BC Expert Insights Vendor

Mitel announced it has entered exclusive negotiations with Atos to acquire Unify, the unified communications and collaboration (UCC) and communication and collaboration services businesses of the Atos group. I spoke with Martin Bitzinger, EVP Mitel Product Management and Marketing, about this announcement and what it means for the company.

In this video interview, we discuss how the Unify acquisition fits in with Mitel’s strategy, the role of Unify’s managed services business, and what this all means for customers and partners.

I had the opportunity to attend and participate in the Cloud Communications Alliance (CCA) Cloud Connections 2023 event in Ft. Lauderdale recently. The Cloud Communications Alliance (an association dedicated to the growth of the cloud communications industry, providing the forum for industry leaders to discuss key topics and advance their goals) puts on the premiere event for UC service providers, creating opportunities for learning, sharing, and networking.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Avaya CEO Alan Masarek to discuss his plans for Avaya, the concept of “Innovation Without Disruption,” and Avaya’s future. I’ve known Masarek for several years and had many interactions with him when he was CEO of Vonage. I know him to be open and transparent, as well as thoughtful and forward-thinking. 

Empathy Is Key To a Great Customer / Employee Experience

Two things are happening in today’s business world. Business and retail consumers are rapidly shifting the products and services that they use, and employees are taking a hard look at where they work, why they are there, and sometimes joining the “great resignation.” As a result, every industry is full of information, webinars and buzzwords around both Customer Experience and Employee experience. Are they both critical to success in the new economy, and is it possible for a company to successfully do one without the other?

I’ve been reading an advance copy of Empathy in Action, and while I don’t write book reviews as a matter of course, I view this as a creative form of thought leadership about what customer service needs to look like in 2022.

Going all-in can mean many things, and the fact that Avaya’s Engage event was held in Phoenix rather than Las Vegas suggests that Avaya is not gambling with their future. Coming out of Chapter 11 and then going public again, the company has had its share of nine lives, and it’s fair to say they really need to get it right now – and right now.

Next generations networks must deliver digital transformation services

Conference season is in full swing, but alas I haven’t cloned myself and I can’t attend all of the events that I’d like. One of my favorite conferences is Nextcon, Nextiva’s annual partner and customer event, which I unfortunately wasn’t able to attend this year. Instead, I spoke with Nextiva CMO Yaniv Masjedi to get the inside scoop on the event. Here’s what he had to say.

Yaniv, I heard that NextCon 2019 was a big success - tell us about the event.

Earlier this month, Amazon Web Services (AWS) held its 8th re:Invent conference. Following the Dreamforce announcement that it has been selected by Salesforce as its preferred contact center technology, Amazon Connect took again center stage. While a growing activity was palpable since its launch in March 2017, Amazon Connect has stayed relatively discreet. It only issued two press announcements, providing mostly updates on the AWS blog.