The Accelerated Need for Digital CX in 2021 - My Latest for Upstream Works

Sure has been busy lately. This is the 6th piece of original, new content I’ve shared this week - writeups, webinars and video - plus I contributed to a podcast yesterday that will air next week; and my December newsletter and podcast went out last Friday. Yes, I’m glad it’s Friday!

I’ve just finished up a 3-part Strategic Insights series for Upstream Works, and Part 2 has been posted now on their website. It’s gated content, so it just takes a minute to fill out the registration form. However, if you want an analyst’s perspective on why digital CX is so important for contact centers, I’ll think you’ll find this a good read.

Part 1 can also be downloaded from their site, and I just finished writing Part 3, and it should be posted in the next week or so. As always, comments are welcome, and I’m sure the folks at Upstream Works would love to hear from you!

Top 5 Collaboration Trends for 2021 - My Take for EM360

The folks at UK-based Enterprise Management 360 have come up with a new series called Emerge5, where speakers like me share our perspectives in short, 5-minute video segments. Being December, they wanted my outlook for 2021, so the focus was 5 key trends to watch for in the collaboration space.

My segment is running now on the EM360 site, and if you give it a watch, I’d love to hear your feedback!

A Better Way to Do AI - My Latest on No Jitter

Sure has been busy lately with a constant stream of virtual industry events, writing, podcasts and webinars. I’m a regular contributor to No Jitter, and my latest was inspired by a talk from Dr. Michio Kaku during a recent NEC event. Sometimes, it takes the perspective from a physicist to reframe how we think about AI in the communications and collaboration space.

That sure stuck with me, and I’ve tied those threads together in this post, which has been posted now on No Jitter. There’s MUCH more to talk about, but that’s a separate conversation, and for now, I just hope this post broadens your thinking about AI.

What Contact Centers Can Learn from the Tampa Bay Rays

How’s that for a catchy title?

It’s exactly what it sounds like, and it’s all about analytics. Baseball fans know about Moneyball, and based on research I’ve been doing on contact center reporting, my view is that there’s too much focus on reporting and not enough on analytics. The latter approach seems to be working pretty well for teams like the Rays, who were certainly competitive in this year’s World Series, against a far more talented and expensive LA Dodger juggernaut.

If you’re just meh about the topic, then don’t bother reading my latest article, but if I’ve piqued your interest - and maybe hit on a pain point (no pun intended) - then I hope you check it out. There’s a lot more to talk about, but the article is running now in Customer Magazine, and if you give it a read, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

December Newsletter and Podcast are Out

My December newsletter went out on Friday, and it recaps another busy month. It really hasn’t not been busy for all of 2020, and even for the past few days, I’m way behind on providing updates on new things I‘ve been up to. I’ll get caught up sharing all that shortly, and until then, for my subscribers, I hope you’re getting something good from the newsletter. For everyone else, it just takes a moment to subscribe to JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review, and soon I’ll be adding an archive of earlier issues on my website.

Along with the newsletter, the latest edition of my Watch This Space podcast is now out, and the thumb below will give you a good idea of what we talked about. You can give it a listen here, and any day now, recent episodes - including transcripts - will be updated on the Podcasts section of my website.

Spotlight on SBCs with Ingate - my Latest on BCStrategies

Every so often I’ll do a spotlight piece on a trend or technology, especially ones that are not well-understood. I’ve been following the session border controller space since inception - 2004 - and it falls squarely into that bucket. Ingate Systems is one of the early players, and they’re still going strong, so that makes them a good partner for this exercise, and recently I’ve been working on this with their President, Steve Johnson.

The output is a fairly long Q&A, where we discuss the evolution of SBCs, why they’re important and what to look ahead for in 2021. Our discussion has been posted now to the BCStrategies portal, where I’ve been a contributing BC Expert for ages. I hope you give it a read, and would love to hear your thoughts.

My Next SCTC Fireside Chat on AI - This Wednesday, with Avaya

Tomorrow, our ongoing series about the AI opportunity for consultants continues with Part 4. I’ll be providing a recap of the key themes covered from the earlier sessions, as well as my outlook for 2021.

Joining me will be Tracy Fleming from Avaya, who will address specific AI use cases in the contact center, and as always, the sessions will be led by Steve Leaden. Registration details have now been posted to the SCTC website, and I hope you can join us - tomorrow from 12-1 EST.

Watch This Space Podcast - Now Featured on BCStrategies

Being an indie analyst, I wear many hats, and one is being a BC Expert with BCStrategies. I’ve been part of this virtual collective for many years, and contribute regularly, mainly in the form of articles. Each BC Expert has a strong body of work, making this portal a great resource for anyone in the collaboration space, and for reference, here’s mine.

Coming back to my main hat - J Arnold & Associates, most of you know I produce a monthly newsletter - JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review - along with a monthly podcast, Watch This Space. The podcast branding was updated in September, and I’m slowly getting it listed with the commercial podcasting platforms, and hopefully that will be done by year-end.

For those who don’t subscribe to my podcast from one of these platforms, you can now check it out on BCStrategies, so that’s my news for today. And while you’re there, please check out all the other content from fellow BC Experts. I’ll actually have another post running there any day now, and I’ll have a separate blog post about that.

My Next Webinar with RingCentral - the Case for Cloud Telephony in 2021

Got a new webinar shout-out here - am back with another RingCentral engagement, and it’s on Tuesday, December 8 at 2pm ET.

Heading into the last month of the worst-year-ever, we’re all looking ahead to hopefully better things in 2021. For businesses still going with their premises-based phone systems - the value proposition is weakening, and with many workers happily entrenched at home, it’s going to be difficult to keep supporting them this way in the year ahead.

That’s the gist of the webinar, and I’ll be addressing it at greater length then. I’ll be joined by a RingCentral customer who will tell their story first-hand - and will update you once they’ve been added to the roster. Details are here, and if you want to join us, it just takes a moment to register.

My Latest for Upstream Works - Pandemic Implications for CX and the Contact Center

I’ve been doing work for Canadian contact center provider Upstream Works for a few years now, and we’ve got a new Insight Series going. Main focus is about the impact of COVID-19 on the contact center as well as how CX is changing as a result.

The first report in this series has been posted now to their website, and the others will be coming over the next few weeks. Registration is required, but it just takes a moment, and I think they’ve done a great job putting the finished product together!

Next SCTC Fireside Chat on AI - This Wednesday, with Vonage and Journey.ai

Tomorrow is Part 3 in our ongoing series about the AI opportunity for consultants. This time around, I’ll be talking about emerging AI applications. As usual, Steve Leaden will host, and we’ll be joined by speakers from Vonage and Journey.ai.

If you don’t know, these one hour sessions are open to all, with the core audience being SCTC members and consultants who want to learn more about what we have to offer. The session starts at noon, and to get the link, please follow the registration details here.

My Latest White Paper - Mitel - CX Challenges in Pandemic Times

This white paper has been in the works for some time with Mitel, and has launched today. To support it, they’ve issued a press release, and you can read about the details there. Being long-form content, the white paper is gated on their website, and here’s the registration page to download it.

I’m involved with two other efforts to support the white paper, with the first being a Twitter Chat, today at 11am ET. I’ll be joined by Shameem Smillie and Matthew Clare from Mitel, and to tune in, the hashtag is #MitelChats.

I’ll also be presenting highlights from the white paper on a webinar that will likely be in early January - details to follow.

A Change is Gonna Come - Takeaways From Zoom, Twilio and Slack on No Jitter

Last month, I had nine virtual events to track (more on that in my newsletter), but three in particular stood out, from Zoom, Twilio and Slack. Three companies that have only been on our UCC radar a few short years, but with three, you have a pattern, and I’m seeing a few here. I’m sure you do too, and if so, I think you’ll enjoy my analysis.

Lots to explore, and the article is running now on No Jitter. As always, comments and sharing are welcome.

Next SCTC Fireside Chat - This Wednesday, with Genesys and Inference

I’m running a 3-part series on AI for SCTC, and last week’s kickoff session was really well attended. We continue next with a particular focus on the contact center, and there sure is a lot to talk about. I’ll be giving an overview of the trends, and then I’ll be joined by Gordon Sexton of Genesys, and Richard Dumas of Inference Solutions.

Our Fireside Chat sessions have found a nice groove, and even if you’re not an SCTC member, this should be time well-spent - and for consultants who aren’t members, you might think about joining to be part of this community. Details to register are here on the SCTC site, and we start at noon ET.

Newsletter Time Again - November Issue - Podcast Too

A bit later than usual, but my November newsletter - JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review - went out to subscribers yesterday. October was probably my busiest month ever, so there’s lots to share, including photos of notable speakers and performers from the various virtual events I attended.

If you’re not a subscriber, and want to become one, it’s really easy to sign up.

Newsletter content aside, it’s also time for the latest episode of my podcast, Watch This Space - see thumbnail below. I hope you give that a listen, and would love to get your feedback!

SCTC Fireside Chat Tomorrow - the AI Opportunity for Consultants

Tomorrow, I kick off the first of a three-part series on AI and how consultants can apply to it bring new value to their customers. This a webinar format, under the moniker of Fireside Chats that the SCTC has been running weekly for a while - this one is #32.

We do these on Wednesdays from 12-1 EST, and for this one, I’ll be joined by Tracy Fleming of Avaya. The audience will primarily be consultants, but all are welcome, and to join us, just follow the details here.

My October Writing Roundup

I thought September was busy, but October was even busier. Grateful to be busy, but with so many virtual events to follow, it didn’t leave much time for writing. Not a whole lot to share from October, but here’s what I was writing about the past few weeks. For a broader look at what kept me busy last month, check out my newsletter, JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review. The November edition goes out tomorrow, and if you want to subscribe, just sign up here.

The Hybrid Workplace - Dual Set of Challenges for Driving Collaboration, BC Strategies, Oct. 27

DRaaS - a Better Way to Enable Telephony in Microsoft Teams?, UC Today, Oct. 23

Speech Recognition Use Cases Enable Touchless Collaboration, TechTarget, Oct. 19

Webinar Preview: What Contact Centers Really Need - Big Analytics, not Big Data, JAA blog, Oct. 16

Why Voice Has Extended Value in Financial Services, Smarsh Blog, Oct. 15

SIP Trunking vs. VoIP - What’s the Difference?, TechTarget, Oct. 7

My Next Webinar with Lifesize - Contact Center Success Strategies in 2021

I’ll be presenting on another webinar soon, this one sponsored by Lifesize and hosted by Channel Partners. Heading into year-end, the focus will be on planning for 2021, and how contact centers need to be thinking about cloud - and video - and why channels are well-positioned.

It’s a big topic, and am looking forward to providing an overview, and then leading a conversation about with Valur Svansson, Lifesize’s Global Sr. Director, Contact Center EX and CX. I can tell you now, it will be an engaging discussion, so I hope you can join us.

The webinar is happening on Thursday, November 12 at 2pm ET, and all the details for registration are here.

The Hybrid Workplace - New Research and My Latest for BCStrategies

My workload and schedule have both been intense since Labor Day, and that’s cut into my writing output including my regular contributions to BCStrategies, where I’ve long been a BCS Expert.

The stars finally lined up to get a post done, and I based it on a new research study commissioned by Cisco, titled “The Rise of the Hybrid Workplace”. It’s a global study that looks at the impact of COVID-19 on the workplace, and the challenges for both home-based working, along with bringing workers back to the office.

Lots of interesting data, and I’ve distilled the highlights into a few themes that you can digest in a single post. My analysis has been posted now on the BCS portal, and I hope you find it of interest. While you’re there, you’ll find lots of other great content from my peers, including articles, podcasts and interviews with industry leaders. If you follow me, you may know that my Watch This Space podcast has recently been added to the portal, so it’s another way to access my podcasts - fyi.

New Guest Post with Smarsh - New Value with Voice for FinServ

Since our paths crossed at Enterprise Connect 2020, I’ve been building a rapport with Smarsh, a very interesting company mostly in the financial services space, but also other sectors that are highly regulated. Their forte is helping companies better manage electronic communications in a landscape where the technologies are changing quickly, and the regulations are getting harder to comply with. Lots of challenges there for IT, as well as compliance folks, and it touches on the collaboration space in many ways.

Smarsh provides lots of great resources to help educate the market about these challenges, and I just completed my first guest blog post for them, and it was just published on their Blog a few days ago. I hope you give it a read - here’s the link - and if you like their content, you can subscribe to their Blog. We’re talking about doing more posts, so stay tuned, and I’ll update you when the next one is running.