Empathy in Action - My Book Review, Running on BCStrategies

Book reviews are a different kind of writing, and I’m always up for different and creative challenges. First off, this isn’t a review of the whole book - it’s just one chapter, but it’s the one I think my readers will find the most interesting.

The back story is part of the review, but here’s the teaser. Today, a long-awaited book was launched, titled Empathy in Action, co-authored by two luminaries from Genesys - Tony Bates and Dr. Natalie Petouhoff. You may have caught some of the buzz already, but I was brought to the table earlier to review an advance copy and write about my perspective as an analyst.

That’s the lead-in, and the full review is running now on BCStrategies, where I’ve long been a BC Expert. If you’re wondering about why CX and DX are buzzwords in the contact center space, I think you’ll find this a good read. As always, your comments are welcome, and am sure the Genesys folks would love it if you checked out book.

Enterprise Connect – Quick Take - Happy, Engaged, Busy and Fun!

Last week’s Enterprise Connect 2022 was as much a vibe as it was a conference about the state of communications technologies for enterprises and contact centers. There was plenty of the latter - as always - but the real story was about Enterprise Connect finally returning to being fully in-person.

This sure was a big hump for everyone to get over, and by all accounts, that’s what happened. Numbers were down from earlier shows – not everyone is ready to come back yet – but there was plenty to take in and many people to re-connect with. Barring any new variants, the show should return to full-scale for 2023.

There was plenty of daily reporting from No Jitter and Enterprise Connect TV, so I’m not going to rehash that here. Besides, most of my time was spent with vendor briefings and rapid-fire meetings, and I only saw a handful of sessions and keynotes. I did a few interviews there about the show, and I’ll share those soon. Also, I’ll have a longer breakdown on our next Watch This Space podcast, which will be out early next week.

Otherwise, I’ll share some photos across four themes that sum up my take on the show - happy, engaged, busy and fun. For me, Enterprise Connect scored high on all counts, and I really couldn’t have expected much more.

Theme #1 - Happy! Smiles and hugs everywhere - and why not? With Zeus Kerravala, fellow SCTCers Brendon O’Brien, Rick Hathaway and Steve Leaden. RingCentral’s Jennifer Caukin - yes, actually reading a newspaper, yay!

Theme #2 - Engaged - Gary Sorrentino from Zoom, Tom Brannen talking about AR/VR, my talk on speech tech, and Enterprise Connect TV

Theme #3 - Busy - my speech tech talk, doing a podcast with Genesys, our segments on Enterprise Connect TV

Theme #4 - Fun! Not a lot of tofu and Cali bean sprouts here - Pappy Van Winkle bourbon, tomahawk steaks, and some great ensemble dancing.

Newsletter Time - March Issue and New Podcast Too

Am a bit late getting this monthly update out, but here it is.

The March issue of JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review went to subscribers on Tuesday, and that includes the latest episode of my podcast, Watch This Space. If this is new for you, we’re in Season 5 for the podcast, and you can get it on all the major platforms, along with my website, or here on the dedicated WTS site.

For the newsletter, there’s an archive here on my website - it’s being updated soon, btw - and subscribing is real easy - this link will do the job.

Preview for my Enterprise Connect Talk - Latest on No Jitter

Enterprise Connect starts Monday, March 21, and if you show up at 9am, you’ll have missed my talk. I definitely have the early bird session, speaking at 8am, the very first time slot for the show. If you don’t know, this is my 5th annual update on the state of enterprise speech tech, and every talk has been very different.

If this is all news to you, and is of even passing interest, I hope you’ll read my latest No Jitter article, which provides a preview of my session. Also, if you don’t know, I’m part of rotating group from BCStrategies that contributes regularly to No Jitter, and many of us will be speaking at the show. For detail on all of this, including how to save $400 on your registration, here’s the article, and maybe I’ll see you there, bright and early at 8am.

New Kudo - Channel Futures 2022 Channel Influencer

Happy to report that Channel Futures has included me in their list of top 50 “channel influencers”. Only 2 analysts were listed, so I’m a bit of an outlier, but glad to be in that grouping. Certainly a good circle to be part of, and as a heads-up, I’ll be moderating a couple of sessions at the Channel Partners Conference this April in Las Vegas - details coming soon. If you’re attending, and interested in meeting, please drop me a line.

You can check out the gallery of all 50 influencers here, with the names listed in alphabetical order, so I’m near the beginning. If you don’t follow me, I’ll quickly mention this is my 5th industry kudo already in 2022 - woo hoo - and details about those can be found by scrolling through earlier blog posts.

Future of Work Expo - June 21-23, Ft. Lauderdale - Coming?

If you don’t know, the Future of Work Expo was slated to run earlier this month, but due to Covid, it got pushed out to June, along with everything else connected to the ITExpo.

I’m the event Chair, and our sessions run Tuesday-Thursday, June 21-23. The programming has been in place for some time, and we continue to add speakers, as well as exhibitors for the Future of Work Pavilion, which is part of the bigger ITExpo show floor.

You can review the latest news about our event in this TMCnet e-letter, and feel free to contact me if you think you would be a good fit for any of our panel sessions. June may seem far away, but time flies, and we don’t have that many speaking spots left. Of course, we’d love to have you join us as an attendee, and details for registering can be found in the e-letter.

Next Speaking Gig - Enterprise Connect, March 21

Aside from doing the locknote at SCTC in November, it’s been 2+ years since I last presented for an audience. Just another small example of how Covid has changed everything, and who knows how long things will continue this way?

Am still crossing my fingers that it will be reasonably safe to travel next month, and on that basis, my next stop will be Orlando for Enterprise Connect, running March 21-24. If you don’t follow me, I’ll be doing my annual update on the state of speech tech in the enterprise, and while not a whole lot has changed since my update talk at EC 21 last September, this time I sure hope to be doing it in-person.

I’ll provide more detail on the topic soon, but it’s time to start getting the word out. My talk is literally right off the top, at 8am on Day 1, March 21, so if you’re in go mode Monday morning, I hope you can join me. Registration details for my talk are here, and if you haven’t registered for the conference, feel free to my promo code - Arnold22 - to save $400.

Newsletter Time - Podcast Too for February

The February issue of JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review went to subscribers on Tuesday, and that includes the latest episode of my podcast, Watch This Space. If this is new for you, we’re in Season 5 for the podcast, and you can get it on all the major platforms, along with my website, or here on the dedicated WTS site. For the newsletter, there’s an archive here on my website - it’s being updated soon, btw - and subscribing is real easy - this link will do the job.

My Next Webinar - with Vonage and the CPaaS Opportunity

I’ve been working with Vonage on a white paper for some time, and it’s coming to market very soon. Without giving it all away, I’ll be talking about the highlights on this webinar, where the main focus is about how CPaaS capabilities can open up new opportunities for channels in migrating their customers to the cloud. The podcast is running next Thursday, February 10 at 11ET, and all the details are here if you’d like to register and join us.

Writing Roundup - January 2022

The first month of 2022 picked up where last year left off, with plenty of work to keep me busy, along with a handful of virtual events to track. Writing output was on the light side, though, but there’s plenty new coming for February. Until then, I just have these two to share, and hope you give them a read.

The “New Age of Voice” - a Few Minutes with Analyst Jon Arnold, ISI blog, January 20

Getting Beyond Voice: Selling More and Making More with Cloud Services, Channel Futures, January 18

New Influencer Kudo - Who's Who in Future of Work?

This is my 4th “influencer” kudo so far in 2022, and a 5th is on the way - watch for that soon - woo hoo.

UK-based Onalytica has been producing Who’s Who influencer reports for a while, and I landed in two of them last year, both for the UCaaS space. It’s always great to get industry recognition, and while I don’t know many of the people included in their report, it’s fair to say I’m in good company.

Wearing my analyst hat, I'm obliged to say that “influencer” can mean many things, and Onalytica’s report break out several categories - why I’m in one and not another is a mystery to me. Anyhow, I’m in there, and you can read more about the report here, as well as download a copy.

New Age of Voice - Guest Post for ISI

As often happens, one thing leads to another, and that’s the story here. In short, the folks at ISI liked a recent article of mine on No Jitter about the “New Age of Voice”, and they wanted to amplify some of that messaging to their customer base.

They put together a set of questions for me around that, and the result is this writeup, which is running now on their blog. If you haven’t seen it yet, here’s the link, and as always, comments are welcome.

New Influencer List from 8x8 - This Time it's UCaaS

There are lots of ways for companies to brand themselves, and one way is to be a tastemaker, compiling who’s-who lists for industry leaders. 8x8 has been on a roll to start 2022, and they just published their third such list over the past few weeks.

This time around, it’s for UCaaS - “16 UCaaS Influencers to Follow in 2022” - and am happy say I’m part of the sweet 16. Being an “influencer” in 2022 can mean many things, and don’t worry, folks, I’m not shilling any products here.

Looks like 8x8 is basing this mainly on Twitter following, and while it’s not a primary channel for me, I’m glad to be in such solid company. You’ll certainly be very much in the know about all things UCaaS if you follow this group, and you can review the full listing here.

If you like what’s here, you might want to check out their two earlier influencer lists, and I’m included in both of those as well - “16 CCaaS Influencers to Follow in 2022”, and “16 Hybrid Work Influencers to Follow in 2022”.

Next Speaking Opp - VON3 Summit, Next Tuesday - Discount Code Here

We’re all still trapped in our virtual worlds and bubble spaces, but the work continues. For now, all the industry events are virtual - at least for me - and I’ll be speaking at one next week.

This will be for Jeff Pulver’s VON3 Summit, a re-boot of sorts for his ground-breaking VON events back in the aughts. That was a big part of my world, and pretty much anybody else in telecom, as VoIP ushered in the digital era that has revolutionized all forms of communication and beyond.

I’ll hold off on going down that important rabbit hole any further, and will instead steer you to VON3, which runs virtually next Monday-Wednesday, January 24-26. Jeff has a terrific lineup - as always - and am happy to be part of it. I’m doing a session on Tuesday the 25th at 1:50 ET, and will be joined by my long-time podcast partner, Chris Fine, and Jeff. We’ll be doing a fireside chat format where we’ll discuss the evolution of communications technology since the VON days, and what we see coming for 2022.

The overall agenda is pretty packed, not just with communications topics, but other areas of interest that are kinda/sorta related to comms, namely Web3, the Metaverse and NFTs. As always, Jeff draws a diverse crowd, and if you care to join us, details are here, both to review the agenda and to register. Any questions, just drop me a line!

UPDATE to my original post - am adding here a discount code you can use to save 13% on the registration fee - it’s VON3W22. Just apply that when registering for the price break, and if any questions, let me know.

Getting Beyond Voice: Selling Cloud Services - My Latest on Channel Futures

Time for another guest post, and some best practices for channels as they move into selling cloud services. Some are more willing/able than others, but for those who see the bigger picture beyond migrating telephony to the cloud, I think you’ll find this a good read. My analysis is running now on Channel Futures, and as always, comments are welcome.

Our 2022 Predictions - Latest BCStrategies Podcast

This is a dangerous question to ask analysts, as we all have our opinions, and with so much technology change out there, these can be long conversations. Well, we had 15 analysts and consultants on hand for our latest BCStrategies podcast, so you’ll need an hour to get through it all. This makes for a long podcast, but where else will you get such a diversity of informed views on what to expect in the coming year?

The podcast is posted now on our portal, and the session was led by Jim Burton. If you don’t want to listen to the whole thing, the post includes the start time for each BC Expert, so you can easily find where each of us has our turn.

2022 Predictions

Next Event - UC Summit 2022, January 24-28

This will be my first industry event for 2022, and not surprisingly, it will be virtual. UK-based UC Today has ramped up their virtual events business, with this being the first of several in their 2022 lineup. The UC Summit starts January 24, and more details can be found here.

Sessions are being recorded in advance, and I’ll be speaking on one of them - Evaluating Meeting Apps, Kits and Devices. The time and date for our session is TBD, but here’s the registration link and details to keep it on your radar. I’ll update this post once the event schedule firms up.

Newsletter Time - Podcast Too - January Editions Published Now

The first Tuesday of each month is my publishing target, and that did happen yesterday. Subscribers to JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review have their newsletters by now, and am sure a few of you have given our latest Watch This Space podcast episode a listen. There’s always lots to follow and talk about in the tech world, especially in my focus areas, namely collaboration, future of work and customer experience.

If any of this is new to you, maybe the thumb image below will pique your interest to listen to our latest podcast. Otherwise, you can check out earlier episodes here, along with the newsletter here, and to become a subscriber, just click here to sign up!

New Kudo - 16 Hybrid Work Influencers to Follow in 2022

Nice to have a new kudo for my first blog post of 2022, and this one comes courtesy of 8x8. They’ve been quietly doing well, and with the recent Fuze acquisition, things will likely get louder in the coming months. Looks like they’re upping their social media game, which is one way to drive the narrative in a crowded space.

Hybrid work is certainly one of my focus areas, and thanks are in order for 8x8, as they included me in this new roundup of “influencers”. Looks like I’m in good company, and here’s the link to check out the full listing.

December Writing Roundup

Seems fitting that my final blog post of 2021 is a roundup of my public writing during the final month of the year. Busy-ness seems to come in waves, and it was a busy one for writing, so here are the highlights. If any of this piques your interest in my broader activities as you think about 2022, you should check out my newsletter and podcast, both of which are set to publish next Tuesday. If all of this is new for you, perhaps you’ll consider signing up for JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review.

We Need UCaaS More Than Ever for Hybrid Work - Here’s Why, No Jitter, Dec. 28

2021: The Year Voice Innovation Expanded, No Jitter, Dec. 24

Understanding the 4 Hidden Costs of Working From Home, Tech Target, Dec. 21

Avaya ENGAGE Takeaways - Experience Builders, MPC and Composable Enterprises, my blog, Dec. 17

Why Reliable Voice Service is Table Stakes for Hybrid Work, RingCentral blog, Dec. 2