Dear Shareholders:

Igniting a New Era at NiCE

It is a profound honor and privilege to take the helm of NiCE, renowned for its trailblazing innovation, strategic foresight, and proven success. Since assuming the role of CEO at the beginning of the year, I’ve had the opportunity to hear first-hand from our enterprise customers and partners about the unparalleled strength of our platform, which delivers exceptional CX with precision at scale. This recognition is evident in the numerous industry accolades NiCE receives year after year. In 2024, Gartner recognized NiCE as a leader in the Magic Quadrant for CCaaS for the 10th consecutive year and named NiCE as the only “Customers’ Choice” vendor in its Peer Insights “Voice of the Customer for CCaaS” report.

The continued advancements in AI are transforming the CX industry and unlocking unprecedented opportunities for growth. NiCE is at the forefront of this CX AI revolution. Our decades of domain expertise, holistic and unified platform, purpose-built AI, and understanding and ability to influence all types of real-time interactions uniquely positions us to best delight consumers and drive efficiency gains for our customers in the era of Agentic AI.

Our industry leadership across mission-critical domains, robust financial foundation, and new strategic initiatives strongly positions us to seize the immense opportunity ahead of us in an exciting and dynamic market. With the support of 9,000 dedicated and driven employees worldwide, I am eager to lead the company into our next era of expanded growth.

NICE’s 2024 Financial Milestones

Our 2024 results were outstanding, showcasing profitable growth at scale, an ironclad balance sheet, and best-in-class free cash flow generation. Total revenue for 2024 increased 15% year-over-year to $2.7 billion, fueled by robust cloud revenue growth which increased 25% year-over-year culminating in an exit ARR of $2.1 billion. Our leadership in CX AI was exemplified by the strong adoption of our advanced AI solutions, included in 97% of our large enterprise CXone Mpower deals exceeding $1 million ARR. Our profitability reached new heights with a 150-basis point increase in our non-GAAP operating margin, climbing to 31.1%. Additionally, our outstanding operating cash flow growth in 2024, which soared 48% year-over-year to $833 million, positions us with a significant competitive advantage to drive future organic and inorganic expansion.

Charting Our Evolution and Unveiling of CXone Mpower

NiCE has undergone a remarkable transformation over the years, continually expanding our total addressable markets at every step. We began as a powerhouse in the Call Center domain with our leading Workforce Engagement Management (WEM) and Analytics solutions. In 2016, we boldly branched into the adjacent market of Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) by adding the core capability of omnichannel routing, creating the cloud native CXone platform, catapulting NiCE as a leading SaaS company. In the early 2020s we continued to incorporate AI, digital channels, proactive outbound engagement and self-service capabilities, evolving CXone into a comprehensive Customer Service platform, addressing 100% of interactions, voice and non-voice, agent-attended and fully automated unattended. AI has been integral to our strategy for many years, having launched Enlighten in 2020, which serves as the engine for CXone with purpose-built AI for customer service.

We are now entering the next stage of our journey: full customer service automation through CX AI. This expansion targets end-to-end automation across front, middle and back offices, from intent to fulfillment. In 2024, we proudly launched CXone Mpower, the AI platform that enables enterprises to design, build, and operate automation for workflows, agents, and knowledge at scale and precision. NiCE is uniquely positioned to lead this market, leveraging our access to interactions in real-time and expertise in understanding consumer intents.

Our journey emphasizes our relentless pursuit of innovation and excellence. We have consistently and successfully anticipated industry trends and staying ahead of the curve. With each milestone, we are re-defining the industry’s gold standard and shaping the future of extraordinary customer experience.

Shaping the Future of Customer Service

As we navigate the evolving landscape of customer service, several key trends are driving our strategic direction and innovation, and NiCE is at the forefront of each:

A Shift to Full-Scale Automation:
AI is advancing from task-based assistance to comprehensive automation. Organizations are now seeking solutions for end-to-end automation across customer service and operations. Beyond augmenting human performance, there is a growing demand for AI Agents to handle complex decision-making, manage workflows, and resolve issues autonomously. AI platforms aim to scale automation across all touchpoints, driving significant efficiency gains, cost savings, and transformative business impact.

Embracing Unified AI-Powered Platforms:
Organizations are transitioning away from traditional cloud platforms and point solutions to unified AI-powered platforms that integrate data, knowledge, and AI models. These platforms centralize intelligence, streamline workflows, and scale automation across all business functions. As AI adoption advances, cloud platforms must evolve into intelligent, autonomous infrastructures driving real-time business outcomes.

Domain-specific AI is Essential for Accurate Automation:
Enterprises are shifting from generic AI models to purpose-built AI trained on industry-specific data for precise, reliable customer service automation. AI that understands intent, context, and preferences enhances automation accuracy and reduces errors and escalations. Businesses are now adopting AI platforms that integrate predictive, generative, and real-time models to achieve intelligent automation at scale.

Criticality of Knowledge Management:
As AI plays a larger role in customer interactions, organizations need a unified, intelligent knowledge strategy to ensure accurate and trusted responses. AI-powered knowledge management systems organize, retrieve, and refine enterprise information, enhancing automation and agent effectiveness. Companies are transitioning from static knowledge bases to dynamic, AI-driven ecosystems that deliver context-aware, real-time insights across all customer touchpoints.

Prioritizing Trust, Security and Explainability in AI:
As AI assumes greater roles in customer service and financial decision-making, trust, security, and explainability are paramount. Enterprises must ensure AI models are transparent, unbiased, and compliant with evolving regulations. Organizations are investing in responsible AI frameworks that offer human oversight, real-time auditing, and governance mechanisms to maintain confidence in AI-driven decisions while adhering to stringent regulatory requirements.

These trends underscore the transformative impact of AI on customer engagement and operational efficiency, positioning us at the forefront of innovation in the customer service domain.

Our Strategic Vision

As we stand at the cusp of a transformative era, we are poised to seize this market opportunity and harness our strengths to their fullest potential. Below are three of our key strategic priorities:

1. Unleash Our Market Leadership: By positioning CXone Mpower in front of every organization, we aim to further expand our market share and continue to set the gold standard for excellence. By extending our reach from the front office to the middle and back offices, we strive to become even more integral to our customers' operations, capturing a larger share of C-level decision-making.
2. Lead the CX-AI Revolution: Agentic AI is our cornerstone, integrated into every facet of our operations. This fast-moving market attracts new entrants and investments due to its immense ROI potential by shifting more spend from labor to technology. We are committed to extending our leadership, enhancing our innovation, and solidifying our status as the unrivaled leader in AI-driven solutions for customer service automation.
3. Scale with a Powerful Ecosystem: We will aggressively broaden our strategic alliances, from technology partners to global system integrators. This collaborative approach will act as a force multiplier, accelerating our growth and magnifying our global impact enabling us to be an even more significant part of the CX market's connective tissue.

A Bright Future Ahead

Finally, I want to express my gratitude to our shareholders for your continued support and confidence in NiCE. The energy across our company is undeniable, and we are all laser-focused on driving our vision forward. Our exceptional employees, with their hunger for success and relentless drive, are the bedrock of our achievements and the catalyst for our future triumphs.

With our industry leadership, cutting-edge AI assets, and remarkable market opportunities, we are well-positioned to achieve our goals and deliver exceptional value to our shareholders. After just a few months as CEO, I am more confident than ever in our company and in a market primed to excel in this exciting and dynamic landscape.

Thank you for your trust and support.

I look forward to leading NiCE into a new era of growth and success

Scott Russell

CEO, NiCE

View 2024 Annual Report