New Month - Time for July Newsletter

In case you’re looking for some quick beach reading during the holiday weekend, the July edition of my newsletter went out to subscribers today.

JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review has been running steady for several years now, but for the first time, it’s going solo - as in, no new Watch This Space podcast episode.

If you follow me, you should know by now that I’m taking a brief hiatus from the podcast, and that’s explained a bit further in this month’s newsletter. I hope you check that out, and if you have any bright ideas for WTS 2.0, let’s get in touch!

For the handful of you out there not subscribed, signing up to my newsletter is easy - the signup page is here.

Although Watch This Space is on pause for now, you can still subscribe on all the major platforms, or listen to any episode directly here on my website, or here on the dedicated WTS website. There are 85 episodes to choose from, so I’m sure you’ll find something there of interest. And if not, then we really don’t have much to talk about, do we? :-)

June Writing Roundup

Plenty on the go during June, including some new writing. I’ve got three articles to share that had my byline last month - hope you check these out if not seen yet. More coming for July.

One Communications Platform - Billions of Conversations: Infobip Analyst Event Review, EM360, June 27

The Telco to Techco Reinvention Playbook: Three Moves that Matter, Aizan guest article, June 25

How UC Can Support Return to Office, TechTarget, June 9

The Telco-to-Techco Reinvention Playbook, Part 2

I’ve been doing guest posts for Aizan Technologies for some time, and my latest article is running now. A theme I’m following with interest at the moment is “telco-to-techco”, where service providers are trying to evolve from the legacy telephony business model to being an AI-driven platform play built around digital applications.

It’s a major shift on many levels, and this post builds on Part 1, where I outlined the tech trends that are making this change necessary. For Part 2, the focus is on what telcos need to be doing for this to work. I hope you give both of them a read, and the link to Part 1 is in the article here.

NiCE Interactions 2025 - Photo Share

The 2025 version of NiCE Interactions did not disappoint, and that’s saying a lot with this being new CEO Scott Russell’s first time, saying farewell to CMO Einat Weiss and her 17-year run, taking in the vibe for their new branding, and not to mention their huge strides with AI since last year.

I’ll cover that ground in an upcoming review article, and if you follow me on LinkedIn, I posted there steadily during and just after the event. Three video interviews are in the works as well - stay tuned. To complement all that, here are some photos - all are mine other than a few that I’m in (I don’t do selfies as a rule of thumb).

Loved seeing this ad right after getting off the plane at LAS airport. And yes, it was HOT!

Dan Belanger and Scott Russell getting things started.

Fantastic dance performance from Aussie-based Brent Street - really set the tone.

Perhaps the biggest news from the event - their partnership with ServiceNow, and perhaps a sign of things to come as software vendors jockey to get the inside track to provide an AI platform to manage all the data inside an organization. This is a much bigger story than CX, and this partnership puts NiCE closer to the center of things for how things are unfolding.

Customers telling their success stories with NiCE - Brendan Mulryan from H&R Block, and Rahul Magan from Charles Schwab.

From the Best Practices sessions - using AI for augmenting employee performance, and branded calling to make outbound messaging more effective.

Keeping busy in other areas - one of two segments I did for NiCE TV, a sit-down with Charlie Mitchell from CX Today, and a booth visit with Klearcom, one of NiCE’s partners.

Day 2 speakers - Barry Cooper, and Tim Harris.

More customer success stories - a clever visual here from Carnival, summarizing their key CX challenges with cruise customers; Arun Chandra from Disney.

On the fun side, we all got bussed to the Theater at Virgin Hotel to see OneRepublic - they were new to me, but very good. Later on, a speakeasy - really - behind a doughnut shop in our hotel - great little venue, loved the band, and yes, there was dancing.

Best for last - CEO Scott Russell saying thanks, with AC DC walk-on music - very apropos. Then, a fun sit-down with celeb guest speaker, Kristen Bell - and if you don’t know, she’s the NiCEst person on earth!

June is Here - Time for New Podcast and Newsletter Editions

Am on target again for publishing my newsletter and podcast on the first Tuesday of the month.

If you’re not a subscriber, signing up to my newsletter is easy - JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review - the signup page is here.

For my Watch This Space podcast, you can subscribe on all the major platforms, or listen to any episode directly here on my website, or here on the dedicated WTS website.

This month’s podcast was special, as it marks a change in plans for what Chris and I have been doing over 85 episodes the past eight years. The Last Waltz kinda comes to mind, and we’re taking a hiatus, as it’s time for a refresh on what I’m doing with the podcast.

Will likely hit pause for 2-3 months, and to learn about our thinking and what we’ve taken away from doing all these episodes, I hope you give give it a listen - here’s the link. In one form or another, Watch This Space will be back, so just bear with me, and if you have any suggestions for topics or sponsors, please drop me a line!

May Writing Roundup

May was another month with a lot of video activity, but I managed to get some writing done as well. Aside from published articles, I’ve decided to include here some writeups I posted on LinkedIn, as they would be easy to miss if not following me regularly. Caveat - you do need to be logged into LinkedIn to read them - but if you can’t do that, please let me know, and I could share any of those posts in another format. With that said, here’s the digest.

8x8, Q4 earnings - my takeaways, LinkedIn, May 23

Legacy to Leadership: Telcos Rewrite Their Future as Techcos, Aizan, May 19

NICE, Q1 earnings - my takeaways, LinkedIn, May 16

RingCentral Q1 earnings - my takeaways, LinkedIn, May 14

The Difference Between a Traditional and Hybrid Meeting Room, TechTarget, May 12

New White Paper for NICE - CX, AI and Mpower

I have a new white paper to share here. This one is for NICE, and while it was published recently, only now do I have the details to post publicly. Mpower is the platform that brings all their AI capabilities together, and the focus of my writeup is how their vision for AI takes CX to another level - based more on a customer’s complete history with a brand, rather than just their recent contact center experiences.

In time, most of the CX vendors will move to this more holistic view of the customer, but at the moment, I would say that NICE is leading the way. The paper is gated, so you need to register - here’s the link. If you give it a read, I’d love to hear your thoughts, and if you’re attending Interactions next month, perhaps we could connect in-person.

Catching Up - Latest Updates

Finally off the road for a few weeks, but staying busy on several fronts. I haven’t blogged much lately, so am sharing a few recent updates in this post.

• Will start things off with an award, why not? I recently did a podcast with PolyAI’s CEO for EM360, and it was just named winner of the Most Engaging Podcast for Q1 2025 - yay.

• My takeaways on NICE’s Q1 earnings results - here on LinkedIn

• Was part of the most recent BCStrategies podcast, where a group of analysts reviewed industry highlights for Q1 - you can check it out here.

• Was a guest on the latest episode of the AI Show, hosted by Rob Scott and Kevin Kieller, with a catchy title - AI Just Ate the Enterprise - here’s the link, and if you can’t get in, I can get you the link to watch on their AI News YouTube channel.

• Another podcast to share, this time with GoTo. I was a guest on their Practically Tomorrow podcast, speaking about the value AI can bring for SMBs - details are here on LinkedIn, including a teaser clip - and you can watch the full episode here on their Spotify page.

• My takeaways on RingCentral’s Q1 earnings results - here on LinkedIn

That should keep you busy for now, and I’ll be back to more regular blogging next week, including updates on where my next travels will be taking me.

New Month - Time for May Podcast and Newsletter

My target date for publishing is the first Tuesday of the month, and for May, things were on target. Both newsletter and podcast editions went live yesterday, and I hope you check them out.

If you’re not a subscriber, signing up to my newsletter is easy - JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review - the signup page is here.

For my Watch This Space podcast, you can subscribe on all the major platforms, or listen to any episode directly here on my website, or here on the dedicated WTS website.

This month’s podcast was a recap of the industry events Chris and I took in last month; namely Jeff Pulver’s vCon, 8x8’s analyst event, Cloud Communications 2025, and Vector Institute’s Remarkable event. Never a dull moment, and you can check it all out here.

April Writing Roundup

Was a busy month on several fronts, and event travel kept me on the move. I have three writeups to share from April, and I hope you give these a read.

What is a Hybrid Meeting?, TechTarget, April 28

Cloud Connections 2025 Takeaways, LinkedIn, April 18

8x8 Analyst Summit Takeaways - Track Some Mud on the Carpet, BCStrategies, April 10

Cloud Communications Alliance 2025 Event - Photo Highlights

Am back now from Cloud Connections 2025, the main event run by the Cloud Communications Alliance. I’ve known CCA for some time, but this was my first time attending - and speaking - at this particular event, held in St. Petersburg, FL.

For this post, I’m just sharing photos, and it’s really a companion to my takeaways post that is live now on LinkedIn. Also, I posted photos and commentary regularly on LinkedIn during the event.

Below - Masters of all ceremonies, Clark Peterson and Amy Bailey - great job all around. Center-of-the-universe Mike Tessler sharing his view from on high, including his Top 5 strategies for success with AI.

Michael Quinn and Brian Kornmann from Q Advisors, with their PE perspective on building value for your business, and key reasons why deals succeed or fail. Next - Clark Peterson moderating the analyst panel, with Robin Gareiss, Matthew Townend, Elka Popova and myself.

Master entrepreneur and Shark Tank alum, Kevin Harrington - this is the kind of vision MSPs need to keep growing, and he gave them plenty of food for thought - and a free book. Nice social shot, where a few us got in the mix with him before he left.

Two more solid panel sessions. First, Dino Di Palma, with Brian Beutler of Alianza, and Peter Eisengrein of XTIUM - talking about the climate now for M&A. Brian has “never been more excited” about the future for growing his company. Next - Gerry Christensen of 46 Labs, moderating a fascinating panel about branded calling and KYC. Lots to talk about here, and he’s with Alexis Buese of Bradley Law and Chakra Devalla of tekVizion.

Brandon Knight of Zoom, Doug Green doing a podcast with me, and Mr. CCA, Joe Marion kicking off the first night fun.

Event venue - the Vinoy - very Florida and very upscale. Loved the music and pool - who wouldn’t?

Next Webinar - with Cognigy, Agentic AI

Agentic AI is arguably the hottest trend in AI, especially for the contact center, and if you need to get up to speed - especially for CX leaders - you’ll want to join us on April 24. The webinar is being hosted by TMCnet’s CUSTOMER Magazine, with Erik Linask moderating.

I’ll be in conversation with Cognigy’s Alan Ranger, and we’ll be covering the latest developments, along with how agentic AI is being used to great effect today. We’ll also share learnings from Cognigy’s recent Nexus 2025 conference, where several success stories were shared for both agentic and conversational AI.

We hope you’ll join us - it’s at 2pm ET on April 24 - and details to register are here.

8x8 Analyst Summit - Photo Highlights

Been going full-out since back from last week’s 8x8 analyst event in Southampton, UK. I’ve written an extensive review on the BCStrategies website, which has just been updated, so that’s another reason to go visit.

My review just went live - read it here - and before doing that, I’ll share some of my photos from the event, along with some social time while there. I hope you enjoy these, along with my review of the event.

Below - CMO Bruno Bertini and CEO Sam Wilson

Hunter Middleton and Fabio Ramos

At the harborside hotel, and an obligatory Guinness at the soccer match

Customer panel, onsite at the stadium; some images from their new branding

Partner panel, executive Q&A panel near the end of the event

More social - at the soccer stadium, pub stop with Blair Pleasant, followed by dinner with Simon Harrison

Inside the stadium before the game, and the marching band outside - loved it

Next Event - Cloud Comms Alliance - Speaking on Two Panels

The annual Cloud Communications Alliance conference - Cloud Connections 2025 - is running soon - April 14-16, in St. Petersburg, FL. I’ve been to their finance event, but not the main one, so am looking forward to attending - and speaking.

It’s a very familiar group, and many of the topics will be comparable to what I see at most of the vendor events I attend as a matter of course. If you’re still thinking about attending, details are here on their site.

Both panels that I’m on are on Tuesday, and analysts will be the speakers, so there will lots of opportunity to hear from our perspective, and get the bigger picture on industry trends, and what they mean for carriers.

April 1 - No Foolin' - New Podcast and Newsletter Editions Out Now

Last month, publishing was a week late, but for April, we’re right on time. Both newsletter and podcast editions are live now, and I hope you check them out.

If you’re not a subscriber, signing up to my newsletter is easy - JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review - the signup page is here.

For my Watch This Space podcast, you can subscribe on all the major platforms, or listen to any episode directly here on my website, or here on the dedicated WTS website.

This month’s podcast was a recap of three March events - Leesman Focus Forward, Enterprise Connect, and Cognigy’s Nexus 2025. Lots to talk about, and you can hear all about it here.

March Writing Roundup

Was a busy month with event travel, plus planning for an even busier April. As summarized in my April newsletter, I did a lot of video segments, and public-facing writing was limited - here’s the summary.

Enterprise Connect 2025 - Photo Review and Media Summary, JAA blog, March 28

Cognigy Nexus 2025 - Quick Take and Pix, JAA blog, March 26

The Death of the Desk Phone?, Aizan blog, March 10

What is a Hybrid Meeting?, TechTarget, will publish in early April

Enterprise Connect 2025 - Photo Review and Media Summary

Enterprise Connect already feels like a long time ago, but the buzz is still going, and I want to share mine before the week is out. Coming off travel from back-to-back events, I’m still catching up, but almost there now.

During the event, I posted photos and updates regularly on LinkedIn, and for this post, I’m sharing most of them and some others here in one place. Complementing this is a LinkedIn post with some top-line takeaways, along with some spoken-word segments about the event:

• With BCStrategies, we did a group roundup on LinkedIn Live

• For Telecom Reseller, with Doug Green, we did a podcast segment onsite about the show

• For UC Today, I did an interview with David Dungay - not posted yet, but will share when it is

• The April edition of my Watch This Space podcast included my takeaways from the event - publish date is April 1, so watch for it next week

With that, here are the photos - a few exceptions aside, all are mine.

Below - doing the rounds on the floor - visiting NICE, Infobip, Dialpad, RingCentral

Joe and Kevin from CCA (I’ll be speaking at their event next month), Barb Grothe at the SCTC table, and getting updates from the Zoom Room and Cisco Webex

The foyer is where you make your first impression at the Gaylord, and NICE sure took advantage. David Dungay from UC Today, also in the foyer, waiting for me to do our video interview.

David he’s-everywhere Danto, with Brian Reijngoud - hey, if you like his jacket, you’ll love his shoes - all 3 pairs (see below), with Elizabeth Tobey from NICE, demo at the AudioCodes booth

With… Mike Tessler, Jeff Pulver, Amir Hameed, Ari Rabban

My panel sessions - future of the workplace (photo David Danto - thanks), and analyst lock note - photo, unknown, sorry.

With signage for my two panel sessions - future of workplace and analyst lock note, doing podcast with Doug Green, at the 8x8 booth

Super session on CX, AI and customer service evolution, moderated by Sheila McGee-Smith

Now for some fun. Brian Reijngoud is a shoe guy, and he wore a different pair each day - I just had to check these out - which do you like best? Amir Hameed over at the RingCentral booth is no slouch - aside from being a fellow ball hockey enthusiast, he’s holding his own pretty well here - and I need new shoes to keep pace now.

Finally, some next-level fun. Invite-only tasting for top-tier tequila and French reds - paired, of course with Parisian chocolates. If you’ve got a better offer for a tasting, I’d love to hear about it. Best for last, with Jim Burton, who puts all this together - kudos for sure!

Cognigy Nexus 2025 - Quick Take and Pix

Coming out of back-to-back events, I’m behind on, well, just about everything.

Two weeks ago, I attended Cognigy’s Nexus 2025 event in Dusseldorf, where the company’s HQ is. This is their customer event to showcase their technology, and more importantly, the kind of successes their customers are having with AI-driven CX. Pretty impressive, and I don’t think anyone is doing it better at the moment.

Too much time has passed for an in-depth writeup, but if you follow my LinkedIn posts from the event, you’ll have a pretty good sense of that. I’m also doing a webinar next month with Alan Ranger about all this - details coming soon.

In lieu of that - and for the record - here are some of my photos from the event, both for the sessions, and the social side of being there. Loved the experience, and can’t wait to go back!

Below - opening welcome from Alan Ranger; CEO and co-founder, Philipp Heltewig; Kane Simms doing the final keynote talk on the impact of AI on automation

Customer demos and success stories from DHL, Bosch and Santander. Each would make for a great case study - all were quite different, but tangible results, both for ROI and improving CX.

Another customer session - Skoda; presentation from Metrigy sharing some new CX research; and a technical breakout from Deepgram, a company I’ve followed for some time.

As seen when arriving at Dusseldorf airport - can’t-miss-advertising, right off the plane - love it. Upstairs view of the venue for the conference - was twice the size from last year - another indication for how well the company is doing.

Customer panel, and a vendor panel, led by Jarrod Davis on the theme of AI or Die

When in Germany - outing to Fuchschen - one of seven bars that brew their own Altbier - a special type of beer that Dusseldorf is known for - why would you drink anything else?

Some old-town flavor, by day and by night

With Nicolas Ehrlacher, RingCentral and Jessica Gopalakrishnan, Cognigy; Amy Stapleton from Opus Research; my beer!

Out with folks from 8x8, and colleague/he’s-everywhere, Dave Michels

VR demo with Lufthansa, checking out what flying first class kinda looks like (pretty good idea for upselling, actually!); Victor Belfor from 8x8 and that Dave again; riverfront walk by the Rhine - that’s a first for me.

Podcast with PolyAI - Agentic AI and Customer Experience

Got a few posts to catch up on for sharing after travel to back-to-back events the past two weeks. This one is for the latest Tech Transformed podcast with EM360. For this episode, I interviewed Nikola Mrksic, CEO of PolyAI, talking about AI’s impact on customer experience and the contact center.

It’s a broad topic for sure, and yes, we touched on the trend-du-jour, agentic AI, among other things. If you missed it earlier, here’s the link, and I hope you give it a listen.

Time for March Newsletter and Podcast Editions

Things are a week off-schedule this month, but the March editions are now out.

If you’re not a subscriber, signing up to my newsletter is easy - JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review - the signup page is here.

For my Watch This Space podcast, you can subscribe on all the major platforms, or listen to any episode directly here on my website, or here on the dedicated WTS website.

This month’s podcast was a recap of the Future of Work Expo, which was the main focus for me last month. There were lots of interesting takeaways, and to hear all about it, you can listen to the episode here.