Jon Arnold
As Principal of J Arnold & Associates, Jon is an independent research analyst providing thought leadership and go-to-market counsel with a focus on the business-level impact of disruptive communications technologies. JAA works primarily with vendors and service providers to educate their customers on the value of these technologies and to accelerate the adoption of their offerings.
Jon has been consulting since 2001, and his independent analyst practice was founded in 2005. Clients engage with Jon for thought leadership to educate customers on the business value of communications technologies in areas such as hybrid work, future of work, digital transformation and customer experience.
Core areas of technology expertise include unified communications, cloud platforms (UCaaS/CPaaS/CCaaS), AI (both in the workplace and customer engagement), speech technologies, contact centers, customer experience, 5G, and VoIP.
JAA is based in Toronto, Ontario, and serves clients across North America as well as in Europe. A current roster of clients can be viewed here on the website.
Jon’s thought leadership can be followed on his widely-read JAA’s Analyst Blog, along with daily commentary on LinkedIn. In addition, Jon produces a monthly podcast - Watch This Space – which is a regular feature in his monthly newsletter, JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review. Jon has also served as Chair of the Future of Work Expo since 2019, which runs every February as part of TMCnet’s long-running ITExpo.
His thought leadership is also regularly published across the communications industry, including BCStrategies, No Jitter, Channel Futures, Contact Center Pipeline, TechTarget, Enterprise Management 360, and UC Today.
In early 2023, Jon was named as a Top 100 United Comms Influencers 2023, and a Top 16 CCaaS Influencer. During 2022, he was included in “16 UCaaS influencers to Follow”, and “16 Hybrid Work Influencers to Follow”; in 2021, Jon was listed in “Top 50 Contact Center Twitter Accounts to Follow”, as well as being included in “Who’s Who in Unified Communications?”, and “Who’s Who in Telecoms?”.
During 2020, Jon was named a “Top 100 Unified Comms Influencer”, and a “Top 10 CX Contact Center Influencer You Need to Follow”. Also in 2020, Jon judged several industry events, including UC Awards, Oracle Startup Idol, Best in Biz Awards International 2020, and Best Of Enterprise Connect.
During 2019, Jon was cited as a “Top 50 Unified Comms Influencer”, and a “Top 30 Contact Center Influencer”; served as a judge for the Voice Summit 2019 Awards, and has been a Best in Biz Awards International judge since 2016.
Further back to 2018, Jon was included in a listing of “Top 10 Telecoms Influencers”, and “TOP VoIP Bloggers to Follow”. Previously, in both March 2017 and January 2016, Jon was cited among the Top Analysts Covering the Contact Center Industry.
Also in 2017, Jon was been cited as a Top 10 Telecom Expert, and Six Business Communications Thought Leaders to Follow. For JAA’s blog, it was recognized as a Top Tech Blog in 2016 and 2015, and has had other similar accolades going back to 2008.
Additionally, Jon is a BC Expert with BCStrategies, a long-serving Council Member with the Gerson Lehrman Group, speaks regularly at industry events and accepts public speaking invitations. He is frequently cited in both the trade press and mainstream business press, serves as an Advisor to emerging technology/telecom companies, is a board member of the U.S.-based SCTC, and an Advisory Board member for UCX USA.
Prior to branching out as an independent analyst in 2005, Jon was the VoIP Program Leader for four years at industry analyst firm Frost & Sullivan. While there, he was responsible for managing their subscription service for Global VoIP Equipment Markets, and through his active participation in the industry, he created a strong presence for the firm and an unprecedented profile in the media.
Before Frost & Sullivan, Jon founded Research Solutions, an independent marketing research consultancy that operated for 15 years. During that time, Research Solutions conducted both qualitative and quantitative research projects for clients across a wide range of industries, including telecommunications, software, electronics, financial services, diagnostic equipment, transportation, energy, management training, trade publishing and professional associations.
