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A short note for navigating this section - scroll below for the most recent posts, and then for more, click on the Blog Archive box, where you can view all of my posts, going back to the beginning in March 2005.
As per my quick take blog post and photos last week, I said there would be more to come about the Channel Partners event, and that’s running now on No Jitter. Not many analysts attend this show, so you might find my take a bit different, and hopefully, that’s a good thing. As always, comments and sharing are welcome.
I recently attended Enterprise Connect, and now I’m at Channel Partners in Las Vegas. No Covid yet, phew - it must be true, because I’m the only one wearing a mask here. Both events are produced by Informa Tech, and between these two, I sure am seeing the bigger picture in the communications technology space.
It’s pretty go-go here, and my next panel session is coming up, so I just have time to squeeze out a quick post. The following pix provide a flavor for the vibe here, and it’s very upbeat. These are good times for the channel - lots of new opportunity and businesses are spending. The show has never been bigger, so there’s a lot to see here.
That’s the silver lining, but there are dark clouds forming in the form of private equity. That’s really the big story at Channel Partners - seems like every sales organization here has been approached to sell. Consolidation is a big theme in my work these days, and things are really heating up here.
On one of the better sessions I’ve seen so far, the motif was that this space is in a struggle now for its soul - do you turn down the money to stay independent, or take the money and leave things to big capital? More to come on this topic, but it’s time to go, and I’ll leave you with some photos.
Welcome from Kelly Danziger and Bobby DeMarzo, M&A panel, Callie Field of T Mobile Business, CIO panel, Top 50 Channel Influencers (am in there - yay)
I’ve been busy on many fronts for months now, doing all kinds of project work for clients. Many of my short-form writing pieces are shared here and elsewhere on a steady basis. I also do long-form thought leadership, such as white papers and e-books, and these projects take much longer, so you don’t hear about them as often.
A couple of these projects have recently finished up, so it’s time to share them as well. This post is about two writeups I just finished for Cisco for a new offering that got a lot of attention at Enterprise Connect. Both are about Webex Go - their new mobile complement to Webex for UCaaS - one is a white paper and one is an e-book. The white paper isn’t out yet, and its distribution will be more limited, but the e-book is out now, and is publicly available.
The e-book can be found on their new Webex Go website - here. In the upper right of the page there’s a big green square showing the e-book title and a “Read Now” prompt - just click there, and the e-book will be accessible - no download required. Cisco has the right idea with Webex Go, and if you give it a read, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
My April newsletter went out yesterday, and aside from the regular updates, there’s a lot in there about Enterprise Connect - and that was also the focus of our latest podcast. If that piques your interest, you can subscribe here for JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review, and check out our Watch This Space podcasts here.
Been a long time since doing a “next stop” blog post, but it’s looking like we’re finally back to travel for industry events. Next week, I’ll be in Las Vegas for the Channel Partners Conference, and am moderating two sessions with UCaaS themes.
This post is a shout-out for the second one, on Wednesday, April 13 at 10:45am. Joining me will be Mark Sher from Intermedia, Frank Lauria from IntelePeer, and Wayne Cochrane from RingCentral. Details about the session are here, and maybe I’ll see you there! Oh, hashtag is #CPExpo.
As expected, writing activity picked up last month, and here’s a digest from that front.
Empathy in Action, My Book Review, BCStrategies, March 29
What’s the Difference Between Speech and Voice Recognition?, TechTarget, March 29
State of the Market Update, Speech and Voice Recognition, No Jitter, March 1
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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”.
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.
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.
J Arnold & Associates is an Independent Technology Research and Analyst, helping businesses understand the strategic value of communications technology as they adapt to the digital transformation of work
Who’s Who in Telecoms?, March 2021
Top 100 Unified Comms Influencers Revealed, September 2020
Unified Comms Influencers - Top 50 for 2019 Revealed, August 2019
TOP VoIP Bloggers to Follow VoIP Review, 2018
Top 10 Telecom Experts to Follow on Social Media - June 2017
