My VoIP Group Interview - Spotlight on the LatAm Market

Sometimes content gets generated in a few seconds, and other times much longer. This falls into the latter category, as do most things that are published and go through editorial review. I actually have another example of this set to run next week, and I'll update that in due course.

For now, the story is my interview with Alfredo Bellagamba, CEO of Brazil-based VoIP Group. I didn't know this company until I met with Alfredo for an interview during the recent ITExpo event in Ft. Lauderdale. They have a good story to tell, and it's a great example of what goes on in the VoIP space outside of North America. LatAm is a major market in its own right, and VoIP Group seems to be in the middle of most everything going on there.

My interview was published this week on TMCnet as a featured article, and I hope you give it a read.

Why Are We Still Using Email?

That's a good question, and that's the title of my current column in Internet Telephony Magazine, and is a follow-on to my previous column, titled Why Are We Still Using Desk Phones?

These are valid questions and they speak to a radically changing landscape driven both by new technology and changing expectations among end users. There's a lot to explore here, and you might be surprised by the issues raised in my column. I hope you give it a read - and the previous one - and if either spurs a reaction, I'd love to hear from you and even more so if you care to share.

March Writing Roundup

Busy month, yeah.

Had two conferences at the back end of the month - Channel Partners, and ETS16 - from which I just returned late last night. So, aside from my regular writing stints, I produced a lot of content for the GetVoIP blog from Channel Partners, along with my smart grid thought leadership around ETS16 - and more of that to come. Here's a summary of what I was up to in March.

Channel Partners Takeaways -What Millennials, Mobility and 5G Mean for UC, UCStrategies, March 31

ETS16 - Day 1 Quick Hits, March 30, my blog

What Else SMBs need to do to Ensure UC Provides Flexibility, March 29, Toolbox.com

Channel Partners Spotlight on Vonage - What Makes Them a Good Partner, March 25, GetVoIP blog

Microsoft at Channel Partners - "We're Partner Friendly", March 25, GetVoIP blog

Channel Partners Spotlight on Nextiva - Winning Those Loose Balls, March 22, GetVoIP blog

8x8's State of Channel Program, March 21, GetVoIP blog

Intel Q&A - Utilities and the Internet of Things, March 18, ETS Insights

How UC Brings Flexibility to Your Business, March 17, Toolbox.com

Channel Parters Conference - First Take, March 16, GetVoIP blog

Why SMBs Aren't Adopting UC, March 14, Toolbox.com

Why Are We Still Using Desk Phones?, March 9, Internet Telephony Magazine

S&C Electric Q&A, Part 2 - Energy Storage Opportunities, March 8, ETS Insights

Allconnect Q&A - News Ways to Connect with Customers, March 8, ETS Insights

Why VoIP Hasn't Yet Replaced Legacy Telephony, March 7, Toolbox.com

Humans - Bringing the Personal Touch to Energy, March 7, ETS Insights

Univago - Solving Video from the Cloud, March 4, my blog

Channel Partners Conference - Two More Posts: Vonage and Microsoft

At the recent Channel Partners conference in Las Vegas, I produced a series of posts for the GetVoIP.com blog. They were based on interviews I conducted with various executives from the companies being profiled, along with my own take on where each one fits into the shape-shifting world of UC and collaboration.

The first set of posts featured Nextiva and 8x8, along with my overall impressions of the event. Links to these can be found in my sumary post about them from last week.

Since then, the final two posts are now running on the GetVoIP blog - one featuring Vonage and one with Microsoft. The links to each are below, and while you're there, I encourage you to check out the other content on the GetVoIP blog, which covers more than just VoIP and UC.

Channel Partners Spotlight on Vonage - What Makes Them a Good Partner

Microsoft at Channel Partners - "We're Channel-Friendly"

Channel Partners Conference - My Initial Posts

It's been a week now since the Channel Partners conference in Las Vegas, and while I've been doing a lot of writing since then, I haven't been doing much blogging. A big reason is that the writing I've been doing specifically around the conference is being published on the GetVoIP blog.

You may have come across these posts already, as myself and others have been sharing them on social media. If not, here are links to the first three posts of mine, all of which I think you'll find of interest. I've got two more coming, and will update this post when they run, hopefully by end of week.

Channel Partners Spotlight on Nextiva - Winning the Loose Balls!

8x8's State of Channel Program - My Exclusive Interview at CPExpo

Channel Partners Conference - First Take

Next Stop - Channel Partners Conference, Las Vegas

Got a quick trip this week - going to Las Vegas later today for the Channel Partners Conference. Am doing things a bit differently this time around, as I'll be guest blogging about the event for GetVoIP.com. I've contributed to their blog before, but this time I'll be providing updates there on the conference from an analyst's perspective. If you're at the conference, drop me a line, and if not, I hope you follow my posts.

Why Are We Still Using Desk Phones?

This is one of my favorite questions, and depending on your needs - and perhaps age - the answers will be very different. Neither is right/wrong - it's just that the realities of how we communicate have been constantly changing ever since VoIP came along. Those changes continue to come, and the idea that desk phones will disappear isn't so radical any more.

While that logic might lead to an inevitable conclusion, we're not there yet - far from it. The desk phone business is very much alive and well, and my latest Rethinking Communications column for TMCnet explores why that's the case and what you should consider in terms of what's really best for your employees. That should be a strong enough hook to get you over to their site, where my article is now running in the March 2016 digital edition of Internet Telephony Magazine.

February Writing Roundup

As you can see below, I had a good variety of writing last month. Aside from the regular mix of UC, collaboration, customer experience and VoIP, there are two things to note that are a bit outside the norm.

First, wearing my smart grid hat, I'm quite involved with the Energy Thought Summit, running end of March in Austin. I've been active in this space for some time, and one of my roles is to create thought leadership leading up to the summit. Last month, two posts in a four part series of mine ran - see below.

Second, if you just read one thing from this digest of posts, go to the very last one, which wasn't even written by me. Rather, it's by long-time Forbes writer David F. Carr, who wrote a great review of a panel I moderated on collaboration that he was a speaker on. I don't get cited in the mainstream business press very often, so this was very nice to see - and totally unexpected.

Otherwise, here's what else I was writing about last month to give you a sense of what I'm seeing in the communications market.

Ideal Scenarios for Cloud-Based UC, Feb. 25, Toolbox.com

What Employees Will Not Like About VoIP, Feb. 23, Toolbox.com

Vertical Communications - Can They Succeed Selling Direct?, Feb. 22, UCStrategies

Considering Unified Communications as a Service?, Feb. 18, TechTarget PRO+ Premium Content

Three Things Employees Will Love About VoIP, Feb. 15, Toolbox.com

VoIP Deployment Mistakes to Watch For, Feb. 9, Toolbox.com

Convergence - The Road Ahead When Transportation and Energy Merge, Feb. 9, ETS16 portal

Three Factors That Impact Audio Quality for Conferencing, Feb. 8, Toolbox.com

Top Six Tips for Shaping the Customer Experience in 2016, Feb. 4, Enterprise Management 360

UC Analytics Must Mature Before Benefits can be Seen, Feb. 4, TechTarget

Emergence - New Players and Technologies Bring Utilities to the Innovation Game, Feb. 3, ETS16 portal

Honorable mention - I moderated a panel about collaboration in late January at ITExpo, and one of my speakers, who spoke on behalf of a vendor, is also a regular contributor for Forbes. He wrote an article about the session, with generous citations for me and the other panelists.

Are You Communicating or Collaborating?, February 2, Forbes, by David F. Carr

January Writing Roundup

2016 is off to a good start, and January was another busy month on the writing front. Here's a quick digest of the highlights that will still be a good read.

Top 6 Tips for Shaping for Shaping the Customer Experience in 2016, Enterprise Management 360, Jan. 29 - link to my article now running in their Q1 edition, and it includes audio clips from an interview I did them them to accompany the post. Contact me for details to download the full Q1 edition.

Unify and Circuit Redux, UCStrategies, Jan. 29

The Case for Best of Breed with UC, Toolbox.com, Jan. 27

How not to Make UC Strategic, Internet Telephony Magazine, digital edition, Jan. 27

Hidden Costs to Consider with UC, Toolbox.com, Jan. 26

UC Experts Share Their 2016 Predictions for the UCaaS Market, Collab9 blog, Jan. 22

When the Phone System Should Drive UC Planning, Toolbox.com, Jan. 18

Transformation: Three Themes Utilities Must Embrace, wearing my Smart Grid hat, this is the first in a series for our upcoming ETS16 event in Austin, Jan. 14

Don't Set Expectations too Low with UC, Toolbox.com, Jan. 11

Emerging Scenarios for Video, Part 2, Toolbox.com, Jan. 6

Evaluating UCaaS Providers with Three Key Criteria, TechTarget, Jan. 6

Three Criteria for Evaluating UCaaS Providers

I've been working with Tech Target on a few different series, with the latest being on UCaaS. The hosted/cloud-based UC space is a major trend with implications across the entire value chain. Part 3 in my series has been posted now, with the focus being three criteria to help decision makers evaluate UCaaS providers.

You can access the post here, and if you want to read the earlier posts, here's Part 1, and here's Part 2.

Digest of my Reviews for 2015 and 2016

Before the week gets out, I wanted to post this digest of my various reviews for 2015 and beyond. Am sure you've seen plenty by now, but unless you follow me very closely, you may not have come across all the different things I did around the crystal ball we all seem to have this time of year.

Business Communications Trends and Highlights of 2015 - UCStrategies podcast, Jan. 5

2016 Collaboration Outlook - 3 Things Not to Expect, Toolbox.com, Dec. 31

2016 Collaboration Outlook - 3 Things to Expect, Toolbox.com, Dec. 30

The State of UC and Collaboration, Shaping Influence, Dec. 11

Five Trends Driving UC in 2016, CTC Info Telecom, December 2015 newsletter - note: link here only takes you to the signup form to request a copy. I can send over a PDF as well - just drop me a line.

December Writing Roundup

Just like that, it's 2016 and time to get back to work. Am ramping up for a busy year, including a major refresh of my website and blog page. That's a long project, though, and the writing continues, so I'll start 2016 off with a recap of my top posts from last month. To keep track of what's keeping me busy, these posts from December will give you a pretty good idea.

2016 Collaboration Outlook - Three Things to Expect, Toolbox.com, Dec.30

How to Make Unified Communications Strategic, Internet Telephony Magazine, Dec. 21

Five Trends Driving UC in 2016, CTC Info Telecom, December 2015 newsletter, Dec. 18 - note: link here only takes you to signup form to request a copy. I can send you the PDF directly as well - just drop me a line.

8 Steps to Success with Open Source Software Projects, post and infographic, Toolbox.com, Dec. 18

Cisco Spark - is this the New Collaboration Era?, UCStrategies, Dec. 17

Choosing Between Microsoft and Google for UC, Toolbox.com, December 15

Two Things to Know About Hosted UC, Internet Telephony Magazine, Dec. 14

Why Collaboration Needs to be More Mobile-Centric, Toolbox.com, Dec. 11

The State of UC and Collaboration, Shaping Influence, Dec. 11

Three Business Benefits of the Cloud offered by UCaaS, TechTarget, Dec. 9

Why Collaboration is Harder with UC, Part 2, Toolbox.com, Dec. 8

What are the Collaboration and IoT Challenges Facing IT?, TechTarget, Dec. 4

My TMC Interview - State of UC&C

Before you know it, we'll be covered in snow and I'll be thinking a lot more about the ITExpo, coming later next month in Fort Lauderdale. I'm ready for Florida now, but still got work to do before signing off for a bit.

I posted recently as a preview of what I'll be up to at the Expo, and more will be coming as the date gets closer. Another way to promote the event is with editorial coverage from TMCnet, and they recently did a Q&A with me about the UC&C space.

For some reason I missed this when it came out, so am just sharing it with my followers now. The interview is running here on their Shaping Influence portal, and while you're there, that's lots of other great content to read. If my views pique your interest, comments are welcome, as is any form of sharing - thanks!

5 Trends Driving UC in 2016 - New Article

Well, it's that time of the year, huh? I get my share of requests for what to expect in 2016 from the media, and I'll share those as they get published.

This post is along those lines - "5 Trends Driving UC in 2016" - but is rooted in a presentation I gave back in October rather than what a journalist asked me yesterday about the year ahead. My presentation was for the Telecom 2015 conference here in Toronto, and if you follow my blog, you'll already know that.

As a companion piece, the show producer asked me to write an article based on the presentation for publication in the next Info Telecom magazine. This is the quarterly publication of the CTC - Community of Telecommunications Consultants - of which I am a member.

The print edition is out, and so is the digital version, which all members get. However, the publisher is happy to share this and help build awareness of the CTC. I'm happy to do that, and of course, to share my article with my readers.

You can access the article here, but only after registering, which anyone can do. Instead, if you want to get a PDF of the full December 2015 magazine directly, please drop me a line.

November Writing Roundup

No two months are ever the same for me, but November was another busy one with a continued variety of articles, thought leadership and speaking at conferences. Here are the highlights, and any sharing is greatly appreciated!

Where do IoT and Collaboration Technologies Intersect?, TechTarget, Nov. 25

UC Summit - Three Takeaways - Searching for the Center - UCStrategies, Nov. 25

UC as a Service Emerging as a Viable Deployment Model, TechTarget, Nov. 24

Why Collaboration is Harder with UC, Toolbox.com, Nov. 24

How to Collaborate Without a Phone System, Toolbox.com, Nov. 18

ITExpo - Never too Early for Florida, my blog, Nov. 13

UCaaS Vendor Landscape - Microsoft and Google, Toolbox.com, Nov. 12

UCaaS - Three Reasons to Think Twice, Toolbox.com, Nov. 9

Choosing a VoIP Vendor - New Buyer's Guide - TechTarget, Nov. 6

My Next Webinar - So, You Think You Can Collaborate? - Toolbox.com, Nov. 5

UCaaS - Three Reasons to Adopt - Toolbox.com, Nov. 2

UC Summit - First Take

Wanted to get a quick post out and share some photos from the first full day of the UC Summit. The conference actually started on Sunday, and I spoke on the first session. I also moderated a session yesterday, and so far, the content has been consistently first rate. There's a healthy mix here of consultants, end customers and sponsors, and it's great to have access to all this in a vendor-neutral setting.

Aside from the familiar players - and most all the majors are here - it's great to have so many new ones that you wouldn't normally associate with the UC space, such as Google, Tata, Vonage and newcomer Redbooth.

The UC&C space is undergoing major disruption - and understanding that is the big takeaway overall from this event. To reflect that, we've adapted too, with the new name and logo being launched. Going forward, the UC Summit will now be known as the BC Summit - Business Communications.

I'll have more to say about this in my wrapup post, which will follow once I'm back from the summit. Until then, here are some photos from yesterday.

Jim Burton welcoming the audience, with the new BC Summit logo behind him

Vendor roundtable - well, looks more like a new offensive line formation - great session, but too short for so many people

Dave Michels talking about how disuptive the new messaging-based collaboration platforms are - totally agree

Blair Pleasant and Kevin Kieller talking about usage and adoption challenges for UC

Clark Peterson of Vonage Business explaining why they're in this business and how well they understand the changing needs of end users, especially Millennials

ITExpo Preview - Never too Early for Florida

It's getting chilly in Toronto, and am already thinking about the warm Florida sun. TMC's next ITExpo isn't until late January, but the conference agenda was announced earlier this week, so it's time to start talking about it.

The conference continues to evolve, and I've had a small hand in adding new topics to keep the agenda fresh. To that end I'll be moderating two sessions, and if others materialize, I'll post those later.

"Are You Communicating or Collaborating?"  This is on the UC track, and runs Wednesday at 2:30

"Making Video Easy - How Hard Can it Be?" This is on the Business Transformation track, and runs Thursday at 10am.

For some reason, the agenda page on the website doesn't provide specific links for each session, so to learn more, you have to go to the main agenda page and scroll down to the right time - or filter search by track or day.

Lots more updates to come, and it's not too early to be making plans for Fort Lauderdale!

Choosing a VoIP Vendor - New Buyer's Guide

I've been writing a few different series for TechTarget's Search Unified Communications portal, including one on VoIP for businesses. I contributed a series of three features on this topic, and have cited those here on my blog as they are published.

Another way to track these - along with the various other forms of content I write for them - is to view my profile page on the site.

Aside from being published on a serialized basis, these three VoIP features are also part of a more comprehensive buyer's guide, with additional content prepared by another contributor that profiles the leading vendors. This has all been pulled together under the title "Choosing a VoIP Vendor", and has just been published on their portal.

For anyone just starting down the path with VoIP, I think this will be a valuable resource, but I'll let you be the judge. Comments are welcome as always, as is any form of sharing.

My Next Webinar: So, You Think You Can Collaborate?

This week's shout-out is for my upcoming webinar for Ziff Davis, where I contribute regularly to their VoIP News and Toolbox.com portals.

The topic of collaboration is trickier than it looks, and I'll be exploring that during the webinar. I'll be presenting next Wednesday, November 11 at 2pm ET, and I hope you can join us. Full details and registration steps are on the landing page here.

October Writing Roundup

Time flies, and there's no shortage of things keeping me busy. For those who don't follow me regularly, I put these monthly digest posts together, so you can see in one place a good cross-section of what I've been writing about and doing in the UC&C space. Here's a quick recap of my October.

Telecom 2015 - State of the Canadian Market, UCStrategies, Oct. 29 - ping me to get a copy of my presentation I made there - it's referenced in the article.

Collaboration Buying Decisions - Three Keys to Success, Toolbox.com, Oct. 26

Collaboration Buying Decisions - Knowing the Vendor Landscape, Toolbox.com, Oct. 21

SCTC Conference Coda - our SIPTones Gig, Oct. 19 - no writing here, but wanted to share the fun side being in this space - video highlights of our set in Atlanta - I play both keyboard and guitar.

Three Buying Principals for UC Products, Oct. 16, TechTarget

Slack May be the Uber of the UC Space, Internet Telephony, Oct. 14

Communication Versus Collaboration - Defining Value for UC, Toolbox.com, Oct. 13

Four Ways UC Benefits Productivity, TechTarget, Oct. 7

Reality Check on the Promise of Collaboration, Toolbox.com, Oct. 6

How SMBs Really Feel About UC, Metaswitch blog, Oct. 6 - announcement of a short report I wrote for them about this topic that is now published and available for download.