Layne Haaksma to Cover Market Share & Forecasting in Senior Research Analyst Role

May 23, 2024 – In response to growing demand for market share and forecasting services, research and advisory firm Metrigy has added Layne Haaksma to its research team.

Haaksma will be responsible for gathering and analyzing vendor data to support Metrigy’s MetriCast service, which provides market forecasts, shares, and rankings in customer experience and workplace collaboration. She also will analyze and produce reports from Metrigy’s broader research in vertical markets, such as healthcare where she has industry experience.

For the past five years, Haaksma has been in the information technology industry as director of business development and senior account executive with Metrigy. Prior to that, she spent five years in the medical device industry in sales, patient service, and operating room technical support roles. Haaksma has a degree in molecular and cellular biology from the University of Illinois.

“The addition of Layne Haaksma to Metrigy’s research team enables us to start reporting quarterly market shares across our core research areas ,” says Senior Research Director Diane Myers, who heads the company’s MetriCast service. “Layne is a seasoned professional with an eye towards detail. I look forward to expanding our MetriCast practice with her. ”

“I am thrilled to be joining our analyst team. The past five years with Metrigy have given me a solid foundation in the industry, and with the knowledge and training from our top-notch analysts, I’m excited to be able to help the company grow in our MetriCast services,” says Haaksma, Senior Research Analyst.

Consumers prefer human over AI agents, welcome proactive outreach from businesses, and find the best experience from retail and healthcare companies

March 30, 2026 — Metrigy has released its inaugural quarterly Consumer CX Index, a comprehensive study that examines sentiment around customer experience. The baseline index and supporting insights lean toward positive sentiment, though consumers prefer human over AI interactions.

The Consumer CX Index is designed to move beyond surface-level satisfaction by aggregating data across eight distinct sub-indexes: AI satisfaction, AI trust, ease of use, empathy, momentum, proactivity, relationship strength, and resolution success.

Although the initial baseline indicates generally positive sentiment, the data highlights a clear distinction between where technology excels and where the human touch remains irreplaceable. Many consumers balk at full AI automation, with differences based on age, gender, education level, and income.

“The Q1 index shows a consumer base that values digital ease, but still demands the human safety net,” says Layne Haaksma, senior research analyst at Metrigy. “With most consumers considering a company’s customer service reputation before doing business with them, the brands that win will use technology to empower, rather than replace, the human connection to provide a stellar customer experience.”

Key Findings

“As AI becomes pervasive across all areas of customer experience, we felt it imperative to track changing consumer perspectives about their experiences with and without the technology,” says Robin Gareiss, CEO at Metrigy. “There are too many gaps between business strategy and consumer expectations, both of which are quickly changing. This tracking will enable CX leaders to optimize their AI-in-CX strategies for CSAT, revenue growth, and efficiency.”

Sector Leaders and the Value of Proactivity

The Q1 2026 Index identifies significant performance variances across different industries:

A major shift in consumer behavior this quarter is the rising demand for proactive engagement. The percentage of consumers who find proactive outreach “extremely valuable” rose by 17.5 percentage points compared to the previous quarter. This indicates that consumers increasingly expect brands to anticipate their needs and reach out before a problem arises, rather than waiting for the customer to initiate contact.

Redefining CX Priorities

The findings suggest a fundamental shift in what constitutes a good experience. For modern consumers, the ability to trust a brand and receive a definitive resolution to their issue is more critical than how fast a response is delivered or how personalized the marketing feels. As companies continue to invest in AI, the index suggests that the most successful organizations will be those that use technology to bolster trust and resolution while maintaining easy access to human support.

About Metrigy: Metrigy is an innovative research and advisory firm focusing on the rapidly changing areas of artificial intelligence, customer experience, and workplace collaboration—along with several related technologies, including knowledge management, security, and workforce engagement management. Metrigy conducts research with business leaders, consumers, and technology vendors. Our analysts deliver strategic guidance and informative content, backed by primary research metrics, indexes, and analysis, for technology providers and enterprise organizations.

 Press Releases

Includes insights from 157 IT leaders/stakeholders and 171 end users in North America.

September 4, 2024 – Research and advisory firm Metrigy has released its Connected Workspaces & Collaborative Work Management: 2024-25 research study, conducted with 157 IT leaders/stakeholders in North America and including insights from 171 end users studied separately.

“Connected workspace applications are becoming increasingly popular for their ability to boost productivity, especially as AI functionality gets layered in,” says Beth Schultz, Vice President of Research and Principal Analyst, Metrigy. “But with this popularity comes challenges, including a proliferation of tools outside of IT’s control and budgeting purview. Forty percent of the most successful companies and two-thirds of all others have already standardized on a single app, and our research shows many other companies are set to follow.”

In this study, Metrigy explores how companies are implementing connected workspaces for their employees. A connected workspace for collaborative work management brings together applications such as project and task management with knowledge bases, document repositories, and chat. A primary goal is reducing the inefficiencies incurred as employees spend time hopping from one app to the next as they work throughout the day.

Specific topics include:

What you will learn from this study:

This study is available for purchase on our website.

Delivers market insights for 12 CX technology areas in 2024

May 13, 2024 – Research and advisory firm Metrigy released its Customer Experience MetriCast 2024 market research study of 12 key technology areas driving successful customer interactions.

In the Customer Experience MetriCast 2024 study, Metrigy analyzes buy-side market data provided by 1,566 IT leaders from 10 countries and 42 industries with operational and/or procurement responsibilities. Metrigy looks at technologies in use, providers, spending, ratings of the providers, and relative success using the products. Metrigy also examines the percentage of companies that are changing or planning/evaluating a change in providers, what’s driving them to leave, and which new providers they are considering in the following categories:

Among the study’s findings is that 36% of businesses are now using cloud-delivered contact center service, or CCaaS, in some capacity. “The majority of respondents indicated they were keeping CCaaS spending flat in 2024 with spending growing in 2025 and 2026. The growth in CCaaS spending is predominantly from additional seats being added, as businesses continue their migration to the cloud,” says Diane Myers, Metrigy principal analyst. “While AI is growing in importance, it is not yet a top criterion in contact center platform vendor decisions.”

For additional key metrics from the research study, please see our MetriSight podcast series.

The MetriCast study is part of Metrigy’s MetriCast Service, which also includes market forecast and shares across select customer experience and workplace collaboration technology categories, with quarterly updates; MetriRank vendor ratings across select categories; and the annual MetriStar Awards for vendors earning top customer sentiment ratings and whose customers achieve top business success. For more information, visit www.metrigy.com.

Delivers market insights for nine CX technology areas in 2025

September 5, 2025 – Research and advisory firm Metrigy released its Customer Experience MetriCast 2025 market research study of nine key technology areas driving successful customer interactions.

In the Customer Experience MetriCast 2025 study, Metrigy analyzes buy-side market data provided by 1,397 IT leaders from 11 countries across 34 industries with operational and/or procurement responsibilities. Metrigy looks at technologies in use, providers, spending, ratings of the providers, and relative success using the products. Metrigy also examines the percentage of companies that are changing or planning/evaluating a change in providers, what’s driving them to leave, and which new providers they are considering in the following categories:

Among the study’s findings is that 38% of businesses are now using cloud-delivered contact center service, or CCaaS, in some capacity. “Beyond contact center platform and AI spending, the majority of respondents indicated they were keeping CX spending flat in 2025 with economic uncertainty surrounding tariffs and geopolitical concerns. The growth in CCaaS spending is predominantly from additional seats being added along with increases in staffing,” says Diane Myers, Metrigy senior research director. “Chatbots continue to grow in usage with more voicebots coming online.”

The MetriCast study is part of Metrigy’s MetriCast Service, which also includes market forecast and shares across select customer experience and workplace collaboration technology categories, with quarterly updates; MetriRank vendor ratings across select categories; and the annual MetriStar Awards for vendors earning top customer sentiment ratings and whose customers achieve top business success. For more information, visit www.metrigy.com.

Metrigy Releases Customer Experience Optimization 2023-24 Research Study

This study evaluates how successful companies are optimizing their customer experience from both their own experience–and that of their end customers.

October 5, 2023 – Research and advisory firm Metrigy has released its Customer Experience Optimization 2023-24 research study, revealing CX adoption, strategy, and technology directions for 641 companies globally. Additionally, in a companion study, Metrigy surveyed 500 consumers to understand what they like and dislike about the technology they use to interact with businesses.

“CX and IT leaders continue to evolve their companies’ CX strategies, focusing on three core areas: worker-focused programs, such as workforce optimization; the addition and improvement of applications and channels, including generative AI; and foundational projects, such as platform integration. Consumers are taking notice, with nearly 48% noting that technology is starting to have a positive impact on their engagements with customer service, ” says Robin Gareiss, Metrigy CEO and Principal Analyst.

This study covers the following areas:

Metrigy has a webinar series on this research study available on its BrightTALK channel. The episodes, available on demand, are:

This report, as well the related consumer study, are available for purchase on our website at:

Metrigy Releases Customer Experience Optimization: 2023-24 Consumer Perspective Research Study

This study, conducted in May 2023, features responses from 502 consumers in the U.S.

October 5, 2023 – Research and advisory firm Metrigy has released its Customer Experience Optimization: 2023-24 Consumer Perspective research study. Metrigy conducted research with 502 consumers in the U.S. to understand what they like and dislike about the technology they use to interact with businesses.

“Consumers today have high expectations regarding customer service—and little patience when they’re disappointed in the experience. On average, they’ll give a company three chances, and then take their business elsewhere. Companies can’t afford not to understand what’s working and what’s not as part of their CX strategies,” says Matt Craig, Metrigy Chief Data Scientist.

Metrigy conducted this consumer research in conjunction with a benchmark study of 641 companies on their CX adoption, technology, and strategy directions. With a never-ending set of technology options for interacting with customers, CX and IT leaders are continuously evaluating and changing their applications, services, and operational processes. In this study with CX and IT leaders, Metrigy evaluated how successful companies are optimizing the use of their CX technologies, and explored the gaps between companies and consumers on CX.

The consumer-facing CX Optimization study covers the following areas:

Some key findings in this study include:

This study is available for purchase on our website here.

Includes insights from 400 participating firms in seven countries and 19 industries.

November 25, 2024 – Research and advisory firm Metrigy has released its Employee Engagement Optimization: 2025 research study, providing insight into successful strategies for hybrid workplace collaboration in the age of AI. This study provides IT leaders with the understanding they need to craft communications and collaboration strategies for 2025 and beyond.

Metrigy’s Employee Engagement Optimization: 2025 global research study shows that the hybrid workplace is rapidly evolving, says Irwin Lazar, president and principal analyst, and study author. “With the majority of companies now requiring at least some time in the office, companies are shifting to a more meeting-focused floor plan and increasing their use of hot desking. They are also increasing deployment of a range of video conferencing devices to support equitable meetings.”

Key takeaways from this study include hybrid work is the norm, generative AI is becoming pervasive, and Microsoft Teams strategies are evolving. More key takeaways are 911 and PSTN challenges remain, meeting and team apps are critical to hybrid work success, and third-party management tools provide value.

This study is available now for clients to download on our website. If you are not a client and are interested in this study, please reach out to [email protected].

Metrigy Releases Employee Experience 2023-24 Research Study

This study examines technologies and strategies that organizations use to understand employee behavior, assess employee sentiment, and optimize employee experience.

September 11, 2023 – Research and advisory firm Metrigy has released its Employee Experience 2023-24 research study. Metrigy conducted research with 499 participants in eight countries and 39 industries.

“As companies continue to evolve their workplace strategies, understanding and optimizing employee experience remains a primary goal. Toward this end, Metrigy research shows continued adoption of employee experience technology, as well as refresh of strategic initiatives,” says Beth Schultz, Metrigy Vice President of Research and Principal Analyst.

This study covers the following areas:

Metrigy evaluated key business metrics, including employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention, associated with the adoption of employee experience platform, intranet, voice of the employee, and enterprise search products. Those in the individual success groups for at least half of the technology areas qualified for the overall success group.

As part of the study, Metrigy examined how successful companies differ from others in their approaches to employee experience technology adoption and strategy. Some key findings are:

This report is available for purchase on our website here.

Metrigy’s UCaaS TCO 2023 study provides real-world insight into the operating costs of unified communications as a Service solutions from leading providers.

January 12, 2024 – Research and advisory firm Metrigy has released its Unified Communications as a Service Total Cost of Ownership 2023 research study. Metrigy conducted research with 386 participating firms in the U.S. and Canada in 42 vertical industries.

“Metrigy’s study shows a wide range of costs for licensing, staffing, training, and the use of third-party performance and administrative management tools to support UCaaS,” says Irwin Lazar, Metrigy’s President and Principal Analyst. “IT buyers must carefully consider costs, as well as functionality, in evaluating competing providers.”

Metrigy’s UCaaS TCO study provides real-world insight into the operating costs of unified communications-as-a-service (UCaaS) solutions from leading providers. In addition, this study gathered high-level data on views toward generative AI assistants for collaboration and views toward integrating UCaaS into Microsoft Teams.

Specific topics include:

Some key findings in this study include:

This study is available for purchase on our website here.

 

Companies aren’t adequately prepared for growing security and compliance risks for employee and customer-facing interactions

May 20, 2024 – Research and advisory firm Metrigy has released its Workplace Collaboration and Contact Center Security and Compliance 2024-25 research study, conducted with 338 participating firms in eight countries in 24 vertical industries.

“Despite a 40% increase in the number of companies reporting a security-related incident in the last year, most companies still aren’t adequately taking the steps to protect their applications and data,” says Irwin Lazar, President and Principal Analyst, Metrigy. “Success requires the attention of a chief information security officer (CISO), a formal security plan, appropriate investment in security and compliance monitoring tools, and a proactive approach to protecting against generative AI risks.”

In this global study, Metrigy provides actionable insight for successfully building and evolving workplace collaboration and contact center security and compliance strategies; adapting to emerging technologies, including generative AI and user-generated video; understanding the implications of using data generated by meeting apps; and for funding and managing security programs.

Specific topics include:

Some key findings in this study include:

This study is available for purchase on our website at metrigy.com.

Delivers market insights for nine workplace collaboration technology areas in 2024

September 26, 2024 – Research and advisory firm Metrigy released its Workplace Collaboration MetriCast 2024 market research study of nine key technology areas driving successful collaboration interactions.

In the Workplace Collaboration MetriCast 2024 study, Metrigy analyzes buy-side market data provided by 998 IT leaders from nine countries and 18+ vertical industries with operational and/or procurement responsibilities. Metrigy looks at technologies in use, providers, spending, ratings of the providers, and relative success using the products. Metrigy also examines the percentage of companies that are changing or planning/evaluating a change in providers, what’s driving them to leave, and which new providers they are considering in the following categories:

Among the study’s findings is that 50% of businesses using a phone system are utilizing only UCaaS, which is a significant tipping point as the market moves away from dedicated, on-premises based solutions. “The majority of respondents indicated they were keeping UCaaS spending flat in 2024 with spending growing in 2025 and 2026. The growth in UCaaS spending is predominantly from additional seats being added, as businesses continue their migration to the cloud,” says Diane Myers, Metrigy senior research director. “While AI is growing in importance, it is not yet a top criterion in workplace collaboration platform decisions, where reliability and quality still reign supreme.”

For additional key metrics from the research study, please see our MetriSight podcast series.

This MetriCast study is part of Metrigy’s MetriCast Service, which also includes market forecast and shares across select customer experience and workplace collaboration technology categories, with quarterly updates; MetriRank vendor ratings across select categories; and the annual MetriStar Awards for vendors earning top customer sentiment ratings and whose customers achieve top business success. For more information, visit www.metrigy.com.

Metrigy reveals consumer perspectives on AI, customer experience, and proactive outreach

February 18, 2026 – Consumers are growing more accepting of AI when interacting with businesses, but they overwhelmingly prefer human interactions, according to Metrigy’s Customer Experience Optimization 2025-26 – Consumer Views research study, conducted in November 2025 with 503 adults in the United States and Canada.

The third-annual study tracks consumer perspectives on how well companies are doing with their customer experience. It evaluates consumer views on businesses’ use of technology, their sentiment and results when using AI, whether they want businesses to reach out proactively and with personalization, and the interaction channels that work best.

“The bar is always going higher with customer service expectations, with AI helping and analyzing behind the scenes,” says Robin Gareiss, CEO and Principal Analyst at Metrigy. “But consumers, particularly those 45 and older, haven’t fully embraced AI agents, and although they are generally favorable about technology in customer service, they continue to prefer the human touch.”

AI is the top issue at hand with both businesses and consumers: 84.9% of consumers prefer a human agent over an AI agent, and even if they were assured their issue would be resolved with either, 80.1% still say they prefer a human. The drivers for interacting with humans are: their ability to understand the issue, assurance their issue would be resolved properly, and empathy from the agents, among other reasons.

That’s not to say consumers won’t use AI. In fact, 45.5% say they use AI in select circumstances, up from 39.2% in 2024, and 13% prefer them, up from 11.6% in 2024. AI is useful for more tactical reasons, including directing them to the right person, shipping/order confirmations, and scheduling appointments, among other purposes. Retail, utilities, and financial services companies are using AI most effectively, according to study participants.

Overall customer service quality improved from 2024 to 2025, with 64.2% of consumers rating the service they received as good or excellent, up from 55.3% one year ago. Retail and financial services provide the best CX and telco and government deliver the worst, according to study participants.

Other findings in Metrigy’s Customer Experience Optimization 2025-26 – Consumer Views research study include:

The full Customer Experience Optimization 2025-26 – Consumer Views research study is available now. To download a copy, please visit www.metrigy.com.

Successful companies are 22% more likely to have generative AI security policies, yet 41.9% of organizations lack them.

Land o’ Lakes, Florida – Nov. 18, 2025 – Metrigy’s latest research shows security attacks on workplace collaboration and contact center platforms continuing on an alarming upward trajectory, surging more than 300% since 2021. The companies best positioned to capitalize on their technology investments in these areas also have the strongest security posture, with nearly 90% of companies with above-average ROI involving their CISO or CSO in their app strategies, according to the new “Workplace Collaboration and Contact Center Security and Compliance Management: 2026” study.

The global study highlights a critical challenge for businesses: As they adopt more complex apps, features, and generative AI to engage employees and customers, their security and compliance risks multiply. This trend threatens customer data, brand reputation, and the potential return on new technology investments.

“The data is clear: Security can no longer be an afterthought in collaboration and customer engagement technology adoption,” said Irwin Lazar, President and Principal Analyst at Metrigy. “We found that CISO involvement is a key differentiator. When security leaders are part of the purchasing and strategy process from the beginning, companies are far more likely to see a positive return on their collaboration investments and are better protected against rising threats.”

The research also reveals a significant governance gap with regard to generative AI. The study found that while 58.1% of companies have established an organization-wide generative AI security and compliance policy, a concerning 41.9% are operating without one. Metrigy’s data shows that “successful companies”—those with not only reduced cost but increased productivity—are nearly 22% more likely to have a formal generative AI policy in place than their less-successful peers.

“Generative AI presents a massive opportunity, but it’s also a compliance minefield,” Lazar added. “Our research shows that successful leaders are moving quickly to establish policies that protect data and mitigate risk. Those who delay are not only exposing themselves to security incidents, but also failing to build the trust necessary to maximize AI’s benefits.”

The “Workplace Collaboration and Contact Center Security and Compliance Management: 2026” study provides detailed analysis and actionable insights on:

About Metrigy

Metrigy is an innovative research and advisory firm focusing on the rapidly changing areas of workplace collaboration, digital workplace, digital transformation, customer experience, and employee experience—along with several related technologies. Metrigy delivers strategic guidance and informative content, backed by primary research metrics and analysis, for technology providers and enterprise organizations.

Metrigy’s MetriRank study evaluates leading UCaaS providers on a fixed set of criteria to assess which are best positioned to succeed in the long term.

October 26, 2023 – Research and advisory firm Metrigy released its UCaaS MetriRank 2023 report, identifying the Top 10 providers leading the market today and best positioned for long-term success. Microsoft has earned top ranking, based on market share, financials, market share momentum, product mix, customer sentiment, and customer business success.

“Microsoft is the undisputed leader in our first UCaaS MetriRank report, with the largest market share, strong financials, and above-average market momentum and customer sentiment ratings. Over the past three years, Microsoft with Teams has extended its market share, putting it at the top of the market and on the short list of most UCaaS evaluations,” said Diane Myers, principal analyst responsible for Metrigy’s MetriRank reports as well as market sizing and forecasting.

Metrigy 2023 UCaaS MetriRank Highlights

Metrigy defines UCaaS as a cloud-based suite of integrated communications and collaboration applications. At a minimum, UCaaS offerings must include calling to and from the public switched telephone network (PSTN). UCaaS may be sold as telephone-only services or be bundled with other UC features, including meetings and messaging. The service provider hosts all applications for call control, though customers may deploy local equipment for PSTN connectivity and remote site survivability.

The global market for UCaaS was $19.0 billion in 2022, up 8% year-over-year. Metrigy forecasts the market to grow at a 5% CAGR from 2022 to 2027, reaching $24.4 billion by 2027. The UCaaS market has been highly competitive, with providers of varying sizes, capabilities, and reach—some are global, and others are regional. However, the market has coalesced around a few large providers, with Microsoft at the top and tough to beat, forcing other UCaaS providers to figure out ways to coexist with integrated telephony and contact center-as-a-service (CCaaS) solutions.

In determining companies in the UCaaS MetriRank, market share is important to overall leadership, but financial strength and customer sentiment are significant at setting providers apart in the rankings. Having the right mix of features and capabilities is critical, although most of the top-tier providers share common capabilities today.

The full report, including all of our methodology, scoring, a deep-dive profile on each provider, and much more, is available for purchase. If you are interested in Metrigy’s UCaaS MetriRank study, please reach out to Layne Haaksma, [email protected].

Metrigy’s fourth-annual CCaaS MetriRank study showcases its new Leadership Landscape, plotting the market position of the leading 12 ranked providers.

July 21, 2026 – Research and advisory firm Metrigy released its CCaaS MetriRank 2026 report, identifying NiCE as No. 1 among Top 12 providers leading the market today and best positioned for long-term success. To assess long-term market sustainability and success, Metrigy evaluates providers on customer business success and sentiment, financials, market share, market share momentum, and product.

As enterprises continue transitioning from on-premises to cloud systems and plan for AI-empowered contact centers, growth in the global CCaaS market remains strong. Metrigy’s benchmark research shows that 33.1% of businesses worldwide now use CCaaS as their primary contact center platform, with 41.6% planning on implementing in the next year or beyond. Additionally, Metrigy’s market share and forecast reporting places the global CCaaS market at $8.41 billion in 2025, up 16% year over year. It forecasts the worldwide market to grow at a five-year compound annual growth rate of 9.8%, with the market reaching $13.3 billion by 2030. 

Among the six criteria evaluated, as noted above, market share is the gating factor for MetriRank inclusion. The four largest CCaaS providers globally are: NiCE, Genesys, Five9, and AWS. Rounding out the 2026 list, in alphabetical order are: 8×8, Cisco, Content Guru, Dialpad, Talkdesk, Twilio, Sprinklr, and Vonage.

In this report, we introduce the new Leadership Landscape for CCaaS. Based on the evaluation criteria listed above, Metrigy measured and plotted each of the Top 12 provider’s scores into three categories: foundation, customer, and market. The scoring results in three segments in which to view the top CCaaS providers, as follows: 

“In total, Metrigy counts more than 50 CCaaS providers worldwide, with heavy competition as companies of varying sizes, capabilities, and reach vie to gain entrée into businesses globally,” said Diane Myers, senior research director and principal analyst responsible for Metrigy’s MetriRank reports as well as market share and forecasting. “Falling in the Top 10 to 15 is a noteworthy distinction.”

CCaaS providers that just missed the cutoff for inclusion but are posting strong growth and are serious threats include Zoom and RingCentral in the near term, and Microsoft and Salesforce over the coming few years.

The full report, including all of our methodology, scoring indicators, standard deviations, deep-dive profiles on each provider, and much more, is available for purchase. 

If you are interested in Metrigy’s CCaaS MetriRank study, please reach out to [email protected]. 

Media Contact:

Diane Myers

[email protected]