S2 Ep11 - Rethinking Enterprise Data in the Modern Contact Center Era – A Conversation with Enterprise Communications Analyst Dave Michels

In this episode of The Wilmac Wire, Emily Miller is joined by Wilmac's CEO Steve McDonnell and Dave Michels, lead analyst at TalkingPointz.com, for a wide-ranging conversation on how contact center data is becoming the new gold standard for AI—and why legacy systems are holding organizations back.

From breaking down the CRM vs. contact center debate to spotlighting how transcripts and recordings are fueling generative AI, this episode explores the evolution of enterprise communications and what it means for the future of CX.

Hear how Wilmac Technologies and TalkingPointz:

• Explain why contact center conversations are replacing CRM entries as the true “source of truth”
• Emphasize that without access to voice data, generative AI initiatives hit a wall
• Explore the emerging importance of transcripts and recordings over APIs
• Highlight the silos, access issues, and vendor limitations slowing down AI transformation
• Reflect on CCaaS vs. UCaaS confusion and what midsize orgs need to know when evaluating vendors
• Call out why full agent automation is still far off—and why human interaction still matters

Episode Breakdown:

0:43 – Introduction of guests: Steve McDonnell and Dave Michels
1:35 – Why contact center data is becoming more valuable than CRM
6:45 – Generative AI’s impact on voice data and contact center strategy
10:55 – The shift from APIs to transcripts and recordings
13:40 – AI interoperability challenges and the rise of “bot silos”
16:17 – CCaaS vs. UCaaS: why the lines are blurred but the buyers are different
22:10 – A look at the challenges facing the big CCaaS vendors (Genesys, Five9, NICE)
27:00 – Will AI replace agents? Why it’s not that simple
31:00 – Final thoughts: AI is disrupting everything—and no one knows exactly where it’s going

Connect with the speaker:

Dave Michels on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davemichels/

Steve McDonnell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-mcdonnell-8659042b/

Emily Miller on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-miller-666b66152/

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