Backbone Magazine - 2015 Technology Resource Guide

Backbone is one of Canada's better known technology magazines, and they just published their annual Technology Resource Guide. It's a pretty handy reference source for the latest trends across tech, including UC, digital media, mobility, wearable tech, security, etc.

They reach out to me as a source from time to time, and for this issue, I was asked to comment on trends in the UC space.

Both the print and digital editions are out now, so if you don't see it at the newsstand, you can review the complete issue here. My comments about UC are in the Digital Media section of the guide, and you can read them here, on pp. 16-17.

Can Cisco and Project Squared Drive Innovation?

Following last week's Cisco Collaboration Summit, I've had a chance to reflect and pull my thoughts together. Most of what we heard and saw is under NDA, so I can't say all that much. I touched on a few things in my last blog post - especially telepresence - but wanted to share something more representative of what they're doing overall in the UC&C space.

Instead of finding clever ways to work around the NDA, I decided instead to comment on how well I think Cisco personifies what lock note speaker Steven Johnson talked about when characterizing the process of innovation. I tried to do that in the context of using innovation to make Cisco's collaboration business more successful, and that's really the end game analysts and consultants were there to hear about.

The logical home for my analysis is UCStrategies, where I'm a UC Expert, and contribute a monthly writeup to help keep their content fresh. My thoughts are now posted on the portal, and after you read it, I hope you stick around as see what my colleagues there have to say about all things related to UC&C.

Cisco Collaboration Summit - Quick Thoughts, Pix and a Wayback Video clip

Just have a window here with some quick thoughts, photos and a short clip I think you'll enjoy. As all of us who were there knows, most of the content is under NDA, so I can't say much anyhow. I do plan to share some high level analysis of my takeaways, and need to get some clearance first, so stay tuned.

The 2014 edition of Cisco's Collaboration Summit was very good as always, and worth the trip to LA. Actually, I missed some of the best parts as a variety of delays caused my flight to be 4.5 hours late. This means I didn't get to see the opening talks from John Chambers and Rowan Trollope. At least I can get a replay of Rowan's session, and will watch that once I'm back.

In short, the big news was Project Squared, a mobile collaboration platform. If this sounds like Circuit, you'd be right, but that's all I can say for now. Overall, Cisco has a lot happening in their collaboration business, and don't let the recent dip in sales numbers fool you. They have a laser focus on this space, and are all about innovation, the cloud, mobility, video and being user-centric. There are a lot of moving parts here, and the time was well spent getting updated on where all this is going. Sorry to sound so careful, but... I have to be careful. Hang on, and next week I'll have something more interesting to say. Until then...

Rowan Trollope during the locknote

Author Steven Johnson with some great insights about the real nature of innovation

One example - "the slow hunch" - talking about how great ideas often take a long time to properly germinate. This is a cool photo of a slide he put up from the earliest days of the Internet. It's the sticker hand-written by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN exclaiming that this server should not be powered down. Why? Back then, this was where the entire Internet resided and the whole thing would grind to a halt if some nitwit did that. I think you'd need to do a bit more now to get that result, huh?

Demo of the new and improved IX5000 telepresence. Very nice and still an impressive experience. Still very costly, but much less maintenance cost, power consumption and more manageable to install. What you can't see here is the open space around us, with a lot of natural light and ambient sound. You'd never know from the quality we experienced, so kudos are due for how well engineered this system is.

With that taste of today's telepresence, how about TP circa 2006? Here's a 2 minute video clip I made of the demo I got at Cisco Canada's HO when it first came out. Back then, this was a very cool experience, and I thought you'd enjoy comparing how it looks to the above picture. Notice how much bigger the camera was back then, and how you launched a call via an IP phone. I don't make video clips much any more, but this is by far the most widely-watched clip of mine. If you like like music, you might want to spend some time on my YouTube site, and we can talk more about that later.

Next Stop - LA and Cisco Collaboration Summit

Not travelling as much lately, and that's ok as I'm plenty busy with new projects and new clients.

That said, Cisco's annual Collaboration Summit is a fave event for me, and no complaints heading to LA this time of the year. All of a sudden, it's gotten pretty chilly here in Toronto, with a dusting of snow on the ground now.

I'll be flying down early Monday morning and will be there for the full time. Got some promising meetings lined up and am looking forward to the 2015 roadmap. If you follow Cisco, you'll know collaboration revenues are down, but that doesn't mean business is soft. All the players in this space are adapting to the cloud where the revenue streams and business models are new, and they're not alone in seeing this result.

Well, that's my theory, anyway. I'll let you know next week if it's reality or there's something else in play. As usual, I'll blog and tweet as time allows, and will pass on the collab summit hashtag once things get going on Monday.

Next Webinar - VoIP and Remote Working

My next Ziff Davis B2B webinar is coming up a few weeks from now, so it's time to tell you about it.

During this webinar, I'll be looking at how VoIP can support the business case for remote workers, and if you're still using legacy telephony, there will be a lot of good news here. Whether you're trying to reduce the need for office space, add some flexibility to your contact center, or better meet the needs of the always-on generation, VoIP brings a lot of value.

The webinar is on Friday, December 12 at 1pm ET, and here's the registration form, along with the full topic abstract. My ZD webinars are always well attended, and I hope you can join us.

Your Boss Just Heard from your Tablet - You're Fired

If you believe this scenario is closer to being fact than science fiction, then you'll probably agree with me that the world is becoming a less friendly place. Thanks to technology, things will work more efficiently, and ideally, people will too.

Well, to some extent this is true, but the always-on lifestyle, coupled with the all-encompassing Internet of Things (and its cousin IoE) means there will be strings attached. You already know what some of those look like, and these are the trade-offs we make to manage the many moving parts that define our modern lives.

Without being too philosophical, that's the gist of my current Rethinking Communications column now running in TMC's Internet Telephony Magazine. The Internet of Things is going to take us in many new directions, and before going too far along that path, I hope you're giving this careful thought. If handled right, all this new connectivity can truly help us work smarter, but things can also run amok in the wrong hands.

If you want to think about this with a smile, my article contains some pre-Internet references to classic Woody Allen and Stanley Kubrick, and after reading it, you just might have a different take on IoE - hurry, before it's too late!

October Writing Roundup

October turned out to be a good month for writing activity as well as new projects, so no complaints here. I still don't know if there's a causal link, but something tells me if I keep writing, business will keep coming. I'm good with that, and I hope you are too, as this virtuous circle keeps me close to the trends driving the comms space, which is central to what I need to do as an analyst. On that note, here the highlights from October that I think you'll still enjoy reading if you didn't catch them first time around.

Hits and Misses - 6 Takeaways from Unify's Circuit Launch, UCStrategies, Oct. 30

More Ado About doing nothing with UC, part 2, Adtran UC blog, October 30

Is VoIP Cool Enough for you Yet?, Toolbox.com, October 30

Is the Internet of Things Good for your Business?, Internet Telephony Magazine, October issue

Bring your own 'danger', am cited in this feature about BYOD security risks - Toronto Star, October 20

Who are you really selling to with UC?, Adtran UC blog, October 16

Three Things you Lose with VoIP, Toolbox.com, October 15

What to look for in a Contact Center Solution when Deploying Lync with UC, UCStrategies, October 7

UCStrategies Interview with Jon Arnold About the State of UC, UCStrategies, October 3

Hits and Misses - 6 Takeaways from Unify's Circuit Launch

Earlier this week, I was part of the UCStrategies podcast that did a collective debrief of last week's Unify event, along with the Tuesday launch of Circuit. By now, I'm sure you've seen lots of buzz from Unify as well as the industry at large, so there's lots to digest.

As someone who there last week first-hand, I had more to say than my allotted three minutes on the podcast, so I've pulled my thoughts together and distilled things down to six takeaways. In the spirit of balance that characterizes being an analyst, I've got three hits and three misses. There is lots to like about Circuit, but there are definitely shortcomings, and if you want to know more, please read my post that's running now on the UCStrategies portal. I hope you like it, and would love to hear your thoughts - and no doubt, Unify would as well.

What's the latest with Huawei? UCStrategies podcast update

While everyone in the UC space has good reason to fear the big outsiders like Amazon and Google for the disruption they bring, the one player that pretty much all the UC vendors worry about is Huawei. They've been working hard for years, and you knew it was just a matter of time before their footprint was too big to ignore. That's certainly the case outside of North America, and it's hard to see how that domino isn't going to fall on our home shores at some point in the near future. They're simply too big, too well backed and too smart to not succeed when pursuing growth opportunities.

To better understand that, UCStrategies finally lined up a podcast session with Huawei, and on this call, we were joined by Edward Diender, their CTO for Western Europe operations. We covered a lot of ground, and while it's clear they still have work to do before becoming a major force in North America, they are in active learning mode, and I wouldn't underestimate their capabilities. To better understand that, I think you'll enjoy the conversation, which was finely moderated by Blair Pleasant. The link has been posted to the UCS portal, along with a transcript if you'd rather just read along.

Unify, Ansible and now Circuit - UCStrategies Podcast

Many of us with UCStrategies attended last week's Unify summit for analysts and consultants, where we got an up-close preview of Circuit. This is the go-to-market name for their new offering which is based on the well-received Project Ansible. Beyond that, it's hard to concisely say what Circuit is, but you'll catch on really fast.

Speaking of fast, we've never turned around a podcast so quickly at UCStrategies, and for that, hats off to moderator Dave Michels. We recorded this yesterday so it would be ready for posting just after 10am EST today, which is when Unify's press embargo ended. It pays to play nice and respect the rules - otherwise we'll never get invited by back to swank spots like Scottsdale - can you blame us?

Since the Circuit news is spreading its way across the Web now, I hope you add our podcast to the list to stay uber-informed. You won't go wrong with our group, as we shared a range of opinions based on our first-hand exposure to Circuit last week. It's a mixed bag for sure, and I'll have more to say in my own analysis of Circuit, hopefully by tomorrow. Until then, here's the podcast, including time markers for when each of us is speaking.

Unify Analyst Summit - Quick Thoughts

Am at the 2014 Unify Global Analyst Summit in Scottsdale, AZ, and can only share some high level thoughts. This isn't a long event, but it has a purposeful, singular focus. Unify has been a work in progress for a while now, both as an organization and as an enterprise-grade vendor in the ever-changing UC&C space.

Most of what we're hearing is under embargo til early next week, so we're getting a preview of things to come, and no doubt you'll be hearing about it in a couple of days. Basically, we're getting a deep dive on Project Ansible, their UC platform, and suffice to say they have something bigger and better under wraps. That's all I can say for now, but once things go public, I'll have more to share then. In the mean time, I can at least share a few photos of yesterday's executive speakers.

CEO Dean Douglas

CMO Bill Hurley

EVP WW Channels, Jon Pritchard

Next Stop - Unify's Analyst Event

I've quietly been productive doing my regular writing along with new project work, and haven't travelled on business since June. Some people think I travel all the time, and it's not the case - these trips come in waves, and now I have a couple of trips on the horizon.

Tomorrow, I'm going to Scottsdale, AZ for Unify (nee Siemens Enterprise Comms) and their Global Analyst Summit. For sure, the weather will be better than the dreary drizzle here in Toronto, but more importantly, we'll get a close-up of how the major re-branding for Unify is panning out.

Their UC&C offerings are on par with anyone's, and I don't think there's much to complain about there. While they have a great global brand, the company has always struggled getting their share of the North American market. We all have our theories, and by the end of this week, I expect to have a better sense of that, and will share my thoughts here and elsewhere. If you want my in-the-moment commentary, follow my tweets - @arnoldjon - and otherwise, check back with me here in a day or so.

Is the Internet of Things Good for your Business?

I'm sure the time is not far off when MBA programs will have course titles like this, and maybe even full-blown majors. I was still writing papers on typewriters when doing my MBA, so that tells you how much things have changed. Let's just say my POV is a bit different from the Millennials that I write so often about. I proudly cling to what we were weaned on back then, and am not shy to say it produces superior results to what people produce these days, but I can also see where they now have access to much richer tools, but how well they use them is another story.

If I'm baiting you into an exchange of opinions, bring it on! I love debating stuff like this, but with a purpose - I just think people are underachieving - more like overwhelmed - with all the apps and gadgets at their disposal.  I'll let that simmer for a bit, and steer you to my latest Rethinking Communications column for TMCnet's Internet Telephony Magazine.

I've been writing regularly about IoT and IoE, and after cloud, I think it's the next big frontier that will wash over everything we do - and eventually, think about. If you thinking I'm hinting at my favorite dystopian subext - 1984 - you're correct, but I'll stop talking now and hope you'll read my article. It's early days yet for IoT, but it's coming for sure, and the sooner you get it on your radar, the safer your future will be.

IoT is as much about what it can do for your business as what you cannot seem to do today without it. We're already drowning in data, and IoT will ramp this up by a few orders of magnitude, and unless you somehow get a handle on Big Data, IoT will kill your business. I'm being a bit dramatic here, but a lot of people underestimated the Internet, and the same for mobility. IoT is simply the next big thing, and sometime soon, those MBA grads you hire could be the saviors of your company - especially if they take my course, if only some school will come along and ask me to teach it!

Canadian Contact Center Trends - my Next Speaking Appearance

Industry events are few and far between in Canada, and am usually pretty receptive when I get asked to speak at them. If you follow me, you'll know I recently spoke at a couple of CTCA events in the Toronto area, and I've got something else coming this week.

On Wednesday, Interactive Intelligence is hosting its annual Canadian Customer Conference Day, and I'll be speaking on one of the panels. This year, the event is being held at Microsoft Canada's HO, which makes total sense since they're close partners. If you want to know how close, I just wrote an analysis about the challenges of integrating contact center solutions with Lync, and that's something that Interactive Intelligence does very well.

Along those lines, I'll be speaking on a panel addressing current contact center trends, and we'll be looking at things like social media, the cloud and multichannel. This is a closed event, so it's just for Interactive's partners and customers, but if you're there, I hope you'll catch our session at 2pm.

Deploying Cloud-Based Contact Center Solutions with Lync

This is a big topic for any business looking at the cloud when deploying Microsoft Lync and looking for the best way to support their contact center. These days, if you don't have a contact center, there's no excuse not to, as the cloud makes it feasible for any size of operation. If you don't know why having a contact center is essential, drop me a line - that's a whole other topic.

Let's stick to the program - you're going with Lync for UC, and now you have to decide how best to integrate the contact center with this new regime. Since Lync is becoming so popular, there's a lot of interest here, and that's exactly what UCStrategies focuses on.

As you likely know, I'm a UC Expert, and was engaged to write my analysis about this on behalf of Interactive Intelligence, who has recently partnered with UCStrategies for some thought leadership. Being a sponsored post, you should still take it at face value, as my focus is on the issues and challenges facing all businesses in this situation. My conclusion does touch on the virtues of what Interactive Intelligence brings to the table, and I'll leave that for you to decide.

More importantly, I've tried to present an industry-based perspective on what to consider when making this particular decision. The article has been posted now to the portal, and I can think of a few parties other than myself who will be quite keen to hear your thoughts. I hope you can give it a read, and after that, the floor is yours.

UCStrategies Talks UC with... Me

The community of Experts in the UCStrategies circle is pretty broad, and we have a healthy mix of seasoned analysts and consultants. New faces such as Evan Kirstel continue to expand our roster, and I can't think of a better place to stay on top of all things UC.

One way we do this is to share our personal views, and I was recently interviewed by UCStrategies to tap into those views. The interview isn't very long, but it's a good snapshot of my current thinking about what's driving UC. As you likely know, I do a lot of writing, and every now and then it's always nice to be asked for your opinion instead of putting it out there in the hope that people are actually interested.

There's a fine line there where everyone's an expert online, and people will do anything for their 15 milliseconds of fleeting fame - as opposed to being schooled in knowing how to write for an audience. I'll save that thread for another time - for now, I invite you read the interview, and in the spirit of our community, I hope you share your thoughts back with us.

Gartner's Magic Quadrant for UCaaS - UCStrategies Weighs In

Acronyms are a fact of life in this space, and UCaaS is one of the more awkward terms, but it's accurate. When we talk about UC as a Service, we're really talking about hosted UC or cloud-based UC. Yes, that's basically three ways of saying the same thing. Don't dwell on that too long - these are the problems people like me make a living trying to understand and then explain to our followers.

The cloud is fast becoming the home for everything, and UC is no exception. This says a lot about how technology keeps changing, but it says even more about how this change is impacting the UC landscape. Whereas conventional - premise-based - UC was the sole domain of vendors, they are just one class of player with UCaaS. Since this deployment model is hosted away from the customer's operation, UC can now be provided by anyone with a carrier-grade cloud infrastructure.

That cues the music for service providers to enter the game, and that's where the mix gets more interesting when it comes to the Gartner Magic Quadrant. The criteria for inclusion into this circle differ from the premise-based market, so to get the big picture, you really have consider both sets of analysis. Our latest UCStrategies podcast was all about the UCaaS MQ, and if this side of the coin is new, you'll definitely want to check it out.

Speaking of awkward terms, I'm not sure if "podcast" is the right label since this edition was done via video. If you close your eyes and just listen, sure, it's a podcast, but if you want to see what we all look like in living color, now's your chance. The session was ably moderated by Dave Michels, who is leading the  "more video" charge with UCStrategies, and we were greatly enabled by Vidyo, who provided the video conferencing platform. I'm happy to give them a plug here, and the experience was great, and as you'll see, the Hollywood Squares tile format is pretty easy on the eyes.

We may not be the most exciting bunch to watch, but nobody really is when you're just talking from your desk. Anyhow, it's the commentary that really matters, and to help you navigate this 53 minute production, Dave has broken out the times when each of us is talking. I'm at the 8:36 mark, but I hope you'll set the time aside to view the full session. Where else can you get this much free advice from people who look so good on camera?

September Writing Roundup

I'm probably the only person out there who sees everything I write, and I'm ok with that! As much as it seems we're in a post-literate world, I'm not going reduce all my ideas to clever 140 character missives or infographics that, by the way, take way way way longer to put together than a long-form post.

Rant over. If you like my take on all things telecom/disruptive tech, here are the posts you'll enjoy from last month:

Can Cisco Crack the Code for Video? Do They Need To? UCStrategies, September 29

Making Sure you get Quality of Service with VoIP Toolbox.com, September 28

Where's the Fun in UC? ADTRAN UC Blog, September 25

Will Messaging Displace Voice? Internet Telephony Magazine, September issue

What IoT Looks Like in the Healthcare Sector Toolbox.com, September 20

Getting out of the Box and Making UC Social ADTRAN UC Blog, September 18

VoIP's Hidden Value for SMBs Toolbox.com, September 10

VoIP, the Internet of Things and Business Transformation Toolbox.com, September 3

Can Cisco Crack the Code for Video? Do They Need To?

These are big questions, and my take might surprise you. The analyst community was recently updated on Cisco's collaboration roadmap, and the emphasis was very much on the new WebEx and desktop video. I wasn't expecting this much focus here from Cisco, but they have their reasons, and that's what I examined in my current posting on UCStrategies.

As a UC Expert, I contribute a monthly column to the portal, and this time around, I think there are as many questions as answers, and you can never have enough debate when it comes to big moves from market leaders like Cisco. There are several disruptive technologies in play here, and that's what makes Cisco's update so interesting. I'd love to hear your thoughts, so I'll steer you now to the portal and hope you give my post a read.

Sept 30 Webinar - Cloud TCO and the Contact Center

Time flies, and we're just days away from next Tuesday's webinar, hosted by Interactive Intelligence. Registrations have been very strong, and I can see we'll have a great turnout.

As per my last post about this, here's what you need to know:

Tim Passios will speaking from their side of table about the merits of the cloud for contact center deployments. ININ is a real leader in this space, and while that may be their agenda, I'm sure you'll come away learning some best practices for the cloud business case.

To keep Tim honest, the always-questioning Dave Michels will provide the voice of reason, and I'll be by his virtual side to do the same. We won't be ganging up on Tim, but we'll be asking the kind of questions you'll want answers to, and if that doesn't do the job, the audience will have their shot as well.

Otherwise, here are the registration details - we start at 11:30 ET - hope to see/hear you there!