Analyst(s): Keith Kirkpatrick
Publication Date: May 23, 2025
Zendesk has finalized its acquisition of Local Measure, a Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) provider known for AI-powered voice solutions and a deep integration with Amazon Connect. Initially announced in February 2025, the acquisition has now closed following regulatory and shareholder approvals in Australia.
What is Covered in this Article:
- Zendesk completes its acquisition of Local Measure following regulatory and shareholder approval.
- The integration expands Zendesk’s AI voice capabilities and strengthens its alignment with AWS’s Amazon Connect.
- Zendesk introduces “Zendesk for Contact Center,” combining AI-powered voice, digital service, and automation.
- Local Measure’s AI-enhanced IVR and call routing technology set to modernize enterprise voice workflows.
- The acquisition reinforces Zendesk’s move to compete more directly with leading CCaaS vendors.
The News: Zendesk has completed its acquisition of Local Measure, a Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) provider known for advanced AI-powered voice capabilities and long-standing integration with Amazon Connect. The deal, initially announced in February 2025, closed after meeting regulatory and shareholder approvals under Australian law.
With the acquisition finalized, Zendesk is launching “Zendesk for Contact Center,” which incorporates Local Measure’s intelligent voice technology and strengthens its alignment with AWS. This enables Zendesk to offer a unified, AI-driven voice and digital customer experience platform for high-volume enterprise service environments.
Is Zendesk’s AI Voice Expansion Enough to Disrupt the Contact Center Market?
Analyst Take: The acquisition of Local Measure marks a definitive expansion of Zendesk’s capabilities in AI-driven voice automation and enterprise contact center services. With Local Measure now fully under the Zendesk umbrella, the company deepens its alignment with Amazon Connect and brings AI-enhanced voice capabilities into sharper focus. This transition offers Zendesk customers a unified platform for high-volume voice and digital service environments while introducing enhanced automation, call routing, and real-time insights. As the integration unfolds, its success will depend on execution, differentiation, and enterprise adoption at scale.
Enhancing Voice Capabilities with Local Measure
Zendesk gains access to Local Measure’s AI-driven voice platform that integrates intelligent IVR, real-time data, and advanced call routing. The system is designed to deliver personalized, dynamic voice experiences while reducing agent workload and ensuring fast, accurate customer interactions. The inclusion of inbound and outbound voice channels alongside AI automation provides Zendesk with a more complete contact center stack. Zendesk plans to deliver more intelligent voice services to evolve static Interactive Voice Response (IVR) menus into smarter, more responsive customer engagement tools.
Deepening the Amazon Connect Integration
Local Measure’s long-standing relationship with AWS and compatibility with Amazon Connect provide Zendesk with stronger cloud-native capabilities. This acquisition is expected to accelerate the deployment of scalable and secure voice solutions powered by AWS infrastructure. Zendesk’s AI voice solutions will now benefit from closer integration with Amazon Connect’s automation and agent assist features, helping position Zendesk as a more formidable player in the contact center platform space. The new alignment also supports Zendesk’s broader go-to-market collaboration with AWS.
Market Positioning in the CCaaS Landscape
Zendesk now directly challenges established CCaaS players by offering a more unified and intelligent voice solution under its “Zendesk for Contact Center” banner. The acquisition brings Zendesk closer to matching capabilities offered by providers such as Five9 and NICE, particularly in enterprise-scale deployments. Local Measure’s voice stack, tailored for complex, high-volume service environments, supports Zendesk’s shift from SMB-focused solutions to broader enterprise engagements. Success will depend on how quickly Zendesk can operationalize Local Measure’s technology across its global customer base.
Execution Risks and Stakeholder Implications
The integration of Local Measure into Zendesk’s broader platform introduces both technical and organizational complexity. While Local Measure employees are expected to remain post-acquisition, aligning product roadmaps and infrastructure may present challenges. Regulatory approvals have been completed, but execution in high-volume environments, particularly under performance and security requirements, will determine the true value delivered to Zendesk’s customers. Enterprises seeking scalable AI voice solutions will be watching how well Zendesk manages this next phase.
Additionally, Zendesk has committed to an outcome-based pricing model, first across digital interactions, and, executives say, may look to expand that model across human interactions as well. Acquiring a contact center solution provides the company with a platform upon which it can experiment and adjust approaches for handling and pricing fully digital interactions, human-to-human interactions, and more complex human/digital interactions and workflows.
What to Watch:
- The integration of Local Measure’s AI voice stack into Zendesk must scale smoothly across enterprise environments without service disruption.
- Zendesk must differentiate its AI voice capabilities to drive enterprise adoption beyond its traditional SMB base.
- Any delay or inefficiency in merging product stacks could hinder customer adoption and reduce perceived value.
- AI automation expectations are rising; Zendesk must prove real-world performance gains through this integration.
See the complete press release on Zendesk’s acquisition of Local Measure to expand AI-powered voice solutions on the Zendesk website.
Disclosure: Futurum is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of Futurum as a whole.
Other insights from Futurum:
How AI is Transforming the Economics of Customer Service
Will Zendesk’s Resolutions-Driven Strategy Resonate With Customers?
Zendesk to Acquire Local Measure to Strengthen Its AI-Driven Contact Center Solutions
Author Information
Keith Kirkpatrick is Research Director, Enterprise Software & Digital Workflows for The Futurum Group. Keith has over 25 years of experience in research, marketing, and consulting-based fields.
He has authored in-depth reports and market forecast studies covering artificial intelligence, biometrics, data analytics, robotics, high performance computing, and quantum computing, with a specific focus on the use of these technologies within large enterprise organizations and SMBs. He has also established strong working relationships with the international technology vendor community and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and events.
In his career as a financial and technology journalist he has written for national and trade publications, including BusinessWeek, CNBC.com, Investment Dealers’ Digest, The Red Herring, The Communications of the ACM, and Mobile Computing & Communications, among others.
He is a member of the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP).
Keith holds dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Magazine Journalism and Sociology from Syracuse University.
