Next Stop - Nashville and Genesys CX18

Haven't blogged in a while, mainly due to being so busy. Last week was MoNage and Cisco's customer care event, and this week has been month-end writing, getting plans in place for next week's Genesys event, and practicing music for the SIPtones gig we have next Wednesday night during CX18. Also been very active developing new projects based on inquiries from recent industry events, so things are never dull here.

Just doing a quick shout-out now about next week's event, and I'll be there from Tuesday through Thursday. Details about the event and our SIPtones gig can be found in the Event Calendar section of my website. While there, I'll be tweeting as time allows - @arnoldjon - and you can follow the event feed at #CX18.

Shout-Out for my April Newsletter - Subscribe Here

My newsletter - Communications and Collaboration Review - is starting to become a thing now, and the April edition has just been sent to subscribers. To get it, you need to sign up, so with every new edition, I need to support it with a blog post so people will know it's out there. So, as I did for last month's newsletter, here's the story...

Visitors to my website will know that I produce a newsletter, available on a sign-up basis. I'm not asking much - just your interest to learn more about what I do, and your email address - and over time, am hoping that will drive more engagement with some of you.

Many followers sign up for alerts for my new blog posts via RSS, but I don't know who you are. If that's all you want, great, but to get my newsletter, you need to sign up. For now, the newsletter provides exclusive content, and aside from amplifying my recent thought leadership and industry activities, I'll increasingly be creating original content, along with citings from my 10+ year archive of blogs posts and photos.

That's my soft pitch to encourage you to sign up, and if you do that soon, I'll make sure you get the April edition. Sign-up forms can be found here, or on any page of my website. Otherwise, I encourage your feedback and ideas for future topics.

Also, for the right circumstances, I'm happy to consider forms of sponsorship and possibly guest posts. My newsletter is really your newsletter, so all input is welcome - thanks.

Is the Contact Center Going the Way of the PBX?

That's the question posed for my latest No Jitter writeup, and it stems from several takeaways from last month's Enterprise Connect 2018. You don't have to look far on my blog to see what I've already written about the conference, but for No Jitter, it just seemed that a number of learnings from Enterprise Connect pointed to that big question.

I'm not saying it's happening tomorrow, but the parallels are strong, and perhaps you'll agree after giving it a read. And if you don't, I'd still love to hear from you, as would the folks at No Jitter. Are you there?

March Writing Roundup

March was light on the writing front, but I kept busy otherwise, doing a webinar, a couple of podcasts, attending/speaking at Enterprise Connect, and being a source for several stories that ran in the media, especially around Enterprise Connect.

Looking ahead, I'm also in prep mode for a speaking spot at the upcoming MoNage conference, and soon after that, I'll be playing music again with the SIPtones at the Genesys conference in Nashville. Updates coming on those soon.

On the writing front, below is a summary of what kept me busy last month. Aside from this, I also produce a newsletter for my subscribers. It's still quite new and is taking shape one month at a time, and the April edition should be out in the next few days. If you'd like to get that, please sign up here, and I'll make sure to get you on the subscriber list right away.

Media Citings Summary Following Enterprise Connect, my blog, March 27

Enterprise Connect 2018 - First Impressions, Literally, BCStrategies, March 19

What Does Messaging Have That Voice Doesn't?, Toolbox.com, March 15

Why the "New Voice" is Happening Now, Toolbox.com, March 12

Talking Speech Tech for the Enterprise - podcast, No Jitter On Air, March 8 (scroll down the list - registration required, but I can help with that)

3 Things IT Needs to Understand About the Digital Workplace, Toolbox.com, March 7

Quick Shout-Out for my March Newsletter

Visitors to my website will know that I produce a newsletter, available on a sign-up basis. I'm not asking much - just your interest to learn more about what I do, and your email address - and over time, am hoping that will drive more engagement with some of you.

Many followers sign up for alerts for my new blog posts via RSS, but I don't know who you are. If that's all you want, great, but to get my newsletter, you need to sign up. For now, the newsletter provides exclusive content, and aside from amplifying my recent thought leadership and industry activities, I'll increasingly be creating original content, along with citings from my 10+ year archive of blogs posts and photos.

That's my soft pitch to encourage you to sign up, and if you do that soon, I'll make sure you get the March edition. Sign-up forms can be found on any page of my website. Otherwise, I encourage your feedback and ideas for future topics. Also, for the right circumstances, I'm happy to consider forms of sponsorship and possibly guest posts. My newsletter is really your newsletter, so all input is welcome - thanks.

February Writing Roundup

Time for another monthly writing update. My mix of work has shifted a bit, so my volume of writing is less, but am plenty busy in other areas. Depending on what you did or didn't read from me in February, here are the highlights to share:

How Can Huddle Room Technology Maximize Collaboration Success?, TechTarget, Feb. 27

AI in the Workplace - Voice is All you Need, Toolbox.com, Feb. 23

EC Tutorial - 3 Big Ideas for Speech Tech, No Jitter, Feb. 20

Thoughts on ITExpo - Where the Phones Are, UCStrategies, Feb. 20

The Evolution of Unified Communications Technologies, TechTarget, Feb. 14

My Latest Cisco White Paper - AI in the Contact Center, my blog, Feb. 12

BroadSoft Survey Analysis #3 - Extending the UC Value Proposition, Toolbox.com, Feb. 8

How AI can Make Voice Collaboration Better, Toolbox.com, Feb. 6

Consolidating Overlapping Tools for Enterprise Collaboration, Network Evolution Magazine - TechTarget, Feb. 1

My Current Newsletter is Out - Signed Up Yet?

JUst a quick shout-out about my newsletter, which I finally got going in December. Some of you follow my blog on your own, and many track it via RSS. That's fine, but what I really want is for you to sign up for my newsletter, which I'm trying to make into a monthly thing.

That's easier said than done given all the hats I wear, but the February edition has now been sent to subscribers, and the feedback has been positive. If you don't know, it includes exclusive content that I don't post here on the blog. So, if you want "more JAA" in your life, just sign up to subscribe, and you'll soon get the current newsletter. It's real easy - there are forms in the margins and footers of my website, and it just takes a few seconds. What are you waiting for?

Updated Outlook on Avaya - Our BCStrategies Podcast

Got my hands full here at ITExpo this week, and am behind on writing and blogging. Got a few posts to get out today, starting with this one.

Having emerged from Chapter 11 and going IPO last month, Avaya has the makings of the Great American Comeback story. The elements are certainly there, but many big questions still remain, and this isn't really a clean slate fresh start.

That's the focus of our latest BCStrategies (nee UCStrategies) podcast, and it's posted now on our portal. Many of my BCS colleagues were at Avaya's recent Engage event, so they got first-hand updates on the road ahead. Lots to talk about, and I added some thoughts as well - you can listen to the podcast here, and we'd love to get your feedback.

My Latest Cisco White Paper: AI in the Contact Center

If you follow me, you'll know I've been way busy lately. Included in that mix is a white paper I've been doing for Cisco. Everyone is trying to assess what AI can really bring to the contact center, and to help educate the market, they engaged me to produce this vendor-neutral white paper. My job is provide objective, balanced insights, and hopefully you'll reach that conclusion after giving it a read.

The white paper is publicly-available now on Cisco's website, and you can access it here, under the Cisco Finesse tab. Your comments and inquiries are welcome, and any sharing would be greatly appreciated.

ITExpo Preview #2 - How AI is Changing the Customer Experience

This is the second of three sessions I'll be moderating at next week's ITExpo in Fort Lauderdale. Yesterday, I posted about the first one, also on the same day, and general details about the expo and my overall schedule can be found on the Event Calendar of my website.

The AI session will be next Wednesday at 1pm, and we'll be in Room 209. We've got a full slate, and joining me will be Muthusamy Selvaraj from Carenection, Eric Bauer from AudioCodes, Brett Lancaster from Ricoh USA, and Bachir Halimi from Speech Mobility. This link will get you to the full details for our session, and while you're there, you can see what else is going on at the show.

Otherwise, I have plenty of meetings booked, but if you want to connect, I won't be hard to find.

ITExpo Preview #1 - Making Chatbots Your Most Valuable Asset

That's the title of the first panel I'll be moderating a week from now at TMC's ITExpo in Fort Lauderdale. All told, I'm moderating three sessions, and there's more detail here in a recent post on my blog.

Joining me on the chatbot session will be David Lee of RingCentral, and Akshay Sharma from neXt Curve, and we're hoping to add another speaker shortly. There's a lot of ground to cover, but basically, we'll talk about how to get beyond the science experiment stage to make chatbots a new driver of business value and deeper engagement with customers.

For those attending, we'll be in Room 209, starting at 10 - see you there!

January Writing Roundup

I was so busy through all of January, am just realizing now that I didn't do a writing roundup for December. That's getting a bit long at this point, but I'll include just a couple of items from December in this writeup. Many of my posts aren't that time sensitive, so the analysis often has a longer shelf life than the news-based posts that drive most of social media. That's not what I do, and to show the difference, here are some writing highlights from January and a bit beyond.

New Research from BroadSoft - Cloud UC is Growing, Toolbox.com, Jan. 30

Can you Collaborate without Voice?, Toolbox.com, Jan. 22

How to Navigate the Enterprise Collaboration Market, TechTarget, Jan. 16

What to Look for in a Hosted UC Partner - Who are they Selling to?, Toolbox.com, Jan. 15

2018 Outlook - The Shape of Collaboration, No Jitter, Jan. 9

Collaboration in 2018 - AI is Coming, Toolbox.com, Jan. 10

Hackonomy - How BroadSoft Helps Service Providers Succeed with the Cloud, my blog, Jan. 3

CCaaS - Another Slice of the Collaboration Spectrum, Call Center Scheduling Magzine, and  Internet Telephony Magazine, Q4 2017, Dec. 15

Shakeups and Shakeouts in Collaboration - Setting the Stage for 2018, UCStrategies, Dec. 13

My Next Webinar - 2018 Channel Outlook for UC

Got a lot going on this month, so no complaints for the new year so far. Am doing a shout-out here for my next webinar - it's Friday, Jan. 26 at 2pm ET, and it's my first one with Informa, best known for their Channel Partners portal and conference. They have 8x8 lined up as a sponsor, with their speaker TBD.

I'll be the featured presenter, looking at the state of the UC space for 2018, and the challenges facing the channels. Here's the registration page with all the details, and I hope you can join us.

2018 Business Comms Forecast - our Latest BCStrategies Podcast

Eventually, I'll transition fully from UCStrategies to BCStrategies, and hopefully this doesn't cause confusion. Two names, two websites, but the content is the same, and so are the people. Am hoping it will just be BCStrategies at some point in 2018, and I'm getting on the bandwagon now.

I stand corrected on my earlier blog post, saying that our podcast about Net Neutrality was the last one for 2017. Forgot about that one, and this one is our lookout for what 2018 holds for the always expanding/ever-confusing world of communications/collaboration/customer care.

Whatever you choose to call it, this podcast is a good roundup of analysts and consultants - myself included - who are all close to the trends shaping this space. I think you'll find it time well-spent, and here's the link to hear what we had to say. Feel free to add your take, and I'll be back to blogging early next week. Happy New Year!

Contact Center as a Service - my Latest TMC Article

My Rethinking Communications column for TMC's Internet Telephony magazine has been running for a few years now, but since recently cutting back to quarterly publishing, there's a longer gap now between my posts.

For some reason, their digital publishing schedule has been out of whack, and the Q3 edition was only recently posted, and that includes my most recent post. The focus is on CCaaS, and how it's emerging as another option on what I call the spectrum of collaboration. Here's the link to the article, and as always, comments and sharing are welcome.

As a sidebar, I should add that I'll be attending the next IT Expo in February down in Fort Lauderdale. I'll be moderating three sessions, and details will be posted soon.

My New White Paper - Modeling CX to Create Tomorrow's Business Value

I've been working recently with Upstream Works, an emerging player in the contact center space with a strong focus on improving the customer experience. We just completed a white paper based on secondary source industry data and my analysis of the role of CX to create new business value.

The paper was just published today, and details are here on their website to get it. There will be more messaging around this on social media, and if you get a chance to read it, I'd welcome your thoughts, and I'm sure Upstream would too.

November Writing Roundup

Another busy month, and while my public writing output was on the light side, other things are helping keep my plate full. Here's a digest of my November posts that may still be of interest if you didn't see them before.

Will AI Become Like Organic Food?, UCStrategies, Nov. 30

Can AI Really Improve Collaboration?, Toolbox.com, Nov. 29

How do you Measure Collaboration ROI?, TechTarget, Nov. 29

Learning from Oreos and Hackonomy to Improve Collaboration, Toolbox.com, Nov. 17

Three Reasons to Focus on Outcomes with Collaboration, Toolbox.com, Nov. 14

Using Hackonomy to Create Relevance for Customers, No Jitter, Nov. 7

3 Things Businesses Need to Know About Amazon Connect, Toolbox.com, Nov. 2

RichCall Blog - Summary of Key Contact Center Technologies and Experts

This crossed my path recently, and wanted to share it as a good resource/overview of technologies currently leading the contact center space.

RichCall is a contact center vendor I didn't know previously, and they recently compiled a pretty extensive summary, based on industry research and insights from analysts/consultants/experts in this space. This is a handy reference post if you want a 5 minute snapshot of what's driving contact center technology and what's coming next.

There's a solid list of industry experts - myself included, thanks - and if you're not sure who to follow to stay on top of things, this cohort covers the ground pretty thoroughly. Otherwise, there's some useful stats from Dimension Data's 2017 benchmark report, and if you like what you see, am sure RichCall will be happy for any sharing - and likewise for keeping our names out there.

Using "Hackonomy" to Create Customer Relevance - My Latest No Jitter Post

I'm a regular contributor to No Jitter, and this time around, my focus was on a keynote speaker from the recent BroadSoft Connections conference. Of course, that event was overshadowed by the Cisco acquisition.

That development got plenty of coverage, but I wanted to provide a collaboration context around Bonin Bough's talk about hackonomy. He's a very engaging speaker, and while his focus was very much B2C, I can see relevance here for our space. He was speaking at BroadSoft for a reason, and if you didn't see him, hopefully my post will explain why. You can read it here now, and as always, sharing and comments are welcome.

September Writing Roundup

September was fairly quiet on the writing front, but I was plenty busy working on client projects, lining up a busy October for conferences and speaking at events, and more fine tuning for my updated website. That's largely under control now, and I'll have a broader writing digest to share next month.

What are Practical Applications of Contact Center Analytics? - TechTarget, Sept. 28

What Businesses Can Learn from the TacoBot - Toolbox.com, Sept. 28

Apple Business Chat - Tough to Beat on Messaging, Mobility and Brand - No Jitter, Sept. 26

How Device as a Service Makes it Easier to Have the Latest IP Phones - Toolbox.com, Sept. 20

Three Ways How Collaboration Solutions are Disruptive - Toolbox.com, Sept. 11

Habitat Soundscaping - a Fresh Take on Collaboration - Toolbox.com, Sept. 8