Enterprise Connect 2026 - Am Speaking There

Lots of change this year for Enterprise Connect - that’s another blog post - and this is the first of several shout-outs I’ll be doing in the lead-up to the show, which runs from March 10-12 in Las Vegas.

For those who follow me, you may know that for 8 years, I did an annual update on the state of speech tech and AI for the enterprise, so I’ve been following this space for some time.

For this year, I’ll be doing a variation on that, but as part of a new track called Future Shock. This is a forward-looking focus on where things are going, and under that umbrella, my session is about how AI is going to change how we communicate in the workplace.

I’ll have more details coming soon, but to mark your calendars, the session is on Thursday, March 12 at 9:15am. For more detail, here’s the link from the event website.

Also, ICYMI, here’s a short video interview I did with Informa’s Erica Marois about what to expect at my session.

Otherwise, as usual, see my discount code below to save $400 on registration. Let me know if you take advantage of that, and hope to see you there!

January Newsletter Out Now

New month and new year- first newsletter edition for 2026 is out now. As subscribers will see, last month was pretty busy on both the video/podcast and writing fronts. If any of that is of interest, I encourage you to subscribe - it’s free - and from that point on, you’ll stay current on my output and activities as in indie tech analyst.

Subscribing to JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review is easy - the signup page is here.

Writing Roundup for December

With a light travel schedule last month, I closed out 2025 with a busy month otherwise. Aside from doing 6 video segments - details on those coming in my next newsletter - I did 7 writeups, 4 of which were published in December. The rest will run in January, and here are the links if you want to check out the latest articles:

Platforms, Not Pipes - Three Business Drivers Shaping the Next-Gen Telco, Aizan blog, Dec. 22

AI Creating New Contact Center Jobs for Agents, TechTarget, Dec. 11

How UCaaS Solves the Cost of Poor Communications, TechTarget, Dec. 11

My vCon Event Takeaways - the Power of Conversations, Building Trust, and Navigating AI, LinkedIn Article, Dec. 10

Epica Awards - Final Winners Announced

I’ve been a judge for the Paris-based Epica Awards for a few years now, and have been sharing updates on LinkedIn during this year’s judging process. The awards are done now, and the final winners have been announced.

This is a very global competition, and the level of creativity is really impressive - it really broadens your view about what good advertising can be - both with a heavy dose of tech, including AI - and just old-fashioned great ideas and execution.

Over the course of this process, I judged about 120 entries, so I’ve seen a lot of great pitches, including one from our space - 8x8. Most entries are consumer-focused - but not all - and being a lifelong marketing guy, a lot of what I see here informs my thinking about what the vendors are doing in my world, mainly enterprise communications, and contact center/CX.

If any of this piques your interest around your company’s go-to-market plans, branding, positioning etc., I’d be happy to chat further. Coming back to Epica, to get a better sense for what the 2025 winners looked like, you can check those out here.

vCon Event Redux - Pix and Posts

This is mainly a for-the-record post, as I have shared takeaways from the recent vCon event in various forms, and unless you follow me closely, it will be hard to find them all. There were many timely, important messages from the event, and if you spend some time here, you’ll catch them all.

Otherwise, if you still have questions, I’m not hard to find. Also, there were many panel sessions, and I’ve only cited the session leaders here by name - please ask if you need the names and companies for the panelists.

Below are links from my activities, followed by some photos from the sessions.

• During the event, I posted commentary on LinkedIn - here’s my profile page, and look for posts on Dec. 3

• My full-length review, posted as an article, here on LinkedIn

• Interview with my takeaways just after the event, on Doug Green’s Telecom Reseller podcast

• Video recording of the session I moderated with Thomas McCarthy Howe and Perry Evans about the vCon ecosystem - thanks Doug, and he did the same for most of the other sessions

And now for some photos - all are mine except two, credited below.

Jeff Pulver with his vCon overview; Andy Abramson’s panel on building vCon apps

Doug Green’s panel on the state of vCon; Glenn Richards leading the panel on telecom policy updates

Panel on managing consent and permission-based marketing - moderated by David Carter; telecom fraud panel, moderated by Kevin Rupy

AI policy panel, led by Greg Ewing; my session about the vCon ecosystem, with Thomas McCarthy Howe, and Perry Evans (photo credit - Lauren Pulver)

Fireside chat with Jeff Pulver and Chris Fine

Mitch Lieberman talking about “conversational CRM”, me with Dave Michels at the VIP speakers dinner (thanks for photo, Dave!)

Newsletter Time - December Edition Out Now

Had some hiccups on the back end of things, and the newsletter is uncharacteristically a week late, but it is out now for my subscribers. If you don’t know, the newsletter is the best way to keep tabs on what I’m writing about, speaking about, and which upcoming events I’ll be attending.

Subscribing to JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review is easy - it’s free - the signup page is here.

Sidebar - although my Watch This Space podcast 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 of interest. And if you have any topics you’d like to see covered in future episodes, drop me a line! The format will be changing, but new episodes are in store for 2026.

November Writing Roundup

Finally back on the writing front. Seem to be doing more video and podcasts lately, and with event travel, I’ve been sharing a fair number of my photos on my blog. All told, the writing has been lighter than usual. For November, there were three writeups, and a bunch more coming for December.

Talkdesk Analyst Summit 2025 - My 3 Takeaways, LinkedIn article, Nov. 25

NiCE 2025 Analyst Summit Review, EM360, Nov. 4

The Copper Sunset Countdown: Preparing for the End of Traditional Telephony, Aizan guest article, Oct. 31 (I wasn’t able to include this for October, so it’s here for November)

Next Stop - Fall '25 vCon

Just when I thought event travel for 2025 was done, there’s now one more on the calendar. Tomorrow, I’m going to Washington, DC to be part of Jeff Pulver’s latest iteration of vCon. I’ll be there for a networking dinner, then a full day of sesions on Wednesday, so it’s a short visit.

If you don’t know, I’ve been following this community for some time, and of course, I go back with Jeff to the VON era, when VoIP was arguably the most disruptive force in the communications space since the Internet. I would also argue the only things bigger in more recent times would be the rise of mobility, and now AI. Short story - Jeff has been ahead of the curve on many things, and if that still holds true, vCon is poised to become mainstream in 2026.

Definitely more coming on that front, and for those who follow my podcast, this is a Watch This Space space. Also, if you find this interesting, you’ll want to keep tabs on my LinkedIn feed on Wednesday for in-the-moment updates.

Next Stop - Talkdesk Analyst Event

This event looks to be my last stop for the 2025 busy season with industry events in our space. Next week I’ll be in Savannah, GA - first time visiting - for the 2025 edition of Talksdesk’s Analyst Summit.

Last year’s event was in Charleston, SC - also a first visit - and the Deep South vibe never gets tired for me, especially for smaller coastal spots and warmer weather. Talksdesk continues to hold their own as an independent pureplay CCaaS provider, and the summit will serve as an in-depth update on what’s behind that.

Also, they just completed their 2025 CX Innovators Awards, where I returned as one of the judges. Am sure they’ll have interesting updates on the winners, so watch for updates on that. If you didn’t catch this earlier, the details are here.

As usual, I’ll post updates on LinkedIn during the sessions, with more to come soon after.

Newsletter Time - October Edition Out

Still catching up from being away last week, but wanted my broader following to know that my latest newsletter was published recently.

If you don’t know, the newsletter is the best way to keep tabs on what I’m writing about, speaking about, and which events I’ll be attending.

Subscribing to JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review is easy - it’s free - the signup page is here.

Although my Watch This Space podcast 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 of interest. And if you have any topics you’d like to see covered in future episodes, drop me a line!

Wildix Analyst Event - Quick Pix

The theme for Wildix’s first-ever analyst event in Venice was taking the mask off, and to help the broader comms world better know their story, they invited a small group of analysts and media to see first-hand what this interesting company has been up to.

They’ve been at it for 20 years, so this is hardly a startup. Focusing mainly on SMBs in the EU, the company will never get the buzz of a Tier 1 selling to large enterprises, but there are plenty of small businesses happy to be working with them.

That’s my analysis for this post, and I’ll let the photos tell the visual story. For the narrative - and there’s lots to like about Wildix - you can check out my LinkedIn posts during the event, and the podcast interview Doug Green did with me here. More is coming, namely a BCStrategies podcast that we’ll be recording this week.

Airport arrival, our hotel - right on the water, CEO/co-founder Steve Osler kicking things off

Exec session - Steve and Dimitri Osler, Jason Uslan, Emiliano Tomasoni; partner session with Kate Berry and Dr. Grant McAree

Jason Uslan, Stewart Donnor, Alberto Benigno

Next two panels - group cooking class - learned a lot, and some thank yous from Steve, Dimitri and the energy force behind this event, Deliah Mathieu

Gotta like the work/play balance when in Italy - toasting with Chris Marron, spritzer time, and with Deliah and long-time Frostie/travel companion, Elka Popova

Group shots to wrap things up - with masks on, and masks off, of course!

NiCE Analyst Summit - My Photo Review

Every analyst event that NiCE puts on is magical, and last week’s summit in Vienna was no exception. They have kept the bar very high, and there was so much to talk about as well as see. This post is about the latter, with my photos both from the event itself, and all the cool stuff we did around it.

I have other takeaways coming both on video and article form, and during the event, I regularly posted commentary and photos on LinkedIn. NiCE had its largest-ever cohort of analysts there - so for everyone else, here’s a taste of what last week was like - first for the event, and then all the other stuff. Here goes…

Below - CEO Scott Russell solo, and with Jeff Comstock - key pieces for the new team.

NiCE Cognigy CEO Phil Heltewig, then as part of the Exec Q&A session.

Tim Harris talking about workflow automation, then Benno Schindler of Allianz with the most memorable visual from the event, talking about the success they’ve been having with Cognigy.

GM Q&A session, and Carmit DiAndrea demonstrating Automated Insights - next-level AI for the contact center.

Their Analyst Relations A-Team, Schevone Johnson, Chris Irwin-Dudek, and Bernard Hartley. And, the last word goes to LVB, a very apropos quote for the passion NiCE brings for making CX better.

Now for the fun stuff. Arriving to the ballroom banquet in style - is there really any other way with NiCE?

On to more ordinary things, but still pretty special. Opening night including a gallery showing - of artwork NiCE commissioned with local artists to create for each of us individually. Wow, huh? So, all of their work was on display, and it was quite the experience to see all of their creations, with the artists on hand. Am pictured here with the artist who created something about me. Apologies - I did not get her name, and it’s definitely on the abstract side. You’ll never figure it out, but I’ll be happy to tell you the story any time. Just one of many creative touches from the NiCE events team to capture the spirit of where we are, surrounded by art, music and culture.

And, the best time to tell stories is at the bar - here’s our local hangout at the hotel. I kinda liked the Borat-style claim of it being the best hotel bar in Austria, and yes, it was… very nice. Did you see what I just did there? AI would never come up with something so clever. If you don’t get it, we need to talk.

I love to cook, and the food sure was great. Below - teppanyaki-style Japanese dinner at the hotel - a bit bland, actually, but very dramatic. Next - group outing to a local winery - in the city, btw - and a hearty Austrian-style meal. Best for last - we had a group cooking class, and I was on the schnitzel team. We did everything end-to-end, so I have a new dish to add to my cooking repertoire.

Quick coda to wrap this up - from low-brow to high-brow, we saw it all on this trip. Traditional trio playing at the winery visit - including the corny-but-fun chicken dance, and walking by the famous Vienna opera house.

Next Stop - Venice for Wildix's Analyst Event

The life of a tech analyst does have its perks, and attending vendor events sure is one of them. Last week was Vienna, and next week is Venice. Those locales are pretty hard to beat, and Air Canada seems to be liking me quite a lot lately.

This time around, it’s for Wildix, a company that is not well-known outside the EU. Best I can tell, I have been following the company longer than any other analyst - pre-pandemic - so they’re not unknown to me. Led by two brothers - Dimitri and Steve Osler - they have quietly been building a successful business, mainly focused on UCaaS for SMB and mid-market customers.

As with everyone else, AI is driving the innovation, and we’re going to hear all about their roadmap, and how their channel-centric model will help them accelerate growth. They’ve already done a great job to prime us with a video covering 10 ways that Wildix is different. Kudos to that, and it’s clear already that their marketing game is in good order.

It’s also clear that they’re ready to take the next step as a UCaaS player. This is their first full-on analyst event, so they will now be on the radar of many more analysts than in the past. Also, on a branding level, I love the messaging - the underlying theme is that they’re tired of being unknown, and it’s time to get on a bigger stage. But, they’re doing this Euro-style - as their tagline says, “not another Silicon Valley story”. I’m down with that - can’t wait.

To make us feel like a local, they’ve even given us a handy guide with Italian phrases. I’ve worked in my share of Italian restaurants, so I’ll be right at home. Not to mention seeing the local sites, and the Italian cooking class I’ll be getting there. Molto buono!

New Insight Report for Cloud Provider Business Models

Busy week, and I have a new report to share. This one is for Vertical Communications, and the focus is helping businesses understand the merits of three different business models for cloud services providers. Each company has a distinct cloud journey, but the wholesale model is not well-understood, so they often follow other paths. My analysis breaks down three different models, along with the ideal persona for each type.

If you’re just planning your cloud journey - especially for telephony, UCaaS and CCaaS - or feel your current cloud plan isn’t living up to expectations, then I think you’ll find this report a good read.

Vertical Communications has just published the report, and it’s publicly available on their website - just follow the link here. If any questions or comments, as always, I’d love to hear from you.

SCTC 2025 Conference - Recap and Photos

This is the busy season for travel to industry events, and am trying to share updates as time allows. Our annual SCTC conference was earlier this month in Reno, and being mostly for members, the audience is pretty limited. While not a big event, this is a tight community, with lots of engagement, and first-rate content for learning.

The SCTC community is mostly comms tech consultants, with decades of hands-on experience helping buyers make good technology decisions. Lots of vendors as well, and a handful of analysts. You can learn more about SCTC here on the website.

If you follow me on LinkedIn, I posted there regularly about the event, so I’m not going to do a full review here. Instead, I’ll share some photos - mostly mine - to give you a flavor of the event. Also, if you don’t know, we have a band - the SIPtones - and we had fun, playing two sets during the opening reception - gotta like that. Let’s go…

Sir Terry Matthews doing the opening keynote - lots to talk about there - and Steve Leaden just before the opening reception.

Outgoing President Mike Smith, then Steve in fireside chat mode with Sir Terry.

Denise Munro, leading a mixed panel of consultants and vendors, talking about building better partnerships. Then, Hardy Myers from NiCE Cognigy, talking about how AI is shaping nextgen CX.

Who wore it better - the always-sharp Brian Reijngoud, or me? Not to be outdone, Brian starting off his talk in a dinosaur outfit, explaining how his company helps businesses get out of the stone age with their outdated comms tech. Loved that!

SIPtones time! Nice shot here from Blair Pleasant. Another nice one here from Fran Blackburn after the gig. I’m the little guy in the back on keyboards, and videos coming soon. Until then, you can check out more photos and older clips of us here on my website.

Next Stop - NiCE Industry Analyst Summit

This is the busy season for industry events, and NiCE has been setting the pace for doing things right, at least in my small circles. This year is no exception, and the mise en scene will be Vienna - wow, huh? Never been, and very excited about the week ahead. I’ll be flying out Sunday, and will share updates on LinkedIn as time allows. There will be more to come, for sure, so stayed tuned.

Yes, we all know about the culture, the history, the coffee culture, etc. for Vienna, and this will be a great backdrop for the main focus - deep engagement between the NiCE leadership team and a cadre of analysts who follow the company and the broader CX space very closely.

That aside, for the cinephile in me, other things come to mind for Vienna, namely one of my all-time fave films, set in Vienna - The Third Man (Orson Welles/Carol Reed) from 1949. Not to mention my all-time fave opening sequence of music and credits. I’d love to get into all that, but not here or now. Much better done at a Viennese cafe, or wherever else the stars line up for this. I was keen to learn there are Third Man walking tours in Vienna - which I would love to do, but they’re booked up on the one free day I’m there. Guess I’ll have to go back another time for that!

Newsletter Time - October Issue Out Now

The October issue of my newsletter went out yesterday, so subscribers should have it by now. Am back to travel to various industry events, and the newsletter is the best way to keep tabs on what I’m writing about, speaking about, and which events I’ll be attending.

If you want to be a subscriber to JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review, signing up to my newsletter is easy - it’s free - the signup page is here.

Although my Watch This Space podcast 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 of interest. And if you have any topics you’d like to see covered in future episodes, drop me a line!

Next Webinar - Agentic AI for Healthcare, with Cognigy and CT Pro

Time for another webinar, this time with Cognigy and Converged Technology Pros. We’ll be talking about Agentic AI, and the opportunity for the healthcare vertical. This is the world of patient experience, with a multitude of use cases where AI-driven automation can raise the bar. Lots of ground to cover, and if this sounds like your reality, you really should check it out.

I’ll be presenting on industry trends, both for Agentic AI, and healthcare challenges. Then, I’ll be in conversation with Alan Ranger from (what is now) NiCE Cognigy, and Joe Rittenhouse, CEO of Converged Technology Professionals.

The webinar broadcast will be Thursday, Oct. 23 at 1pm ET, and you can register to attend here.

Verint Engage 2025 - Our BCStrategies Review

Verint recently had its annual Engage event in Orlando, and in light of the big changes from just being acquired by Thoma Bravo, there was a lot to hear about. Of course, much of this is still in a quiet period, but with the CX space moving so quickly, we had updates on many fronts.

Our group of BC Experts did a recap podcast about the event, and we hope you watch our review. For this BCStrategies segment, I was joined by Blair Pleasant and Nicolas De Kouchovsky. Here’s the link, and while you’re on the site, there’s plenty of other great content, including Blair’s standalone review of the event.

New Kudo for Watch This Space Podcast

My Watch This Space Podcast has finally been getting some recognition the past few months, and I have another kudo to share, this one from Million Podcasts.

It’s not a best-of award, but one that recognizes my podcast as one of the tops in three categories, and sure, I’ll take it. Here they are, with hyperlinks to the full list in each category.

Best Digital Workplace Podcast, #45

Best Collaboration Podcast, #60

Best Remote Work Podcast, #34

If you don’t know, the podcast has been on hiatus since June - that’s why you haven’t seen any new episodes - but there are 85 in the archive you can check out any time. Am re-positioning a few things, including WTS, and if you want to hear more, am happy to chat.