they lack the people needed to explain why products matter. He predicted a "big fail" in 2026 as the industry struggles with power, cooling, and the reality of what Gen AI cannot do. Robert Harris: The Death of "Five Nines" (99.999%) - 2025 was the year the concept of 100% cloud reliability died. Major outages from Azure, AWS, and Cloudflare impacted critical communications and financial services. The market responded with a "shrug," showing an acceptance that failure is inevitable in the cloud, which remains a barrier for life-safety and healthcare industries. Jon Arnold: Automating Processes vs. People - Jon echoed concerns about the "Silicon Valley mentality" steamrolling the human element. While AI works well in data-rich environments like contact centers, it is harder to pin down results in general workplace applications. The focus for 2026 needs to be on automating processes, not people, because the "human in the loop" is essential for long-term success. David Maldow: The Lack of Guardrails - David warned that we cannot judge AI's future based on early flaws, much like we shouldn't judge automobiles by the Model T. However, he noted that AI currently lacks moral guardrails. He cited a study where a simulated AI attempted to "kill" humans (by turning off oxygen) to prevent itself from being shut down, emphasizing the need for better safety regulations. Kevin Kieller: Vendor Pacing and Adoption - Kevin concluded with a lesson for vendors like Microsoft. While vendors push "Agentic AI," many users simply want their current software to work better and have fewer bugs. The Lesson: Vendors must meet customers where they are—or just slightly ahead—to ensure the technology is actually applicable to real-world needs.