The acquisition delivers more growth potential to Trusted Advisors, adding 40+ customer experience and artificial intelligence vendors and welcoming new leadership and development resources.
CHICAGO, August 6, 2024 – AVANT, a platform for IT decision-making and the nation’s premier Technology Services Distributor (TSD), today announced the strategic acquisition of CX Effect, LLC, a specialty TSD focused exclusively on the growing business, sales, and service opportunities around customer experience (CX) and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions.
The acquisition brings to AVANT’s Trusted Advisors (TAs) more than 40 new CX and AI vendor relationships and a wealth of Sales Enablement capabilities. This, combined with AVANT’s deep bench of Sales Engineers and resources, arguably creates the largest portfolio of CX and AI vendors and experts in the industry. Many of the new CX Effect vendors are now uniquely available only to AVANT TAs, including Capacity.com, Omni Interactions, Quik, and boost.ai, a Gartner Magic Quadrant leader.
As part of the strategic acquisition, AVANT is pleased to welcome industry luminaries Andrew Pryfogle, founder and CEO of CX Effect, and his business partner CX Effect’s Chief Revenue Officer Bob Maute to the team. We are excited to leverage the potential of what they have built at CX Effect and maximize the impact it will bring to the AVANT Trusted Advisors. Pryfogle will now focus on Market Development, uncovering ways to enhance Trusted Advisor training and sales enablement and Maute will focus on Vendor Business Development.
“When Andrew Pryfogle launched CX Effect, they were ahead of the AI curve. We jumped at the opportunity to expand our solution set and our thinking. Together we have developed an unmatched pipeline of robust opportunity for our clients and business,” said Vic Pepe, Managing Partner at D&M Enterprise Group. “I’m not surprised the team at AVANT saw what we saw, and I am excited for what the future holds for us all because of this acquisition. This move clearly puts AVANT at the forefront of AI in the channel.”
Pryfogle and CX Effect’s reputation for exceptional partner enablement builds upon AVANT’s singular sales enablement, sales engineering resources, and customer-facing PATHFINDER platform. AVANT plans to integrate the specialized TSD’s popular and proven CX and AI training, and sales enablement capabilities into AVANT’s programs and PATHFINDER platform.
“AVANT’s acquisition of CX Effect enables our Trusted Advisors to be an unstoppable force in CX and AI, the next biggest growth opportunity in the channel,” said Ian Kieninger, CEO and Co-Founder, AVANT. “Over the past three years AVANT has averaged a 55% annual growth rate in CCaaS sales. We see this momentum accelerating and expanding into broader opportunities that are part of the full customer experience journey, enhanced with the disruptive explosion of AI.”
The Numbers Show the Market Wants More of IT
AVANT ANALYTICS, a division of AVANT focused on market research of today’s most disruptive technologies, shows the continued growth of CX sales accelerated by the increasing adoption of generative AI. Canalys’ Chief Analyst Jay McBain recently stated: “Generative AI will be a US$158.6 billion opportunity for the channel ecosystem by 2028*.”
Adding to the business case is the growing demand among enterprises for more automation, integration, and insights. A ContactBabel study found that 44% of contact centers reported a shift in budget allocation from labor to technology over the past five years. Omedia 2023 study found that “After years of steady growth, 2023 marks the beginning of a multiyear decline in North American and European agent positions. High labor costs and high interaction volumes have encouraged contact centers to leverage automation and AI where possible.”
“Businesses don’t want to be left behind in the CX and AI revolution. It’s fueling a new wave of digital transformation, and TAs powered by AVANT with CX Effect’s capabilities are ready to capture this massive market opportunity,” added Kieninger.
“CX Effect was honing their understanding of CX and AI years before it was a central topic of concern for our buyers. It’s resulted in a unique pool of vendors that allow us to engage and sell directly to Line of Business leaders outside of IT,” said Joe Rice, CEO and founder of CXponent. “This presents a massive opportunity for Trusted Advisors to evolve and truly be a part of CX and AI conversations. Their knowledge and approach to education and enablement will expand on AVANT’s position as a leader in enablement for our channel.”
AVANT is seeing AI disrupt the way companies support every aspect of the customer experience, from contact centers to digital experiences to supercharging agents and back offices.
Drew Lydecker, President and Co-Founder of AVANT added, “We’re just scratching the surface of what’s possible, leading to some of the biggest deals in the channel today. Through the acquisition of CX Effect, we are bringing the expertise of industry champions to our team and our TAs, along with an unbelievable portfolio of exclusive vendors.”
“No one is even close to having the talented bench and portfolio AVANT now has in this space around security, connectivity, CX and AI,” said Pryfogle. “We are thrilled to join the AVANT team and create a limitless, next-gen TSD focused on helping our Trusted Advisors map out how to use these transformative technologies to make a difference in their business, as well as their customers.”
“We are very excited about AVANT’s move to bring CX Effect into its portfolio. This move clearly acknowledges AVANT’s continued commitment to helping advisors and customers on their CX transformation journey,” said Jake Butterbaugh, Senior Vice President of Global Partner Sales at Five9. “This market, including integrated AI solutions, is accelerating and the combined value of AVANT + CX Effect will be very recognizable.”
Trusted Advisors are encouraged to join their peers and vendors, including many of the new CX and AI providers, at AVANT Special Forces in Phoenix, AZ, from September 9-12 to unlock their potential and elevate the business to the next level. Register here.
About AVANT
AVANT is a platform for IT decision-making and the nation’s premier distributor for next-generation technologies. AVANT provides unique value to its extensive network of Trusted Advisors with original research, channel sales assistance, training, and tools to guide decision-making around IT services that promote business growth. From complex cloud designs to global wide-area network deployments to the latest in security services, AVANT sets the industry standard in enabling its partners and clients to make intelligent, data-driven decisions about services, technology and cost-effective communications. For more information, visit www.goavant.net, or connect on Twitter and LinkedIn.
*https://canalys.com/insights/generative-ai-opportunity-for-the-channel-ecosystem
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Media Contact:
Suzanne Collier
WhiteFox Marketing (for AVANT)
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