Early October - Time for Newsletter and Podcast

It’s a new month, so it’s time for new editions of JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review newsletter, and the Watch This Space podcast. If you’re enamored with every/anything to do with New York City, you’ll want to check out our podcast. Same if you’re following the worlds of cloud communications and the office of the future.

If you’re not a subscriber, signing up to my newsletter is easy - the signup page is here. For my podcast, you can subscribe on all the major platforms, or click to listen to the current episode here. Hoping you’ll check both out, and would love your feedback any time.

USA Today - Am Profiled in an Article There

It’s not everyday I’m in the newspapers - yes I still get it delivered to my door - especially mainstream media like USA Today, but that’s the story here - no pun intended. I had an opportunity to be interviewed for an article about how hybrid work and digital transformation are driving the future of work, and it ran on Friday.

We don’t get USA Today in Canada, so I didn’t run out to buy a copy - does that ever happen any more? To read it, you’ll have to make do online - here’s the link: https://www.usatoday.com/story/special/contributor-content/2023/09/29/distributed-workforce-is-the-future-of-work-and-the-future-is-now-says-jon-arnold/71002261007/.

Another bonus for getting into mainstream media - when friends and family ask what I do for a living, this is exactly the thing I need to show them! Hope you like, and feel free to share.

September Writing Roundup

Finally got closer to my normal public writing output last month, and here’s the digest. Hope you get to check some of these out, and as always, comments and sharing are welcome

Assess Unified Communications Pros and Cons for Hybrid Work, TechTarget, Sept. 26

CCTC Event in Toronto - Quick Post and Pix, my blog, Sept. 11

Climbing Over the CCaaS Obstacles, Contact Center Pipeline, Sept. issue

How AI is Transforming Voice Communications for Business, Aizan blog, Sept. 1

Cloud Communications Alliance Event - Quick Take and Pix

This is week 2 of my travel run that will have me going to at least one event somewhere each week pretty much til mid-November. Busy is good, but much tougher to get the work done - that’s just how it goes as an indie analyst.

Was in New York the past two days, attending the Cloud Communications Alliance Financial Summit. Being a half-day event, it was more of an update than a summit, but top-caliber attendees nonetheless. Was very happy to be there, and in the end, I wound up being on the closing panel session with just analysts, led by Clark Peterson. Needless to say, with 5 of us, we easily went over time, but nobody seemed to mind.

There were two other panel sessions focused on the financial side of the cloud business, and it was good to hear what they’re talking about, especially for companies looking for exits. With the shift from growth to profitability, valuations are down, so the space is less lucrative now, and the players have to work harder to create sustainable businesses. There was a lot of talk about how to compete with - or align with - Teams, along with the dominance of other majors like Cisco and Zoom.

Most of the focus was on UCaaS - understandable - and less so on CCaaS, CPaaS and AI - but if a longer program, no doubt we’d hear more about these as well. Bigger picture - it was noted that 50% of the market is still legacy-based, so lots of upside ahead - fair - but UCaaS space is so crowded, and it’s getting harder to compete against the majors, esp if only selling UC and/or telephony.

Overall, I think CCA can play a central role in helping cloud providers navigate all this, particularly under the broader tent of cloud services. UCaaS is too saturated now, and providers need a wider portfolio to compete longer-term. Lots of important themes here, and it’s all central to what I do, so this was a good spot for me to be in. I’ll leave you with some photos for a sense of the vibe there, and thanks again to Joe Manion and Clark Peterson for inviting me!

Clark Peterson with opening remarks; one of the finance panels; closing panel with the analysts.

Joe Manion kicking things off; familiar faces - Jeff Pulver with Ari Rabban, and me!

Event was held at the Yale Club - very Ivy League, but worked quite well. Reception the night before at City Winery inside Grand Central Terminal. Band was great - acoustics, not so much, but very good setting for being social and networking.

UC Expo, London - Another Panel Session

Next week, it’s UC Expo at the ExCeL London. I recently posted about a session I’m moderating, and here’s another one I’ll be on. This is the ask-the-analyst panel, on Thursday at 2:10 pm, where I’ll be joined by colleagues Dave Michels, Oru Mohiuddin and Prachi Nema, and moderated by Gill Rowbotham. Should be fun, and hope you can make it!

I’ll be on two other sessions, including an invite-only roundtable, so I won’t be hard to find - maybe I’ll see you there. Details are here about the event, the agenda and registration.

Next Stop - NYC and Cloud Communications Alliance

Am on the move over the next several weeks - enroute now to NYC for short trip, attending the Cloud Communications Alliance Financial Summit. It’s just a half-day, but a solid agenda, and looking forward to attending. I’ve known CCA for many years, but this is my first time going to an event with them, where I know I’ll be seeing many familiar faces - looking forward to it!

Time to Travel - 7 Weeks, 8 Stops

And so it begins…

I’m not a super-frequent flyer, but Fall is the busy season for industry events, and I’ve never had a run like this before. Planning for these events has been in the works for quite some time, and it’s just about time to go.

Starting on Sunday, I’ll be travelling to 8 events over the next 7 weeks. Not continuously - phew - so I’ll be home in between each trip, but it’s going to be quite the ride. First stop is Shanghai, followed by New York, London, Machu Picchu, Dubai, Raleigh, Anaheim, and finally NYC again.

There will be lots to talk about at each stop, and I’ll blog as time allows - same for posting on social. I’m just about done now with X, so that basically means Linkedin. Next task - put in delivery stops for the newspaper. I’m so analog, huh….

Next Event - UC Expo UK, London

Am returning to UC Expo - pretty much same place and time as last year - October 4-5. Best I can tell, it’s the top event in the UC space in the EU, and they sure draw a big crowd.

Aside from attending, I’ll moderating two panels, along with being on the ask-the-analyst session during Day 2. Banner below showcases one of the sessions I’m moderating, and I’ll add the other one when it’s ready. If you haven’t registered, here’s the link, and maybe I’ll see you there!

CCTC Event in Toronto - Quick Post and Pix

Haven’t been able to post til now, and wanted to share a bit from last Thursday’s CCTC networking event here in Toronto. Telecom events are very rare in Canada, and given the community involved, it was great to attend and support this one. In case you’re wondering, CCTC is the Canadian Communications and Technology Consultants group, and colleague Cheryl Helm is the driving force. Happy to tell you more!

We had a solid turnout, and the content was consistently good all day long. I’m not going to recap the sessions here, but the feedback I’ve seen has been overwhelmingly positive - both the experience and the education from the sessions was worthwhile.

Kudos to Cheryl and the organizing team for putting this together, and the event bodes well for doing it again next year. Will leave you with a few photos that tell the story pretty well - all are mine, except the photo of me - thanks Nancy Gates.

Below - Cheryl Helm kicking things off - and yes, red was the color theme. Photo of the attendees, showing a pretty full room.

Scott Murphy leading the vendor panel on the future of comms tech - with Genesys, Mitel, Twilio, RingCentral and Avaya. Next - Roberta Fox on the state of 911 - nobody does it better. Roberta is retiring now, so this was her final conference session, and we gave her a nice sendoff - definitely the emotional highlight of the event.

As always, Martha Buyer giving us a rich legal perspective on AI, especially ethics - lots to think about. Next was David Dame - very inspiring locknote talk about his work at Microsoft, and his broader perspective on how input from those with disabilities can drive innovation, both in general, and for making technology more accessible. Finally, I was both a presenter and a moderator during the event.

New Month - Time for Newsletter and New Podcast

Still feels like summer, but it’s a new month, so it’s time for new editions of JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review newsletter, and the Watch This Space podcast.

If you’re not a subscriber, signing up to my newsletter is easy - the signup page is here. For my podcast, you can subscribe on all the major platforms, or click to listen to the current episode here. Hoping you’ll check both out, and would love your feedback any time.

How AI is Transforming Voice Comms - My Latest for Aizan

I’ve been writing a series of guest posts for Aizan, and this time, the focus is on the impact of AI on voice communications, which of course is substantial. ChatGPT is just one flavor of this, and my post outlines key use cases and applications for both workplace and the contact center. I hope you give it a read, and while you’re there, you might want to check out their Voice Marketplace.

Newsletter Time, and Podcast Too

Having been away on vacation all last week, the August editions were published a bit later than normal. However, they’re out now, so this post is an fyi for JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review newsletter, and the Watch This Space podcast.

If you’re not a subscriber, signing up to my newsletter is easy - the signup page is here. For my podcast, you can subscribe on all the major platforms, or click to listen to the current episode here. Hoping you’ll check both out, and would love your feedback any time.

Writing Roundup for July

Writing output was on the light side in July, but it’s just one of multiple channels I use for thought leadership, and I was busy on all these fronts last month. Hope you enjoy these writeups, and definitely more to come for August.

3 Considerations to Choose the Right Communication Channel, TechTarget, July 26

MWC Shanghai - Quick Take and Photos, my blog, July 13

Avaya ENGAGE - Takeaways for Act III, BCStrategies, June 30 (not posted til July 5)

Microsoft Teams and Phone System - Know the Difference - New Guest Post

I’ve started doing some guest blogs for TeamMate, a company that helps integrate telephony with Teams. My first post ran last week, and am just getting a chance to do a shout-out about it now.

This is actually a two-part series, and the second one will run in a few days. There’s a bigger picture to consider with Teams and telephony, and I hope you give my writeup a read.

July Newsletter and Podcast Out Now

With the long weekend earlier, the July editions were published a bit later than normal. However, they’re out now, so this post is an fyi for JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review newsletter, and the Watch This Space podcast.

If you’re not a subscriber, signing up to my newsletter is easy - the signup page is here. For my podcast, you can subscribe on all the major platforms, or click to listen to the current episode here. Hoping you’ll check both out, and would love your feedback any time.

Writing Roundup for June

Back-to-back months of hectic travel, so writing has been on the light side. Lots of new work in play, though, and over the next few days I’ll catchup on the backlog and get all of that posted. Until then, here’s a digest of my public writing from June.

Avaya ENGAGE - Takeaways for Act III, BCStrategies, June 30

SIP Trunking vs. VoIP - What’s the Difference?, TechTarget, June 15

Campaign Registry - a Higher Bar for A2P Messaging, Aizan Blog, June 9

New Month - New Newsletter and New Podcast

The June editions of JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review, and Watch This Space podcast are out now.

If you’re not a subscriber, signing up to my newsletter is easy - the signup page is here. For my podcast, you can subscribe on all the major platforms, or click to listen to the current episode here. Hoping you’ll check both out, and would love your feedback any time.

May Writing Roundup

I had a heavier-than-normal travel schedule in May, so writing was on the light side. Still managed to get a few things out, and here’s the digest.

Re-Thinking the On-Hold Experience, white paper for Aizan, May 31

3 Best Practices for a Successful UCaaS Migration, TechTarget, May 23

Are We Moving Too Fast with AI?, No Jitter, May 23

How to Manage Telecom Fraud, Contact Center Pipeline, May issue, May 4

Are We Moving Too Fast with AI? My Latest on No Jitter

I’ve had three big trips over the past three weeks, and while I have a lot of new writing and speaking to share, I’m way behind getting things posted. Am hoping to get that backlog cleared up over the next few days.

This blog post is to share my latest No Jitter article, which ran last week. I’m part of a rotating group of analysts under the BCStrategies umbrella that contribute to No Jitter, and this time around was my turn.

If you follow me, you’ll know I write a lot about AI in its various forms, and for this article, I’m drawing on some data from a new research study commissioned by RingCentral with Ipsos. While I only had access to a limited data set, there are some interesting comparisons between decision makers and non-decision makers about AI perceptions that I think need to be considered when moving down this path.

AI is getting really overheated now, and pumping the brakes a bit is not a bad idea - that’s the gist of my writeup, and I hope you give it a read.

UPDATE - since publishing this post, RingCentral has just made the broader set of findings from the Ipsos study available - here’s the link to download the report.

New Kudo - Top UCaaS Influencer to Follow from 8x8

Been off the grid for a bit, and finally back to things here. Here’s a new kudo from earlier this month from 8x8. They do a top list of influencers for various spaces each year, and in March, I was on their influencer list for CCaaS.

This time around, I’m on their UCaaS list as well, so am on a bit of a roll with them. Last year, I was also on both these lists, along with another one for CPaaS - let’s see how the rest of 2023 unfolds, and I may yet have another update on that front.