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.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Thursday, September 25, 2014
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!
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!
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Will Messaging Displace Voice?
I think that's a pretty provocative topic, and there certainly are trends happening now to support that position. Just as the telephone replaced the telegraph, we may end up coming full circle where short form communication is favored over the open-ended mode of voice.
Real time is still more important than near real time, but as we struggle and endlessly juggle 10 things at once, brevity often carries the day. This doesn't help improve our grammar, penmanship or civility, but messaging goes a long way to keeping our jobs, right?
That's the teaser for the latest iteration of my Rethinking Communications column on TMCnet's Internet Telephony Magazine. It's been a while since my last column, mainly because the pub ran a double issue during the back end of summer. They're back now to monthly publishing, so my upcoming posts won't be so far apart. With that said, here's the link to my current article, and I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Real time is still more important than near real time, but as we struggle and endlessly juggle 10 things at once, brevity often carries the day. This doesn't help improve our grammar, penmanship or civility, but messaging goes a long way to keeping our jobs, right?
That's the teaser for the latest iteration of my Rethinking Communications column on TMCnet's Internet Telephony Magazine. It's been a while since my last column, mainly because the pub ran a double issue during the back end of summer. They're back now to monthly publishing, so my upcoming posts won't be so far apart. With that said, here's the link to my current article, and I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Social Customer Service - new Podcast
As a UC Expert, I gladly participate in the regular podcasts run by UCStrategies. I can't think of a better forum where you can hear from so many analysts and consultants at one time, and this should be part of your regular diet to stay current in the UC space.
Our current topic was social customer service, and this time around we were joined by Karina Howell of Interactive Intelligence. As you may know, ININ is at the forefront of trying new things, so it was great to counter our voices with a vendor that is in the trenches figuring out how to make social media part of the contact center experience.
Not surprisingly, Blair Pleasant moderated the podcast, and we all had our say, both feeding off of Karina's insights as well as sharing best practices across the business space. The podcast has been posted now to the UCS portal, along with a transcript, so you have two ways to take in the content. Whatever format you choose, we'd love to hear your thoughts, as well as suggestions for new topics you'd like to see us discuss.
Our current topic was social customer service, and this time around we were joined by Karina Howell of Interactive Intelligence. As you may know, ININ is at the forefront of trying new things, so it was great to counter our voices with a vendor that is in the trenches figuring out how to make social media part of the contact center experience.
Not surprisingly, Blair Pleasant moderated the podcast, and we all had our say, both feeding off of Karina's insights as well as sharing best practices across the business space. The podcast has been posted now to the UCS portal, along with a transcript, so you have two ways to take in the content. Whatever format you choose, we'd love to hear your thoughts, as well as suggestions for new topics you'd like to see us discuss.
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
My CTCA Presentation - Millennials and Collaboration
September has started off strong, and while I won't be travelling to any conferencs for another month or so, I do have an event this week closer to home.
Tomorrow, I'll be giving a keynote presentation at the CTCA's annual golf tournament, held at the Shawneeki Golf Club in Sharon, Ontario. I've never been there, and with the weather being so nice now, I'm really looking forward to going.
The topic is what Millennials can teach us about collaboration, and it's an extended analysis based on an article I wrote last month for UCStrategies. Since we're still in back-to-school mode, I thought the timing was good for reflecting on what we can learn from the younger generation, especially for something they tend to know more about than we do.
You may recall that I was invited to keynote back in April for CTCA's annual conference, and it looks like that went well enough to have me back for more. Am happy to do it, and if you're coming up for the event, I look forward to seeing you there!
Tomorrow, I'll be giving a keynote presentation at the CTCA's annual golf tournament, held at the Shawneeki Golf Club in Sharon, Ontario. I've never been there, and with the weather being so nice now, I'm really looking forward to going.
The topic is what Millennials can teach us about collaboration, and it's an extended analysis based on an article I wrote last month for UCStrategies. Since we're still in back-to-school mode, I thought the timing was good for reflecting on what we can learn from the younger generation, especially for something they tend to know more about than we do.
You may recall that I was invited to keynote back in April for CTCA's annual conference, and it looks like that went well enough to have me back for more. Am happy to do it, and if you're coming up for the event, I look forward to seeing you there!
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Upcoming Webinar Q&A Panel - Cloud TCO and the Contact Center
Sure glad I got all my leisure trips done this summer. Have hit the ground running this week, with lots happening on many fronts. Am doing an early heads-up here for a webinar that I'll be speaking on at month end, Tuesday, September 30.
The sponsor is Interactive Intelligence, and 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.
If this sounds like an offer you can't refuse, then register here, and we look forward to having you join us on September 30.
The sponsor is Interactive Intelligence, and 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.
If this sounds like an offer you can't refuse, then register here, and we look forward to having you join us on September 30.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
August Writing Roundup
Tough getting back to writing, but write we must. August was a pretty light month given I was away for about half of it, but there were a few posts worth sharing for my monthly writing roundup.
I have plenty going on to kickstart my fall, and will be back to my regular volume of writing in no time. With that said, if you didn't catch these posts from last month, now's your chance:
There's Something Bigger than the Internet of Things, Toolbox.com, August 29
Top 10 Risks you take with UC, Part 2, Adtran UC blog, August 28
Five Things We Can Learn From Millennials About Collaboration, UCStrategies, August 27
VoIP's Hidden Value for SMBs, Ziff Davis B2B webinar, August 26 (presentation available upon request)
BadUSB and the Risk of Remote Working, Toolbox.com, August 14
Top 10 Questions to ask UC Vendors, Adtran UC blog, August 7
How VoIP can Transform your Business, Toolbox.com, August 4
I have plenty going on to kickstart my fall, and will be back to my regular volume of writing in no time. With that said, if you didn't catch these posts from last month, now's your chance:
There's Something Bigger than the Internet of Things, Toolbox.com, August 29
Top 10 Risks you take with UC, Part 2, Adtran UC blog, August 28
Five Things We Can Learn From Millennials About Collaboration, UCStrategies, August 27
VoIP's Hidden Value for SMBs, Ziff Davis B2B webinar, August 26 (presentation available upon request)
BadUSB and the Risk of Remote Working, Toolbox.com, August 14
Top 10 Questions to ask UC Vendors, Adtran UC blog, August 7
How VoIP can Transform your Business, Toolbox.com, August 4
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
RSS Feed
