ITExpo Preview - JAA Interviewed by TMC: "The Tech Road Ahead"

I started posting about the upcoming ITExpo recently, and will be doing more of that over the next two weeks. This is TMCnet's flagship event, and when the weather is this cold, Miami Beach can't come soon enough.

If you're keeping score, I'm moderating two panels, and you'll be hearing about those very soon. For now, I'm going to share an interview TMC did with me to help set the stage for ITExpo. It's titled "The Tech Road Ahead", where I share my views on various tech trends you can expect to see covered at length at the show. Here's the link, and if it inspires you to book your trip to join us, I'll buy you a fancy cocktail - and perhaps TMC will buy me one too!

2014 UC Review - UCStrategies Podcast

In my books, we've passed the point now for wishing each other Happy 2015, but 2014 is still fresh, and there was a lot of change last year in the UC space.

You won't find a more diverse and informed collection of UC perspectives than UCStrategies, and our weekly podcasts - as best we can - are a great way to showcase this. The theme for last week's session was the "most significant" events we surmised over the course of 2014.

Dave Michels was our more-than-able moderator, and we all took our turns on the topic in three minutes or less. Lots to digest here, and placeholders are provided for when each of us starts speaking.

My segment starts at the 28:40 mark, but I'm just one of many voices, and I encourage you give this a listen, as it will set the stage nicely for what's coming this year. In fact, that's the focus of this week's podcast, so if you like this one, you'll definitely want to catch the 2015 version, which should be posted around this time next week.

Until then, here's the link to the MP3, and we'd love to hear your thoughts after giving it a listen.

My New White Paper - How BYOE Drives Value for UC

I write my fair share of White Papers, and this is my second one with ShoreTel. As the title indicates, my focus is on BYOE and how it's impacting the value proposition for UC.  We all know how UC is becoming more end-user driven, and since this means many different things, UC is morphing in new directions. This is part of UC's ongoing evolution, but it's clear now that end users are bringing new expectations into the workplace that conventional forms of UC can no longer address.

There's lots to consider here, and my paper examines what BYOE needs to look like for vendors to sell UC today, along with what it means for end users. The concept is still very new, so there's also a lot to learn, and my intention is to provide business decision-makers with a foundation rooted in what's happening today.

The White Paper has just been published on ShoreTel's website, and here's the link to register and download a copy.

If you didn't catch my earlier post today, there's a companion to this in the form a webinar I'm doing next Tuesday that will feature highlights from the White Paper. Here's the post with details, and I hope can join us!

ShoreTel Shout-out #1 - Next Week's BYOE/UC Webinar

Just wanted to keep the message out there about my webinar next Tuesday with ShorteTel. I'll be presenting key highlights from my just-published White Paper (more on that in my next post) about how BYOE - bring your own experience - is driving value for UC in new ways.

I'll be joined by one of ShoreTel's top channel partners - the LANAIR Group - so you'll have a chance to learn from both my industry research along with the everyday realities of selling and supporting UC in the trenches. BYOE is a great example of how the UC value proposition is shifting from the needs of IT to end users, and this has major implications right across the value chain.

I hope you can join us next Tuesday at 2pm ET, and for more details on the webinar and how to register, just follow this link.

Metaswitch Technology Day: Canada - Speaking Jan. 26

There aren't many Canadian events in my space, and it's nice to see Metaswitch running one here in Toronto. I've closely followed them for years, and they've done a great job winning a lot of business up here with independent carriers. As such, this is a good opportunity to gather that community and share their roadmap along with updates on industry trends.

This is a one-day event, and I'll be speaking at 10:15 about how hosted services provide opportunities for carriers to keep their customers and drive new revenues. The event will be in Toronto, Monday, Jan. 26, and for those who might find this worth attending, all the details are here.

Next ZD Webinar - UC and BYOD - Feb. 24

I have a full plate to keep me going in early 2015, and next month will be another Ziff Davis B2B webinar. Regular followers will know that I write frequently for their Toolbox.com portal, and some of my themes become developed into webinars.

That's what we'll be doing on Tuesday, February 24 at 2pm ET. The webinar is titled "Why BYOD Matters with UC - Strategies for Success", and if this topic is on your mind, you'll want to join us. I'll be presenting an overview of how BYOD is impacting business communications, and what SMBs need to do to incorporate this into their UC deployment plans.

I'll do more shout-outs as the date approaches, and to learn more now as well as register, here's the landing page for the webinar. I hope you can join us.

December Writing Roundup

Happy 2015! Hope you had some good time away from telecom/tech. I sure did, but now it's back to work and looking ahead to what the new year holds in store. Before doing that, I wanted to share my top posts from December - some of which have a 2015 focus.

Will UC be About Process or Outcomes in 2015?  Adtran UC blog, Dec. 30

2015 UC Outlook - Who's Driving the Bus?  UCStrategies, Dec. 29

Business Continuity - how VoIP Brings Agility  Toolbox.com, Dec. 23

Three Trends Behind Remote Working  Toolbox.com, Dec. 18

Do you know your VoIP?  Network World, Dec. 12

What Happens with UC when all your Employees are Tech-savvy?  Adtran UC blog, Dec. 4

Big Picture Benefit #2 - Every Business can use VoIP  Toolbox.com, Dec. 4

Next Webinar, with ShoreTel - Understanding BYOE and Driving Value for UC

If you follow me, you'll know that I often write about user experience, especially for UC. There are many ways to create value, and lately this sure seems to be a big one. Most recently, I've been exploring this via research for a White Paper commissioned by ShoreTel. The paper is due for publication shortly, and to build on the findings, I'll be featured in their upcoming webinar on Tuesday, January 20.

That's just a few short weeks out, and thought I'd start socializing it before the New Year. All the details are here on the registration page, and if you're wondering how BYOE and the user experience drives value for UC, you'll want to join us then.

2015 UC Outlook - Who's Driving the Bus?

That's what I want to know, and while I don't profess to have all the answers, you might enjoy my take on the UC space as we head into the New Year. I have a pretty good idea of who's driving the bus, and it doesn't bode well for the status quo among vendors. Nobody is really on terra firma these days, and long-term success with UC remains elusive.

Small changes are easy to manage, but when they're on the scale we're seeing now, there is no certainty about when to jump or how high. It's possible that everyone will just muddle along in 2015, but I think we're more likely to see some big changes either in terms of exits/consolidations or new entries that really shake things up. Probably not as confrontational as Uber, but the fundamental challenges facing UC are on the same level.

This is starting to sound like a blockbuster movie script, so I'd better stop now - unless someone wants to bankroll me! A safer bet is to read my December column on UCStrategies, and then tell all of us what you think 2015 holds in store.

ITExpo is Coming - R U Going?

Looks like Xmas in Toronto will be the warmest on record, but a month from now I have no doubt that Miami will be looking really nice compared to being here. Blogging slows down now, but this seems like a good time to start talking up the conference.

As you may know, TMC has been running ITExpo for ages, and Miami Beach has become the familiar spot for their winter show. I'm a regular, and while the program is still rounding into shape, I'll be moderating two panels:

What is Real Unified Communications, Really?

Customer Experience and Telco 2.0

I'll post more in the new year about these sessions, and if you're attending the show, I hope to see you at the sessions and maybe on the beach.

Of course, there are many other reasons to go, including C-level keynotes from Mitel, Intel, Oracle and HP. If that suggests a bit of push up into the enterprise, you're right, and I suspect that trend will become clearer as more speakers are announced.

More posts to follow, and until then, check out the show site, and if you register to attend, even better!

My New Column with Network World and First Post: "Do you know your VoIP?"

Just like the world of IP communications, nothing stands still. I've been writing about VoIP for a long time, but there's still lots to learn and explain, and I now have a new channel for doing that.

I recently got re-connected with the folks at IDG, and I now have a new blog there under their Network World banner. The publication and online presence has a large following, and I'm hoping this will help me reach a new audience - something you just have to keep doing as a writer.

My new column is called Reinventing Voice Communication, so it shouldn't be hard to figure out what I'll be writing about. For my first post, I've focused on the murky world of unregulated VoIP, and why businesses need to be careful when partnering with VoIP providers.

Hopefully you know that not all VoIP markets - or carriers - are created equal, and when serving global markets, that's pretty important. I'll leave it at that, and hope you now hop over to the site and read my post in full. I'd love to get your feedback, as well as suggestions for future topics - and if you really like it, I hope you follow me and share it with your crowd.

Fonolo's Top Contact Center Analysts Review - JAA Included Again

Fonolo may be a small player here in Toronto doing cool things in the contact center space, but CEO Shai Berger stands out from his peers as a thought leader in his own right, as well as being very proactive engaging with industry analysts.

This is the third year Fonolo has done this, and am happy to say I've made the list each time. For the 2014 edition, they've expanded the group to 21 analysts, mainly as a reflection of how emerging trends like WebRTC, the cloud and social customer care are adding new layers to the contact center technology ecosystem.

Fonolo has just announced this and have put together a nice presentation profiling all the analysts. So, if you want to know who the smartest people are to follow in this space - at least in Fonolo's eyes - hop over to their blog for the post - as well as lots of other thoughtful insights from their regular posts.

Next Webinar - VoIP and the Business Case for Remote Working

Just a quick shout-out for my next Ziff Davis B2B webinar on the topic of remote working and the value that VoIP brings. Not every business is comfortable with remote working, but it's becoming the preferred option for many employees, and VoIP has something to do with that.

I'll be exploring the VoIP angle, along with other trends and developments that are giving businesses good reason to re-think remote working. Whether you're considering this for a few employees or pretty much everyone, I think you'll get some helpful insights from the webinar.

The date is next Friday - December 12, at 1pm ET, and I hope you can join us. For more details about the webinar and how to register, here's the event page.

November Writing Roundup

Time flies when you're busy, and it's time for my November blog digest. Here are my top posts from last month that are still timely reads and current examples of what I'm seeing in the UC&C space.

UC Outlook, 2015 Technology Resource Guide, Backbone Magazine, November 2014, pp. 16-17

What's your Plan for Tech-Savyy Employees with UC?, Adtran UC blog, November 26, 2014

Can Cisco and Project Squared Drive Innovation? UCStrategies, November 25, 2014

Post-Deployment with VoIP - your Legacy Migration Plan, Toolbox.com, November 23, 2014

Your Boss Just Heard From Your Tablet - You're Fired, Internet Telephony Magazine, November issue

VoIP Deployment Checklist - Three Employee Considerations, Toolbox.com, November 17, 2014

What to do with UC when Employees are Laggards, Adtran UC blog, November 13, 2014

Ease of Deployment - More Hidden Value for VoIP, Toolbox.com, November 4, 2014

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!