Enterprise Communications

Next: UCExpo ExCel London

by Dave Michels

Next on the Spring conference roster is the UCExpo in London (May 16-17). This is my first time at this event, and I’m looking forward to it.

UC EXPO is the largest Unified Communications and Collaboration event in Europe. The two day event encompasses the technologies that enable smarter collaboration and a truly connected business.

In addition to sampling scones and crumpets, I have two sessions where they intend to provide me a microphone.

My Sessions

Why Workstream Collaboration Matters

Messaging-centric solutions for enterprise communications are filling a gap that most enterprises didn’t realize they had, and with it comes a whole new set of vocabulary, services, and providers. This isn’t like instant messaging or voice mail where they are simply added to a PBX, they are conceptually and architecturally different. This should be an easy presentation as I intended to simply reuse the same deck I’ve been using for the past few years.  “Should”  is the operative word because each time I open this deck, I realize (again) how everything has once again changed.For example, the last version didn’t have MS Teams, Webex Teams, Watson Workspace, or Atlassian Stride.

My goal with this session is to explain why workstream collaboration/team chat isn’t just another option, but represents a fundamental shift in enterprise communications and collaboration albeit gradual.

Make the Most of the Video

I will be hosting a panel session on making the most of video. My position is simple, visual communication is no longer an option or a future. It is the normal approach for distance communications. If you disagree, make your list of objections and fax it to me. I find that few people disagree, yet most do nothing about it. Let’s fix that.

Familiar Faces

The event is a new to me, but at least it’s filled with familiar faces, here’s a short list of the usual suspects that will be at UCExpo:

  • Martha Buyer (SCTC)
  • Wes Durrow (Mitel)
  • Duncan Feakes (Starleaf)
  • Omar Javaid (Vonage)
  • Zeus Kerravala (ZK Research)
  • Snorre Kjesbu (Cisco)
  • Tom Minifie (AVST)
  • Blair Pleasant (Commfusion)
  • Rob Scott (UCToday)
  • Praful Shah (RingCentral)
  • Sara Uzel (SCTC)
  • Greg Widdowson (Avaya)
  • Also speakers from Microsoft, Polycom, Facebook, Mavenir, Slack,  and more . The full list of speakers is here.

I will be at UCExpo both days.