RingCentral, ARG Alum to Lead Procure IT Voice Technology Practice

Technology advisor and vendor management partner Procure IT has hired John Cooper as the leader of its consulting for voice technology, customer experience and unified communications.

Cooper accepted the role of managing director of voice transformation for Texas-based Procure IT. Procure IT, which recently landed a $3.5 million seed round, is eyeing a significant platform build and team expansion as it seeks a future sale to a midmarket private equity group.

Cooper started with Procure IT in June, according to his LinkedIn profile. Although his practice contains goes under the moniker “voice transformation,” the consulting division also includes UCaaS, CCaaS and CX.

Procure IT notes in its news release that those technologies will increasingly intersect with artificial intelligence to automate the experience. Conversational AI has already existed in CCaaS offerings in the form of virtual agents.

And Cooper said communications technologies will expand in terms of their environment.

“We can also expect to see voice technology becoming more and more integrated and sophisticated within other digital technologies such as smart rooms and buildings, and virtual and augmented reality, leading to even more immersive and interactive communication experiences,” Cooper said.

Procure IT’s John Cooper

“Digital transformation isn’t only about embracing digital technologies to reimagine business processes. Voice also plays an increasingly vital role,” Cooper said. “It’s not your father’s voice, however, but a new generation of converged digital and voice solutions that have the potential to dramatically change the employee and customer experience.”

Cooper comes from a technology leadership position at another well-staffed partner. He previously led ARG‘s practice for customer experience (CX), contact center as a service (CCaaS) and unified communications as a service (UCaaS).

Procure IT’s Randy Jeter

His career also encompassed work on the supplier side of the channel. Prior to ARG, he worked as director of major Mid-Atlantic accounts for RingCentral. Other past employers include Arkadin and IceWarp. The Arkadin role tasked him with studying up on Microsoft CCaaS and UCaaS.

“Voice transformation is emerging as the next critical phase of businesses’ digital journey,” Procure IT founder and managing partner Randy Jeter said. “We’re thrilled to have a forward-thinking executive with John Cooper’s experience and enthusiasm lead the Procure IT team in helping our business clients capitalize on this promising opportunity.”

Procure IT resulted from the merging of four partner firms; Its total fundraising equated to $4.8 million as of June, with its employee count at 25. Jeter said the company will likely reach 50 people by the end of the year.