Next Stop - Maui and the NiCE Analyst Summit

This is the busy season for industry events, and am about to start a three-week run. I’ve been busier with travel in the past, but there’s plenty here to keep me going.

Next stop is Hawaii - wow - for, you guessed it, the NiCE 2026 Analyst Summit. Nobody does exotic locales better in my world, and no doubt, it will be great as always.

I’ll be sharing updates as time allows while there, followed by a review of the event overall.

Hawaii is about as far west as you can go in this hemisphere, and after that, there are events in the LA area and then working back east to Orlando. I’ll have details on those events in upcoming posts.

Lots of airplane miles ahead, but more important will be the in-person interactions and first-hand updates on where things are going in spaces that are quickly becoming re-defined by AI. More to come on all those fronts, for sure.

September Writing Roundup

For those who follow me, you’ll know that August was writing-heavy (and some of July too), with many of these pieces being published during September. Some were published during late August, and there was some new writing done and published during September as well. All told, 11 writeups were published during this run - am sure that’s the most ever for me, so writing is alive and well, at least here.

Specific dates aside, I’ve been doing a lot of research and writing about a wide range of comms tech and AI topics over the past several weeks, and now that it’s all been published, this is a good time for a summary post.

I shouldn’t have to say this, but these days I kinda have to - all of my writing is done by me, not AI. No slop here. Every writeup is original with a distinctly human point of view. AI definitely has many valid use cases, but this isn’t one of them.

I don’t expect anyone to read them all - but maybe you should - and if you do, I’ll happily buy you a drink or two if our paths cross at a future event! Here goes…

Alianza Navigate26 - It’s a Matter of Time and Getting to the Crux of What Telcos Need to Modernize in the Age of AI, LinkedIn Pulse, Sept. 18

Why Network Monitoring Modernization is Crucial for Telecom Evolution, Aizan Guest Article, Sept. 16

What Am I Most Worried About with AI?, LinkedIn Pulse, Sept. 16

Getting Voice Infrastructure Right When Deploying Voice AI for CX, CIO Magazine, Sept. 15

My book review for The Negotiator’s Compass, by Dr. Howard Thaw, Amazon, Sept. 15

Why eSIM Holds the Key to Unlocking True Mobile UCaaS, No Jitter, Sept. 14

How AI Agents Transform UCaaS Workflows and ROI, TechTarget, Sept. 11

Where Voice as a Contact Center Channel is Headed in an AI World - co-written with Blair Pleasant, No Jitter, Sept. 8

Mistakes to Avoid When Choosing a CX Provider, TechTarget, Sept. 3

How to Take a Strategic Approach to Agentic AI for CX, Part 2, ICMI, Aug. 31

Moving up the AI Maturity Ladder, RingCentral Pulse, Aug. 26

New Article for CIO Magazine - Why Voice Infrastructure Matters When Adding AI to Voice for CX

A bit of a long title, but it’s a topic I’ve been researching quite a bit lately.

On its own, AI can be easy to deploy - the hard part is integrating it with what you’re already using. This really matters in the contact center, where voice is still the channel of choice for customer engagement. However, AI cannot just be bolted on to voice - it’s way more challenging than with digital channels that are mainly text-based.

If you can’t support carrier-grade voice quality with AI, the quality suffers, including the data that AI is trying to extract from those conversations. To learn more, I hope you give my latest analysis a read - it’s running now on CIO Magazine - and this being my first contribution with them, I now have a profile page, which I hope to add to soon with future writeups.

Credit - jason rosewell

September Newsletter is Out Now

The September edition of my monthly newsletter - JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review - is out now. August was fairly quiet, but the main activity was writing, with 7 pieces produced, plus a book review.

Details will follow as these writeups are published - some have already run, and others are coming over the next few weeks. I’d like to add - especially for those who value writing and thought leadership - that my writeups are created by humans, for humans (one of these articles was co-authored) - and the work comes from me, not AI.

For non-subscribers, now might be a good time to check out the newsletter, and I hope you do. Subscribing is easy, and you’ll get the August issue very quickly - the signup page is here.

August Writing Roundup

Had seven writeups on the go during August, so I was in full writing mode most all month. Only two ran during August, so I’ll have much more to share in the next roundup.

Part Two: How to Take a Strategic Approach with Agentic AI for CX, ICMI, Aug. 31

Moving Up the AI Maturity Ladder, RingCentral Pulse, Aug. 26

August Newsletter is Out

The August edition of my monthly newsletter - JAA’s Communication and Collaboration Review - is out now. July was fairly quiet, with some writing published, and a lot more in the works right now for August and beyond.

Highlight was going to Croatia, first for Infobip’s analyst event, and then a seven-day road trip there. A few photos are in the newsletter for a taste of what we saw.

For non-subscribers, now might be a good time to check out the newsletter, and I hope you do. Subscribing is easy, and you’ll get the August issue very quickly - the signup page is here.

Newsletter Time - July Issue

Things were plenty busy last month, with 3 events, 7 articles written, 2 podcasts, and another strong month of LinkedIn traffic. You can read all about it in the July edition of my monthly newsletter - JAA’s Communication and Collaboration Review - along with some cool AI-generated visuals of me from the 8x8 analyst event.

The newsletter published later than usual this month, due to July 4 and Canada Day, but subscribers will have it by now. Am also delayed with this blog post, as my Croatia trip to Infobip’s event at the end of June included a week-long road trip, so am just getting back to things now.

For everyone else out there, now might be a good time to check out the newsletter. Subscribing is easy - the signup page is here.

June Writing Roundup

Need to post this now, as I’ll be away the next two weeks, and it’s pretty close to month-end as it is. Was a good month for writing, with five articles published, and you can check any/all of them out below. Two more were written as well, but those will likely publish early July, so will include them in the July roundup post.

Business Level Impact When Using Digital Fax for Secure Document Sharing, Aizan guest article, June 10

Understanding CX Buying Committees and Decision Dynamics, TechTarget, June 11

How Generative AI for Business Enhances Collaboration, TechTarget, June 11

Is 8x8 the Rodney Dangerfield of Cloud Communications?, LinkedIn Pulse, June 11

Telco to Techco - How AI Will Help Service Providers Evolve Beyond Connectivity, EM360, June 18

It's June - Newsletter Time

A tad delayed this month, but the June edition of my newsletter is out now.

With no event travel last month, it’s on the light side, but that will change next issue given my busier schedule for June. That said, I think you’ll find my writing output of interest, along with two new kudos and one new partnership - all of which I’m happy to share.

This is as good a time as any to give it a look - it’s free - and from that point on, you’ll stay current on my output and activities as in indie tech analyst. Subscribing to JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review is easy - the signup page is here.

May Writing Roundup

Modest writing output for May - 3 articles - all very different, and maybe you’re read ‘em all if not seen before!

Use This AI Strategy for Improving Your Contact Center Operations, ICMI, May 5

NiCE Q1 Reporting Takeaways - Building the Moat with AI, LinkedIn Pulse, May 7

UC Consolidation Boosts Employee Experience in the AI Era, TechTarget, May 18

Next Stop - 8x8 Analyst Summit, Campbell, CA

After a much-enjoyed lull, am back to travel next week - two events, actually. Main event is 8x8’s 2026 Analyst Summit, held at their HQ in Campbell, CA. The company is doing well, as evidenced by their recent Q1 results, which I posted about on LinkedIn.

There’s a boldness in their approach, which I really like. One example is their Power of You campaign, which is a very customer-centric form of branding, and also personified by their “power your CX ambitions” tag line.

Another is the Executive Insights section of their website, which features articles and interviews from their leadership team. The perspectives are candid and thought-provoking - a cut above what you usually see on vendor sites.

Finally, there’s the product portfolio, fine-tuned now to address all the needs for CCaaS, UCaaS and CPaaS, but for the most part without those terms. Instead, the offerings are Work, Contact Center, Communications APIs, Engage and AI Studio. Add to that a specific offering to support MSFT Teams. AI runs through everything, but not in an overbearing way, and that’s a good thing.

If you want to hear more about all of this, I’ll be posting on LinkedIn as time allows, and I’ll follow that with a review after the event.

May Newsletter Out Now

The May edition of my newsletter is out now, and if you don’t follow me, this is a good way to stay current with what I’m seeing and doing in the worlds of UCaaS, CX, AI and Future of Work.

While no event travel last month, I maintained a steady output of writing and speaking on various videos and podcasts. I also had two kudos to share, and another that came just after this issue was published, so I’ll share that in the June newsletter.

This is as good a time as any to give it a look - it’s free - and from that point on, you’ll stay current on my output and activities as in indie tech analyst. Subscribing to JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review is easy - the signup page is here.

April Writing Roundup

Don’t think I’ve ever had a busier month than this March, and was quite happy having a quieter April. That said, I did get three writeups published, and here they are if you didn’t catch them earlier.

AI Innovation in UCaaS Requires Compliance Balancing Act, TechTarget, April 16

6 Contact Center Trends Shaping the Future of Customer Service, TechTarget, April 9

Take 5 - My Review of Zoom Perspectives 2026, LinkedIn Pulse, April 8

Time for April Newsletter

The April edition of my newsletter is out now, and am pretty sure it’s the largest one to date. I had travel every week last month, so there was lots to share from those events, including some highlight photos.

As subscribers will see, there was a lot of writing last month as well, along with several video spots from the various events I attended. Lots of ways to share what I’ve been seeing and where I’ve been.

This is as good a time as any to give it a look - it’s free - and from that point on, you’ll stay current on my output and activities as in indie tech analyst. Subscribing to JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review is easy - the signup page is here.

Next Stop - Zoom Perspectives, Sunny California

Am off to Zoom’s analyst event, taking place in upscale Half Moon Bay. Never been before, but have heard how nice it is, so no complaints.

This will be my 7th industry event over the past 8 weeks, and looking forward to a break from travel once back. Before that, though, I’ll be looking forward to the latest from Zoom. CMO Kimberly Storin is one-year into her tenure, and being a marketing guy, am keen to hear how her vision is unfolding.

Nick Tidd was a highlight for me last year, as the channel is an important piece of their go-to-market puzzle. Also noteworthy will be the updates on innovation from CTO Xuedong Huang, and the product roadmap from Jeff Smith, Head of Product for Workplace AI. Closer to home will be an update on Zoom’s AR strategies from Cheri Hulse. Plenty to look forward to, and I’ll be posting updates here as time allows.

Enterprise Connect 2026 Redux - Summary of Interviews

The Las Vegas edition of Enterprise Connect may have been two weeks ago, but we’re still talking about it in my circles. There was a lot of talking, both during and after the event, and I wanted to summarize the various spots I did all in one place.

Since some of these were only posted in the last day or so, I need to wait til now to put this post together. Whether you check one or all of these out, there’s plenty here to give you a flavor - my take, at least - of the Vegas vibe.

BCStrategies group review of the event - with Kevin Kieller, Blair Pleasant, Robert Harris, Moshe Beauford and myself. Posted March 23.

Zoom blog post about ZVA - Zoom Virtual Agent. Review with input from various analysts, including my comments from the demo I did with them on the show floor. Posted March 23.

TR News interview, with Doug Green. Posted March 20.

TR News interview, with Moshe Beauford. Posted March 20.

UC Today - Rob Scott did a series of short interviews with analysts about the event. Posted March 13 by CX Today, with both video clips and full-length article about the takeaways.

Luke Jamieson - interviewed me about how the event has evolved, and what it’s like now. Posted March 10.

Finally, my written review of the event was published on LinkedIn on March 16.

Next Stop - vCon Spring 2026, Dallas

It’s been quite a run for me recently, with 5 industry events the past 5 weeks. Am home this week, but then 2 more events over the next 2 weeks.

Next up is the Spring edition of vCon, where Jeff Pulver continues to evangelize virtual conversations as the next wave of innovation with communications technology. If this is new to you, a good place to start would be my recap post from the last event - here.

The Spring 2026 event runs next week, with the main event being the full day of sessions on Tuesday. I’ll be speaking on one of the afternoon breakouts at 2:45, and as I’ve often done at Jeff’s events, will be in tandem with long-time colleague Chris Fine.

Our topic is Redefining Unified Communications for AI Voice, so we’ll be tying together strands from the UC space, AI Voice trends, and the future of work.

If you’re still thinking about attending, it’s not too late, and if you’re going, am sure I’ll see you there!

March Newsletter Out Now

It’s a new month, and the March edition of my newsletter is out now. As subscribers will see, there was a lot of writing last month, and a full slate of travel to industry events over the next few weeks. Am at MWC this week, Enterprise Connect right after, then finally a week at home. Never dull, that’s for sure.

If any of that is of interest, I encourage you to subscribe - it’s free - and from that point on, you’ll stay current on my output and activities as in indie tech analyst.

Subscribing to JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review is easy - the signup page is here.

Next Stop - Barcelona, and Mobile World Congress

Another week, another event. This will be stop 4 of 7 over an 8 week run, so am getting into the rhythm of packing, unpacking and repacking. Later today, I’m flying to Barcelona for Mobile World Congress, and this will be a first for me. I’m going there to provide support for Infobip, a company I’ve been following closely for some time.

I’ll be posting steadily from the event on my LinkedIn feed, so please follow me there if you want to follow along. Also, as per below, if you’re there, I won’t be hard to find!

Next Stop - RingCentral, Scottsdale, AZ

The stop-a-week run continues, and starting tomorrow, I’ll be attending the RingCentral Analyst Summit 2026. More warm weather for this one - going to Scottsdale - so no complaints about the change of scene from Toronto.

Lots of news to get a deeper dive on, starting with the presentations about their performance, roadmap and portfolio. Agentic Voice AI has become the centerpiece of their offerings, with the three main pieces being AVA, AIR and ACE. If these acronyms are new, follow me on LinkedIn during the sessions, and I’ll tell you more.

Aside from what’s on tap about these things during the sessions, I’ll be looking to hear more about their new integration with OpenAI to power their portfolio. The AI story seems to be driving everything now, including financial performance. Their Q4 2025 results were just announced, and it was another strong quarter.

Overall revenues were up 5%, which is pretty respectable in such a crowded market, and yes, they’re making money. Also worth noting is the start of paying dividends, something you don’t generally see in tech - maybe a sign they have shifted from a growth play to a more stable long-term company to stick with. You can read all about it here, and I’ll share more about the numbers as they’re discussed during the event.