Newsletter Time - June Issue and New Podcast

If you subscribe to my newsletter, you should have it by now, as distribution happened earlier today. Aside from my regular mix of updates and what I’m seeing in the market, we have a new podcast to share. This time around, Chris Fine and I talk about the differences between collaboration and workstream communications - terms that are easily interchanged and can be confusing depending on who’s doing the talking.

As usual, the podcast is exclusive to subscribers for about two weeks, after which it will be publicly shared. Don’t forget to check out the new transcript feature, where you can follow the bouncing cursor to see how well Otter.ai is doing speech-to-text in real time of the podcast - pretty cool. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you might was to subscribe, and that takes about 10 seconds - how hard is that?

Writing Roundup for May

Not qute as busy on the writing front as April, but still lots to talk about. Here are highlights of where my client work and research was taking me in May.

What a Restaurant Can Teach You About Collaboration, May 28, No Jitter

5 Considerations when Choosing a UCaaS Provider, May 24, TechTarget

3 Benefits of UCaaS in the Workplace, May 16, TechTarget

Talkdesk WFM: the Customer is Always Right, May 15, my blog - and on the Talkdesk blog

Why Medium-Sized Businesses are Prime Adopters for Collaboration, May 10, Toolbox.com

Ribbon Perspectives19 - is Kandy the Little Engine That Could?, May 10, BCStrategies

How Voice Adds New Value with Digital Transformation, May 6, Toolbox.com

How IT Can Overcome Barriers to Cloud Adoption for Collaboration, May 2, Toolbox.com

Guest Post for Talkdesk - WFM: the Customer is Always Right

Those who follow my blog and/or newsletter will know that I get approached to write guest posts for vendor sites, When the stars line up, I’m happy to oblige, and Talkdesk is the latest example. We’ve been exploring various ways of working together, so this is hopefully the first of many posts you’ll see from me with them.

My first guest post is about their recently-announced workforce management offering, and what their cloud-native approach brings to this core building block for contact centers. The title will make sense once you read the post, and it first ran here on Talkdesk’s website. To give it broader exposure, I’m posting about it here, so if you missed it the first time around, here’s your second chance. As always, comments and sharing are welcome.

Moving to a Cloud Contact Center - Are You Really Ready? - My Latest Report

Just doing a shout-out for my latest thought leadership effort - it’s an Insight Report, published by No Jitter and sponsored by Voxbone. There’s more to the cloud than meets the eye when using it for contact center, and that’s what this paper explores.

Being hosted on No Jitter, this is gated content, so you need to register to get a copy, but that won’t take long at all, and am sure Voxbone will be happy you did that. I’m just the author, and if you want to discuss this topic further, feel free to drop me a line.

Enterprise Connect 2019 - My 3 Writeups

If you haven’t heard by now, last week’s Enterprise Connect was their biggest and best yet, and no matter where you are on your digital transformation journey, there were important takeaways. This time around, I did something different, and have a compiled a series of writeups that have been published on GetVoIP.com. There are three running now, and a few more are in the works for later this week. Yes, there really was that much to talk about.

Before getting to those, to me, this photo below says a lot about how complex the collaboration space has become, especially for decision-makers. I’m a marketing guy at heart (at least that’s what my MBA says), and when every available surface or space above is for sale at the Gaylord, you get some strange juxtapositions.

This one caught my eye right away, and it’s a great example of conflicting messaging that must drive buyers crazy. On the left is RingCentral’s banner proclaiming their new branding: “One Customer Experience”, and on the park bench, we have Poly with their new-name branding: “The Power of Many”. I know they’re talking about different things, but it’s hard not to do a double-take seeing ads these side-by-side. Hopefully, after reading my writeups, this will be crystal clear. :-)

Oh, if you like this photo, I have many more to share, and will include some in my next newsletter (here’s how to subscribe).

Speaking of my writeups, here’s what’s running now on GetVoIP.com, and your comments and sharing are welcome.

March 20 - Team Collaboration Growing Pains

March 22 - Enterprise Connect Fireside Chat - Zoom, RingCentral, Twilio

March 25 - Microsoft Teams Update From Enterprise Connect

Cisco Collaboration Analyst Summit - Our BCStrategies Podcast

Some things happen in real-time, and for others, life just happens and things take a bit longer. Cisco recently hosted an analyst event at their San Jose HQ, and it basically served as our introduction to their new leadership team. There’s a lot to like here - not just the people running this LOB, but their vision, passion and focus to keep Cisco at the front end of the collaboration pack.

BCStrategies was well-represented at the event - see below - and we shared our first-hand impressions, along with a few BC Experts who weren’t there, but still had insights to add. This time around, Blair Pleasant moderated, and here’s the link to give it a listen.

Aside from our collective perspective, some BC Experts have contributed their personal takeaways, and mine was posted recently on my blog, titled Meet the New Boss. As always, comments and sharing are welcome!

Newsletter time - February issue is out now

My subscribers already know this of course, but most of my followers aren’t subscribers, so just a quick note to say it’s out, and if you want to get it, you can subscribe here in no time. If you don’t know, my podcast is the main feature for original content there, and this month, the focus is a preview for the Future of Work conference that I’m just finishing up today. It’s still very fresh, and if you sign up now, you’ll get the newsletter within a day or so.

Going Deeper with AI - it's About Holding the Reservation, not Taking the Reservation

Sounds familiar, Jerry?

My latest post on BCStrategies builds on some takeaways from a recent SCTC event I attended and spoke at. In short, it’s about helping IT prepare for the moment when the CEO asks “why don’t we have AI?”.

A lot of expectations come with that, so the answer had better be good. I think there’s some useful guidance here, and if you know your Seinfeld, am sure you’ll agree. As always, sharing and comments are welcome - here’s the link to the post.

Future of Work Expo is a Week Away

Time for another shout-out for the Future of Work Expo, starting next Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale. It’s the first iteration of this event, for which I’m the co-chair, and we’ve got a great program ready to go. The event is under the bigger tent of TMCnet’s ITExpo, which is celebrating its 20th year - that’s pretty impressive.

I’ve been providing updates here and on social media, and if you' haven’t seen the Agenda page yet for the program, here it is. Speaking of social media, aside from my ongoing Twitter posts (@arnoldjon), the hashtag for the event is @FOW_Expo

If you haven’t seen this, here’s the Q&A TMCnet’s CEO Rich Tehrani recently did with me, and it serves as a good preview of what to expect next week.

Also, I can extend a 10% discount on any level of registration for ITExpo, including Future of Work. The discount code for that is Jon10, and I hope that helps you get there.

Enterprise Connect 2019 - $500 Extra Savings on Early Bird Rate Until Jan. 11

I don’t write time-sensitive posts often, but if you’re thinking about going to Enterprise Connect in March, this post is for you.

The early bird pricing ends this Friday - Jan. 11, and it’s a hefty discount. As a speaker, I can extend an add-on discount of another $500 savings, so combined, that’s a really nice incentive.

If that does the trick to get you registered this week, here’s the link to use, and you’ll be all set. After Jan. 11, prices go up, but my $500 discount can still be applied if you use this link.

While I have you, details about my speaking spot are here, and I’ll have more detail on that soon.

Newsletter Time - January 2019 Edition

Another month, and another newsletter - JAA’s Communication and Collaboration Review. I started this last year, and it’s slowly taking on an identity. Very few people really know what indie analysts do, and even fewer have a sense of our range of services, or my entrepreneurial style. If that’s you, and if I’ve piqued your interest, just click here to subscribe, and then I won’t have to explain myself anymore!

The current edition went out via email to my subscribers today, and I’ve already had some nice feedback. Good to know people are reading it, and enjoying the content. Chris Fine and I have put together another timely podcast that we think you’ll enjoy, and I also did a year-end summary of all my activity for 2018. As always, your support is appreciated, and feel free to share with others and hopefully they’ll subscribe as well.

December Writing Roundup

As 2018 closes out, my writing output has eased up a bit, but things will certainly be picking up in January. Here’s a digest of my December writing, and if you like what you see, I’d enjoy hearing from you. There will be plenty more to write about in 2019, so I hope you keep following me here.

Two Key Use Cases of Blockchain in Communications, TechTarget, Dec. 26

What are Speech Technology Applications Beyond Contact Centers?, TechTarget, Dec. 19

The Bigger Picture for Cloud and the Contact Center - Part 1 of 3, Toolbox.com, Dec. 12

Vonage Analyst Day - Showing a Strong Hand, my blog, Dec. 10

Death of the PBX, Part 2 - Why Move to IP Telephony?, Toolbox.com, Dec. 5

Should Collaboration Apps be Standalone or Integrated?, TechTarget, Dec. 3

Sharing my Latest Podcast - Spotlight on Twilio

If you subscribe to my newsletter, you likely would have taken in this podcast by now, but for everyone else, this is being shared for the first time.

I meant to post this a few weeks back, but it didn’t happen, and since the podcast was mainly built around my takeaways from their SIGNAL conference, it’s not super-timely. However, Chris and I do speak more broadly about Twilio’s momentum and what makes them disruptive to us.

If you’re not a regular here, let me explain. Our podcasts are exclusive to subscribers, but I recently decided to cap that period to a couple of weeks, after which I would share it here to reach a broader audience. So, the benefit for subscribers is getting the podcast ahead of the pack, plus all the regular content that always remains just for that audience.

I realize that this approach isn’t ideal for podcasts that cover timely topics like conference recaps. However, if you’re new to the space or the company hosting the conference, the podcast will definitely have value. That said, our podcasts aren’t always tied to specific events, and I’ll do my best to get them shared on a more timely basis.

Perhaps if/when I start attracting big-time sponsors, I’ll find a better way, but for now, all I can do is put it out there, and get back to working on the new stuff! So, here you go, and if you like it, let me know - and feel free to suggest topics you’d like to see us cover.

Enterprise Connect 2019 - Am Speaking There Again

Just doing an early shout-out for Enterprise Connect 2019, coming this March in Orlando.

Will have more updates soon, but in short, I’m doing an update version of my talk last year on the state of speech technology. Details on that are here, and if this leads you register, I can get you a $500 discount - just ask for how. March sounds far away, but it will be here soon, and as my research for my talk progresses, I’ll have more updates to pass along here.

Next Stop - Scottsdale and Vonage

I don’t expect you’re keeping tabs on me, but tomorrow is my last trip for November, and for now, last one til 2019. This time it’s for Vonage Business, and will be their first event just for analysts. We’ll be a small group, but keenly interested in their roadmap, especially following their latest acquistiion, NewVoiceMedia.

My history with Vonage goes back to their earliest days as a very, very disruptive consumer VoIP play, and a lot sure has happened since. Not sure yet how much will be under NDA, but will blog and tweet as time allows. Not much more detail to share, but you can find it here in my Event Calendar section.

BroadSoft Connections - My BCStrategies Thoughts on Being Better with Cisco

Sure was an interesting event last week at BroadSoft Connections. I managed to get a short post here on my blog with some photos before it was over, and followed that with a more reflective writeup wearing my BCStrategies hat.

That writeup was posted on our portal late Friday, and am just getting a chance to share it here now. Got a lot more to talk about from Connections, and that should surface soon, so stay tuned. Otherwise, I hope you find my thoughts to be relevant, and as always, feedback and sharing are welcome.

Talkdesk Opentalk18 - Two Sets of Takeaways

Am just back from Talkdesk’s event in San Francisco, so it’s been a busy week. Lots to like - and learn - about what they’re doing, and I summarized that in two posts, both of which have been published now on GetVoIP.com.

If you haven’t seen them yet, the links are here and here. As always, comments and sharing are welcome.

Otherwise, here are a few of my photos from the event, and with that, we’re on to Miami, and BroadSoft Connections on Monday!

My November Newsletter is Out

Just a quick shout-out, but if you’re a subscriber, you already have it. For everyone else, if you like what I do, and want to better understand how I support my clients, you’ll want to subscribe. Here’s the link, and you’ll have it in no time.

As a teaser, the content is exclusive for subscribers, and that includes my podcast, which I do with my colleague, Chris Fine. This time around, we share our takeaways from Twilio’s recent SIGNAL conference. Subscribers get to hear that now, and otherwise, I’ll share the podcast publicly here on my blog a few weeks from now.

Next Stop - San Francisco and Talkdesk

That’s my destination tomorrow, and am looking forward to attending Talkdesk’s Opentalk18 conference. Will be a first-timer for me to meet the company, and I’ll provide updates as time allows. More details here, and for social, the hashtag is #Opentalk18.

Time to buckle up! This is the first of three industry events I’ll be travelling to in the US during November, so watch for updates here, on my Event Calendar page, and on my social channels.

Preview Q&A Interview for TMC's Future of Work Expo

It’s busy enough with 3 conferences coming this month, but this is a good time to get the word out about another one in late January. While 2019 seems far off, it really isn’t, and planning for the Future of Work Expo has been underway for a while. In fact, the program is largely in place, but as co-chair, if you strongly feel you should be speaking and/or sponsoring, please drop me a line.

To give you a better sense of what to expect there, I just completed a Q&A with TMC’s Paula Bernier, the other co-chair for FoW Expo. There’s more to come about the Expo, but hopefully her interview with me will help you decide in favor of joining us in Fort Lauderdale in the depths of winter.