May 23 2017 3 Takeaways From Aspect Software’s ACE 2016 In Las Vegas
Recently, I had the distinct honor of representing MicroAutomation at Aspect Software’s ACE 2016 Conference in Las Vegas. ACE – which stands for “Aspect Customer Experience” – brings together industry visionaries, product experts and people who live and breathe customer care for three days of collaboration, discovery and networking. Aspect is a key MicroAutomation partner, and their technology plays a hefty role in developing our organization’s vision for the future.
Being in “the industry” for all of only seven months, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Well, I take that back – I’ve been to Vegas, and I knew exactly what to expect with the city – and boy, was I not disappointed!
That being said, I’ve never been to a conference focused on customer care technology, so I came in wide-eyed and ready to learn – and, of course, party. Aspect certainly put on an excellent show for the attendees, so I thought I’d let our MicroAutomation’s blog enthusiasts in on the fun by sharing my three biggest takeaways from this year’s event.
The Aspect Community is Large and Diverse
As one might expect with a company holding a 40-year history, Aspect has a tremendous community of end-users and partners. Over 700+ Aspect customers attended the conference, in addition to Aspect partners and employees. The conference attracted a range of companies across all industries including major brands like eBay, Apple, JetBlue, Microsoft and Citi.
MicroAutomation served as an ACE sponsor, which gave us the opportunity to host a booth that was visited often throughout the show. The opportunity to interact with customer care professionals from diverse backgrounds (and from across the globe) was truly invaluable for me. I asked a ton of questions and folks were happy to provide excellent feedback.
Not only did I learn a great deal from several world-class customer care organizations about how they use Aspect’s technology, I developed a couple of really great business opportunities for MicroAutomation!
Breakout Sessions, Breakout Sessions, and more Breakout Sessions…
Aspect created a diverse agenda for the show that included workshops, customer input forums and breakout sessions covering topics such as workforce optimization, reporting and analytics, and customer case studies.
There were dozens of sessions throughout the three-day show, so I could only attend a handful of them. (As I mentioned, I am in “learning mode” these days and certainly could have benefited from participating in all the breakout sessions – but that would have been impossible with so many sessions happening simultaneously.) I chose to attend sessions focused on Aspect’s Zipwire product, a full-featured, cloud-based contact center application; Aspect CXP, their customer experience platform that gives customer care organizations the ability to implement personalized self-service; and customer case studies focused on Hughes Networks and Walt Disney Company.
I learned a ton and only wish I had more time to attend other sessions.
Aspect Throws a Heck of a Party!
Three and a half days of information overload will get you thirsty! Thankfully, Aspect had us covered with a party to be remembered at the Omnia Nightclub in Caesar’s Palace. It was held on the last night of the show and included a live 1980s band, all the appetizers you could eat and, of course – everyone’s favorite – an open bar. It was a relief to put business aside for a few hours and release a few endorphins!
The most interesting thing was watching everybody’s true personality come out. The same guy you talked to about self-service IVR application development three hours earlier was the same guy that never left the dance floor. The Omnia was MAGNIFICENT. The light show, the audio, the ceiling that moved up and down, the food – Aspect couldn’t have chosen a better place. Phenomenal.
Final Thought
I’ll admit that initially I was hesitant to attend the conference, given how much work I had. In retrospect, however, I’m really happy I invested my time to ACE 2016. Between the new connections I made and the great content I was exposed to – not to mention all the fun we had – it’s a no brainer for next year.