Jeff Pulver is Back - VON Evolution, New York City

Jeff Pulver’s VON event has gone through many iterations, and if you really want to know where voice is heading, you might want to mark this on your calendar. Having tracked telephony and voice for 20+ years, I’ve seen a lot, and Jeff has a knack for being on the leading edge for what’s next.

This edition takes place at City Winery - Hudson River Park location - running Oct. 31 - Nov. 2, and all the details are here on the event site. If I’m not reason enough to come - check out the eclectic list of speakers - it’s pretty rich. :-) Would be great to see you there, and no doubt Jeff will feel the same way too.

UC Expo London - Quick Take and Photos

Am totally on the go these next few weeks, so blogging kinda has to be on the fly.

Last week was London and the UC Expo, and all told, it was a worthwhile event. Crowds were sizeable, the exhibit hall was pretty full, and the vibe seemed good. It’s always hard to gauge these things, as it all passes pretty quickly, and I didn’t have many quiet moments.

In terms of sessions, there were three for me - moderated one, was a speaker for one, and I facilitated a private roundtable with customers for a sponsor, but I can’t do any sharing for that one. Also did two on-the-floor video interviews - with EM360 - see below (click to view), and UC Today - coming soon.

Otherwise, plenty of good networking, and making more in-person connections with EU companies, both clients and prospects.

Not much else I can say for now, but maybe you’ll find some other takeaways from the interview below. Following that are some photos from the trip.

Rob Kurver leading the CPaaS panel, group selfie from Dave Michels for the analyst panel, and a full room for the session I moderated with RingCentral about AI and the contact center.

Very fun - had VIP front-row seating for this special session with math whiz Hannah Fry and famed Irish comic/tech guy Dara O Briain, Storm Troopers taking over the 8x8 booth, and a race car that really can’t go all that fast here.

With Chris Bain, in front of signage for my panel session, with Jeff Pulver, being interviewed by EM360

Kinda cool hardware of a different kind, start planning now for 2024, and my parting shot leaving the venue after the show.

London town - endlessly spectacular views from the Shard, very familiar touristy spot that’s just about everywhere, and a typical alley entrance to a courtyard where it’s nice and quiet.

USA Today - Am Profiled in an Article There

It’s not everyday I’m in the newspapers - yes I still get it delivered to my door - especially mainstream media like USA Today, but that’s the story here - no pun intended. I had an opportunity to be interviewed for an article about how hybrid work and digital transformation are driving the future of work, and it ran on Friday.

We don’t get USA Today in Canada, so I didn’t run out to buy a copy - does that ever happen any more? To read it, you’ll have to make do online - here’s the link: https://www.usatoday.com/story/special/contributor-content/2023/09/29/distributed-workforce-is-the-future-of-work-and-the-future-is-now-says-jon-arnold/71002261007/.

Another bonus for getting into mainstream media - when friends and family ask what I do for a living, this is exactly the thing I need to show them! Hope you like, and feel free to share.

UC Expo, London - Another Panel Session

Next week, it’s UC Expo at the ExCeL London. I recently posted about a session I’m moderating, and here’s another one I’ll be on. This is the ask-the-analyst panel, on Thursday at 2:10 pm, where I’ll be joined by colleagues Dave Michels, Oru Mohiuddin and Prachi Nema, and moderated by Gill Rowbotham. Should be fun, and hope you can make it!

I’ll be on two other sessions, including an invite-only roundtable, so I won’t be hard to find - maybe I’ll see you there. Details are here about the event, the agenda and registration.

Next Stop - NYC and Cloud Communications Alliance

Am on the move over the next several weeks - enroute now to NYC for short trip, attending the Cloud Communications Alliance Financial Summit. It’s just a half-day, but a solid agenda, and looking forward to attending. I’ve known CCA for many years, but this is my first time going to an event with them, where I know I’ll be seeing many familiar faces - looking forward to it!

Time to Travel - 7 Weeks, 8 Stops

And so it begins…

I’m not a super-frequent flyer, but Fall is the busy season for industry events, and I’ve never had a run like this before. Planning for these events has been in the works for quite some time, and it’s just about time to go.

Starting on Sunday, I’ll be travelling to 8 events over the next 7 weeks. Not continuously - phew - so I’ll be home in between each trip, but it’s going to be quite the ride. First stop is Shanghai, followed by New York, London, Machu Picchu, Dubai, Raleigh, Anaheim, and finally NYC again.

There will be lots to talk about at each stop, and I’ll blog as time allows - same for posting on social. I’m just about done now with X, so that basically means Linkedin. Next task - put in delivery stops for the newspaper. I’m so analog, huh….

New Video with Evolve IP - The Role of Independent Analysts

Well, this was fun. Zak Anderson from Evolve IP sought me out recently, and we recorded a lengthy video interview about a variety of topics and trends. This is part of their Channel Champions video podcast series, and our chat was Episode 17. The main focus was about the role that independent analysts play, especially in helping channel partners better educate their customers about new technologies.

Zak and his team have done a great job to make our discussion more consumable by breaking it up into shorter segments, and you check all that out here on their website. To help get you there, here’s a short teaser clip. Have a look, and I hope you check out the rest!

Next Event - UC Expo UK, London

Am returning to UC Expo - pretty much same place and time as last year - October 4-5. Best I can tell, it’s the top event in the UC space in the EU, and they sure draw a big crowd.

Aside from attending, I’ll moderating two panels, along with being on the ask-the-analyst session during Day 2. Banner below showcases one of the sessions I’m moderating, and I’ll add the other one when it’s ready. If you haven’t registered, here’s the link, and maybe I’ll see you there!

CCTC Event in Toronto - Quick Post and Pix

Haven’t been able to post til now, and wanted to share a bit from last Thursday’s CCTC networking event here in Toronto. Telecom events are very rare in Canada, and given the community involved, it was great to attend and support this one. In case you’re wondering, CCTC is the Canadian Communications and Technology Consultants group, and colleague Cheryl Helm is the driving force. Happy to tell you more!

We had a solid turnout, and the content was consistently good all day long. I’m not going to recap the sessions here, but the feedback I’ve seen has been overwhelmingly positive - both the experience and the education from the sessions was worthwhile.

Kudos to Cheryl and the organizing team for putting this together, and the event bodes well for doing it again next year. Will leave you with a few photos that tell the story pretty well - all are mine, except the photo of me - thanks Nancy Gates.

Below - Cheryl Helm kicking things off - and yes, red was the color theme. Photo of the attendees, showing a pretty full room.

Scott Murphy leading the vendor panel on the future of comms tech - with Genesys, Mitel, Twilio, RingCentral and Avaya. Next - Roberta Fox on the state of 911 - nobody does it better. Roberta is retiring now, so this was her final conference session, and we gave her a nice sendoff - definitely the emotional highlight of the event.

As always, Martha Buyer giving us a rich legal perspective on AI, especially ethics - lots to think about. Next was David Dame - very inspiring locknote talk about his work at Microsoft, and his broader perspective on how input from those with disabilities can drive innovation, both in general, and for making technology more accessible. Finally, I was both a presenter and a moderator during the event.

New Month - Time for Newsletter and New Podcast

Still feels like summer, but it’s a new month, so it’s time for new editions of JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review newsletter, and the Watch This Space podcast.

If you’re not a subscriber, signing up to my newsletter is easy - the signup page is here. For my podcast, you can subscribe on all the major platforms, or click to listen to the current episode here. Hoping you’ll check both out, and would love your feedback any time.

Newsletter Time, and Podcast Too

Having been away on vacation all last week, the August editions were published a bit later than normal. However, they’re out now, so this post is an fyi for JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review newsletter, and the Watch This Space podcast.

If you’re not a subscriber, signing up to my newsletter is easy - the signup page is here. For my podcast, you can subscribe on all the major platforms, or click to listen to the current episode here. Hoping you’ll check both out, and would love your feedback any time.

Writing Roundup for July

Writing output was on the light side in July, but it’s just one of multiple channels I use for thought leadership, and I was busy on all these fronts last month. Hope you enjoy these writeups, and definitely more to come for August.

3 Considerations to Choose the Right Communication Channel, TechTarget, July 26

MWC Shanghai - Quick Take and Photos, my blog, July 13

Avaya ENGAGE - Takeaways for Act III, BCStrategies, June 30 (not posted til July 5)

New Guest Post - Part 2 About Teams and Telephony

Got another guest post to share - this is Part 2 for a short series I’m doing with TeamMate. The article is running now on their blog page, where you can also find Part 1. I hope you find the posts helpful.

July Newsletter and Podcast Out Now

With the long weekend earlier, the July editions were published a bit later than normal. However, they’re out now, so this post is an fyi for JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review newsletter, and the Watch This Space podcast.

If you’re not a subscriber, signing up to my newsletter is easy - the signup page is here. For my podcast, you can subscribe on all the major platforms, or click to listen to the current episode here. Hoping you’ll check both out, and would love your feedback any time.

Telecom Reseller Podcast - My Enreach White Paper on Mobile UCaaS

Still catching up from being offline last week, and here’s another ICYMI shout-out.

I recently did a white paper for Enreach about the growing role of mobility for collaboration, and soon after its release, Doug Green interviewed me about it for his widely-followed Telecom Reseller podcast. We get along quite well, and if this topic is of interest, I think you’ll enjoy our conversation. I sure did!

Avaya ENGAGE - Act III - My Takeaways on BCStrategies

This isn’t really an ICYMI post, and if you’re still wondering about what Avaya’s prospects look like, I think you’ll find my analysis a good read.

I was offline all last week, and actually wrote this right after Avaya’s ENGAGE event in Orlando, so it was done before most of the subsequent writeups came out. For reasons unbeknownst to me, BCStrategies couldn’t get my writeup published until last Friday - right before the holiday weekend, when everyone is heading to the beach or a bbq. Doh! That’s how it goes sometimes, so this is very likely the first you’re hearing about it.

There are many good stories to be told about what I’m calling Act III for Avaya, and my writeup on BCStrategies is just one of them. This week, my July Watch This Space podcast comes out, and there will lots more there about Avaya, so keep an eye out for that as well.

Writing Roundup for June

Back-to-back months of hectic travel, so writing has been on the light side. Lots of new work in play, though, and over the next few days I’ll catchup on the backlog and get all of that posted. Until then, here’s a digest of my public writing from June.

Avaya ENGAGE - Takeaways for Act III, BCStrategies, June 30

SIP Trunking vs. VoIP - What’s the Difference?, TechTarget, June 15

Campaign Registry - a Higher Bar for A2P Messaging, Aizan Blog, June 9

Next Stop - Orlando and Avaya ENGAGE

Travel schedule has been light lately, and all of a sudden, there are three good ones all happening next week - go figure. I can only do one, and my pick is Avaya ENGAGE, so it’s back again to Orlando.

As we all know, the stakes are high for Avaya these days, and so far, they’ve done a great job righting the ship. Under Alan Masarek’s leadership, things are looking promising, so I’m quite keen to attend and see where things are going from here. With a solid balance sheet and renewed market focus, there’s a lot of opportunity to capitalize on, and over the next few days, I’ll share my thoughts on how well they’re executing.

New Month - New Newsletter and New Podcast

The June editions of JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review, and Watch This Space podcast are out now.

If you’re not a subscriber, signing up to my newsletter is easy - the signup page is here. For my podcast, you can subscribe on all the major platforms, or click to listen to the current episode here. Hoping you’ll check both out, and would love your feedback any time.

May Writing Roundup

I had a heavier-than-normal travel schedule in May, so writing was on the light side. Still managed to get a few things out, and here’s the digest.

Re-Thinking the On-Hold Experience, white paper for Aizan, May 31

3 Best Practices for a Successful UCaaS Migration, TechTarget, May 23

Are We Moving Too Fast with AI?, No Jitter, May 23

How to Manage Telecom Fraud, Contact Center Pipeline, May issue, May 4