Slack Frontiers 2018 - Quick Take and Pix

This is just Slack's second industry event, and while they've come a long way in a little time, they're not quite a household name. That's probably a good thing, as they've been quietly and intelligently building what looks to be a great organization with the kind of vibe, culture and passion that makes for very successful companies.

Over the last two days, I've gotten to see that first hand, and it looks pretty real to me. Make no mistake - the established collaboration players are watching Slack closely, and not surprisingly, some of those people have now joined their ranks.

I was lucky enough to be one of a handful of analysts in attendance - and I don't think the media was there - so, unless you've been following my tweets, what I'm sharing here will be new for you. For now, I'll let these photos do most of the talking, as I wanted to quickly get a post up before flying home. I've got lots to say, and that will be coming in a few different forms shortly, so check back soon - and even better, you might want to sign up for my newsletter.

For now, I'm just going to leave you with a couple of comments from the sessions that reflect the big-picture takeaways.

First, from April Underwood, their Chief Product Officer: "this really is a movement". Yup - she's referring to how the workplace is changing, and there's a need for tools and solutions that align with this fundamental shift. I've been following Slack for a while, and have long felt that if UC - or something along those lines - was being invented today from scratch, it would look like Slack.

Second, a very telling quote cited by Neil Shah, their Sr. Director of Strategy and Analytics. This was from one of their customers: "People told us they would quit if we took away their Slack."  Sure sounds like "I want my MTV", huh? Maybe a tad dramatic, but have you heard anyone talk like that about Spark or Skype for Business?

People have similar attachments to their iPhones, but workplace tools? That's what I call sticky, and when you can build that kind of organic, bottom-up emotional attachment, your odds of converting free users to paid are way better - and that's the key to making Slack a true force, not just for disruption, but for innovation.

Much more to talk about, but I need to get to the airport! I hope this gives you a taste of what I saw at Frontiers 2018, and I'd love to get your comments, either here or on Slack.

Above - Places - mis en scene - an uber-industrial setting, but perfect for showing what the future holds.

Below - People and Things.

People - speakers from the various sessions, including Ed Catmull, Founder of Pixar, in conversation with Slack CEO, Stewart Butterfield.

Things - SO Cali, SO San Francisco - can't wait to come back!

My September Newsletter is Out Now

If you're a subscriber,  you'd know that by now, but for everyone else, am just letting you know about my newsletter, which provides exclusive content about what I'm up to and what I'm seeing the collaboration market. Just takes a moment to sign up, so here you go.

Of particular interest  would be my regular podcast, this time being a recap of last month's Blockchain Futurist Conference that I attended in Toronto. In time, the podcasts will be shared on my website, but if you need to check it out now, just sign up for the newsletter.

Next Stop - Slack Frontiers, San Francisco

Not wasting any time kicking off a busy fall, both on the work front and with conferences. Tomorrow, I'm flying way out west to San Francisco for Slack's Frontiers event. They've been both disruptive and innovative, and Slack has become a household name in very little time.

This will be my first time attending their industry event, as it will be for most, so there will be lots to learn and many people to meet. More details are here on my Event Calendar page, and I'll be posting updates as time allows.

August Writing Roundup

Overall, a pretty varied month on the writing front. Newsletter subscribers will also know that in August, I was busy on other thought leadership fronts, namely podcasts, webinars, event planning and go-to-market strategy. Here are the writing highlights, and to get the newsletter, please sign up here.

What is Communications? The Rest of the Story, Toolbox.com, Aug.  27

Voice - New and Improved, Thanks to AI, Unified Communications Magazine, Aug.22

How Blockchain Could Improve Collaboration, No Jitter, Aug. 20

Blockchain Futurist Conference, Toronto - Pix, Thoughts and Larry King, my blog, Aug. 16

What is the Difference Between UC Platforms and Apps?, TechTarget, Aug. 13

Google Duplex - What Businesses Really Need to Know, Toolbox.com, Aug. 7

Which Way is Up with UC and Collaboration?, BCStrategies, Aug. 3

Looking for Blockchain or Cryptocurrency Developers?

Here's my question - do you need an experienced, scalable development team for blockchain or cryptocurrency projects?

I don't often do things like this, but my followers will know that I've recently been exploring this space - here and here - both for applications to the collaboration space, but also the broader blockchain opportunity.

Along those lines, I’m partnering with a boutique software development house with a long track record and a global team of programmers and engineers. For blockchain, they can take on both private and public projects, such as Ethereum, Hyperledger Fabric and Quorum.

Expertise for cryptocurrency includes Open Source wallet solutions, ATM solutions, with support across major exchanges such as CoinExchange.io, GDAX and Poloniex. They also can develop for a wide range of ICO projects, including landing pages, KYC for IaaS providers, smart contracts, and the full spectrum of processing for payments and conversions.

For more information, please contact me directly, thanks.

Voice - New and Improved, Thanks to AI - and Future of Work Expo Shout-Out, Part 2

Well, this worked out well. I've been writing a column for TMCnet - Rethinking Communications - for a few years, but after shifting recently to a quarterly publishing cycle, there have been longer gaps for my articles.

My latest article was just published the other day, and as the title suggests - Voice - New and Improved, Thanks to AI - the topic fits quite well with the Future of Work Expo coming up next January. To connect the dots, my earlier post today talks about the conference, and after reading that, the connection with this article should be clear.

This time around, the article is running in TMCnet's publication Unifed Communications, and that seems like a good fit to me. I hope you enjoy it, and even better if it gets you closer to deciding to join us at Future of Work Expo.

Future of Work Expo - Early Shout-Out and Call for Speakers

This conference isn't for a while - end of January - but it's a good time for an early shout-out.

I've been regularly attending and moderating sessions at TMCnet's ITExpo for many years, with the next edition marking the show's 20th anniversary, so it's a big one. That's many lifetimes in Millennial years, and it may be hard for digital natives to fathom that anything in tech can last 20 years, but Rich Tehrani and company have found the formula, and they're still going strong.

As any attendee knows, the main event - ITExpo - is flanked my many sub-events and co-located events, and I'll be the go-to guy for one of them. A new event for 2019 is The New Intelligence, and it consists of three distinct tracks. One is called Future of Work, and it's focused on AI and Machine Learning, topics I've been following since early this year.

I'm writing about this now, as the Agenda and Speaker Roster were both posted just the other day. It's really just the first round, but will give you a good idea of what the event will be addressing and who'll be doing the talking. I'm the common thread, and will be moderating several sessions, and introducing speakers for the others.

As the program fills out, I'll share updates here, so stay tuned. We're also still looking to fill some speaking spots, so if these topics are in your zone, please get in touch and we'll see if there's a place for you.

More Thoughts on Blockchain and Collaboration - My No Jitter Post

As mentioned in last week's quick take blog post about the Blockchain Futurist Conference, I'd have more to say about it. Got quite a bit more to say, actually, and I channeled two particular themes into my latest No Jitter post; namely the potential tie-in between blockchain and collaboration, and how uber-host Larry King sagely brought Steve Jobs into the conversation.

Hopefully that will be enough to get you wanting more, and if so, here's the link to my post. Would love to hear your thoughts, and I'm certainly not done with this topic, so stay tuned.

Is the Gartner UC Magic Quadrant Dead? Our BCStrategies Podcast

Pretty much - but everything has it's time, right?

Nothing really surprising here, at least for us at BCStrategies, but it's easy to forget that the world doesn't move in lockstep. Technology changes faster than humans or enterprises can adapt, and there's a wide spectrum for UC and the broader collaboration umbrella. 

Conventional UC is still very much a thing, and that's the market this particular MQ report serves. For a while, it was a bellwether for the state of UC, but not so much now. If you're wondering why, then this podcast is for you. Even if you've already reached that conclusion, I think you'll enjoy our perspectives, this time moderated by Marty Parker - here's the link.

Blockchain Futurist Conference, Toronto - Pix, Thoughts and Larry King

Kinda thought that last part would get your attention. What in the world does Larry King have to do with blockchain?

No matter what your answer, it's correct. Yes, he really was there, and in a bizarre way, his voice-of-authority presence kinda provided a veneer of validation to all the goings-on. I have no doubt that's part of why he actually does represent Gear Blockchain as an Advisor; although in yet another bizarre angle to the blockchain/crypto tsunami, they share a common passion to combat climate change. I can explain later.

Lots to unpack there, and I'm saving that for a longer post, so stay tuned. In short, yesterday I attended Day 1 of of the Blockchain Futurist Conference - basic details here - partly to invest a day of my time to immerse myself in the space, but also to see where there might be applications in the communications and/or customer care spaces. Am still a bit fuzzy on the latter, but give me a day or two, and things will become clearer.

Overall, there was lots of energy in the crowd, and while the show producers fell short in many areas, they sure packed the place with big names, and the venue had the right mix of exciting new technology and a Gen Y/Z party vibe. I'm on the wrong side of the age curve for what MIllennials can relate to, but I still find it hard to take speakers seriously when dressed in sneakers, skinnny jeans, hipster beards and black t-shirts. Ya gotta get past that though, as there were some very smart people who know what's happening, and really, it's their future, and I'm just living in it.

Sure, there's lots of hype, and it's hard to say how many of these companies are going to make it, but the potential sure is fascinating - and yes, it is happening. For those of us who went through VoIP's growing pains, it's certainly 2004 redux, and the whole trajectory of this space feels eerily familiar. I'll have more to say about that in my upcoming post, so for now, I'll share a few photos. I'm not giving you much here, but your thoughts, questions or first impressions are most welcome!

Great view of our skyline from the back patio - CN Tower and all - cool, huh?

Future of Blockchain panel - including Jeff Pulver - not surprisingly, I think his comments resonated with the audience by far better than anyone else I saw speaking.

Venue sure had some interesting spaces for the speakers - not always easy to hear them, and the mikes cut out from time to time, but they made good use of the space.

Old school journalism never gets old. Larry King's opening comment - "I'm the oldest guy here in the room". Yup, but nobody  minded, and in the end, he asked THE right question that made all of this real for the audience - watch for that in my next post!

Next Up - Blockchain Futurist Conference, Toronto

Am very happy to have pretty much no business travel for the summer, but I do have a local event coming up next week. My newsletter subscribers will know that I'm exploring blockchain a bit - who isn't? - and with the Blockchain Futurist Conference here in my back yard, I'll be there. Details are here, in the Event Calendar section of my website.

Not really sure what to expect, but the lineup is solid, and am sure it will be a firehose of pitches and hype. Reminds me a lot of the early days of VoIP - same trajectory, just a different technology. Anyhow, I have no doubt I'll learn some things and meet lots of interesting people - and I'll definitely be writing about it soon after.

Speaking of conferences, things are quietly ramping up for the fall, and I've been getting things in place for a few, namely Slack, two Cisco events and SCTC. Details coming on these soon.

July Writing Roundup

Things were on the light side in July for my writing, but summer is short, and I'd say it's par for the course. As noted in my current newsletter, I've had plenty of new activity, and some of that will turn up over the next few updates. If you don't follow me that closely - or don't subscribe to my newsletter - here's a digest of my notable posts and activity from July.

Google Duplex - What Businesses Need to Know, Toolbox.com, July 27

How do you Keep your Employees from Deploying UC End-user Applications?, TechTarget, July 19

My July Newsletter is Out!, my blog, July 13

Microsoft's Meeting Room of the Future - Part 2, Toolbox.com, July 11

Contact Center 2.0 - More Than Just Going to the Cloud, No Jitter, July 10

Internet Trends 2018 - How Digital Technologies are Driving Digital Behaviors, Toolbox.com, July 5

July 31 Webinar with Jive - Digital Transformation and Collaboration

My last blog post was for an upcoming webinar with Ziff Davis/Toolbox.com, but I'm doing another one with them before that. 

This one has come together on a shorter timetable, but it's another topic I think you'll find of interest. It's also a Ziff Davis/Toolbox.com event, but this time with a sponsor - Jive Software. That name should still register for collaboration followers, but about a year ago, the company was acquired by Aurea.

I'll be the sole presenter, with topic being digital transformation and how it can help collaboration solutions/technologies bring new value to enterprises. I should add that this engagement entails two webinars, and details will be coming soon about Part 2, scheduled for September.

Until then, I hope you can join us, next Tuesday, July 31. All the details are here, and registration just takes a moment.

My Next Webinar: Workplace Implications for Digital Technologies

It's time for another Ziff Davis/Toolbox.com webinar, scheduled now for Tuesday, August 14. The topic is based on select findings drawn from Internet Trends 2018, an annual, public report on the state of the web, produced by Kleiner Perkins.

Regular followers will know that I've written about some aspects of the report, and my subscribers also have access to a podcast I did about it, along with colleague Chris Fine. If that's of interest to non-subscribers, you can sign up here, and the podcast is featured in the my current newsletter.

There's a great deal to explore in Mary Meeker's slide set, and for my webinar, I'll be focusing on some specific takeaways and data points around how digital technologies are impacting the workplace. I hope you can join me, and all it takes is providing a few contact details here on the registration page.

My July Newsletter is Out!

Just a quick heads-up on this. My subscribers already have the curreent edition, and if you'd like to get it, you just need to sign up here - or wander around my website to find a signup page.

Of particular interest may be the podcast, where I partner again with long-time colleague Chris Fine. This time around, we take a closer look at some findings from the recent Internet Trends 2018 report, compiled by tech guru Mary Meeker. We could do 10 podcasts to do this set of research justice, but for now, one will have to do. That said, if you like what we have to say, let us know - ditto for any other topic you'd like to hear our take on.

For now, my podcasts are exclusive for subscribers, but am thinking of making them publicly available a short time after the newsletter goes out. For my subscribers - not to worry - the rest of the content there will alway be exclusive, so the podcasts will just be that way for a short time, meaning you'll get access before everyone else.

Contact Center 2.0 - More Than Just Going to the Cloud - No Jitter

That's the title of my latest post for No Jitter. Am a bit behind posting about it, as I'm on vacation this week. 

This time around, I'm drawing from a current study commissioned by RingCentral about how contact centers are trying to embrace new technology to meet changing customer needs. Digital transformation is a big theme, as is the cloud and CX, and addressing them all isn't easy.

I've taken select data sets from the study to connect those dots, with the intent being to show just how hard this really is, along with steps that I think will make that journey easier.

The article is posted here on No Jitter's site, and as always, your comments are welcome, along with any sharing you care to do.

AI - is it Really Artificial? Our Latest BCStrategies Podcast

Big topic, and lots to discuss. That's what we covered in our current BCStrategies podcast. It's on the long side - about 50 minutes - but AI is kind of like that. There's so much to learn and so many perspectives, and hopefully you'll find this a good listen.

This time around, fellow Torontonian/US-expat Kevin Kieller led the group, and the download can now be accessed here on our portal. As always, both comments and sharing are welcome.

June Writing Roundup

Sure has been a while since my last blog post. I was on the road three weeks out of four last month, so blogging has been light, and same for my writing output overall.

The time, however, has been well spent, and I now have a number of new projects starting up. No conferences til late September, and I'll be plenty busy close to home fulfilling client work. Since we're in a new month, it's time for my June roundup, but also a heads-up for my next newsletter. It should be in subscriber's hands - or inboxes more accurately - by this Friday, so if you get it, the wait won't be long.

If you don't subscribe yet, this would be a good time to sign up, and here's the form. As a sneak peak, I've got another podcast coming with my colleague, Chris Fine - and if you're a fan of Mary Meeker's annual Internet Trends report, you'll want to hear our discussion about some highlights.

Ok, back to the writing - it's a short set, but here's what I was up to in June.

How do you train an AI service for collaboration?, TechTarget, June 28

Internet Trends 2018 - How Digital Technologies are Driving Digital Behaviors, Toolbox.com, June 25

AI, Chatbots and Business Success, my blog, June 20

Is Ribbon Communications the New BroadSoft?, BC Strategies, June 19

Collaboration - Think About Outcomes, not Technology, Part 2, Toolbox.com, June 18

NEC Advantage - Quick Thoughts and Photos, my blog, June 15

Cybercrime - are you Paying Attention?, Toolbox.com, Jun 12

AI, Chatbots and Business Success

I've just completed a series of writeups for Upstream Works on the growing role AI is playing in the contact center. The third and final Strategic Insight in this series can now be downloaded from their website, and I've written a blog post that serves as a preview for my analysis.

Before steering you there, in case you haven't been following this series, here's the preview post for the first writeup, and here for the second writeup. Each of these blog posts includes a URL where you can download the full analysis, and if you read these, I'd love to hear your thoughts - as would Upstream Works.

Coming back to the latest Strategic Insight, below is the opening para of the post now running on Upstream Works's blog - to read the rest, click here, after which I hope you download the full writeup.

Technology change presents both challenges and opportunities for all types of businesses, and over this three-part series, I’ve been addressing its impact on contact centers. In particular, I’ve been focusing on the emergence of Artificial Intelligence and the role chatbots can play in driving a better customer experience. The full potential will take years to realize, but there’s an urgency for contact centers to adopt new technology, and AI presents viable opportunities that can be deployed now.

Is Ribbon Communications the New BroadSoft?

Short question - and long answer. That thought has been with me since their Perspectives18 event earlier this month, and I finally got a chance to explore it in my latest contribution to BCStrategies. Earlier, I posted some quick takeaways and photos here, but for a longer analysis about Ribbon Communications, BCStrategies was the right place to land.

My analysis has now been posted to our portal, and I hope you like it. After you're done, feel free to comment and share, and then spend more time checking out all the other content on the site - our views are diverse and the insights are very good!