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.

UC Awards 2023 - It's On Now - Time to Meet the Judges

UK-based UC Today has been running their UC Awards for a few years now, and I’ve been invited back again to be part of the cohort of judges. It’s a fun process, and as an analyst, I talk to a lot of vendors, which helps provide the industry-based perspective needed here.

The awards program itself is underway, and applications can be submitted until June 9. If getting industry recognition is on your to-do list, more detail can be found here, including the 12 different awards categories.

Newsletter Time, Podcast Too - May Editions Out Now

The May 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.

Our focus this month was on current industry events, along with growing concern about AI, and how technology is reshaping the fan experience at sporting events - and not necessarily in a good way.

On my website, there are now archives for both the newsletter and the podcast, so it’s easy to find earlier editions of each there. We’re into Season 6 of the podcast, so there’s a lot on offer in the archive if you want to check out earlier episodes.

April Writing Roundup

Been plenty busy on many fronts lately, and during April, some of that work turned up in my public writing. Here’s a digest of that, and I hope you check some of these out.

Enterprise Connect 2023 - My Analyst Perspective, April 24, EM360

How Generative AI for Business Enhances Collaboration, April 18, TechTarget

POTS Replacement - More Complex Than You Might Think, April 11, No Jitter

The Year of AI: Impacts on UCaaS and CCaaS, April 4, RingCentral Blog

Next Webinar - Contact Center Market Update for CCSC

I’ve recently connected with John Heiberger, and one of his hats is running the CCSC - Contact Center Solutions Consortium. This community serves to share knowledge that helps contact center leaders make better buying decisions. They run regular virtual webinars, and I’m going to be the presenter for the next one, which is this week - Thursday, April 27 at 1pm ET.

Basically, I’ll be providing an overview of the state of play in this space, which we all know is being transformed in a variety of ways. The webinar is generally for members-only, but am sharing here because John will consider non-member requests on a case-by-case basis. The details are here, and maybe I’ll see you there.

Shout-out for UCX USA Event - Guest Video Spot

If you don’t know, UK-based UC Expo is launching its first US event this September, and I’ll be speaking there. To help build awareness and interest, they’ve produced a webinar series, UCX USA Talks, and I was one of their guests recently.

The theme was “how to keep your customers and employees happy in 2023”, and serves as a preview for some of what to expect when this show runs in Austin. I hope you check it out - along with other Talks in their series - and maybe I’ll see you there. Here’s the landing page on their site, along with the direct link to watch it on Vimeo.

Enterprise Connect Redux - 4 Recap Interviews

Enterprise Connect seems like a long time ago, but still plenty of buzz from what I can tell. If you follow my blog, you’ll know that I managed to post some photos just after the event, but have not had time since to write up my thoughts.

In lieu of that, I’ve been part of four different interview spots related to Enterprise Connect - one podcast and three video segments. So, if you want to hear/see my thoughts on the event, you’ve got a lot of reference points to work from here. They’re all different, and if you get through all of them, let me know, and I’ll give you a gold star shout-out! Here goes…

First - I was a guest on Doug Green’s Telecom Reseller podcast, which was recorded onsite at Enterprise Connect. Click on the visual below for the replay - and same for the next two.

Second - I was a guest on Zeus Kerravala’s ZKast video series, so this is a 1:1 segment where we discussed our takeaways from the event.

Third - the latest segment of Big UC News, where I was one of several guests sharing our thoughts with hosts David Dungay and Rob Scott.

Fourth - this is for the SCTC, where last week’s Fireside Chat was about Enterprise Connect, and I’m one of many members talking about the event. We do these chats live, and they’re all archived on the SCTC website, but you need to be a member to access them.

New Month - April Newsletter and Podcast Now

It’s time for the April editions of JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review, along with my 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. Our focus this month was on a variety current industry events, and the current state of enterprise communications.

On my website, there are now archives for both the newsletter and the podcast, so it’s easy to find earlier editions of each there. We’re into Season 6 of the podcast, so there’s a lot on offer in the archive if you want to check out earlier episodes.

Enterprise Connect 2023 - Takeaways (sort of) and Photos

Was quite a week at Enterprise Connect, and still trying to process all the conversations and updates. Normally, I’d have time to consolidate my thoughts, but it just hasn’t happened yet.

In lieu of that, however, I’ll be sharing my takeaways via three different video segments, with the first one recorded yesterday for Big UC News. Am attending an analyst event this week, and have two other video segments lined up then, so it won’t take long to get those done and shared here, and on my social channels.

Until those come out, am sharing some photos below from the conference - all are mine unless credited otherwise. If you want to chat further about Enterprise Connect, feel free to drop me a line. It’s not usually this hectic after an event, but that’s how things are lining up right now.

Below: Dave Michels hosting the Innovation Showcase (I was a judge), Blair Pleasant’s panel on bringing UCaaS and CCaaS together, and the super-interesting UCaaS vendor breakdown session with Kevin Kieller and Brent Kelly.

My session on enterprise use cases for AI-driven speech tech (photo: Dan Miller - thanks!), panel session on Thursday about how IT will adapt to the future of work, Vonage analyst breakfast, with Savinay Berry speaking

Long-time tech journalist Doug Green - I was his guest for an episode of his Telecom Reseller podcast - coming soon! Next - very cool demo from the most interesting thing I saw at the show - from Alan Lepofsky (another Canadian!) of Mobeus. Look closely at the right screen at his hands looking like a ghost image, and as he gestures, the outline of the hands show up on the left screen, in real time. Hard to explain, but Airglass adds a virtual layer to what’s on your screen that helps make meetings more interactive and immersive. Out of the box for sure, and very cool. Last photo - Paul Ginn speaking at Mitel’s analyst update.

Hey, I got photo-bombed by “no kisscam” Zeus Kerravla - surprise! I was briefing at the time with Joe Burton of Telesign - thanks for the photo, Joe. Cool signage here as you walk into the event space - it reflects perfectly below on the marble floor. Another fun shot, with another Canadian and long-time colleague, Darryl Wilson from Kyndryl (Darryl’s selfie).

More social stuff - with my SCTC and SIPtones brothers - Rick Hathaway, Steve Leaden and son (thanks Fran Blackburn!); with Lisa Martin from Five9 (her selfie), and Carlos Cano from Talkdesk (his selfie).

Enterprise Connect after dark - very fun whiskey tasting with Talkdesk, firing up a smokey and very delicious Old Fashioned at NICE, and a very glam welcome sign from Twilio’s reception.

March Writing Roundup

Quiet month on the public writing front, but already there are several guest posts queued up for April, so plenty more coming soon.

8x8 Analyst Day - My Thoughts and Photos, March 14, my blog

How AI-Driven Innovation will Change Speech Technology, March 6, No Jitter

Enterprise Connect Preview on No Jitter - My Enterprise Speech Tech Roundtable

It’s time for my latest contribution to No Jitter - as part of the BCStrategies team - and it’s a preview for my upcoming session on enterprise speech tech at Enterprise Connect. Am looking forward to attending the 2023 edition, and this time around, I’ll be joined by speakers from LumenVox, Dialpad and Zoom.

If you don’t know, this is my fifth year speaking on this topic at the conference, and it’s become an ongoing focus in my work. I don’t know if ChatGPT is the next big thing or just a passing novelty, but am sure it will still have legs by the time we do this session on March 29, and it will be on the agenda. I hope you can join us, and my latest article, here on No Jitter, tells more of the story.

Big UC News - Latest Episode - Avaya Ch. 11, Zoho and UC, State of Webex

Never dull in the collaboration space, where UCaaS is really just the start for where the market is going, and where tech is evolving. I was one of several voices on the latest episode of Big UC News, where we covered these trending topics. Hope you give it a view, and look forward to being on another episode soon.