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.

March Writing Roundup

Travel was a constant all through March, and along the way, I managed to keep busy on the writing front. Some was related to the events I attended, and others were just part of my regular cycle of writing for various outlets.

Overall, six writeups were published, and here’s my digest of this output for March. Hope you check any/all of them out, and would welcome your feedback and sharing!

How to Develop an AI Strategy to Improve Customer Service, ICMI, March 25

Telcos and the Copper Crossroads: Where Strategy Meets Complexity, Aizan blog, March 16

Enterprise Connect 2026 – My Three Thoughts, LinkedIn Pulse, March 16

Mobile World Congress 2026 – First Impressions and Takeaways, EM360 Tech, March 11

“AI Cannot Replace Communications” – My Review of RingCentral’s 2026 Analyst Summit, LinkedIn Pulse, March 9

Identity-first CX Blends Customer Convenience and Security, TechTarget, March 3

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 - Zoho Day, Austin - And So It Continues

Am flying to Monday for Zoho Day 26 in Austin. Never did figure out why they term this event in singular, when it runs for more than one day. Yes I’m a wordie, and these things keep me up at night.

Definitely looking forward to the updates, as it’s been a year since their CEO stepped aside to focus on AI innovation. Given that much of their AI is homegrown, am keen to learn what forms this is taking. Unlike most of the vendors I track, Zoho has its fingers in many pies, so I’ll also be learning about their activities and roadmaps in enterprise spaces well outside the worlds of UCaaS and CCaaS.

Bigger picture for me is that this is stop 2 of 5 for traveling to industry events over a 5 week period. Now, as it stands, that run has been extended, where I’ll be going to 7 different events over an 8 week period. More on those other events soon, but for now, it’s Zoho time!

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)

Enterprise Connect 2026 - Am Speaking There

Lots of change this year for Enterprise Connect - that’s another blog post - and this is the first of several shout-outs I’ll be doing in the lead-up to the show, which runs from March 10-12 in Las Vegas.

For those who follow me, you may know that for 8 years, I did an annual update on the state of speech tech and AI for the enterprise, so I’ve been following this space for some time.

For this year, I’ll be doing a variation on that, but as part of a new track called Future Shock. This is a forward-looking focus on where things are going, and under that umbrella, my session is about how AI is going to change how we communicate in the workplace.

I’ll have more details coming soon, but to mark your calendars, the session is on Thursday, March 12 at 9:15am. For more detail, here’s the link from the event website.

Also, ICYMI, here’s a short video interview I did with Informa’s Erica Marois about what to expect at my session.

Otherwise, as usual, see my discount code below to save $400 on registration. Let me know if you take advantage of that, and hope to see you there!

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.

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!

New Kudo for Watch This Space Podcast

My Watch This Space Podcast has finally been getting some recognition the past few months, and I have another kudo to share, this one from Million Podcasts.

It’s not a best-of award, but one that recognizes my podcast as one of the tops in three categories, and sure, I’ll take it. Here they are, with hyperlinks to the full list in each category.

Best Digital Workplace Podcast, #45

Best Collaboration Podcast, #60

Best Remote Work Podcast, #34

If you don’t know, the podcast has been on hiatus since June - that’s why you haven’t seen any new episodes - but there are 85 in the archive you can check out any time. Am re-positioning a few things, including WTS, and if you want to hear more, am happy to chat.

SCTC Conference - Am Speaking on the Analyst Panel

Time for another update on the SCTC annual conference. This year, it’s running in Reno, NV from Oct. 12-15.

I couldn’t attend last year’s event, and this time around, my speaking role will be as a panelist. Colleague Blair Pleasant and I will talk about trends impacting enterprises, and how consultants need to support them in a world of constantly-changing technology. We’ll be doing this fireside chat-style, moderated by industry colleague and SIPtones bandmate, Steve Leaden.

We’d better come prepared, as we’ll be following the opening keynote from Sir Terry Matthews - yeow. You’d better come prepared too, as the agenda is full of great sessions from consultants and others who are living with communications technology every day.

Plus, if you’re there Sunday night, you’ll get to see our SIPtones band - we’ll be doing two sets during the reception - can’t wait!

Our analyst panel is at 10am on the Monday, and the full agenda is here, along with details for registration.

Finally, if you haven’t seen this, we just released a set of video segments featuring 11 different SCTC members, talking about the various ways SCTC provides value to both the consulting and vendor communities.

Hat tip to Robert Cassard for doing such a great job putting these together - they’re really well done. You can check out all the videos here, and if you’re wondering how SCTC can be good for your business, all the answers are here.

To make life easy, here’s the link to my segment - it’s 4 minutes, so it won’t take too much time out of your day. Hope to see you in Reno!

June is Here - Time for New Podcast and Newsletter Editions

Am on target again for publishing my newsletter and podcast on the first Tuesday of the month.

If you’re not a subscriber, signing up to my newsletter is easy - JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review - the signup page is here.

For my Watch This Space podcast, you can subscribe on all the major platforms, or listen to any episode directly here on my website, or here on the dedicated WTS website.

This month’s podcast was special, as it marks a change in plans for what Chris and I have been doing over 85 episodes the past eight years. The Last Waltz kinda comes to mind, and we’re taking a hiatus, as it’s time for a refresh on what I’m doing with the podcast.

Will likely hit pause for 2-3 months, and to learn about our thinking and what we’ve taken away from doing all these episodes, I hope you give give it a listen - here’s the link. In one form or another, Watch This Space will be back, so just bear with me, and if you have any suggestions for topics or sponsors, please drop me a line!

New Month - Time for May Podcast and Newsletter

My target date for publishing is the first Tuesday of the month, and for May, things were on target. Both newsletter and podcast editions went live yesterday, and I hope you check them out.

If you’re not a subscriber, signing up to my newsletter is easy - JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review - the signup page is here.

For my Watch This Space podcast, you can subscribe on all the major platforms, or listen to any episode directly here on my website, or here on the dedicated WTS website.

This month’s podcast was a recap of the industry events Chris and I took in last month; namely Jeff Pulver’s vCon, 8x8’s analyst event, Cloud Communications 2025, and Vector Institute’s Remarkable event. Never a dull moment, and you can check it all out here.

April Writing Roundup

Was a busy month on several fronts, and event travel kept me on the move. I have three writeups to share from April, and I hope you give these a read.

What is a Hybrid Meeting?, TechTarget, April 28

Cloud Connections 2025 Takeaways, LinkedIn, April 18

8x8 Analyst Summit Takeaways - Track Some Mud on the Carpet, BCStrategies, April 10

April 1 - No Foolin' - New Podcast and Newsletter Editions Out Now

Last month, publishing was a week late, but for April, we’re right on time. Both newsletter and podcast editions are live now, and I hope you check them out.

If you’re not a subscriber, signing up to my newsletter is easy - JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review - the signup page is here.

For my Watch This Space podcast, you can subscribe on all the major platforms, or listen to any episode directly here on my website, or here on the dedicated WTS website.

This month’s podcast was a recap of three March events - Leesman Focus Forward, Enterprise Connect, and Cognigy’s Nexus 2025. Lots to talk about, and you can hear all about it here.