Big CX News from ServiceNow, Zoom, Cisco & IKEA

Cisco Reveals Security and Safety Framework for Enterprise AI Readiness

Cisco has revealed its AI Security and Safety Framework to support and manage risks in modern systems.

This unified structure combines both security and safety into a single model to reduce gaps and misalignment in activities.

This will enforce protection on AI tools utilized in customer interactions, reducing the risk of unsafe customer outputs.

The threat of AI is still recognized as a real risk, despite the pace of adoption being at its highest level.

This has likely been a result of knowledge gaps in AI security, with the technology evolving at a rapid pace, many organizations have not yet understood how to control its behavior within an unpredictable ecosystem.

According to Cisco’s 2025 AI Readiness Index, many companies are still unprepared to face this danger, with only 29% of those surveyed believing they’re adequately prepared to defend themselves against these threats.

In attempting to keep up with the rising demand for AI products, these results suggest that CX leaders are willing to encounter this risk rather than fall behind in AI deployment.

This could result in unwanted exposure and failure of customer and brand data without a management plan in place, elevating risk likelihood due to low responsible adoption and a reactive-first solution (Read more...).

IKEA New Zealand Pauses Customer Support as It Struggles With Launch Demand

IKEA launched in its first store in New Zealand to much fanfare earlier this month but it has become a victim of its own success, forcing the Swedish furniture retailer to shut down its customer support center temporarily to focus on dealing with the backlog.

The retailer’s long-awaited arrival in Auckland on December 4 was met with overwhelming online demand from across the country, resulting in growing frustration for customers who have found their orders have been delayed or cancelled.

IKEA acknowledged that it has fallen behind on its orders and fulfilment services. It stated on its website:

“We have been bowled over by the response from New Zealanders all over the country since we opened our doors on 4 December. The sales and orders secured over the first few days have surpassed our expectations and as a result some of our fulfilment services are currently unavailable.”

Complaints about delayed deliveries, cancelled orders and stock shortages have spread across social media, with some customers saying they have struggled to get any response from the retailer by phone or email.

And there have been lengthy delays for customers trying to reach support staff through the website’s live chat function (Read more...).