Tuesday, December 30, 2014

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.

Monday, December 29, 2014

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.

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

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!

Friday, December 12, 2014

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.

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

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.

Friday, December 5, 2014

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.

Thursday, December 4, 2014

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