ACP: The Amazon Connect Podcast

Send us Fan Mail This week we deep dive into call recording in Amazon Connect, covering how recording evolved from expensive, tape-based systems into ubiquitous digital recordings driven by compliance needs like PCI, HIPAA, GDPR, and financial regulations.  We discuss how most recordings historically went unreviewed, but AI transcription and analytics, such as Amazon Connect Contact Lens, now make...

Send us Fan Mail We recap the two-day Amazon Connect Customer Community event in London, noting that the agenda and partner conversations were overwhelmingly focused on AI, especially agentic AI, rather than traditional contact center topics. We discuss workshops on setting up agentic AI and automating evaluations/quality monitoring, emphasizing that while building an agent can be fast, ongoing mo...

Send us Fan Mail Amazon Connect Forecasting, Capacity Planning & Scheduling (FCS) Explained — Native WFM, Agent Self-Service, Data Lake & Notifications Tom Morgan and Alex Baker welcome Pavan Dusanapudi, a senior architect on the Amazon Connect team, to discuss Amazon Connect Forecasting, Capacity Planning, and Scheduling (FCS) and how it compares to workforce management.  Pavan explains h...

Send us Fan Mail Tom and Alex welcome John Ing, freelance Amazon Connect consultant and founder of the independent Amazon Connect user group , to discuss the group’s rapid growth over two years, its community-led agenda, and why smaller, Chatham House Rules-style events enable candid sharing and practical problem-solving. John compares Connect community dynamics across the UK, Australia, and the U...

Send us Fan Mail In an unplanned “emergency” episode of the Amazon Connect Podcast, host Tom Morgan, co-host Alex Baker, and AI agent co-host Aria recap AWS Summit London and discuss two major announcements that reshape how they talk about Amazon Connect: AWS’s acquisition of NLX and the “What’s Next with AWS” event in San Francisco. They note the increased visibility and buzz around Amazon Connec...

Send us Fan Mail Tom Morgan and Alex Baker catch up on recent Amazon Connect and contact center updates, including a blog post on the EU AI Act requiring clear AI disclosure at first interaction and strong logging/auditing by August 2, with significant GDPR-scale penalties and shared-responsibility implications for AWS customers.  They also discuss a LinkedIn video on voice models that argues data...

Send us Fan Mail Tom Morgan and co-host Alex Baker return to the Amazon Connect Podcast after a break since re:Invent, explaining that rapid developments in AI agents and increased client demand have driven their focus. They revisit Amazon Connect’s Unlimited AI pricing and argue it now makes more sense as AI features spread across the entire platform, reflecting a shift toward an “AI-first contac...

Send us Fan Mail Amazon Connect Feature Updates: re:Invent Highlights In this special episode of ACP during re:Invent Week, Tom and Alex dive into the latest announcements and features for Amazon Connect. From AI-powered automation to new agent tools, this episode covers some of the 29 new updates including native testing capabilities, email automation, chat workflows, MCP support, and real-time c...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Tom and Alex sit down with Ruben Opdenakker , Head of Product at Ideal Systems, to explore the mobile evolution of Amazon Connect — and how it's transforming the way organisations engage with customers. Traditionally known as a powerful cloud contact centre solution, Amazon Connect is now breaking free from the desk with Mobile Connect . Discover how mobile c...

Send us Fan Mail Join Tom and Alex in this episode of ACP as they discuss the latest in outbound campaigns and proactive engagement with Anjan Mukherjee, Head of Product for Amazon Connect.  Discover the evolution of consumer communication preferences, the importance of personalized engagement, and how AI-driven solutions are transforming business outreach. Learn practical insights and examples on...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Tom and Alex return refreshed and ready to dive into everything Amazon Connect. They provide a detailed update on the latest features and improvements in Amazon Connect from the past two months, including real-time dashboards, Lex bot integration, agent performance evaluations for email contacts, and outbound dialer enhancements. They also discuss the importance o...

Send us Fan Mail Join Tom and Alex in this episode as they delve into the world of automation in contact centers, focusing on Amazon Connect. They discuss the importance and benefits of automation both within and outside the scope of AI. From traditional IVR systems and chatbots to newer advancements in agent productivity, self-service, workflow automation, and quality monitoring, they cover a bre...

Send us Fan Mail Join us as we kick off the new year with a special episode of ACP featuring two expert guests from Cloud Interact. Eliza Taylor, Change Director, and Nick Seagrave, CTO, share their insights on the future of contact centers in 2025.  The discussion dives into key themes such as change management, technological advancements, and the evolving customer experience. Learn about the rol...

Send us Fan Mail Join us as we explore the screen recording feature of Amazon Connect in this deep dive episode. Hosts Tom and Alex discuss its origins, functionalities, and implications for call centers, including agent monitoring, compliance, and training.  Learn about enabling the feature, its technical requirements, and potential use cases. Dive into the practical applications and consideratio...

Send us Fan Mail Join Tom and Alex as they delve into the latest announcements from AWS re:Invent 2024, focusing on Amazon Connect. This episode covers various new features, including collection of sensitive customer data, generative AI-powered self-service, WhatsApp business messaging integration, AI guardrails, external voice transfers, and Salesforce contact center preview.   They are also join...

Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Tom Morgan and Alex Baker for a special live episode of the Amazon Connect Podcast, recorded at the second independent user group meeting for Amazon Connect in London. This episode features detailed discussions on Amazon Connect technologies, user experiences, and innovations from industry leaders. Highlights include insights from AWS representatives, hands-on user expe...

Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Alex and Tom as they dive into the future of customer experience (CX) with Jonathan from Emite . Discover Emite's innovative platform that integrates data from various sources like Amazon Connect and CRM systems into a unified solution, providing self-service reporting, dashboards, and KPI tracking.  Learn how AI and IoT are transforming industries by processing re...

Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Tom Morgan and Alex Baker on ACP, the Amazon Connect Podcast, for an in-depth exploration of Amazon Connect billing. This episode covers the differences between consumption-based and subscription-based billing models, delving into their respective advantages and challenges. Gain valuable insights into managing AWS billing, with a specific focus on Amazon Connect's...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of ACP, hosts Tom and Alex welcome Simon Leyland, the CEO and co-founder of CloudInteract. They discuss Simon's career journey from the telecommunications and IT sectors to establishing CloudInteract, focusing on revolutionizing customer experience. The conversation covers the transition from traditional telephony to modern cloud platforms and the ongoing chal...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of ACP, hosts Tom and Alex are joined by special guest Ajmal Mahmood, Customer Experience Director at Omningage . Ajmal shares his extensive background in the contact center industry, discusses the building of Omningage's Amazon Connect-based product Rocket CCaaS , and highlights the innovative features and benefits of their solutions.  The conversation also d...

Send us Fan Mail Join us in the studio as we dive into the realm of Amazon Connect's learning and development. Discussing the dynamic nature of Amazon Connect, we explore how to stay updated with its continuous feature changes. Discover the new AWS Skill Builder learning plans tailored for Amazon Connect, including a deep dive into the Amazon Connect Communication Specialist plan and the Conn...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of ACP, hosts Tom and Alex delve into the world of contact center optimization with John Mitchem, co-founder and CTO of Operata .  John shares insights on his two-decade career in contact centers, leading to the establishment of Operata. The discussion covers the evolution from traditional contact center monitoring to modern observability, the role of AI in enhanci...

Send us Fan Mail Join Tom and Alex in the studio as they dive into the latest updates and innovations in Amazon Connect, preview AWS re:Invent 2024, and explore the importance of planning for this massive event.  Discover what's new with Amazon Connect, including free-text search functions, enhanced generative AI summaries, and new dashboards.  Learn about the keynotes, sessions, and networki...

Send us Fan Mail Deep Dive into Quality Monitoring with Amazon Connect. Join Alex and Tom as they delve into the latest updates in quality monitoring for contact centers. Discussing Amazon Connect's new metrics, APIs, and advanced quality management tools, they explore the tech that can transform the evaluation process, ensuring better customer interactions. Learn about the potential of AI in...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of ACP, we are joined by Phil Smith and Steve Mew from Nopaque. They dive deep into their journey through cloud computing, the inception of Nopaque, and how they're tackling challenges in telecommunication testing with innovative tools. They discuss the significance of IVR mapping, integration of AI, and the future of proactive customer experience testing. Tun...