In this episode of Train to Gain, hosts Erin Raitt and Katie Merrill sit down with Joe Marion, President of the Cloud Communications Alliance (CCA), to explore the evolving role of AI in the communications industry. From the early days of cloud communications to today’s AI-driven innovations, Joe shares valuable insights into how organizations can thrive in this transformative landscape.

What You'll Hear in This Episode:

• The mission and history of CCA: How a small group of providers championed cloud communications and built a global community.
• AI in action: Real-world examples of AI transforming call centers, customer experience, and fraud prevention.
• A critical reality check: Why many AI solutions fail—not because of technology, but due to lack of training and adoption.
• Memorable anecdote: Joe recalls the “desk phone dilemma”—feature-rich phones that went unused because no one taught users how to use them—and how this lesson applies to AI today.

Key Takeaway:

AI isn’t a “set it and forget it” solution. Just like people, AI requires structured training, context-driven content, and ongoing management to deliver real value.

Call to Action:

If you’re ready to unlock the full potential of training—for your people and your technology—subscribe to Train to Gain and follow us for more insights on enablement, product adoption, and growth strategies.

Hello, everybody, and welcome back to B-Lynk’s Train to Gain podcast, where we talk about all things training, onboarding, sales and partner enablement, and product adoption. It’s a mouthful, but we’re here today—Erin Raitt and Katie Merrill—and we are joined by our second-ever guest.

Joe Marion, thank you for being brave enough to be our second-ever guest.

I’m honored and excited.

You should be!

Brave is a good word, Erin. I like that.

We keep it informative and fun—that’s our mission. Katie, I’ll kick it over to you for a brief intro.

Thanks, Erin. Joe, we’re so thrilled to have you. Joe is the President of the Cloud Communications Alliance—sometimes referred to as the CCA in our industry.

For those listeners who aren’t familiar with the CCA and what this group does, could you share a little about its mission and maybe a bit of the background history—how you got started and what your mission is today?

Sure. The Cloud Communications Alliance is a non-profit organization. We started almost 20 years ago when hardly anyone knew what “voice over the internet” meant. A group of us voice providers got together and said, “We need to evangelize cloud communications.”

So, we created this non-profit organization, and we expanded quickly. We started out with many of us using BroadSoft’s platform, but eventually grew to include all kinds of platforms.

We began as a U.S.-based organization but soon expanded globally. Today, our mission is to provide a forum where companies that provide communication services can share best practices. We advocate for them, especially with the FCC and international regulatory bodies. We’ve created a space for cloud communications providers to exchange knowledge and ideas.

That’s fantastic. Erin and I have both attended some of your in-person events, but you also host virtual events. Recently, you held a town hall on the “AI First” initiative, which we both attended. It was really interesting.

What inspired that topic, and what are your thoughts on AI in the industry?

My big overall thought is that AI is transforming the communications industry—especially in areas like call centers and customer service agents. Many of our members recognize this and have started building AI solutions for their customers.

But that town hall wasn’t about outward-facing solutions. We wanted to have an internal conversation among members: How are you using AI within your own operations? How are you using it to automate processes, scale efficiently, and reduce expenses?

It turned into a very open, insightful discussion.

It really was. The focus on internal strategy was refreshing. Companies often rush to add AI to their products, but internal adoption is just as critical.

Exactly. One of the most memorable moments was when a member shared that they had built “the greatest AI solution on earth,” but when they rolled it out, no one knew how to use it.

It reminded me of the old days when companies would install feature-rich desk phones on office desks without ever training people on how to use the features. The technology was there, but without training, it was useless.

The same is happening today with AI—you can build powerful tools, but if customers and teams aren’t trained on how to use them, they’re ineffective.

Absolutely. Enablement and adoption are critical. We’re even seeing AI as a new “audience” that needs training.

Right. Companies can’t just let AI run loose. It needs to be trained, monitored, and aligned with specific job roles—just like human employees.

Exactly. AI isn’t one-size-fits-all. You can’t wave a magic wand and expect everyone to “know AI” after one class. Training needs to be specific to the job function and context.

That’s a perfect segue into what Train to Gain is all about. We believe that training, onboarding, product adoption, sales, and partner enablement are critical drivers of revenue growth.

From your perspective, do you see gaps in onboarding and training across the industry?

Absolutely. It’s similar to the desk phone example I mentioned earlier. Companies often don’t provide enough training for the tools they deliver. Customers end up underutilizing features, and at the end of their contract, they switch providers for a cheaper option—without realizing they never got full value from the original product.

We’re seeing the same with AI. If you don’t show customers how to use it, it’s worthless.

We’ve noticed that too. Some companies implement AI chatbots or voice agents, then quickly shut them down because they weren’t helpful. Often, it’s because those AI agents weren’t properly “trained.”

Just like you wouldn’t put an untrained Tier 1 tech support rep on the phones, you can’t let an AI agent operate without structured training and guardrails.

Exactly. And with proprietary platforms, documentation becomes critical. If there’s no content for the AI to learn from, it will produce bad answers.

That’s where we often come in—helping companies create outcome-based, scenario-driven content that supports AI effectiveness.

That’s a great point. While we’ve discussed AI’s challenges, there are also tremendous benefits. For example, one of our members is using AI to analyze caller relationships in real time—identifying whether a call is legitimate or spam and even scheduling meetings automatically.

AI needs training, but when done right, it solves real problems.

Absolutely. It’s here to stay, so we all need to embrace and navigate it effectively.

Right. And keep in mind—bad actors are using AI too. Scammers, spammers, robocallers—they’re leveraging it. I recently had someone try to impersonate me in an email scam targeting our treasurer. Thankfully, she caught it, but these threats are real.

Thank you, Joe, for your leadership in this space. We’ve loved having you on the podcast.

Before we wrap up, let’s highlight some upcoming CCA events. The Financial Summit is coming up in October, correct?

Yes—October 7th in Washington, D.C. We’ll kick off with a gala dinner, followed by sessions with legislators and a Capitol tour.

And in January, we’ll host our annual Cloud Connections event in South Florida. It’s our flagship meeting with about 300 attendees—a must-attend for anyone in communications.

We’ll definitely be there.

Joe, thank you again for joining us. Your insights and the work you’re doing are so valuable to this industry.

Thank you both. It’s been a pleasure. I’d love to come back again—just put me on the list!

Consider it done. You survived as our second-ever guest and earned a return spot!

Thanks so much, Joe.

Thank you. Bye.