Unify 2016 Analyst Conference - Quick Take
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Yesterday was Day 1 of the Unify analyst conference being held in Bermuda. No complaints about being here, and I'll just leave it at that. I'll have a more detailed post later, as it's Day 2 now, and I need to be in the moment.
The main story here is how things will progress following the Atos acquisition. There's a big opportunity here, although the synergies will take time to realize. Our timing was good yesterday, as the official news of the deal being done was announced around noon, so we got to share it with Unify management in real time. Champagne all around, and a lot of happy faces.
Overall, there's going to be a challenge for both companies figuring out where products fit into a services-driven business. There are also realities to address in that the marketplace is still attached to a CPE model, whereas most vendors - Unify included - want to migrate customers to the cloud and have them adopt a managed services model.
Closer to what I follow more regularly - OpenScape and Circuit - there's lots of good news. Looks like they've productized Circuit nicely, with 2 free entry options and 3 paid editions that look more like a real UC deployment. Also, closer to home, it's good see a growing presence in North America, and the customer panel we're seeing today is more validation of that.
Unify is in a good position now financially, sales momentum is strong, their channel story is more focused now, and their focus on 5 vertical markets is paying off. Circuit is still finding its legs, but the developer ecosystem is growing, and as we heard on the customer panel, it gets new conversations going that helps differentiate Unify.
I'll have more to say after the event, and for now I'll leave you with some photos from Day 1.
The main story here is how things will progress following the Atos acquisition. There's a big opportunity here, although the synergies will take time to realize. Our timing was good yesterday, as the official news of the deal being done was announced around noon, so we got to share it with Unify management in real time. Champagne all around, and a lot of happy faces.
Overall, there's going to be a challenge for both companies figuring out where products fit into a services-driven business. There are also realities to address in that the marketplace is still attached to a CPE model, whereas most vendors - Unify included - want to migrate customers to the cloud and have them adopt a managed services model.
Closer to what I follow more regularly - OpenScape and Circuit - there's lots of good news. Looks like they've productized Circuit nicely, with 2 free entry options and 3 paid editions that look more like a real UC deployment. Also, closer to home, it's good see a growing presence in North America, and the customer panel we're seeing today is more validation of that.
Unify is in a good position now financially, sales momentum is strong, their channel story is more focused now, and their focus on 5 vertical markets is paying off. Circuit is still finding its legs, but the developer ecosystem is growing, and as we heard on the customer panel, it gets new conversations going that helps differentiate Unify.
I'll have more to say after the event, and for now I'll leave you with some photos from Day 1.
CMO Bill Hurley kicking things off
Norm Korey and the GTM update
Toasting the official news of the Atos acquisition of Unify
Comfy breakout pods
What's not to like?
