Newsletter Time Again - August Issue - Podcast Too

August is August, so this month’s newsletter will likely be the lilghtest of the year, but that doesn’t mean I’ve taken the summer off. Am as busy as ever, and there will be lots of new stuff to share next month and beyond, so stay tuned.

JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review went out yesterday, and for everyone else, here’s an easy way to subscribe if you want to follow what I’m up to. Analyst work in the collaboration and contact center spaces is never dull, and for more on that, you should check out my podcast, Watch This Space.

My partner Chris Fine and I are well into our 4th season, and this time around we weighed in on what could well be the most important M&A deal of 2021 in our space - Zoom’s acquisition of Five9. We talk a lot about future of work as well, and for the August episode, we discuss the current state of hybrid work in the broader context of how everyday life is starting to open up again - sort of.

July Writing Roundup

I don’t usually do this roundup until the new month starts, but that’s the way the calendar falls at the moment. July writing was really light - just one published article with my byline - mainly because I was offline much of the month dealing with family issues, but am slowly getting back on track.

Hybrid Work - Trust Holds the Key to Productivity, No Jitter, July 13

Our Latest BCStrategies Podcast - Zoom's Acquisition of Five9

This might turn out to be the biggest M&A deal of 2021 in our space, although there’s plenty of time left this year for bigger deals to come along. Even so, it may well be the most important deal given how ripe the contact center space has become for, well… disruption, consolidation, re-imagining, etc.

There are many angles to consider with Zoom acquiring Five9, and we covered a lot of them during our latest BCStrategies podcast, which is running now on our site. I hope you give it a listen, and if you want to hear more, I discussed the implications further with my co-host, Chris Fine on our latest Watch This Space podcast. That episode launches next Tuesday, along with my August newsletter, and if you’re not a subscriber, you can find it here on my website.

Hybrid Work - Trust Holds the Key to Productivity - My Latest for No Jitter

Been offline for the past week or so, but back now, and a few things to catch up on. This is my latest post for No Jitter, so am posting here in case you missed it. There are lots of ways to look at hybrid work, and this one draws from a new research study by Fuze, and with their permission, I’ve added my take on the data. I hope you like it, and as always, sharing and comments are welcome.

Newsletter Time Again - July Issue - Podcast Too

Being the first week of the month, the current issue of JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review is out now, along with our latest Watch This Space podcast. If the topic as per the thumb below piques your interest, you can give it a listen here. Otherwise, feel free to peruse earlier episodes here on my website, and same for past newsletter issues. And, to become a subscriber, just sign up here.

June Writing Roundup

June was a busy month with virtual events and client work, along with early signs that the fall will be very busy as live events resume. Already, I have one live event to travel to almost every week through early November - geez. Still managed to get some writing done, though, and here’s my June digest. For more on what’s keeping me busy, next week my July newsletter and podcast both come out.

Genesys Xperience - My Perspectives on CX and DX on BCStrategies, BCStrategies, June 30

What Technologies are Essential for Effective Teamwork?, TechTarget, June 21

Voice Technology Triumphs Telephony - Here’s Why, No Jitter, June 8

Genesys Xperience - My Perspectives on CX and DX on BCStrategies

I’ve been tracking several contact center events lately, and last week was Genesys Xperience. The company always has big updates to share, and the launch of Genesys DX was a highlight. I finally managed to get my takeaways organized, and have put together a post that’s running now on BCStrategies, where I’ve long been a contributor as a BC Expert.

My Next Webinar with Ingram Micro Canada - Guiding Your Customers to Hybrid Work

My next webinar is for a targeted audience, so it’s not open to all, but it’s another opportunity to share my views about hybrid work, and in this case, how channels can help their customers adapt. There’s a lot of ground to cover, and if you’re a Canadian reseller looking to do this, you might find this Ingram Micro Canada webinar of interest. I’ll be presenting next Tuesday, July 6 at 2pm, and details to register are here.

Future of Work Session Tomorrow - Hybrid Work - It's Complicated!

Busy tying up loose ends for TMC’s Future of Work event, starting tomorrow - Wednesday - at 9am ET, running through Friday. I’m conference Chair, but due to travel restrictions, I can’t travel from Canada to be there. Colleague Phil Edholm will be running the sessions in the room, so we’re in good hands there. However, I’ll be moderating two virtual sessions, with the first one running at 9am tomorrow, and the one below at 11am.

Joining me for our session about hybrid work will be Bryan Martin from 8x8, Simon Lau from Otter, and Lisa Walker from Fuze. Here’s the full agenda, and if you’re attending ITExpo, I hope you’ll join us. Also - not on the agenda yet - Phil and I will be doing a joint session from 2-3 tomorrow, providing “the analyst perspective” on future of work.

Future of Work Session Tomorrow - Post-Pandemic Workplace

Busy tying up loose ends for TMC’s Future of Work event, starting tomorrow - Wednesday - at 9am ET, running through Friday. I’m conference Chair, but due to travel restrictions, I can’t travel from Canada to be there. Colleague Phil Edholm will be running the sessions in the room, so we’re in good hands there. However, I’ll be moderating two virtual sessions, with the first one running at 9am tomorrow.

Joining me will be Gary Sorrentino from Zoom, Dave Silke from Mitel, and Brian Gilman from Vonage. Here’s the full agenda, and if you’re attending ITExpo, I hope you’ll join us. My next post will provide details for the second virtual session I’m moderating. Also - not on the agenda yet - Phil and I will be doing a joint session from 2-3 tomorrow, providing “the analyst perspective” on future of work.

Spotlight Video Interview with Onalytica

There are lots of ways for an analyst to get visibility, and while I’m the one usually doing the writing or asking the questions, it’s nice every so often to be the subject of an interview. That’s the case here, where I’m in conversation with Joe Fields of Onalytica, talking about my practice, but also my views on which companies are doing innovative work, and which technologies are the most important to stay close to.

If you follow my blog, you’ll know I’ve been on a roll lately with Onalytica, being included in two of their recent “Who’s Who?” reports - one for telecoms, and one for Unified Communications. They also featured me in this Q&A interview, which now includes an embedded link to the video segment, which you can also watch down below.

My Next Webinar with NovelVox - Digital Strategy to Transform Customer Service

You may not know NovelVox, but they’re a good under the radar vendor, and I’m doing an educataional webinar with them on July 22. The focus will be the growing role of digital channels to improve CX - customer experience - and the importance of having a strategy to use them effectively. More details are here, along with how to register. Hope you can join us!

Future of Work Event, During ITEXpo - June 23-25

Am back for Year 3 as Chair of this event, which runs under the much larger ITExpo banner, which is TMCnet’s flagship event. This is the first in-person event I’ve been involved with during the pandemic, and it’s difficult to say what the turnout will be. Being in Canada, travel is off the table for now, so I’ll be running some of the sessions virtually, while colleague Phil Edholm will be doing others in person.

Details about the program are here, and as we get closer to go-time, updates will be coming with new speakers. No doubt lots of people are keen to travel again, and it’s hard to complain about going to Miami as a destination. I’ll have more updates as the show approaches, and am still keeping the door open for new speakers, so don’t be shy to ask.

Voice - Bigger Than Ever - My Latest on No Jitter

Voice has long been one of my core focus areas as an analyst, and while it’s easy to take for granted, the technologies behind it have evolved substantially over the years. There’s still a lot of telephony-centric thinking about voice, and while that remains a valid connection, with today’s technologies, voice has become so much more.

I explored that recently with colleague Chris Fine in our History of Telephony micro-course with PulveREDU, but there are many tangents that need their own track. One is the idea that voice is bigger than ever, and while it’s a big claim, I believe it’s warranted. My latest No Jitter post helps make the case, and if this piques your interest, I’d love to hear back.

UC Awards 2021 - Applications Open and Judging Again

Been busy on the awards judging front lately, and UC Awards 2021 is the latest. I was part of the judging cohort last year, and for 2021 we applied some lessons learned to make it better. This is a fun one, and you’ll be hearing more about it soon.

More details are in this article from UC Today about the event, including the various categories, and how to submit an entry. If you’re still considering this, entries must be in my June 14, fyi.

Newsletter Time Again - June Issue - Podcast Too

First Tuesday of the month - that usually means newsletter time, and yes, the June issue of JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review went out to subscribers yesterday.

In tandem, our latest Watch This Space podcast episode went live as well. Thumbnail for that below will give you a good idea of what we talked about, and you can give it a listen here. Going forward, newsletter sign-up is easy - here’s the link, and you can explore back issues and earlier podcasts here and here.

May Writing Roundup

My newsletter goes out later tdoay, and subscribers will see how busy May was, so my public writing output was limited. Unlike April, however, at least I got some pieces out, and here’s the digest.

Companies Must Rethink Video Conferencing Usage in 2021, May 24, TechTarget

How Could BYOD Support Touchless Meeting Rooms?, May 19, TechTarget

10 Essential Benefits of Unified Communications, May 12, TechTarget

Five9 Analyst Summit - My Quick Take, May 6, my blog

CCaaS: Rethinking Your CX and Customer Service Strategy, May 4, No Jitter

Will Video Fatigue Drive Users Back to Voice Calls?, May 4, TechTarget

Talkdesk CX Innovators Awards 2021 - Judging Again

Judging for various industry and vendor awards events is one of the hats analysts get to wear, and I’ve been doing a few of these lately. This is the most recent one, which I got to do last year with Talkdesk as well.

I’m just doing a heads-up here in advance of the winners, who will be announced on June 15 at their upcoming Opentalk event. I’ve completed my round of judging, which closes on June 1, and the winners will be notified on June 4. Stay tuned!

More From Onalytica - Profile Interview

Earlier this week, I posted about being included for the second time in a “Who’s Who?” guide produced by UK-based Onalytica. It’s always great to get industry recognition, and to keep that vibe going, they just published a profile interview of me, conducted by Joe Fields, their Head of Influencer Marketing.

You can read the interview here, and if interested, I think you’ll find both guides to be useful resources. Just check my blog posts for details on how to download them.

Who's Who in Unified Communications? - Latest from Onalytica

I’ve recently landed on the radar of Onalytica, a UK firm focused on influencer marketing. We didn’t have terms like that in my MBA days, but it’s defnitely a thing now, and better to be on their radar than not.

They produce a series of “Who’s Who” reports, and I was included in last month’s report covering “Telecoms”. That was nice to see, and there’s more of the same in their latest report, Who’s Who in Unified Communications? The reports are fairly similar, but different enough to be worth getting both. They also did a profile interview with me, and I’ll share that here shortly.