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.

Writing Roundup for February

February turned out quite busy, both for event travel and writing. Overall, there were five writeups, and you can review any/all of them below.

ZohoDay26 - My Analyst Perspective, LinkedIn article, Feb. 27

The Case for Agentic AI in CX is Accelerating, RingCentral Pulse, Feb. 9

How to Make a Business Case for Unified Communications, TechTarget, Feb. 6

Assess UC Pros and Cons for Hybrid Work, TechTarget, Feb. 6

Will AI Shrink the Contact Center?, Contact Center Pipeline, Feb. issue

How AI is Driving CX for Auto Dealers - New Podcast

Clever title, huh? If you’re looking for solid use cases of AI for CX in a vertical sector, this is the podcast for you. I recently spoke with Ben Chodor, CEO of CallRevu about the success they’re having, as they’re helping dealerships get into the digital age to address some pretty big problems.

Not only is customer service a major weak link in this business, but when incoming calls don’t get answered or are handled poorly, that costs them new customers. Definitely a lively conversation; it’s my latest podcast with EM360, and am looking forward to doing the next one soon. You can check out the podcast here on their site - you can also pick it up directly here on their YouTube channel, or on Spotify if more convenient.

Next Stop - ITExpo - And So It Begins...

I’ve been off the road for about two months, but that’s about to change.

Next week, I’ll be going to TMC’s ITExpo in its usual spot - Ft. Lauderdale. If you don’t know, I was Chair of the Future of Work Expo, which was part of ITExpo, and it ran for eight years. The event has run its course, though, and I’m coming back just wearing my moderator hat for ITExpo.

Before getting to the sessions, ITExpo marks the first of five weeks I’ll be travelling to various industry events, so this will keep me very much on the go til mid-March. I’ll have posts coming soon about each of these events, so stay tuned.

As things stand, I’ll be moderating four panels next week, and another one might be added. I’ll soon be posting details about the speakers for each session, and otherwise, you can check that out, along with the abstracts here on the event agenda page. Hope to see you there!

Moderating aside, I won’t be hard to find, either walking the show floor or in the press room. Drop me a line or text if you want to connect.

The Next Era of Cybersecurity: From Defense to Business Enabler

Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 11:45am-12:30pm, ITC 03

Is This the Year for RCS? Unlocking Trusted, Feature-Rich Messaging at Scale

Tuesday, February 10, 2026                 3:15-4:00pm          SP-06

Proactive Voice Trust: Real-Time KYC/KYT, STIR/SHAKEN, and Fraud Analytics

Wednesday, February 11, 2026           2:00-2:45pm        SP-09

Next-Gen Messaging & Identity: RCS, CPaaS, Branded Calling, and Verified Sender

Thursday, February 12, 2026               1:00-1:45pm          SP-14

February Newsletter Out Now

It’s a new month, and the February 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 starting next week. More on that shortly.

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.

January Writing Roundup

For those who follow me, you’ll know I did a lot of writing in December, and much of that ran in various places over the course of January. Here’s the digest of all that, and I hope you check them out.

Platforms Not Pipes: the Three Business Drivers Shaping the NextGen Telco, preface on Telecom Reseller News for a longer article I wrote for Aizan Technologies, Jan. 27

Three Strategic Ways to Use AI for CX, ICMI, Jan. 19

Future of Work - Key UCaaS Trends for IT Leaders, TechTarget, Jan. 12

CX Trends Enterprise Leaders Should Know, TechTarget, Jan. 7

What Will 2026 Bring for Contact Centers?, Contact Center Pipeline, January issue (pg. 8)

Telecom Reseller News - Am Now a Contributor

The longer my run as an indie analyst goes, the more places I end up publishing in. So long as there’s a fit between the audience being served and the focus of my work, I view this as a win-win.

The latest example would be Telecom Reseller News, and it makes me wonder why this took so long. Doug Green is the driving force there, and we’ve been pairing up regularly at industry events for years. Turns out he’s from Toronto, and we have a lot of common ground outside of tech.

Their platform goes both wide and deep - definitely a broad reach across the communications tech space, but also with multiple niches, mainly with service providers - carriers, mobile players, MSPs, etc. I can’t think of a better place to reach that kind of audience, and I’m now on their roster of contributors - which you can see in the Thought Leadership section under the Writers tab.

I’ll be doing a mix of original posts there, along with sharing of things I’ve published elsewhere - both articles and reportage from industry events. Aside from my writing, of course, Doug’s main focus is producing video segments, usually 1:1 interviews. I’ve done several with him, and you can check those out in my profile.

While you’re there, this might become a rabbit hole for industry news and insights, and then you just might make this one of your go-to sites for staying current in an industry that never stands still.

Next Podcast - Talking Headless, with Shashi Bellamkonda

Shashi Bellamkonda wears many hats - analyst, podcast host, writer, foodie (yes!) - and we’ve been following each other for some time. I recently moved further into his orbit, and now we’ll be doing a podcast episode (it’s video, so not really sure if it’s still a podcast - ?).

He’s the host of Talking Headless, and we’ll be doing a LinkedIn Live episode next week - January 28 at noon ET. Joining us will be Arthur Bailey, and we’ll be talking about the analyst ecosystem, and how analysts and Analyst Relations folks navigate ways of finding value for each other. AI is making this trickier for sure, and it’s one of many themes we’ll explore.

If that’s on your radar, am sure you’ll enjoy the dialog. More details here from Shashi, including how to tune in, and watch later from his archive on YouTube.

January Newsletter Out Now

New month and new year- first newsletter edition for 2026 is out now. As subscribers will see, last month was pretty busy on both the video/podcast and writing fronts. 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.

Writing Roundup for December

With a light travel schedule last month, I closed out 2025 with a busy month otherwise. Aside from doing 6 video segments - details on those coming in my next newsletter - I did 7 writeups, 4 of which were published in December. The rest will run in January, and here are the links if you want to check out the latest articles:

Platforms, Not Pipes - Three Business Drivers Shaping the Next-Gen Telco, Aizan blog, Dec. 22

AI Creating New Contact Center Jobs for Agents, TechTarget, Dec. 11

How UCaaS Solves the Cost of Poor Communications, TechTarget, Dec. 11

My vCon Event Takeaways - the Power of Conversations, Building Trust, and Navigating AI, LinkedIn Article, Dec. 10

vCon Event Redux - Pix and Posts

This is mainly a for-the-record post, as I have shared takeaways from the recent vCon event in various forms, and unless you follow me closely, it will be hard to find them all. There were many timely, important messages from the event, and if you spend some time here, you’ll catch them all.

Otherwise, if you still have questions, I’m not hard to find. Also, there were many panel sessions, and I’ve only cited the session leaders here by name - please ask if you need the names and companies for the panelists.

Below are links from my activities, followed by some photos from the sessions.

• During the event, I posted commentary on LinkedIn - here’s my profile page, and look for posts on Dec. 3

• My full-length review, posted as an article, here on LinkedIn

• Interview with my takeaways just after the event, on Doug Green’s Telecom Reseller podcast

• Video recording of the session I moderated with Thomas McCarthy Howe and Perry Evans about the vCon ecosystem - thanks Doug, and he did the same for most of the other sessions

And now for some photos - all are mine except two, credited below.

Jeff Pulver with his vCon overview; Andy Abramson’s panel on building vCon apps

Doug Green’s panel on the state of vCon; Glenn Richards leading the panel on telecom policy updates

Panel on managing consent and permission-based marketing - moderated by David Carter; telecom fraud panel, moderated by Kevin Rupy

AI policy panel, led by Greg Ewing; my session about the vCon ecosystem, with Thomas McCarthy Howe, and Perry Evans (photo credit - Lauren Pulver)

Fireside chat with Jeff Pulver and Chris Fine

Mitch Lieberman talking about “conversational CRM”, me with Dave Michels at the VIP speakers dinner (thanks for photo, Dave!)

Newsletter Time - December Edition Out Now

Had some hiccups on the back end of things, and the newsletter is uncharacteristically a week late, but it is out now for my subscribers. If you don’t know, the newsletter is the best way to keep tabs on what I’m writing about, speaking about, and which upcoming events I’ll be attending.

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

Sidebar - although my Watch This Space podcast is on pause for now, you can still subscribe on all the major platforms, or listen to any episode directly here on my website, or here on the dedicated WTS website.

There are 85 episodes to choose from, so I’m sure you’ll find something of interest. And if you have any topics you’d like to see covered in future episodes, drop me a line! The format will be changing, but new episodes are in store for 2026.

November Writing Roundup

Finally back on the writing front. Seem to be doing more video and podcasts lately, and with event travel, I’ve been sharing a fair number of my photos on my blog. All told, the writing has been lighter than usual. For November, there were three writeups, and a bunch more coming for December.

Talkdesk Analyst Summit 2025 - My 3 Takeaways, LinkedIn article, Nov. 25

NiCE 2025 Analyst Summit Review, EM360, Nov. 4

The Copper Sunset Countdown: Preparing for the End of Traditional Telephony, Aizan guest article, Oct. 31 (I wasn’t able to include this for October, so it’s here for November)

Next Stop - Fall '25 vCon

Just when I thought event travel for 2025 was done, there’s now one more on the calendar. Tomorrow, I’m going to Washington, DC to be part of Jeff Pulver’s latest iteration of vCon. I’ll be there for a networking dinner, then a full day of sesions on Wednesday, so it’s a short visit.

If you don’t know, I’ve been following this community for some time, and of course, I go back with Jeff to the VON era, when VoIP was arguably the most disruptive force in the communications space since the Internet. I would also argue the only things bigger in more recent times would be the rise of mobility, and now AI. Short story - Jeff has been ahead of the curve on many things, and if that still holds true, vCon is poised to become mainstream in 2026.

Definitely more coming on that front, and for those who follow my podcast, this is a Watch This Space space. Also, if you find this interesting, you’ll want to keep tabs on my LinkedIn feed on Wednesday for in-the-moment updates.

Newsletter Time - October Edition Out

Still catching up from being away last week, but wanted my broader following to know that my latest newsletter was published recently.

If you don’t know, the newsletter is the best way to keep tabs on what I’m writing about, speaking about, and which events I’ll be attending.

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

Although my Watch This Space podcast is on pause for now, you can still subscribe on all the major platforms, or listen to any episode directly here on my website, or here on the dedicated WTS website. There are 85 episodes to choose from, so I’m sure you’ll find something of interest. And if you have any topics you’d like to see covered in future episodes, drop me a line!

New Insight Report for Cloud Provider Business Models

Busy week, and I have a new report to share. This one is for Vertical Communications, and the focus is helping businesses understand the merits of three different business models for cloud services providers. Each company has a distinct cloud journey, but the wholesale model is not well-understood, so they often follow other paths. My analysis breaks down three different models, along with the ideal persona for each type.

If you’re just planning your cloud journey - especially for telephony, UCaaS and CCaaS - or feel your current cloud plan isn’t living up to expectations, then I think you’ll find this report a good read.

Vertical Communications has just published the report, and it’s publicly available on their website - just follow the link here. If any questions or comments, as always, I’d love to hear from you.

SCTC 2025 Conference - Recap and Photos

This is the busy season for travel to industry events, and am trying to share updates as time allows. Our annual SCTC conference was earlier this month in Reno, and being mostly for members, the audience is pretty limited. While not a big event, this is a tight community, with lots of engagement, and first-rate content for learning.

The SCTC community is mostly comms tech consultants, with decades of hands-on experience helping buyers make good technology decisions. Lots of vendors as well, and a handful of analysts. You can learn more about SCTC here on the website.

If you follow me on LinkedIn, I posted there regularly about the event, so I’m not going to do a full review here. Instead, I’ll share some photos - mostly mine - to give you a flavor of the event. Also, if you don’t know, we have a band - the SIPtones - and we had fun, playing two sets during the opening reception - gotta like that. Let’s go…

Sir Terry Matthews doing the opening keynote - lots to talk about there - and Steve Leaden just before the opening reception.

Outgoing President Mike Smith, then Steve in fireside chat mode with Sir Terry.

Denise Munro, leading a mixed panel of consultants and vendors, talking about building better partnerships. Then, Hardy Myers from NiCE Cognigy, talking about how AI is shaping nextgen CX.

Who wore it better - the always-sharp Brian Reijngoud, or me? Not to be outdone, Brian starting off his talk in a dinosaur outfit, explaining how his company helps businesses get out of the stone age with their outdated comms tech. Loved that!

SIPtones time! Nice shot here from Blair Pleasant. Another nice one here from Fran Blackburn after the gig. I’m the little guy in the back on keyboards, and videos coming soon. Until then, you can check out more photos and older clips of us here on my website.

Next Stop - NiCE Industry Analyst Summit

This is the busy season for industry events, and NiCE has been setting the pace for doing things right, at least in my small circles. This year is no exception, and the mise en scene will be Vienna - wow, huh? Never been, and very excited about the week ahead. I’ll be flying out Sunday, and will share updates on LinkedIn as time allows. There will be more to come, for sure, so stayed tuned.

Yes, we all know about the culture, the history, the coffee culture, etc. for Vienna, and this will be a great backdrop for the main focus - deep engagement between the NiCE leadership team and a cadre of analysts who follow the company and the broader CX space very closely.

That aside, for the cinephile in me, other things come to mind for Vienna, namely one of my all-time fave films, set in Vienna - The Third Man (Orson Welles/Carol Reed) from 1949. Not to mention my all-time fave opening sequence of music and credits. I’d love to get into all that, but not here or now. Much better done at a Viennese cafe, or wherever else the stars line up for this. I was keen to learn there are Third Man walking tours in Vienna - which I would love to do, but they’re booked up on the one free day I’m there. Guess I’ll have to go back another time for that!

Newsletter Time - October Issue Out Now

The October issue of my newsletter went out yesterday, so subscribers should have it by now. Am back to travel to various industry events, and the newsletter is the best way to keep tabs on what I’m writing about, speaking about, and which events I’ll be attending.

If you want to be a subscriber to JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review, signing up to my newsletter is easy - it’s free - the signup page is here.

Although my Watch This Space podcast is on pause for now, you can still subscribe on all the major platforms, or listen to any episode directly here on my website, or here on the dedicated WTS website. There are 85 episodes to choose from, so I’m sure you’ll find something of interest. And if you have any topics you’d like to see covered in future episodes, drop me a line!

Next Webinar - Agentic AI for Healthcare, with Cognigy and CT Pro

Time for another webinar, this time with Cognigy and Converged Technology Pros. We’ll be talking about Agentic AI, and the opportunity for the healthcare vertical. This is the world of patient experience, with a multitude of use cases where AI-driven automation can raise the bar. Lots of ground to cover, and if this sounds like your reality, you really should check it out.

I’ll be presenting on industry trends, both for Agentic AI, and healthcare challenges. Then, I’ll be in conversation with Alan Ranger from (what is now) NiCE Cognigy, and Joe Rittenhouse, CEO of Converged Technology Professionals.

The webinar broadcast will be Thursday, Oct. 23 at 1pm ET, and you can register to attend here.