Brave New World - My Voice Summit 2019 Thoughts on BCStrategies

Had a lot of takeaways from last week’s Voice Summit 2019 in Newark, and here’s my latest. While the event was mostly consumer-focused, there were some enterprise-based sessions - including mine - and there certainly was food for thought both around collaboration and contact center.

I wrote this post wearing my BC Expert hat for BCStrategies, and it’s running now on the portal. For more on this event, you’ll want to check out my photo review here, and if you subscribe to my newsletter, the upcoming August issue includes a hot-off-the-press podcast with my colleague, Chris Fine, who was there with me. I’ve got more posts coming, so stay tuned.

VOICE Summit 19 - Quick Pix

I attended the middle two days of this event in Newark, and there was plenty to see. Plenty new, plenty interesting, and plenty to talk about. Definitely an adjacency in this emerging ecosystem to collaboration - you wouldn’t normally associate these two worlds at face value - and that’s why I was there, to help bring the enterprise perspective.

Before the week is out, I only have time to share some photos, but more is coming. I’ll have a post next week for BCStrategies, and today I’m recording a podcast about it for my August newsletter. I’ve got some other posts in mind as well, so stay tuned.

I can’t validate their claim to be the “world’s largest voice event”, but it gets your attention. Pete Erickson welcoming the audience, and it was pretty big. They said 5,000 would be there, but I think it was more like 2-3k. So, Pete runs Modev (mobile developers), and that’s the organization behind the event. Last photo - the Amazon Alexa “quiet space”. The phone booth has always been a great concept, so here’s what it looks like in the digital age.

Adam Cheyer, VP R&D at Samsung - he’s one of the creators of Siri, and he’s in a great spot to make Samsung a major player in this space - just you watch. Next photo - one of an endless number of breakouts - this is Interactions - talking about using bots and conversational AI to make CX better - familiar to me, but I think very new to this crowd. Next, a slide from Voices.com - more on this later, but very interesting use case for hiring voice actors to tell your branding story. Last in this panel - one of my favorite moments - an ASL interpreter helping deaf attendees follow the sessions - loved seeing that.

Pindrop CEO Vijay B (very long last name!) talking about authentication challenges with AI-driven voice. Example here showing how Barack Obama evolved while in office - not just his looks, but also his voice - this was my favorite talk of the summit. Next photo - Tom Webster sharing highlights from the Smart Audio Report and how consumers are using digital assistants in the home. I’ll be writing about this study soon. Finally, some live jazz on tap during the Day 1 reception - this trio could really swing - loved it.

Wednesday night was the Voice Summit Awards, for which I was a judge. Pete Erickson hosting the awards event - was very fun. Highlight for me was meeting Thomas Chappell - wearing tie - he’s a deaf developer with Prudential Financial in Newark, who received an award, and addressed the audience the next day. Both in photo are deaf developers, and they were all smiles when we found out that they went to the same school as my deaf brother, NTID in Rochester. Cool! Finally, a pleasant surprise - Newark has a terrific LRT that runs through their subway tunnels. When built in the 1930s, these stations had beautiful tile work, and here's a great example from the Broad St. station.

Next Stop - Newark and VOICE 2019 - and My Preview Q&A

If you follow me, you’ll know by now that I’ll be at VOICE 2019 this week, and I’ll be flying to Newark shortly. This will be my first time both to Newark as a visitor and to this event, and it should be a great week. Details on what I’ll be up to are in my recent blog posts, and here in my Event Calendar.

As a preview, the folks at VOICE 2019 just did a Q&A with me, and that’s running now on their event blog page. I’ll make it easy for you - if interested, just click here, and you’ll be all set. If you’re attending and want to meet up, I won’t be hard to find.

VOICE Summit 19 - My Session - Voice and AI in the Enterprise

If you’re attending Voice Summit 19 next week in Newark, it’s time for a shout-out for my executive panel session. We’re on at 3pm on the Tuesday - July 23 - and we’ll be talking about a topic that’s central to my ongoing research - the impact of AI on voice in the enterprise. I’ve been calling this the “New Voice” for a while now, and if time allows, we’ll talk about what’s happening both in the workplace and the contact center.

Joining me will be Collin Davis of AWS, Yingbo Zhou of Salesforce, and Jason Ouimette of Noble Systems. Details about our session are here, and I sure hope you’ll join us. There are 17 tracks running, so attendees will need to plan carefully - it could get hectic!

To further keep on top of things, my twitter handle is @arnoldjon, and for a preview of the session, here’s a video interview I did with Pete Erickson, the force behind this event. Also, tomorrow, look for a Q&A interview from me here on the VOICE Summit blog page.

Finally if you haven’t registered yet, you can save 15% using this link and my promo code, JA309.

New Podcast with 8x8 - How Collaboration is Transforming Business

I just finished doing another podcast recording with UK-based EM360, this time with Mayur Pitamber of 8x8.

We covered a wide range of topics around how collaboration technologies are transforming business, both in the office and the contact center. A central theme is engagement, and what cloud-based offerings bring to make it better than what businesses are experiencing now. Here’s the link to our podcast, and would love to hear your thoughts.

Newsletter Time - July Issue

Subscribers have their newsletters by now, and for everyone else, even if just a bit curious about my work, you can sign up here, and get the July issue via email in no time.

The content is not published elsewhere, and subscribers get first access to our podcast. The latest topic is a recap of two conferences from June - Realcomm from Chris, and 2600Hz from me.

Otherwise, if you don’t know, there’s an archive of previous podcasts here on my website. Later this month, I’ll add the current podcast there, but if just have to hear it now, you’d better subscribe.

June Redux - My Perspectives from Four Conferences on No Jitter

It’s time for my latest No Jitter post, where I’m a regular contributor as part of the BCStrategies team where we provide weekly thought leadership.

June was an unusually busy month, including four very different industry events spread across three countries. I can’t imagine anyone else out there having been to all of these last month, so it’s fair to say you’ll get a unique perspective from this roundup. If you like my take on things, then I’m sure you’ll enjoy my latest on No Jitter, and you can read it here. Would love to hear your thoughts, and as always, feel free to share.

VOICE Summit 19 Update - What I'll Be Doing There

Billed as the “world’s largest voice event”, this sounds like something I really should attend. It’s now just two weeks away - running June 22-25 in Newark, NJ - and the marketing effort is in high gear. I’ll do my part with this shout-out and update on my roles beyond attending.

First, I’ll be leading a panel discussion on Tuesday at 3pm - “Voice and AI in the Enterprise - Executive Briefing”. Joining me will be Collin Davis of AWS, Yingbo Zhou of Salesforce, and Jason Ouimette of Noble Systems. Am working out the topics now, and I sure hope you can join us. I’ll be socializing this over other channels, but for now, all the details are here. You’re going need to that, as there are 17 tracks, so choosing sessions and navigating your logistics is going to be challenging. But really, why would you attend any other session at that time? :-)

Second is my role for the VOICE Summit Awards. They’ve gathered tons of submissions across 12 categories, and I’m one of the judges. I’m evaluating about 90 submissions from four categories, and am just about done with that. At this point, I’m pretty saturated going through all these, but there are definitely some cool entries that I plan to start following now.

Otherwise, I have two quick items to add:

1. If you haven’t registered yet, you can save 15% using this link and my promo code, JA309

2. On July 5, I did a livestream interview with Pete Erickson of Modev (the company behind the event), and if you haven’t seen it, look for it here on their Facebook page

June Writing Roundup

June sure was busy, as I attended four events, plus had a short getaway trip/family event. Writing still goes on, though, and here’s a digest of what I had on tap last month.

Maximize Huddle Room Technology with Collaboration Metrics, Tech Target, June 27

My Poly Voyager 6200 Headset Review, my blog, June 20

3 Ways AI Adds Value to Collaboration, Toolbox.com, June 19

Thinking Differently About Managed IT Services for SMBs, BCStrategies, June 17

Employee Engagement: Collaboration’s Hidden Value, Toolbox.com, June 17

What Role Does UC Mobility Play in Digital Transformation?, Tech Target, June 14

Deciding Between Best-of-Breed or Integrated Platforms for Collaboration, Toolbox.com, June 3

Managed IT Services for SMBs - My Latest BCStrategies Post

I cover a wide range of topics wearing my BC Expert hat with BCStrategies, and for this month’s contribution, the focus was on managed IT services. In the course of my research, I talk to different types of providers, including MSPs, and I find that a fascinating space. They have a strong niche with SMBs, and while it’s easy to associate them with selling managed or hosted communications services like VoIP or UC, they can be just as home offering the same for IT services.

Considering the inherent challenges faced by SMBs to keep up with technology, this shouldn’t be surprising, and if anything, IT services should be a great stepping stone to supporting leading edge UC&C offerings. With that connection in mind, if you follow SMBs, I think you’ll find my latest post of interest. Basically, when SMBs are in a good place with their IT capabilities, going to the cloud for UC or contact center becomes much easier.

I should also add that I got first-hand view of that on a recent briefing with NexusTek, a Colorado-based MSP. They’ve really fine-tuned their portfolio of managed IT services, and have leveraged the cloud pretty effectively to support distributed organizations. SMBs need to operate this way to stay competitive, and along those lines, NexusTek recently launched an expanded suite of managed IT services. There is no shortage of MSPs to choose from, and this seems like a good way to create some differentiation, so kudos to them. Anyhow I hope you check out my BCStrategies post, and as always, comments are welcome.

Next Stop - San Diego and KAZOOcon

With a name like that, how could you not want to be there?

This is my first time attending this event put on by 2600Hz, and I’ll be part of an analyst panel on Wednesday at 11:40, along with BCStrategies colleagues Blair Pleasant and Phil Edholm. Details can be found in the Event Calendar section of my website, and if you want to follow along, my twitter handle is @arnoldjon, and the event hash is #KazooCon19.

I’ve got yet another bi-coastal week ahead, so my travel plans need to be well-organized. Am flying to San Diego tomorrow morning, returning Thursday night, then flying to NYC Friday morning with my partner for a family gathering, back Tuesday night. Oh boy! Will try to dip my toes in both oceans, and if so, I’ll let you know which one is colder.

My Latest Podcast, with Talkdesk on EM360

I get involved in various projects with UK-based EM360, and this time around it was a podcast with Talkdesk. Our topic was how the cloud brings new value to the contact center, and my accomplice was Talkdesk’s Director of Product Marketing, Stephen Bell.

The podcast was just just posted on EM360 today, so here’s the link if you’d like to give it a listen. As always, sharing and comments are welcome, and if you’d like to do something similar for your company, am sure the EM360 folks will be happy to hear from you.

Newsletter Time - June Issue and New Podcast

If you subscribe to my newsletter, you should have it by now, as distribution happened earlier today. Aside from my regular mix of updates and what I’m seeing in the market, we have a new podcast to share. This time around, Chris Fine and I talk about the differences between collaboration and workstream communications - terms that are easily interchanged and can be confusing depending on who’s doing the talking.

As usual, the podcast is exclusive to subscribers for about two weeks, after which it will be publicly shared. Don’t forget to check out the new transcript feature, where you can follow the bouncing cursor to see how well Otter.ai is doing speech-to-text in real time of the podcast - pretty cool. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you might was to subscribe, and that takes about 10 seconds - how hard is that?

Next Stops - Toronto and Niagara Falls

No travel in May, but I have four events next month, including two next week. Happily, both are close to home, and since they overlap, I have the luxury of being able to attend both. As you may know, since I make my living largely from the US, I’ve long noted how few industry events there are here in Canada. It can be a full-time job hopping from event to event in the US, but I can count on one hand how many Canadian events there are for me to attend. Wouldn’t you know it, but there two happening at the same time next week. Life’s like that, and am really looking forward to both.

On Monday, I’ll be taking in Day 1 at the Canadian Telecom Summit. This event has long been the biggest and best industry gathering, and it’s moved to a bigger site now, which is always a good sign.

Then on Tuesday, I’m driving a bit further west to Niagara Falls for Day 1 of the MISA event. This is where IT buyers from municipalities gather to learn the latest on many fronts, including technology. There’s a bit more back story to this, and you can read that in the Event Calendar section of my site, where you’ll also find links to both events.

What a Restaurant Can Teach You About Collaboration - My Latest on No Jitter

Wow - been almost two weeks since my last blog post! Let’s just say I’ve been pretty busy writing and getting some new projects going. Also have four June events starting Monday, plus a personal trip that month, so it never ends.

With that said, my latest No Jitter post is running now, and as the title suggests, it reflects my unconventional perspective on collaboration. If you attended Slack’s recent Frontiers event, this will make perfect sense; otherwise, you’re just going to have to read it to find out for yourself. After that, sharing would be great, and your thoughts would be welcome as always.

Guest Post for Talkdesk - WFM: the Customer is Always Right

Those who follow my blog and/or newsletter will know that I get approached to write guest posts for vendor sites, When the stars line up, I’m happy to oblige, and Talkdesk is the latest example. We’ve been exploring various ways of working together, so this is hopefully the first of many posts you’ll see from me with them.

My first guest post is about their recently-announced workforce management offering, and what their cloud-native approach brings to this core building block for contact centers. The title will make sense once you read the post, and it first ran here on Talkdesk’s website. To give it broader exposure, I’m posting about it here, so if you missed it the first time around, here’s your second chance. As always, comments and sharing are welcome.

Ribbon Perspectives19 - My Takeaways on BCStrategies

Every industry event is different, and no two companies respond to changing market conditions the same way. My latest conference was Ribbon’s Perspectives19 in Washington DC, and I came away with some strong impressions, but also some questions. My writeup was posted on BCStrategies on Friday, and in case you missed it, here’s the link.

Newsletter Time Again - May Issue

By now, my subscribers will have the current newsletter in their email, and if you’ve had a chance to check it out, I’d love to hear your thoughts. For everyone else, I welcome you subscribe to get some things you just won’t get anywhere else - our latest podcast, some interesting photos, and perspectives on what I’m seeing and doing in the collaboration space. That’s all for now, and if you want to get the May issue and future issues, here’s where to sign up.

New Podcast to Share - Enterprise Connect - and New Website Feature

So, if you’re still wondering what the buzz was about at Enterprise Connect, you’ll want to check out our last podcast, which is now being publicly shared.

For those who don’t get my newsletter, let me explain, plus I have some good news.

My newsletter is coming up on its first anniversary, and a regular feature is a podcast that I do with long-time colleague, Chris Fine. We’ve been in the communications tech space almost 20 years, and always have perspectives to share on the latest trends, and we often discuss conferences we’ve just attended.

The podcasts are exclusive to subscribers for a couple of weeks, and then I share them publicly so they can reach a broader audience. So, if you got the April newsletter, you would have heard the podcast then, when it was much more in the moment.

Normally, I would have shared it publicly a week or two ago, but I’ve had back-to-back events, and just haven’t had the time - sorry about that! Since then, however, I’ve managed to finally add a new section to my website - it’s an archive for all our podcasts up til the last newsletter issue. As each month passes, that will be updated, so by going to this section, you can access the latest podcast, along with what’s come before.

My website has been a work in progress for a long time, and I have other updates coming. Next will be a newsletter archive, so, much like the podcasts, you can review older issues from my site. Many of you know that I’m a music guy, and I’m also working on adding a section where you can check out clips of our band, the SIPtones, which is a group of industry consultants - and me - that plays at some of our industry events. Need a band for your next event?

Time to get back to work, and the Enterprise Connect podcast. I’ve got two links to leave you with, and I hope you get to both of them. First is the link to the podcast archive, where you can access them all up til last month, including Enterprise Connect. Then, there’s a link to sign up for my newsletter - if you did that, you wouldn’t have to wait so long for the podcast - so what are you waiting for?

Link to the podcast archive

Click here for newsletter sign-up form

That’s it. All done here in Washington DC with Ribbon, and it’s time to head to the airport. If you like my photos, btw, I posted a bunch from our city tour on Facebook - so look for me there if interested. At some point, I’ll probably add a photo archive to my website - would that be of interest?

Ok - so, here’s one photo from the city tour. He sure was a big reader, and I just know he would have subscribed to my newsletter - just sayin’…..

April Writing Roundup

There’s always something to write about, and here’s what was keeping my fingers moving in April.

Slack - Got Their Mojo Workin’, BC Strategies, April 30

How UC can Empower IT, Toolbox.com, April 24

UCaaS vs CCaaS: Weighing Communications Architecuture Integrations, Tech Target, April 22

Telephony: Foundational for Today’s Voice and Tomorrow’s Collaboration, UC Today, April 11

A History of VoIP and What’s Changed Now, Toolbox.com, April 10

How is Team Collaboration Changing Enterprise Social Tools?, Tech Target, April 10

AI + Speech = New Business Value, No Jitter, April 9

3 Reasons to Replace Your Phone System Now, Toolbox.com, April 8