2026 is here, and so is the January edition of the Sales Engineering Braintrust. This month, we’re bringing you key engineering takeaways from our recent events and webinars, new vendor additions, peer testimonials, and actionable insights to start the year strong.
Covered in this edition:
Sales Engineering Updates
Q4 Inside Track Webinar: Catch Shane McNamara, Niko O’Hara, Mike Wolfington, and Andrew Pryfogle in the latest Q4 Inside Track vendor webinar focused on cost containment. Learn how to lead customer conversations around cost optimization, explore practical cost-containment strategies, and leverage AI-driven management tools. Plus, get updates from the newest vendors added to our portfolio: LevelBlue, Blue Mantis, and Telesystem. Watch the recording by logging into Pathfinder and navigating to AVANT Academy.
CX LIFT 2025 Recordings: The CX LIFT presentation decks are now available in Pathfinder. Explore highlights from the event, where our Sales Engineers acted as “Sherpas,” guiding small groups and sharing proven go-to-market strategies, sales processes, and more. Log into Pathfinder to access the decks and gain these actionable insights you can start applying in the CX AI space today.
2025 EOY Sales Engineering Stats: Our Sales Engineering team has been working around the clock to support the channel and drive real outcomes. Through year-end, the team has:
- Delivered an average response time of just 4.4 hours on incoming requests—well ahead of the official 1-2 business day SLA
- Earned an outstanding 98 Net Promoter Score across 443 responses
- Supported 1,218 end-customer calls and delivered 1,567 trainings
The Sales Engineering team is a trusted extension of your sales motion. Bring them into your opportunities early to accelerate deals, strengthen conversations, and win more business. Submit your request using this form and get started today.
New Vendors
New Vendors
Syringa
Solution Type: Connectivity
Geographic Coverage: United States
What does Syringa offer? Syringa Networks is a trusted technology partner delivering reliable, high-performance network and communications solutions that help businesses, communities, and organizations stay connected and move forward.
Key Differentiators:
- Advocate for your customers’ success through vendor-agnostic solutions and a customer-first approach
- Strong regional reach and dedicated support across the Western U.S.
- Carrier-grade network performance with industry-leading uptime and a Net Promoter Score of 72
- Commitment to partnership integrity by protecting your business and enhancing co-selling opportunities to drive collective value
What kind of client is best fit for this provider?
Syringa is the right fit for organizations that:
- Require carrier-grade connectivity supported by local expertise and 24/7 customer experience teams
- Operate in regulated industries where uptime, compliance, and security are critical
- Seek flexibility and choice through a vendor-neutral ecosystem
- Benefit from partner-friendly programs that protect channel integrity and support scalable growth
Learn more about Syringa here.
Calabrio
Solution Type: CX AI
Geographic Coverage: United States
What does Calabrio offer? Calabrio delivers actionable intelligence that helps businesses turn every customer interaction into a strategic advantage. Its AI-powered, cloud-native Calabrio ONE suite maximizes agent performance by connecting workforce engagement, customer insights, and operational metrics, enabling teams to work smarter, respond faster, and drive measurable outcomes.
Key Differentiators:
- Single, unified Workforce Engagement Management platform
- Intuitive user experience and dashboards for both supervisors and agents
- Predictive, AI-driven insights that connect voice-of-the-customer data to operational performance
- Partner-friendly APIs and open architecture enabling deep integrations and customization
- Industry-leading customer retention and satisfaction, with a 70+ Net Promoter Score
- Flexible, scalable, cloud-native architecture with transparent pricing and no hidden costs
What kind of client is best fit for this provider?
- Operate in financial services, healthcare, retail, BPO, or public sector environments
- Manage 200–5,000 contact center agents
- Run formal contact center operations with hybrid or remote workforces
- Use existing CCaaS platforms
- Are seeking data-driven workforce optimization and quality management
Learn more about Calabrio here.
Explore our full vendor portfolio including their offerings and key differentiators by logging into Pathfinder today!
Trusted Advisor Testimonials
Trusted Advisor TestimonialsWhat are your peers saying about their experience working with AVANT Sales Engineers?
“The AVANT team has consistently demonstrated exceptional responsiveness. The attention to detail helps clarify the path forward for our client, who relies on us for guidance. With AVANT, we know we can depend on our team to deliver prompt, professional results.” – Steve Muenstermann Sr., Cloudbusters
“The team was very quick to respond. Their suggested solutions were on point and they were proactive in providing alternate options.” – Jason Bourque, C3
Engineering Spotlight
Engineering Spotlight 
This month, we’re spotlighting Chip Hoisington, VP of Connectivity and Colo.
Chip brings more than 25 years of technology, engineering, and sales experience to the AVANT team. While he specializes in connectivity, global wide area networks, colo, TEM, and mobility, Chip also holds certifications in security, data science, and IT Support.
Here’s a bit more about Chip, in his own words!
Tell us about something you do for AVANT that Trusted Advisors may not know.
I evaluate about 20 new prospective providers per month to see if they are a fit for our growing vendor portfolio.
Where are you located?
Arlington, VA
What are you hoping to do or accomplish in 2026?
Here are a couple things I’m hoping to accomplish this year:
- Hire an engineering company to construct a beach along the entire property length of my vacation home.
- Pick out and move into my next home—a mid-century modern industrial style.
If you could pick up a new skill in an instant what would it be?
I’d like to master new dance moves, like the gangster walk and more!
Ready to level up your sales game with expert guidance? Our Engineers have your back and are available for you to bring them into your opportunities! Connect with them and get started by filling out an IQA on Pathfinder!