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At this year’s NEXUS Connect, our annual gathering of partners from across the DACH region, we aligned around a clear and shared ambition: to accelerate the transition from cloud telephony to AI-powered business communication and turn strategy into measurable execution. Learn more about our partner initiatives and become the next NFON Partner.
Across two days in Munich, management keynotes set the strategic direction for the year ahead and reinforced the strength of our roadmap. Breakout sessions translated that direction into practical discussions around AI use cases, modular licensing and concrete growth opportunities across both existing and new customer environments. In the Innovation & Experience Hub, partners engaged directly with NFON experts, live demonstrations and solution integrations.
A defining milestone was the launch of the first-ever NEXUS Connect Hackathon, where partners worked hands-on with our AI portfolio in realistic customer scenarios. The outcome was clear: these solutions are not conceptual. They are available, commercially relevant and ready to scale.
Within this context, the third keynote shifted the focus from strategy to substance. Jana Richter, EVP AI & Innovation at NFON, together with Aljoscha Niazi-Shahabi, Managing Director & CEO of botario, examined how the AI market is evolving, why sovereignty has become increasingly relevant and how NFON and botario are translating technological change into practical, deployable communication solutions.
From Hype to Maturity: A Changing AI Landscape
The session opened by reflecting on the rapid shift that began in late 2022 with the emergence of ChatGPT. At the time, the technological leap appeared unmatched. Other providers followed, but for a period there was little meaningful competition.
Today, the landscape looks different.
Open-source models have significantly advanced and are now almost as good as large, closed models. At the same time, improvements among the largest providers have become more incremental rather than exponential. The dramatic leaps of the early phase have slowed.
This shift has important implications.
AI is becoming more accessible and more cost-efficient. Smaller models can deliver strong performance while operating within controlled or even local environments. Dependence on a single dominant provider is no longer the only viable approach.
As highlighted during the keynote, it would be careless to rely exclusively on large American companies. The message was not about exclusion, but about preparedness. In a rapidly evolving market, flexibility and diversification are strategic advantages.
European AI as a Strategic Imperative
In light of geopolitical developments, the EU AI Act and ongoing discussions around digital sovereignty, the origin of technology providers has gained strategic relevance.
NFON has therefore made a deliberate decision to work strongly with European providers, including Mistral for Nia Frontdesk, NFON’s digital voice assistant, while remaining open and provider-agnostic where appropriate. The guiding principle is flexibility.
Market data reinforces this direction. A large majority of companies view AI as the most important future technology. More than half believe companies that do not adopt AI will struggle to remain competitive. At the same time, only a minority currently have AI fully operational in their environments.
There is clear demand. There is also a clear implementation gap.
In parallel, an overwhelming majority of companies consider the origin of their technology provider relevant, with a strong preference for German or European providers where available.
The conclusion is pragmatic. Sovereignty is not an ideological positioning. It is a purchasing criterion.
Agentic AI: Collaboration Between Intelligent Systems
Another key theme was Agentic AI.
Rather than relying on a single model to manage increasingly complex tasks through long prompts, Agentic AI distributes tasks across multiple specialised agents. Each agent handles a specific subtask, shares intermediate results, and collaborates towards an outcome.
This structured approach enables multi-step processes, integration with external systems and more dynamic task execution. It represents a shift from static automation towards coordinated intelligence.
The keynote emphasised that this is no longer theoretical research. It is becoming operational reality.
AI Embedded into Business Telephony
The presentation then moved from market analysis to practical implementation within NFON’s portfolio.
The journey began with voicemail transcription, introduced at the beginning of 2025, enabling voice messages to be automatically transcribed within the telephony environment. This was followed by call transcription and summarisation across mobile, desktop and web applications, as well as desk phones.
Nia was integrated as contextual in-app assistance across the website, Partner Portal, App Suite and Admin Portal. Users can ask questions directly within their working environment and receive relevant documentation or guidance without leaving the system.
The launch of Nia Frontdesk marked further development. Described as intelligent inbound call management, it embeds a voicebot directly into the telephony system. It can respond to recurring questions, provide information and route calls intelligently without requiring complex external integrations.
A live demonstration illustrated this in a retail scenario. A caller received immediate answers regarding opening hours and service policies before being routed directly to the correct workshop queue. Configuration was handled entirely within the NFON Admin Portal, including knowledge base integration and queue routing.
The focus was not spectacle. It was integration and simplicity.
botario: Experience, Flexibility and Compliance
The keynote also highlighted botario, an NFON company, and its foundation in complex enterprise environments.
Originating from highly regulated sectors, botario has developed deep expertise in integrating AI into legacy systems and structured infrastructures. The platform supports chatbots, voicebots and live chat across multiple channels, including telephone and messaging services.
A defining strength is provider agnosticism. Different large language models can be selected depending on performance requirements, cost efficiency, and regulatory constraints. This flexibility allows optimisation at both technical and commercial levels.
botario’s presence in highly regulated industries, including many statutory health insurance providers in Germany, further underscores its focus on compliance and data protection.
From Productivity to Experience
While automation naturally drives efficiency, the keynote framed AI primarily as a driver of improved customer experience.
AI enables businesses to respond even when human resources are limited. It prevents requests from being lost due to capacity constraints and allows seamless transitions between automated systems and human agents within contact centre environments.
Productivity gains follow. But the primary objective is responsiveness and reliability.
Thank You to Our Partners
This keynote reinforced that AI at NFON is neither abstract nor experimental. It is practical, embedded, and aligned with real market demand.
We sincerely thank all our partners who joined us at NEXUS Connect, engaged in discussion and continue to shape the evolution of our ecosystem. Your collaboration, expertise and market insight ensure that innovation translates into measurable customer value.
The AI landscape is evolving rapidly. Sovereignty matters. Execution matters even more.
And together, we are building what comes next.
Are you considering becoming our next partner? Learn more about our partner initiatives and become the next NFON Partner.
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