Trusted Advisors, are you feeling the incredible momentum building ahead of Special Forces Summit 2026? We’re gearing up for 2.5 big days in Dallas, and we know you’re game to keep hustling and make it happen.
In this month’s Sales Engineering Braintrust, we’re looking ahead to SFS26 in Dallas, highlighting three new vendors and a few Trusted Advisor testimonials, and sharing a friendly Q&A with Rick Mischka. Enjoy!
Here’s what’s featured:
Sales Engineering Announcements
Sales Engineering Announcements
Special Forces Summit 2026: Get ready to make the most of the channel’s premier event filled with expert insights into where we’re headed. We have 60+ focused breakouts led by AVANT Sales Engineers covering emerging solutions like AI, UCaaS, Cloud, Security, and Connectivity, but that’s just scratching the surface. Pathfinder sessions. Main Stage conversations featuring leading providers. TA panels and customer stories. Inspiring keynotes and a dedicated AI track. It all adds up to you leaving Dallas fully prepared for the road ahead and becoming Trusted to Transform.
If you haven’t registered yet, now is the time! Secure your spot here.
New Vendors
New Vendors
BT Americas Solution
Solution Type: Connectivity, SASE
Geographic Coverage: United States
What does BT Americas offer?
BT Americas delivers secure multi-cloud connectivity, voice, security and managed services. In June 2026, BT Group and Verizon agreed to combine their international enterprise operations in a 50:50 joint venture expected to complete in 2027, subject to approvals. The future business is expected to serve 3,000+ customers and represent about $4 billion in combined annual revenue.
Key Differentiators:
- Global fabric/Cloud-centric network as a service
- Cybersecurity at global scale
- Global enterprise reach
- Vendor-agnostic collaboration
What kind of client is best fit for this provider?
- Multinationals with complex multi-cloud, branch or partner connectivity across countries
- Regulated enterprises in need of managed security, resilience, sovereignty or consistent global voice
- Organizations modernizing WAN, SASE or collaboration while reducing supplier and platform complexity
Learn more about BT Americas here.
Contrivian Inc.
Solution Type: Connectivity
Geographic Coverage: United States
What does Contrivian offer? Contrivian is a software-led, carrier-neutral managed connectivity provider. Contrivian layers proprietary software intelligence on top of every connection, turning access into an engineered, performance-managed environment, unlike traditional providers that stop at circuit delivery. They orchestrate fiber, broadband, LTE/5G, fixed wireless, and multi-constellation LEO satellite into one managed service.
Key Differentiators:
- Proactive active-active connectivity, not legacy
- Reactive failover
- Multi-constellation at global scale
- One vertically integrated stack, one contract
- Carrier neutrality
- Rapid deployment
What kind of client is best fit for this provider?
- Distributed multi-site enterprise & government organizations
- Field & mobile operations
Learn more about Contrivian here.
Synthflow
Solution Type: CX AI
Geographic Coverage: United States, EMEA
What does Synthflow offer? Synthflow is an enterprise Voice AI and conversational AI platform that helps businesses automate inbound and outbound customer interactions. AI agents can handle customer service, appointment scheduling, lead qualification, FAQs, call routing, verification, follow-ups, and other repetitive conversations. The platform integrates with existing CRM, CCaaS, telephony, and business applications.
Key Differentiators:
- Enterprise-grade Voice AI built for high-volume calling
- Integrates with platforms including Genesys, Five9, RingCentral, Salesforce, HubSpot, ServiceNow, and Zendesk
- Supports existing carriers/SIP environments
- Designed for rapid deployment and scaling from pilot to production
- SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI DSS, and GDPR capabilities
- Combines AI agent creation, telephony, testing, monitoring, and analytics in one platform
What kind of client is best fit for this provider?
- Mid-market and enterprise organizations with significant inbound or outbound call volume looking to automate repetitive customer conversations.
- Contact centers/BPOs, healthcare, financial services, insurance, retail, telecom, real estate, and technology.
- Customers looking to reduce agent workload, provide 24/7 service, manage overflow, automate Tier 1 interactions, or scale without proportionally increasing headcount.
Learn more about Synthflow 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?
“I think the Sales Engineering team at AVANT is completely rockstar! They are amazing and an integral part of our success!” – Joe Cooper, Pelican XC, LLC
“Amazing consultation. Technical knowledge and provider capabilities were discussed. Proper, achievable paths were established. Thanks!” – Scott McMenimen, tech Choice, LLC
Engineering Spotlight
Engineering Spotlight 
This month, we’re spotlighting Rick Mischka, VP of Engineering: Security, Cloud, & AI.
Rick’s primary areas of focus are Cybersecurity, Cloud, Managed IT Services, AI strategy, and Education & Enablement. He was instrumental in growing our training verticals and invaluable to our Trusted Advisors while previously serving as Sr. Director of Education & Enablement.
Here’s a bit more about Rick, in his own words!
Tell us about something you do for AVANT that Trusted Advisors may not know.
I was asked to create a Trusted Advisor AI Enablement Strategy, which includes a new AI Dynamic Matrix, an AI Discovery Compass & Sales Methodology, and an AI Discovery Tool (coming soon). I still help oversee the Education & Enablement team and am focusing on making our TA education and training even stronger for the years to come!
Where are you located?
Montana, near Yellowstone National Park.
What sport would you compete in if you were in the Olympics?
Volleyball. I have actually been the Head of Delegation and an assistant coach for the 2012 Men’s Olympic Volleyball Team in London, and while I was not a player, it would have been amazing to have achieved that! Otherwise, Bobsled team. Who hasn’t watched Cool Runnings?
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
Control the controllables. Seems easy enough, but there is so much that goes into that. Control what you can. Accept what you can’t. Know which is which. Then get on with your life. I still haven’t mastered this, but I would like to think that every day I improve 1% (yay, Stoics), and then every few weeks lose a few percentage points. But that is life!
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!