Watch This Space Podcast

Channel Partners Expo - Money Talks, Muddling Through Hybrid, HP Acquires Poly

With in-person conferences back in full swing now, Jon and Chris had some follow-on takes on Enterprise Connect, along with perspectives from the Channel Partners Expo that Jon recently attended. One main theme is the growing role Big Tech is playing in shaping workplace collaboration experiences to support hybrid work, and another is the role private equity seems poised to play now in consolidating the channel space. Just for good measure, we added our thoughts on HP’s acquisition of Poly.

 

Enterprise Connect Recap - The Return to In-Person Industry Events!

The title says it all, and with Spring and baseball around the corner, the timing was great for Enterprise Connect 2022. This is the most important event in the communications technology space, and we haven’t gathered since March 2019, so it was enough just to be there. The vibe was good, and I covered the highlights here with Chris.

 

The Technology of Trust – Digital Identity, Communications and the Future of Work

Jon and Chris examine the relationship between personal identity and communications in today’s digital world, which lacks the security safeguards natively built into analog technologies. We discuss the challenges to keep technology innovation such as Web3 moving forward where trust is compromised, even for everyday communications. New narratives will be needed, and the concepts of synthetic media and media provenance were introduced as examples of what this new landscape will look like.

 

VON3 - Finding Intersections with Communications, Web3, NFTs, and Future of Work

There’s a lot to unpack in that podcast title, and that’s what we did, not just as attendees of Jeff Pulver’s VON3, but as speakers as well. Communications is an elastic concept, and VON3 explored emerging possibilities that go beyond the world of telephony and collaboration that Jon and Chris know so well.

Technology Innovation: From Telecom to Space Exploration to the Metaverse

With Omicron extending the pandemic, Chris and Jon explore the longer-term implications of hybrid work, including how virtual experiences are becoming normalized, and how the metaverse isn’t that far-fetched now. With virtual modes becoming the new reality, we bring our analog lens to look at where technology innovation is going, especially for developing new models that are not bracketed by space and time.

 

 

2021 in Review – Hybrid Work Realities and Consolidation Trends

2021 did not lack for interesting developments, and Chris and I summed things up by focusing on two broad trends that we feel will set the stage for 2022. One would be the emerging hybrid work environment, and second would be industry consolidation, which saw both large and small deals. As AI’s star ascends, we consider the impact on who will be driving the buying decisions, and what’s driving their thinking.

Copper Sunset - Why We‘ll Be Losing More Than a Telephony Network

Recent news regarding British Telecom’s plans to decommission their copper telephony network spurred us to explore the implications of Copper Sunset, as telephony companies look to move on from legacy networks for good. The universal access to phone service we have long enjoyed does not apply to Internet access, where the digital divide is  becoming a key driver of economic success today. Chris and Jon explain why this matters, along with how we’ll be losing more than a network when those copper telephony systems are taken out of service.

 

Can Collaboration Technology Save The Great Resignation?

Flipping the switch from summer to fall seems much easier than coaxing workers to shift from home to office, and we explore what’s behind the current trend known as The Great Resignation. There are good reasons why many workers aren’t just not coming back to the office, but leaving their jobs altogether. Chris and Jon examine the role collaboration technology plays in all this, along with what else is needed to keep workers happy and in the fold.

 

How to Make Virtual Work Work, and Where Emerging Technologies Can Help

Labor Day is a good time to think about the longer-term implications of virtual work, and on this episode, we explore how this checks many boxes for workers, but less so for management. We also discuss how the world of consulting represents a good model for making this work, along with where emerging technologies can serve a higher purpose to build culture.

Zoom/Five9 Deal and Back to the Office - Really?

Our timing was good to talk about the acquisition of Five9 by Zoom. Many implications to consider, especially for the remaining pure play contact center vendors, with more moves, no doubt to come. With summer beckoning and pandemic fears easing, we also explored how crowds are back now for many sporting events, live music, etc., but return to office – not so much.

 

Who's the Boss? New Priorities for the Post-Pandemic Workplace

On this episode, we review the emerging dynamics of the post-pandemic workplace between employees and employers. Both will need to be flexible in new ways, and while there's lots of great collaboration technology to make all this possible, there's more to a healthy workplace than work, and we have some thoughts on what's really important.

 

Should Network Providers Be in the Content Business?

With AT&T spinning out Time Warner, it’s not hard to understand why Amazon just acquired MGM. Jon and Chris examine parallels here to last month’s podcast about the history of telecom, and it’s another example of how IP – Internet Protocol - has disrupted industries evolving from analog to digital technologies.

Lessons Learned from the History of Telephony - Preview of our PulveREDU Course

Telephony has a long and rich history, and provides the template for the rise and fall of all forms of technology innovation that have followed. Chris and Jon connect the dots here, and more to come during our first PulveREDU online course on May 13.

Hybrid Work: It’s Complicated! Microsoft's 2021 Work Trend Index Report

Microsoft's new report has timely data around a hot trend these days – hybrid work. This is going to be the way forward as we come out of the pandemic, but with challenges that are distinct from both work from home, and working in the office. Chris and Jon have it covered on Episode 35 of Watch This Space.

The New Voice - Exploring New Worlds Beyond Telephony

For our latest episode, Chris and Jon look ahead to a post-pandemic world, but also to a new course we'll be offering on a new learning network, PulveREDU. We provide the backstory, and what founder Jeff Pulver is striving for, along witha  preview for the topice - The New Voice. Target date is later in March for our course, and watch for registration details.