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Latest Evolve IP Acquisition: Artificial Intelligence Meets Contact Centers

Evolve IP has acquired Jog.ai, a speech analytics and natural language technology firm from Austin, Texas.

The deal, backed by private equity parent Great Hill Partners, reinforces Evolve IP's evolution far beyond the traditional MSP and cloud communications services markets.

The evidence: Evolve IP’s cloud communications services will gain Jog.ai’s proprietary technology -- which allow users to “remember, retrieve, and record everything that happens on a phone call,” the company said.

Evolve IP and Artificial Intelligence

Jog.ai's technology apparently includes a healthy dose of artificial intelligence. That could be an important differentiator, considering major portions of the MSP market are late to the AI wave.

Jog.ai's technology could benefit Evolve IP customers in such vertical markets as healthcare, financial, and legal services. The Jog.ai technology works well for contact centers, sales professionals, executives, and businesses with compliance requirements or transcription needs, the company said.

Founded in 2016, the Jog.ai application creates a visual, interactive “screenplay” that brings together call audio and text transcription. By leveraging multiple speech analytics technologies, Jog.ai creates a screenplay that is clickable, copyable, and shareable, allowing users to flag important moments for fast reference.

Evolve IP Acquires Jog.ai: Executive Perspectives

Jog.ai’s Ed Ireson
Jog.ai's Ed Ireson
Evolve IP’s Scott Kinka

Weighing in on the deal, Evolve IP CTO and Founding Partner Scott Kinka said:

“We are extremely pleased to add Jog.ai to Evolve IP’s product portfolio. It is a premier natural language application that truly delivers great results. The technology, designed by co-founders Sam Gaddis and Ed Ireson, is incredibly useful and user-friendly and we expect that we will see rapid adoption and significant market interest in the application. Additionally, our enterprise and midsize clients are incredibly compliance driven; particularly in healthcare, finance and legal. The services that Jog.ai provides will not only make their jobs better, it will provide them with additional levels of confidence when dealing with situations where documentation, not user memory, is required.”

Jog.ai CTO and Co-Founder Ed Ireson added:

“We are incredibly happy to be joining Evolve IP and for the opportunities it provides for our technology. Evolve IP’s significant base of accounts, partner community, and sales and marketing acumen will help us realize the growth goals we’ve had for Jog.ai since our start. Additionally, with more software development resources at our disposal, there is much more that we can do to further develop the intellectual property and lead the market.”

Evolve IP’s M&A Strategy

Evolve IP shifted into M&A mode in 2016, when Great Hill Partners acquired majority control of the business and armed the company with a $100 million war chest for buyout targets.

Key acquisitions we've tracked have included:

  • July 2018: Evolve IP acquired Advanced Integrated Technologies (AiTech), a Cisco Systems and Broadsoft cloud communications provider in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
  • April 2018: The company acquired thevoicefactory, a Cardiff, UK-based cloud communications provider and Cisco BroadSoft partner.
  • October 2017: Evolve IP bought Clearlogin for an undisclosed sum.
  • August 2017: The firm purchased cloud communications firm Mtel of the Netherlands.

    • Today, Evolve IP supports more than 1,900 enterprises and over 420,000 users across nearly every industry.

    Great Hill Partners: Experienced MSP, CSP Investor

    Evolve IP investor Great Hill Partners, meanwhile, has extensive experience in the MSP and CSP sectors. Another key investment involves Mission, a Top 100 Public Cloud MSP focused on Amazon Web Services.

    Additional insights from Joe Panettieri

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