Voice-Enabling Microsoft Teams - the UCaaS Opportunity - My Latest Guest Post

I produce many forms of thought leadership, including guest posts on blog sites, often for vendors in our space. To be clear, I don’t write about their products - that’s not what I do - but instead focus on the business problems their customers are having, and the role that new technologies and cloud offerings can play to address them.

My latest along those lines is for SIPPIO, a company I’ve written about before. They’re doing good things in the direct routing space, especially for MSFT Teams, in partnership with AudioCodes. That’s all I have to say about that, and will now steer you to my guest post now running on their blog. It’s gated, btw, so you’ll have to fill out the reg form to get it, but it just takes a moment.

The Hybrid Workplace - New Opportunities for Collaboration: My Latest on No Jitter

Future of work is a growing part of my focus as an analyst, and the hybrid workplace model is right in the middle of all that. It’s a big topic, and every thread of research leads to more threads. My latest post for No Jitter views this through the lens of opportunities for collaboration vendors. They’re very good at enabling communication and collaboration, but enterprises face bigger challenges to balance work from home with return to office.

Both trends will be big in 2021, and my take on this will cover two posts. The first one looks at return to office, and it’s running now on No Jitter. I’ll be following that up in my next post, looking at the work from home scenario. Enterprises have to do a lot of things right to make this hybrid model work, and I hope these posts will help them get there.

Best Practices for Video Meetings - Our Latest BCStrategies Podcast

We’re on a roll lately at BCStrategies, this being our third podcast over the past few weeks. I hope you caught the last two - 2020 highlights, and our look-ahead for 2021. They’re easy to find on our portal, as is our current podcast - best practices for video meetings.

Every vendor has a video story now, but that doesn’t mean it has to be all video, all the time. In my view, video has its place, and should only be used if it’s additive to the meeting. Of course, video helps home-based workers feel more connected to their teams, so it’s not just about having another communications channel at our disposal.

Best practices can mean many things, and if you’re looking for ways to make your video meetings more productive, I think you’ll get a lot from our collective take on the topic. Here’s the link to the replay, and kudos to Blair Pleasant for moderating. As always, comments and sharing are welcome.

Unified Presence - the Real Challenge for Cross-Platform Collaboration - Guest Post for NextPlane

My latest guest post looks at the nature of presence, and its role in collaboration. If everyone is using the same platform, it’s not problematic, but the reality is that most of us work across multiple platforms, and presence doesn’t natively tie across them.

This undermines the utility of presence, and by extension, the utility of UC. That’s the space NextPlane plays in, and hopefully this post will help UC decision-makers better recognize the problem set, and think differently about it. My post is running on their Blog page now, and as always, comments are welcome.

2021 Predictions for the Collaboration Space - Our BCStrategies Podcast

Our last BCStrategies podcast reviewed our parting thoughts on 2020, and now it’s time to look ahead to the year in front of us. The collaboration space sure was a moving target last year, and we expect more of the same in 2021.

The pandemic is still shaping the world of work, and both vendors and buyers are trying to make the right bets - can workers still be productive from home, will they want to come back to the office, how can businesses adapt to these changes? Lots of quesitons, and no shortage of answers from our group, so we hope you give our latest podcast a listen.

Newsletter Time Again - January Edition, and Podcast too

It’s a new month, and a new year, so that means it’s time for the next edition of JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review, along with the first episode of Season 4 for our Watch This Space podcast.

Subscribers got the January newsletter yesterday, and if you want to keep tabs on what I’m seeing and doing in this space, it just takes a moment to subscribe here. The visual below will give you a good idea of what our latest podcast is about, and you can check it out here. Feel free to explore our earlier podcasts, and I’m in the process of adding Watch This Space to the major commercial platforms where podcast fans can subscribe directly.

2020 Year in Review - Our BCStrategies Podcast

Got a two-parter podcast update to share. Around this time, we do our BCStrategies looking back/looking ahead podcasts. Our 2020 review of the collaboration space is out, and you can access the podcast here on our portal. Not surprsingly, we had a strong turnout, so 12 of us had perspectives to share. Hope you give it a listen, and we’d love to get your feedback.

We’re recording the 2021 look-ahead podcast this week so that should be ready on the site sometime next week, and I’ll post about it here when it’s ready.

December Writing Roundup

Had a strong December to close out a strong year, and while my volume of writing output has been less, I think the quality has remained high for the public pieces I’ve been producing. My readers are really the best judges of that, and I invite you to explore any or all of my current writing below. As always, comments are welcome, as well as suggestions for future topics you’d like me to write about.

Will the Pandemic Drive Further UCC Consdolidation?, TechTarget, Dec. 29

The Accelerated Need for Digital CX in 2021, Upstream Works, Dec. 11 (download required)

A Better Way to Do AI: Focus on the Big Problems, No Jitter, Dec. 8

What Contact Centers Can Learn from the Tampa Bay Rays, Customer Magazine, Dec. 2

Spotlight on Session Border Controllers - State of the Market and Outlook for 2021, BCStrategies, Dec. 1

Cisco WebexOne - Our Take - Latest BCStrategies Podcast

Last week was another busy week in the collaboration space, as the stream of large-scale developments continues. The big players keep making big moves, as dominance in this space seems to be coming down to a handful of majors. We’re still digesting Saleforce taking out Slack, and just before that RingCentral announced yet another Tier 1 strategic partnership - Vodafone - to further spread their global footprint. Not long before that, Zoom raised the bar at Zoomtopia to emerge as a full-fledged collaboration platform.

Not to be outdone, Cisco has made its latest move with the “all new” WebexOne. The collaboration business unit has undergone a major transformation since sharing their vision and new team at the last analyst gathering back in February. The stakes are just too high now, and Cisco simply has to keep pace with Zoom, Microsoft and RingCentral, not to mention other key players like Avaya, Google, and yes, Amazon - all of whom are doing well, and are all-in with cloud.

At last week’s much-hyped WebOne launch event, Cisco did not disappoint. If you’re a fan of bigger=better, they had your number, announcing 50 new features, and claming a 10X improvement for the collaboration experience. I have no idea how you measure that, but rest assured, it’s at least as good - and in many ways - better than Zoom. Cisco has long been accustomed to being a market leader, but things have slipped recently, and that’s not in their DNA.

So, here we are, and the result is WebOne, and it’s hard not to be impressed - not just for collaboration, but contact center as well. Lots to talk about, and that’s what we did on our latest BCStrategies podcast, this one hosted by Blair Pleasant. The podcast has been posted now on our portal, and if you give us 36 minutes, we’ll tell you pretty much all you need to know about WebexOne. And if we missed anything, drop us a line, and we’ll find a way to cover that.

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.

My November Writing Roundup

Another fairly light month on the writing front, but was plenty busy on other fronts. That said, here’s what I was writing about during November.

Pandemic Implications for CX and the Contact Center, Upstream Works, Nov. 18

UC Analytics Mature to Verify Business Value, TechTarget, Nov. 17

A Change Is Gonna Come: Reflections on Slack, Twitter, Zoom, No Jitter, Nov. 10

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.

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.

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.

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

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.