JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review - June Edition 2020


What’s Up? Part 1 - Our Latest Watch This Space Podcast

  • The pandemic continues, and we’re past the New Normal. In fact, we’re so used to it, that I think many have OD’d on video calls as we seem to be spending most of our time there. That’s the jumping off point for our June podcast – Longer Term Implications and Opportunities - as Chris and I look a bit ahead to what the workplace landscape could resemble post-pandemic.

  • As usual, JAA subscribers get to hear our takeaways - right now, in this newsletter. Otherwise, I’ll be posting the podcast publicly on my website in a couple of weeks, so non-subscribers will have to wait a bit.

  • If you haven’t checked our earlier podcasts, you can do that from the podcast archive on my website. The archive has just been updated, showing both the 2020 podcasts, and a separate archive for previous podcasts.

  • Current podcasts also feature AI-driven transcripts that complement the audio replay link. This feature comes courtesy of Otter.ai, and I hope you like it. Otter transcribes in real time, and I should also note that this transcription feature only comes with the newsletter. The publicly-shared posts of our podcasts are audio-only, and for some, that will be enough. But really, wouldn’t you rather be a subscriber?

Latest Watch this Space Podcast & Transcript, June 2020

Workplace Perspectives in Pandemic Times

What’s Up? Part 2 – More Highlights and Insights from May

  • Conference roundup – live events have been off the table for a while now, but virtual events are popping up regularly to keep people connected. Some are proxies for live events that were scheduled much earlier, but had to be postponed, and others are simply new events that can be run with very few resources and on short timelines. This is an important trend of its own that I have been following, and I’ll come back to that later in the newsletter. I was as busy as ever on the event front last month, participating in four virtual events, as well as a fifth one at the very end of April. Each of these events was quite different, and a post I wrote for BCStrategies summarizes them – it’s also cited down below. I’ve never been to five in-person events during that amount of time, so I’m definitely keeping busy.

    • Talkdesk’s Opentalk conference

    • Huawei 2020 Analyst conference

    • Cloud Conventions

    • Jeff Pulver’s #140ConfLive

  • Otherwise, here are the working highlights for May, and links to most of these can be found in my May blog posts:

    • New report – for Metaswitch:

      • Mobile UX with UCaaS – based on focus group research I conducted

    • Podcasts – aside from this month’s Watch This Space podcast, I had three others published in May:

      • The Future of Conferences, BCStrategies podcast

      • Post-COVID Business World Predictions, BCStrategies podcast

      • The Evolving New Normal, our May Watch This Space podcast

    • Guest post - for UC Today’s 2020 CX Market Guide:

      • CX – Remember, it’s Their Experience, not Yours

  • May writing spotlight – top pick would be my latest BCStrategies post – How do you do Virtual Events During COVID-19? Let me Show you the Way

  • Here’s my Writing Roundup post for May – it’s a monthly digest of my thought leadership across various channels, including Toolbox.com, Tech Target, No Jitter and BC Strategies

  • May was quiet on the media front – just one citing

  • Here are the social media highlights for last month. Since these stats change every day, the metrics are just a basic snapshot, but they provide a good sense of reach beyond my blog and newsletter. For my business, I use Twitter and LinkedIn, and here are some approximate tallies for May:

    • For LinkedIn – I shared 45 posts, which registered 24,610 views, and those numbers were very similar to April. My top LinkedIn post registered 2,483 views, and 15 posts had 500+ views.

    • For Twitter - there were 39,200 impressions, 152 profile visits, 33 mentions, 42 tweets, and 8 new followers. Very similar profile to April as well.

    • My “top tweet” was adding to a post from Rich Tehrani about Microsoft acquiring Metaswitch - it had 2,320 impressions. Overall, 9 tweets had 700+ impressions.

  • I recently added a new tab on my website – My Music. This showcases my fun side, mainly from playing keyboards and guitar with the SIPtones. The stars finally lined up for a long-awaited update here, and a few new photos have been added, along with 10 new video clips from our recent Chicago gig, and a few others from our 2018 gig in Annapolis. Enjoy!

What's Coming? JAA Outlook for June

  • So far, I’ll be participating in two virtual events this month:

    • June 2-3 – Cisco Live

    • June 12 – SCTC’s annual Canadian regional event – it’s virtual this year, and I’m a speaker, as well as being on the planning committee

  • Two of the long-form deliverables cited last month have still not been published, but am optimistic they’ll finally run this month:

    • White paper on UCaaS

    • White paper on cloud collaboration

  • June 4 - am doing a fireside chat on the state of UCaaS for an audience of US financial analysts and portfolio managers

  • June 23 – will be moderating on an Informa webinar with Oracle – details coming

  • I’m a judge for UC Today’s UC Awards 2020, and that takes place during June

  • Several active projects are on the go and should be published this month, including a case study, an eBook, two Insight Reports (for different clients), two guest blog posts without bylines, and an executive Q&A

  • Beyond that, the pipeline is busy, with new work set to begin on two white papers (for different clients), a follow-on webinar to an eBook, another Insight Report for an existing client, another guest post for another client, and a thought leadership program for a new client


Hey Did You Know?

…that my way-back photos from Metaswitch Forum in this section last month turned out to be very prescient?

Not only were they a great memory from a time when conferences really were fun - and I think being pre-social media might have something to do with that – but less than a month later Metaswitch was acquired by Microsoft. Nobody saw that one coming - not even me, and I’ve been close to this company for almost 20 years. 

Metaswitch was a pretty special company; aside from being a first-rank engineering organization – a key reason why MSFT bought them – they had a great culture. It was the kind of company you never wanted to leave, and I’ll certainly miss Metaswitch. On that note, here’s another ode to their fun side, a concoction courtesy of Gleavie Boy (Steve Gleave), their Marketing guru. So, what on earth is this?

This isn’t rocket science, folks – it’s exactly what it looks like. Yes, it’s a USB pet rock. It does “absolutely nothing” as Steve would say, but looks cool and is a great conversation starter. We need more of this, folks, not less. 

Maybe it’s this kind of playful thinking that led MSFT to buy them, and if your engineers aren’t coming up with stuff like this every now and then, they need to get out more often or maybe crack open a box of Lego.

JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review - May Edition 2020


What’s Up? Part 1 - Our Latest Watch This Space Podcast

  • In a few short weeks, we’ve normalized work from home, and Zoom has become a verb. Already, it’s starting to feel like these changes are here to stay, and all bets are off as to what form the post-pandemic world is going to take. That’s the gist of our May podcast, where we review a full month’s worth of forced adaptation, and it provides a nice update from the ground we covered in the previous podcast.

  • As usual, JAA subscribers get to hear our takeaways - right now, in this newsletter. Otherwise, I’ll be posting the podcast publicly on my website in a couple of weeks, so non-subscribers will have to wait a bit.

  • If you haven’t checked our earlier podcasts, you can do that from the podcast archive on my website. This archive will keep updating as the latest podcast is added, so now from one place, you can access all the most recent podcasts.

  • Recent podcasts have also featured AI-driven transcripts that complement the audio replay link. This feature comes courtesy of Otter.ai, and I hope you like it. Otter transcribes in real time, and I should also note that this transcription feature only comes with the newsletter. The publicly-shared posts of our podcasts are audio-only, and for some, that will be enough. But really, wouldn’t you rather be a subscriber?

 

Latest Watch this Space Podcast & Transcript, May 2020

The Evolving New Normal For Work

What’s Up? Part 2 – More Highlights and Insights from April

  • Conference roundup – with this staple of the analyst diet on the shelf, there nothing to report here. This has opened up new swaths of time to get work done, and the highlights are listed below. I still want to begin this section with conferences – not just as a reminder for how central they are to my work, but to show my earnest hope this will be a short-term hiccup. At the moment, this looks like wishful thinking, but there are plenty of events being planned for the second half of the year. Fingers crossed!                   

Work-wise, here are the April highlights:

  • Podcasts/Video interviews – aside from this month’s Watch This Space podcast, I had four of these published in April, and the links can be found on my blog

    • AI use for CX and the contact center, with parlamind, hosted by EM360

    • New Age of Remote Work, our April Watch This Space podcast

    • State of the industry and Cloud Conventions preview, hosted by Convey Services (if you look hard, you’ll also find a fun video segment of mine)

    • Zoom Bombing and Bashing, BCStrategies podcast

  • Webinar – I presented on one last month:

    • Business continuity with COVID-19, hosted by 8x8

  • Virtual analyst event

    • Pexip analyst day – this could be the model for others to follow

  • Live Twittercast

    • The New Telecom Economy, hosted by Futurithmic

  • Event Judging

    • Completed judging process for Talkdesk Awards

    • Same for Enterprise Connect Best Of Awards, winners announced April 1

    • UC Awards 2020, judging panel announced, entries open May 1

What's Coming? JAA Outlook for May

  • The following long-form deliverables were cited last month, but they haven’t quite made it to market yet. All have been completed, and I fully expect them to be published in one form or another this month.

    • White paper on UCaaS

    • White paper on cloud collaboration

    • Market research report on mobile UX for UCaaS

  • On May 12, I’ll be presenting at a virtual event, Cloud Conventions – The Evolution of our Workplace Strategies – registration is free, and details are here

  • So far, I have one virtual industry event on tap this month, OpenTalk for Talkdesk on May 6

  • Plenty more on the go, as well as in the pipeline, and as new projects and clients come along, I’ll be updating what I can share here

Hey, Did You Know?

….that conferences used to be FUN?!?!

Here’s a few wayback photos of mine from Metaswitch Forum, in New Orleans, April 2008. No social distancing here, nope. Can’t do this on Zoom, folks.

JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review - April Edition 2020


What’s Up? Part 1 - Our Latest Watch This Space Podcast

  • We may never face a more challenging time than the month just past, and hopefully we’ll come out of it alright. One thing that has changed in a hurry is social distancing, and the need for businesses to have as many people working from home as possible. Disruption is when unexpected change happens, and WFH – work from home – is a timely example that nobody was talking about before Coronavirus. Lots for us to talk about, and that’s where this month’s podcast takes us.

  • As usual, JAA subscribers get to hear our takeaways - right now, in this newsletter. Otherwise, I’ll be posting the podcast publicly on my website in a couple of weeks, so non-subscribers will have to wait a bit.

  • If you haven’t checked our earlier podcasts, you can do that from the podcast archive on my website. This archive will keep updating as the latest podcast is added, so now from one place, you can access all the most recent podcasts.

  • Recent podcasts have also featured AI-driven transcripts that complement the audio replay link. This feature comes courtesy of Otter.ai, and I hope you like it. Otter transcribes in real-time, and I should also note that this transcription feature only comes with the newsletter. The publicly-shared posts of our podcasts are audio-only, and for some, that will be enough. But really, wouldn’t you rather be a subscriber?

 

Latest Watch this Space Podcast & Transcript, April 2020

The New Age of Remote Work

What’s Up? Part 2 – More Highlights and Insights from March

  • Conference roundup – this is how I usually start this section, since it’s the main way I spend my time when not in my office. As per my last newsletter, I was slated to attend a few events in March, including Enterprise Connect, the biggest conference in our space. Sadly, all events are off for the foreseeable future. Some events have been re-booked for August or September, and let’s hope things improve enough by then for business travel to resume. 

  • Work-wise, here are some March highlights:

    • Podcasts – in addition to recording this month’s edition of Watch This Space, I had five podcasts published in March, and the links can be found on my blog

      • Remote working with Monday.com, hosted by EM360

      • Future of Work Expo review, our March Watch This Space podcast

      • Voice bots and audio quality, hosted by No Jitter

      • Our take on Coronavirus, BCStrategies

      • Trends around UC and the contact center, interviewed by 2600Hz 

    • Webinar – I presented on one last month:

      • Enabling remote working, with Poly and hosted by Metaswitch

    • Twitter Live Chat – I haven’t done one of these for a while, but was invited to be part of one on March 26 – was quite good, and very interactive:

  • February writing spotlight – top pick would be my latest No Jitter post –  Getting UX Right with Mobile UC.

  • Here’s my Writing Roundup post for March – it’s a monthly digest of my thought leadership across various channels, including Toolbox.com, Tech Target, No Jitter and BC Strategies. 

  • There was just one media citing for March.

  • Here are the social media highlights for last month. Since these stats change every day, the metrics are just a basic snapshot, but they provide a good sense of reach beyond my blog and newsletter. For my business, I use Twitter and LinkedIn, and here are some approximate tallies for March:

    • For LinkedIn – I shared 36 posts, which registered 16,199 views. My top LinkedIn post registered 1,150 views, and 10 posts had 500+ views.

    • For Twitter - there were 48,900 impressions, which is a fair drop from February, and is somewhat due to there being no conferences. Also had 150 profile visits, 57 mentions, and 48 tweets.

    • My “top tweet” was from an analyst-only update with the management team from Cisco Webex - it had 4,523 impressions. Overall, 8 tweets had 1,000+ impressions.

  • If you haven’t seen it, there’s a new tab on my website – My Music. This has been in the works for a while, and showcases my fun side, mainly from playing keyboards and guitar with the SIPtones. I’ve posted a few video clips and photos from recent performances – and I have others if you want to see more. 



    What's Coming? JAA Outlook for April

    • With no travel, I had way more time than usual to write, and that worked out well in terms of getting client work done. I’ve been doing a lot writing and recording, and over the course of April, much of this will make it to market in one form or another.

      • White paper on UCaaS

      • White paper on cloud collaboration

      • Market research report on mobile UX for UCaaS

      • Three posts on contact center trends, but no byline

      • Three full-length Q&As with industry executives from different companies

      • Part 1 in a new series for a Canadian provider to help customers migrate to UCaaS

      • Insight report for an MSP to help partners drive UCaaS growth

    • I’ve got other things on the go as well, but this should give you an idea of the range of engagements I do as an independent analyst. The work is never dull, and you might be surprised when considering the ways that I can be of service to clients.

Hey, Did You Know?

Video has never been hotter, and I’ve lost track of how many briefings and client meetings I did last month – and I expect more of the same for April. I just wanted to draw attention to how quickly video has become normalized, and how people are finding creative and fun ways to use it. I think it’s very healthy since we’re social creatures, and can only stay cooped up indoors and glued to our screens for so long. 

Here’s a good example – I’m part of the SCTC, and they recently had a virtual cocktail hour, which many of you have probably done as well. Why not, and who knows what the fun twist will be for April? Note to self – I need to come up with a fun virtual background! 

JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review - March Edition 2020


What’s Up? Part 1 - Our Latest Watch This Space Podcast

  • I attended three events in February – four, technically – so there was plenty to talk about. First was Avaya Engage, then during the same week, two contiguous Cisco analyst events – one for the collaboration business, and another one for the contact center. Not long after, I was off to Ft. Lauderdale, where I chaired the Future of Work Expo. I tried addressing all of this for this month’s podcast but didn’t get past Future of Work. Maybe I’ll get to revisit the other events next month, but by then, two more events will have passed.   

  • This edition marks the debut of our new graphic look for Watch This Space. I hope you like it, and any feedback will be welcome.

  • As usual, JAA subscribers get to hear our takeaways - right now, in this newsletter. Otherwise, I’ll be posting the podcast publicly on my website in a couple of weeks, so non-subscribers will have to wait a bit.

  • If you haven’t checked our earlier podcasts, you can do that from the podcast archive on my website. This archive will keep updating as the latest podcast is added, so now from one place, you can access all the most recent podcasts.

  • Recent podcasts have also featured AI-driven transcripts that complement the audio replay link. This feature comes courtesy of Otter.ai, and I hope you like it. Otter transcribes in real-time, and I should also note that this transcription feature only comes with the newsletter. The publicly-shared posts of our podcasts are audio-only, and for some, that will be enough. But really, wouldn’t you rather be a subscriber?

Latest Watch this Space Podcast & Transcript, March 2020

February Conference Review: Avaya Engage, Cisco Collaboration and Contact Center & Future of Work

What’s Up? Part 2 – More Highlights and Insights from February

  • Conference roundup – as noted above, I attended events for Avaya and Cisco as an analyst, and then chaired the Future of Work Expo as part of TMCnet’s ITExpo in Ft. Lauderdale. There were various forms of coverage for these events – blog posts, articles, media quotes and video interviews – all of which can be found via my blog. 

  • Work-wise, here are some February highlights:

    • Podcasts – in addition to recording this month’s edition of Watch This Space, I recorded three others that have since been posted or will be soon, and links are or will be on my blog

      • JAA profile for the Witz End podcast series – very fun, and definitely different

      • Was interviewed by No Jitter about the importance of audio quality testing for one of their sponsors

      • Was interviewed by 2600Hz for the next episode of their ongoing podcast series, talking about trends around UC and contact center becoming more integrated – should run in early March 

    • Video – I appeared in two segments last month:

      • First as part of a recap of Cisco’s Webex collaboration summit – this hasn’t been posted to my site yet – it’s very well done, and here’s the link to watch it (and thumb image below)

      • Next, I was interviewed during the Future of Work Expo, mainly about my work as an analyst, and you can access that on the landing page of my website

  • 2020 is busy as can be for conferences, and here’s an updated schedule from last month. As always, details for each event will be shared on my blog, along with the Event Calendar listing on my website. I’ve already turned down a few event invites due to timing conflicts, and that’s bound to happen when there’s so much going on.

    • Channel Partners 2020, March 9-12, Las Vegas, NV - moderating

    • Vault: Future Work, March 25, Toronto, ON – moderating and Chair for the Future Work track

    • Enterprise Connect, March 30-April 2, Orlando, FL – speaking twice

    • Avaya Influencers Analyst Event, April 15-16, Miami, FL

    • Talkdesk Opentalk 2020– April 22-23, San Francisco, CA

    • Pexip Analyst Day, April 29, NYC

    • Metaswitch Forum, May 11, Las Vegas, NV - speaking

    • UCExpo, May 12-14, London, UK – speaking and moderating

    • Twilio SIGNAL, May 20-21, San Francisco, CA

    • 8x8 Analyst Event, May 26-28, location TBD

  • It’s also worth noting that the sudden impact of Coronavirus has led to numerous event cancellations, and things could get worse before they get better. So far, the above events are all still on, but things can change on a moment’s notice.

  • For two upcoming conferences – Channel Partners and Enterprise Connect - being a speaker, I can offer registration discounts; $400 for Enterprise Connect – details here – and various breaks for Channel Partners – details here.

  • I have one webinar on tap this month – March 19 – it’s hosted by Channel Partners and sponsored by Flexiental – talking about how channels can help customers migrate to the cloud – details are here if you’d like to register and join us.

  • My mix of project work continues to diversify, and let’s just say I’m busy on many fronts. At the moment, there’s just too much to outline here, but if you think I can be of service, please reach out any time. A few minutes perusing my website will give you an idea of what I’m up to, and you might be surprised at the range of things I can do.

That’s All for Now

Did you enjoy this newsletter? I’d love to hear your thoughts. If you know anyone who might enjoy it as well, they can subscribe here – thanks for letting them know!

Not sure about your strategic priorities for 2020? Need to enhance your lead-generation with independent thought leadership? 
Thinking about having a speaker for your next customer event? These are a few examples of what I do, and your inquiries are welcome any time.

JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review - February Edition 2020


What’s Up? Part 1 - Our Latest Watch This Space Podcast

This time around, Chris Fine and I had each attended industry events in January, so we talked about those highlights – and there were many. Chris spends a lot of time at events related to the digital workplace – especially from the corporate real estate sector angle – and I’m immersed more in the world of collaboration technologies. There’s some interesting overlap, and coming from the Project Voice event (more on that later), I was filtering things through the lens of consumer technology companies like Amazon and Samsung. Watch This Space indeed.

  • As usual, JAA subscribers get to hear our takeaways - right now, in this newsletter. Otherwise, I’ll be posting the podcast publicly on my website in a couple of weeks, so non-subscribers will have to wait a bit.

  • If you haven’t checked our earlier podcasts, you can do that from the podcast archive on my website. This archive will keep updating as the latest podcast is added, so now from one place, you can access all the most recent podcasts.

  • Recent podcasts have also featured AI-driven transcripts that complement the audio replay link. This feature comes courtesy of Otter.ai, and I hope you like it. Otter transcribes in real-time, and I should also note that this transcription feature only comes with the newsletter. The publicly-shared posts of our podcasts are audio-only, and for some, that will be enough. But really, wouldn’t you rather be a subscriber?

  • Speaking of Watch This Space, I’ve been working on new design elements to better brand our podcasts, and you’ll be seeing some of that next month.

  • We’re also finally moving towards upgrading our approach to production, with the main payoff being to push these podcasts out to the major platforms like iTunes. Finally!

 

Latest Watch this Space Podcast & Transcript, February 2020

Drivers for the Digital Workspace, and Cool Voice Innovation from Chattanooga

What’s Up? Part 2 – More Highlights and Insights from January

  • Conference roundup – last month was more about planning upcoming events than traveling to them, but I did attend one – Project Voice in Chattanooga, TN. Lots to talk about, and I was busy, moderating two panels and performing three different sets of music with the SIPtones. I did a video podcast with the event organizer Bradley Metrock, and aside from my blog posts and tweets, there are a few links in this newsletter for more in-depth coverage.      

  • One of the new initiatives to help raise my profile launched last month – Advisory Cloud – and I’ll soon be adding a link to that in the Professional Community section of my website. Advisory Cloud is built on the expert network model and seems geared more to short-form paid consultation, akin to giving out legal advice while on the clock. This can actually be a very cost-effective form of consulting, so if you’ve got a hit list of questions you need on-the-spot insights about, I’m just a few clicks away. In the spirit of starting a new decade, we’ll see how it goes – not just as a new channel for new business, but also to reach a broader audience for JAA.

  • Work-wise, a few January highlights:

    • The UK-based UC Summit 2020 virtual event launched on January 20, and is open for 90 days – I was on the AI Powered Communications panel, and if you get a chance to see it, please let me know your impressions 

    • Podcasts – in addition to recording this month’s edition of Watch This Space, I recorded a few others that have since been posted, and links to all are on my blog

      • 2020 outlook with BCStrategies

      • This Week in Voice with Bradley Metrock and two SIPtones members

      • a preview for my Enterprise Connect talk for No Jitter’s On Air series 

    • I also recorded two podcasts last month that haven’t aired yet (but will very soon):

      • a guest on a No Jitter podcast for one of their sponsors 

      • a guest profile of me for the next edition of the Witz End podcast(from PR firm Witz Communications) – which was very fun, including some game show quizzes and impromptu piano playing

    • I ghost-wrote a four-part blog series for a contact center vendor on 2020 trends, and more posts are in the works

  • January writing spotlight – my pick would be my recap post about Project Voice on BCStrategies – The Future is in Chattanooga.

  • Here’s my Writing Roundup post for January – it’s a monthly digest of my thought leadership across various channels, including Toolbox.com, Tech Target, No Jitter and BC Strategies. 

  • There were three media citings for January.

  • Here are the social media highlights for last month. Since these stats change every day, the metrics are just a basic snapshot, but they provide a good sense of reach beyond my blog and newsletter. For my business, I use Twitter and LinkedIn, and here are some approximate tallies for January:

    • For LinkedIn – I shared 30 posts, and overall, they registered 19,963 views. That’s up a tad from last month. My top LinkedIn post registered 1,908 views, and 4 posts had 1,000+ views.

    • For Twitter - there were 36,400 impressions, which is up over 70% from January. Also had 217 profile visits, 61 mentions, 43 tweets, and 4 new followers – all are up markedly from last month – happy to see that.

    • My “top tweet” was a shout-out for Voxbone’s new e-book, for which I was a contributor - it had 3,201 impressions. Overall, 8 tweets had 1,000+ impressions.

  • If you haven’t seen it, there’s a new tab on my website – My Music. This has been in the works for a while, and showcases my fun side, mainly from playing keyboards and guitar with the SIPtones. I’ve posted a few video clips and photos from recent performances – and I have others if you want to see more. Our most recent shows were in Chicago in November, and Chattanooga last month – clips are coming for those soon.

What's Coming? JAA Outlook for February

  • 2020 is already busy for conferences, but no changes of note from last month. As always, details for each event will be shared on my blog, along with the Event Calendar listing on my website. I’ve already turned down a few events invites due to timing conflicts, and that’s bound to happen when there’s so much going on.

    • Avaya Engage, February 3-4, Phoenix, AZ

    • Cisco Collaboration/Contact Center Summit – February 5-6, San Jose, CA

    • ITExpo/Future of Work, February 11-14, Ft. Lauderdale, FL – am the FoW event chair and will be speaking and moderating

    • Channel Partners 2020, March 9-12, Las Vegas, NV - moderating

    • Enterprise Connect, March 30-April 2, Orlando, FL – speaking twice

    • Avaya Influencers Analyst Event, April 15-16, location TBD

    • Talkdesk Opentalk 2020– April 22-23, San Francisco, CA

    • Metaswitch Forum, May 11, Las Vegas, NV - speaking

    • UCExpo, May 12-14, London, UK – speaking and moderating

    • Twilio SIGNAL, May 20-21, San Francisco, CA

    • 8x8 Analyst Event, May 26-28, location TBD

  • For two upcoming conferences – Channel Partners and Enterprise Connect - being a speaker, I can offer registration discounts; $400 for Enterprise Connect – details here – and various breaks for Channel Partners – details here

  • For the upcoming Enterprise Connect event, I’m also serving as a judge for their Best Of awards – this involves assessing 50 entries, narrowing that down to the top six, and from there, the winners will be announced during Day 2 of the event. I did this for two other awards programs last year, so the routine has become fairly familiar.   

  • I continue to have a steady and varied mix of projects in the works, including two white papers, case studies, guest blog posts, insight briefs, and qualitative research about UCaaS offerings. As an update to this ongoing mix (mostly with existing clients), I’ve since added four new projects, three of which are with new clients, so the work never gets dull.


Hey Did You Know?

Speaking about speaking, aside from letting you know where I’ll be doing that, the notices here can help save money for subscribers. You can do that with one of the badges below, so I hope you can use it. I don’t have a badge to add here for Channel Partners, but the link provided earlier for that event provides savings for that event.

That’s All for Now

Did you enjoy this newsletter? I’d love to hear your thoughts. If you know anyone who might enjoy it as well, they can subscribe here – thanks for letting them know!

Not sure about your strategic priorities for 2020? Need to enhance your lead-generation with independent thought leadership? Thinking about having a speaker for your next customer event? These are a few examples of what I do, and your inquiries are welcome any time.

JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review - January Edition 2020


What’s Up? Part 1 - Our Latest Watch This Space Podcast

Starting out a new year and a new decade, it’s only fitting that our latest podcast focuses on what’s ahead for 2020. Building on our previous podcast – 2019 look-back – Chris and I continued exploring the impact of disruptive and transformative technologies in the workplace, especially around cloud and AI. Let’s just say the enterprise space has a lot to learn from how these technologies are playing out in our personal lives.

  • As usual, JAA subscribers get to hear our takeaways - right now, in this newsletter. Otherwise, I’ll be posting it publicly on my website in a couple of weeks.

  • If you haven’t checked our earlier podcasts, you can do that from the podcast archive on my website. This archive will keep updating as the latest podcast is added, so now from one place, you can access all the most recent podcasts.

  • Recent podcasts have also featured AI-driven transcripts that complement the audio replay link. This feature comes courtesy of Otter.ai, and I hope you like it. As you’ll see, it transcribes in real time, so you can follow along reading while listening to our dialog. I should also note that this transcription feature only comes with the newsletter, so if you like it, this is a key benefit for being a subscriber. The publicly-shared versions of our podcasts are audio-only, and for some, that will be enough; but hey, you’re missing all the other good things here in the newsletter!

 

Latest Watch this Space Podcast, January 2020

What’s Ahead for 2020 - AI and CX

What’s Up? Part 2 – More Highlights and Insights from December

Conference roundup – nada, zero, nothing. I always start this section off with conferences, since they’re high profile and am usually going somewhere, but not in December. That’s pretty unusual, and I suppose newsworthy itself, but definitely not a sign of taking it easy. As you’ll see in the next section, there are plenty of 2020 conferences lined up through June, and more are coming.

  • Holiday season aside, December was very productive in terms of lining up new projects that are already underway, along with firming up plans for several upcoming conferences.

  • I also undertook some new initiatives that will raise my profile and broaden my reach to keep the biz dev pipeline strong. More about that soon.

  • Work-wise, my output was light last month, but that’s to be expected for the holiday season, with most new work being deferred to January:

    • I presented one webinar, with CoreDial, about cloud-based contact center offerings – reference details can be found in my Blog Archive from December

    • Wrote an insight paper for a UC vendor, another insight paper for a cybersecurity vendor, and two blog posts for a contact center vendor – all of which run without my byline – yes, ghostwriting is one of the services I offer

    • Was part of a 2019-in-review podcast with BCStrategies for the collaboration space, and that will run first week of January. The companion 2020-look-ahead podcast has been recorded as well, and that will follow soon after.

  • Spotlight for December writing – my pick would be this post on BCStrategies: “SCTC Conference Review - Opportunity for the Taking” 

  • Here’s my Writing Roundup post for December – it’s a monthly digest of my thought leadership across various channels, including Toolbox.com, Tech Target, No Jitter and BC Strategies. 

  • There were two media citings for December

  • Here are the social media highlights for last month. Since these stats change every day, the metrics are just a basic snapshot, but they provide a good sense of reach beyond my blog and newsletter. For my business, I use Twitter and LinkedIn, and here are some approximate tallies for December:

    • For LinkedIn – I shared 25 posts, and overall, they registered 16,531 views. That’s well below recent months, and is due both to the Xmas season, and my not attending any events last month. My top LinkedIn post registered 1,094 views, and 4 posts had 1,000+ views.

    • For Twitter - there were 21,300 impressions, and as with LinkedIn, the drop-off from November is to be expected. Also had 116 profile visits, 18 mentions, 15 tweets, and just 1 new follower.

    • My “top tweet” was a shout-out for my CoreDial webinar - it had 1,524 impressions 

  • If you haven’t seen it, there’s a new tab on my website – My Music. This has been in the works for a while, and showcases my fun side, mainly from playing keyboards and guitar with the SIPtones. I’ve posted a few video clips and photos from recent performances – and I have others if you want to see more. Our most recent show was in Chicago in November, and I’ll be adding a few of those clips to this section shortly.

What's Coming? JAA Outlook for January

  • 2020 is already busy for conferences, and there are some additions below from last month. As always, details for each event will be on my blog, along with the Event Calendar listing on my website. 

    • Project Voice – and another SIPtones gig, January 14-17, Chattanooga, TN

    • Avaya Engage, February 3-4, Phoenix, AZ

    • Cisco Collaboration/Contact Center Summit – February 5-6, San Jose, CA

    • ITExpo/Future of Work, February 11-14, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

    • Channel Partners 2020, March 9-12, Las Vegas, NV

    • Enterprise Connect, March 30-April 2, Orlando, FL

    • Avaya Influencers Analyst Event, mid-April, location TBD

    • Talkdesk Opentalk 2020– April 22-23, San Francisco, CA

    • Metaswitch Forum, May 11, Las Vegas, NV

    • UCExpo, May 12-14, London, UK

    • Twilio SIGNAL, May 20-21, San Francisco, CA

    • 8x8 Analyst Event, May 26-28, location TBD

  • For some of the new events above, details are still in the works, so updates are coming

  • The ITExpo/Future of Work event is a new addition, and as with last year, I’ll be chairing Future of Work, and will share an updated agenda soon

  • For one upcoming conference - Enterprise Connect - I should mention that being a speaker, I can offer a $400 discount on your registration – details here

  • During January, I’ll also be involved in a virtual event – UC Summit – details to follow

  • I continue to have a steady and varied mix of projects in the works, including two white papers, case studies, guest blog posts, insight briefs, executive Q&As, qualitative research about UCaaS offerings, and a survey-based research project with channels about cloud communications

  • Aside from active client work, I have pending projects related to branding, raising mindshare, and positioning a company for acquisition.


Hey Did You Know?

I don’t expect anybody to follow everything I do (but really, why not?), so to provide a sense of my overall scope of work, the following is a quick snapshot of 2019’s output. Most of this is accessible via my website, although I need to do a better job keeping some of the published content current. That’s a 2020 resolution, for sure!

JAA’s 2019: By the Numbers

  • 6 new clients (not including new work from existing clients)

  • 22 conferences/industry events 

  • 10 events either moderating or speaking

  • 102 published articles/guest posts/video segments

  • 117 blog posts

  •  26 podcasts (including Watch This Space for this newsletter)

  •  6 webinars

  •  2 white papers

  •  12 editions of this newsletter 

  •  Hundreds of posts on social media – LinkedIn and Twitter    

  •  31 JAA citings in the media

  •  2 new industry accolades    

  •  2 SIPtones gigs


That’s All for Now

Did you enjoy this newsletter? I’d love to hear your thoughts. If you know anyone who might enjoy it as well, they can subscribe here – thanks for letting them know!

Not sure about your strategic priorities for 2020? Need to enhance your lead-generation with independent thought leadership? Thinking about having a speaker for your next customer event? These are a few examples of what I do, and your inquiries are welcome any time.

JAA’s Communications and Collaboration - July Edition 2019


What’s Up? Part 1 - Our Latest Watch This Space Podcast

  • Our July podcast was spurred by the recent announcement of Connect from Slack, which draws a clearer line in the sand for those who do or do not use email in the workplace. This may be more about disruption than innovation, but it was the starting point for this episode – The Evolving Collaboration Landscape During Pandemic Times.

  • I’ve been talking for some time about how our podcast is evolving, and this episode marks our first time using a purpose-built recording platform. The audio quality isn’t quite where we need it to be, but starting next month, you should notice a big improvement. Other pieces are falling into place now, and we’re well on our way to having the podcast upgraded for sharing on public platforms like iTunes, Google Podcast and Stitcher.

  • As usual, JAA subscribers get to hear our takeaways - right now, in this newsletter. Otherwise, I’ll be posting the podcast publicly on my website in a couple of weeks, so non-subscribers will have to wait a bit.

  • If you haven’t checked our earlier podcasts, you can do that from the podcast archive on my website. The archive has just been updated, showing both the 2020 podcasts, and a separate archive for previous podcasts.

  • Current podcasts also feature AI-driven transcripts that complement the audio replay link. This feature comes courtesy of Otter.ai, and I hope you like it. Otter transcribes in real time, and I should also note that this transcription feature only comes with the newsletter. The publicly-shared posts of our podcasts are audio-only, and for some, that will be enough. But really, wouldn’t you rather be a subscriber?

Latest Watch this Space Podcast & Transcript, July 2020

The Evolving Collaboration Landscape During Pandemic Times

What’s Up? Part 2 – More Highlights and Insights from June

  • Conference roundup – last month’s trend of participating in virtual events continued in June, and others are coming onstream for July and beyond. It’s very possible that live events will be off the table entirely for 2020, and most of what I’m hearing is about looking ahead to 2021. Here are the virtual events I took part in during June.

    • Cisco Live

    • SCTC Canadian Regional Event – speaker

    • Jeff Pulver’s #140Conf event – speaker                  

  • Otherwise, here are the working highlights for June, and links to some of these can be found in my June blog posts:

    • New Insight Report – for Digitcom:

      • Enabling Businesses to Extend Communications Beyond Legacy Telephony – first in a three-part series (download required)

    • Webinar – SD WAN Opportunity for CSPs – sponsored by Oracle

    • Completed projects – to be published in July:

      • IoT eBook for Enghouse

      • Case study for Zoom

      • Insight Report #2 for Digitcom

      • Insight Report for a UCaaS provider

      • Insight Report for a UCaaS provisioning vendor

    • Completed work, other:

      • Judging for UC Awards 2020 – evaluated 35 entries

      • Presentation for Enterprise Connect Virtual – taking place August 3

  • June writing spotlight – top pick would be my latest No Jitter post – Who Wants to Return to the Office?

  • Here’s my Writing Roundup post for June – it’s a monthly digest of my thought leadership across various channels, including Tech Target, No Jitter and BC Strategies 

  • Here are the social media highlights for last month. Since these stats change every day, the metrics are just a basic snapshot, but they provide a good sense of reach beyond my blog and newsletter. For my business, I use Twitter and LinkedIn, and here are some approximate tallies for June:

    • For LinkedIn – I shared 29 posts, which registered 21,245 views, and those numbers were very similar to May. My top LinkedIn post registered 2,118 views; 7 posts had 1,000+ views, and 20 posts had 500+ views.

    • For Twitter - there were 24,800 impressions, 136 profile visits, 34 mentions, and 25 tweets.

    • My “top tweet” was as a shout-out for the #140Conf event I was speaking at - it had 1,624 impressions. Overall, 7 tweets had 1,000+ impressions.

  • I recently added a new tab on my website – My Music. This showcases my fun side, mainly from playing keyboards and guitar with the SIPtones. The stars finally lined up for a long-awaited update here, and a few new photos have been added, along with 10 new video clips from our recent Chicago gig, and a few others from our 2018 gig in Annapolis. Enjoy!

What's Coming? JAA Outlook for July

  • So far, I’ll be participating in five virtual events this month, and you’ll have to check my blog and social feeds for further details:

    • July 9 – ITSPA Summer Series - speaking

    • July 14-15 – Google Cloud Next

    • July 21 – Oracle Startup Idol

    • July 22 – Amazon Alexa Live

    • July 30 – UC Awards 2020 – winners announced then 

  • The pipeline for new projects remains busy, including a new white paper, an add-on for another one, a market research project, new posts/writeups for existing series, and guest blog posts to support an eBook that I helped write.


Hey Did You Know?

….That the June 2020 Watch This Space podcast marked our 25th episode! 

I doubt anyone has listened to all of them, so that knowledge base pretty much resides with us – myself, and long-time colleague Chris Fine. To date, we’ve done all the episodes together, and while that formula hasn’t changed, we are thinking bigger, and in due time we’ll have guests join us. I’ve actually been getting requests along these lines, and am saving them up in the to-do folder for the podcast.

If you don’t know, almost all the episodes are archived in the Podcasts section of my website, and you can check them out any time. Also, if you’re new to our podcast, we’ve only recently adopted the Watch This Space moniker, with graphics to give it a consistent look and feel. Our earlier episodes were more of a work in progress, but you may still find the content of our conversations relevant.

With that said, I’ll mark the 25-episode milestone with a throwback to our very first podcast, which we recorded onsite at Jeff Pulver’s Monage event (no longer running I’m afraid) in April 2018. So, if you want the I-was-there-when badge of honor, just click on the image below to hear our first take on podcasting. Would love to hear to hear your thoughts, not just on episode #1, but for what you’d like to hear Chris and I talk about on future podcasts.