Watch This Space Podcast

Hiatus Time for Watch This Space - Review of the Most Impactful Tech Since 2018, and What We're Watching for Next

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 01:40:22 -0400

While not quite The Last Waltz, all good things must come to an end, at least for now. This marks the final episode in our eight-year run doing Watch This Space, not because we’ve run out of spaces to watch, but because we feel it’s time to do a re-set with the podcast. With future of work being a core theme, we feel we’ve covered the topic long enough and a new focus is needed. That new focus is TBD, and will take shape over the next while.

Until then, this episode reviewed current industry events, namely Zoho’s Zoholics, NICE Interactions and analyst events with Infobip and Global Relay. Most of our time was spent looking back on the most impactful technology trends since 2018, and we were in strong agreement that the biggest one was the pandemic and the emergence of hybrid work. We recounted why UCaaS and cloud were the right technologies at the right time to make hybrid work viable, along with why we think AI will be most important technology to watch going forward. While not a surprising perspective, we framed this as a two-sided coin, where we get both the good and the bad at the same time.

That provided a segue to a related topic that we also felt will be important to watch – quantum computing. Finally, we took things full circle to a recent WTS episode where we reviewed a classic sci-fi novella – With Folded Hands – a prescient tale of where blind faith in technology could take us, with another reminder why we feel our analog perspective is a valuable lens through which to see how digital technology is shaping our world.

Spotlight on Innovation with AI and Communications Technology

Tue, 06 May 2025 13:12:04 -0400

April was a busy month for industry events, and the main focus for this episode was Jeff Pulver’s vCon event, held in Hyannis, MA. Chris spoke at the event, with the main takeaway being that vCon is a “watch this space” initiative, especially for using AI to derive new value from conversations, including unstructured data. With vCon being early stage, the focus was mainly on laying the groundwork to make this an IETF standard, and proof of concept interop testing. Chris explained how this was a different conference experience, with the participants trying to set the foundation for vCon before it gets on the radar of the hyperscalers. Following this, Jon added his thoughts on other recent events, namely 8x8’s analyst event, speaking at the Cloud Communications Alliance event, and Vector Institute’s Remarkable conference in Toronto.

Return to Office and Agentic AI Realities

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 21:54:02 -0400

March was another busy month, with Chris attending Leesman’s research event in NYC, and Jon doing the same for Enterprise Connect in Orlando, along with Cognigy’s Nexus event in Dusseldorf. On this episode, Chris explains the big disconnect between what management and workers want for coming back to the office, and how that’s impacting corporate real estate thinking. For Jon, Agentic AI was the big story at Enterprise Connect, and he reviews why it’s so important, but also how enterprises are struggling to find the best use cases. Another takeaway is why Jon thinks Google’s AI-first approach to CX could make them a dark horse player in the hyper-competitive contact center space. Finally, Jon shares how Cognigy is getting impressive results with Tier 1 customers using Agentic AI – mainly in the EU – and showing what’s possible when AI is deployed effectively.

Future of Work Expo Review

Mon, 10 Mar 2025 21:37:15 -0400

February was a busy month, but the highlight was the Future of Work Expo, with Jon returning as Chair for the eighth year. Co-located with the big-tent ITExpo, the program covered a wide range of topics related to the future of work, and the highlights were reviewed during the podcast. One was from Jon’s keynote, citing industry research about how difficult hybrid work is to manage, and what attributes are most important for being in an office setting. Another main theme was how the future of work is being shaped now by AI, and how important it will be for workers to upskill to adapt. Bigger picture, Chris and Jon discussed how there’s a hunger for data now in enterprises, where everyday workplace communication is being mined to help train AI applications that will define the future of work.

AI Overload - DeepSeek, Deepfakes, Paul McCartney's Cautions, Churchill at War, Roadrunner, Agentic AI - Do Consumers Really Care?

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 12:27:37 -0500

With the out-of-nowhere DeepSeek news turning the world of AI upside down, we went into an extended discussion about what it is and what it means, along with concerns about a related topic, deepfakes. We reviewed many examples that make you wonder if today’s digital natives can tell the real from the fake with AI – and if they even care. For enterprises, we debated if AI is really headed in the right direction, and what it will take for them to realize an ROI to justify all of this spending. From there, we pivoted to another timely topic - the Future of Work Expo - where Jon discussed the program and how central AI has become to the topic.

2025 Outlook - Workspace Evolution, Small Language Models and AI Everywhere; Plus The MANIAC, AlphaGo and Our Analog Sensibilities

Tue, 07 Jan 2025 12:23:35 -0500

Season 8 of Watch This Space began with our look-ahead to 2025, where the main topics were how we see workplaces and workspaces evolving, why small language models will have their moment, and our concerns about how AI is becoming baked into everything. On another tangent, we discussed how sensibilities in the digital age are so different from the analog world we are grounded in, and why that’s making it easier for AI to take hold. We also continued the literary theme from our last episode by revisiting some lingering thoughts from the sci-fi novella With Folded Hands, then veering into another AI-related must-read, Benjamin Labatut’s The MANIAC. If you’re wondering why DeepMind’s AlphaGo is a foreboding sign for how AI could reshape our very humanity, this is the book for you.

Book Review - With Folded Hands - Where is AI Talking Us? Where is Today's Bob Dylan?, Events Roundup, and 2024 Takeaways

Wed, 04 Dec 2024 12:06:28 -0500

We mixed things up for the December episode, with our first-ever book review. A novelette, actually, from the sci-fi genre, that we found to be very timely. Written by Jack Williamson in 1947, With Folded Hands is a prescient story about a world that’s looking very familiar, and with Humanoids running everything, the parallels to the trend du jour – Agentic AI – are pretty striking. We discussed what it all means, and after you listen to us, we hope you’ll give it a read. In response to the conformity that comes with this brave new world, we raised the question about where is the next Bob Dylan to push back on all this? Following that, we reviewed our recent industry events – CREtech, ISC East, and the Talkdesk Analyst Summit. Being the last episode for 2024, we closed out with some big picture takeaways from this year, along with some things we’re expecting for 2025.

Takeaways From Fall Conferences - AI Evolution for EX and CX, Getting Workers Back to the Office, and Future of Work Expo Updates

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 12:25:41 -0500

With travel to industry events in full swing during October, we had a lot of ground to cover. Jon recapped both events from earlier in the month – Verint, British Telecom and UC Expo – along with previewing upcoming October events that were to take place after our podcast was recorded, namely Cisco WebexOne and NICE Analyst Summit – which took Jon to Zambia. From Chris’s end, he updated us on VON Evolution (now vCon), where Jeff Pulver’s community explored the future of voice and conversations, then WorkTech, where the focus was on the return to office side of hybrid work, and how the corporate real estate world is thinking about these things. Things are never dull here on Watch This Space, and this episode will update you on the worlds of AI, customer experience and future of work in more ways than you might imagine.

Fall Tech Conference Preview, Amazon's Return to Office Mandate, and Updates for Our Podcast

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 12:15:49 -0400

October marks the start of the busy season for technology events, and we provided a preview of what’s coming, namely Jeff Pulver’s new-and-improved VON event, Verint Engage, British Telecom’s Focus analyst event, the UC Expo in London, and NICE’s analyst event in Zambia.

Ahead of that we introduced changes coming to the podcast, both for updating the format, and two new channels where WTS can be found – TMCnet, and EM360. On the tech news front, we discussed the implications of Amazon’s new mandate for full-time back to the office – definitely a Watch This Space topic.

The Joys of Summer - How Streaming Found Its Voice at the Paris Olympics, and How Conversational AI is a CX Game-Changer for Utilities

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 12:17:36 -0400

Our September episode began by talking about the best things that came from the summer. In terms of technology, the highlight was how good streaming has become, and how great a showcase the Paris Olympics were for this. We extended this to the workplace, by noting how some vendors have been enhancing their UCaaS with event platforms that provide broadcast-quality communication for large audiences. These examples support our bigger-picture perspective about the ascendancy of video technology, and how use cases are growing, both in the public and private sector. From there, Jon talked about the recent NCEC Technology Conference for rural utilities in North Carolina, where he returned as a speaker. He reviewed the challenges and opportunities they face for adopting AI, along with highlights from his session on the use of conversational AI in the contact center.

Workplace Strategy - It's a Thing, and Why It's an Opportunity for UCaaS and CCaaS Vendors

Tue, 06 Aug 2024 12:50:33 -0400

Our main focus for this episode was on the recent Leesman Corporate Real Estate Poll, and the emerging need for enterprise leaders to develop a workplace strategy. Senior management has numerous priorities to manage for their organization to function effectively; such as employee experience, office utilization and cost management, but they lack the tools to develop an integrated strategy.

This where AI comes in, not just for integrating disparate elements across the organization, but also to provide the datasets management needs to make decisions and develop strategies. We discussed how there’s an unmet need here, and a possible opportunity for the UCaaS and CCaaS vendors, who are already capturing much of this data with their AI-driven platforms. Our topic was based on my recent No Jitter article, which includes a link to the Leesman research.

Ahead of all this, we opened the episode with a review of recent tech and AI missteps, namely CrowdStrike, Patagonia and Ticketmaster – not just for the risks we’re all exposed to, but also for how dependent we’re becoming on Big Tech.

HPE Discover and NICE Interactions - Reflections on Latest Industry Events

Wed, 03 Jul 2024 12:15:19 -0400

Both of us attended major industry events during June, with Chris at HPE Discover, and myself at NICE Interactions – both in Las Vegas, as it turns out. HPE and NICE are different companies in different spaces, but both were showcasing how they’re pushing the envelope with AI.

Given our focus on future of work and digital transformation, Chris noted the impact of AI-driven network technologies on smart buildings and how that can support return to office. With NICE, I reviewed how their vision for AI is taking us to a world where live and virtual agents will work symbiotically, much like the Digital Centaur that may some day come to transform the workplace.

Aside from our take on these events, we took some side roads to expound on Vegas’s unique vibe, and how HPE’s acquisition of Juniper is another example of Big Tech getting bigger.

The AI Revolution - Are We at the Beginning or the End? Reflections on Analyst Events from Zoom and Verint

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 08:33:11 -0400

With AI moving so quickly - yet without much ROI to speak of – it’s fair to ask if we’re at the beginning or the end with this revolution. For this episode, Jon shared insights from recent events with Zoom and Verint – two companies going all-in with AI.

Both are aiming high, solving problems that only AI can handle, and we explore the bigger picture as to whether they will succeed. While they seem to be on the right track, there may be limits to how much automation workers and customers really want, making this another Watch This Space topic. Find out for yourself by checking out our June podcast.

The Future is Digital - Exploring Innovation for Workplace Security and Visual Collaboration

Wed, 01 May 2024 12:06:41 -0400

For this episode, we explored what technology innovation looks like both in physical and virtual spaces. Just back from the ISC West event, Chris shared how technology is now being applied in the physical security space, and how commercial property managers are thinking about smart buildings. Following that, we reviewed a recent demo I had with Welo, illustrating use cases for virtual workspaces and new forms of visual collaboration. To better envision this, please see the visual in the Hey, Did You Know? section below. Welo isn’t the only player in this space, but this is a good starting point to re-think workspaces as the physical and virtual worlds further overlap.

Takeaways from Enterprise Connect, and How Did We Get Here with AI from the Days of PBX and Legacy Telephony?

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 12:16:08 -0400

Having returned from Enterprise Connect the night before, the time was right to talk about takeaways from the 2024 edition, of which there were many. Before talking about how AI has now become the main focus of the event, we felt compelled to put things in perspective first. This conference used to be solely about PBXs – hardware-based telephony – and we reviewed how the communications technology space has been radically transformed in very little time by AI. Digital natives may not find this perspective relevant, but trust us, it is, and we’ll leave it for you to decide after giving our latest episode a listen.

Takeaways From the Future of Work Expo, and Where's the Fit for AI, Apple and the Metaverse?

Tue, 05 Mar 2024 13:19:46 -0500

For this episode, Chris and Jon reflect on key highlights from the recent Future of Work Expo, where Jon serves as event Chair, and Chris was both a speaker and a moderator. The event provided much food for thought, with insights from an eclectic mix of speakers from both mainstream and lesser-known companies. The overarching theme for this episode, however, was AI, and we explore why it’s become so pervasive, and why it’s on par with the Internet as being the most transformative technologies of the digital age. We further explore AI’s impact on FOW, along with the fit we see for big consumer players like Meta and Apple.

What Constitutes Work in a Digital World, and Future of Work Expo Preview

Tue, 06 Feb 2024 08:11:30 -0500

We continue with Season 7 for Watch This Space, where the focus is my upcoming Future of Work Expo in Ft. Lauderdale. Our sessions will cover a lot of timely topics that should be familiar to our regular listeners - but some new ones too - including privacy, identity, immersive tech, large language models, endpoint usage, evolving role of IT, collaboration trends, agent experience, organizational structures, and workspaces for FOW. To set the stage for all this, we took a broader view for FOW through our analog lens, raising fundamental concerns about the very nature of work as our world becomes more digital and more virtual, and as we work increasingly in isolation from each other.

2024 Outlook - How IT Leaders Need to Think About Deploying AI - an Analog Perspective

Thu, 04 Jan 2024 12:24:01 -0500

This episode marks the start of Season 7 for Watch This Space, and as always, is our look-ahead into the coming year. With AI becoming ever-more pervasive, Chris and I focused on how IT and business leaders need to be thinking for 2024. Never before has a technology emerged so quickly with such far-reaching implications, and we examined not just the undeniable benefits of AI, but also what will be required from IT to effectively deploy it, along with maintaining trust with employees. With our deep roots in the analog world, the perspectives we offer may be unfamiliar for digital natives, but perhaps exactly what they need to hear.

Musings on Big Tech, Looming AI Backlash, and Takeaways From Verint’s Analyst Event

Tue, 05 Dec 2023 12:08:26 -0500

Our discussion for this episode centered on Big Tech, triggered by the recent rollercoaster with OpenAI. Aside from exploring concerns and implications about Big Tech’s market power, we parsed out the different frames of reference between analog and digital generations about using AI, along with why we should expect some backlash in 2024. Wrapping up, Jon shared his thoughts on Verint’s analyst event, which will close out his travels for 2023.

State of Play with Hybrid Work, and Jon’s World Tour Revue - London, Peru, Dubai and the US

Tue, 07 Nov 2023 12:18:00 -0500

Before getting to Jon’s travelogue of industry events, we reviewed how businesses are still facing challenges getting hybrid work right, and what vendors are doing to make the in-office experience more compelling, especially for meeting spaces. We noted how this theme will be further explored at Jon’s Future of Work Expo in February, where many of the leading vendors will be speaking. From there, Jon recounted highlights from his extensive October travels – UC Expo in London, NICE in Peru, Avaya in Dubai, Cisco WebexOne in Anaheim, and SCTC in Raleigh - including a SIPtones gig. Finally, we did a brief mention of Jeff Pulver’s VON Evolution event in NYC, where both of us were speaking, and we did a special edition WTS segment specific for the event.

New York City Events Roundup - Cloud Communications Alliance, CREtech and WorkTech23

Tue, 03 Oct 2023 09:28:05 -0400

During September, Chris and I both attended industry events in New York City, and we had lots to talk about. First up was the Cloud Communications Alliance Financial Summit, which I attended for the first time and spoke on the analyst panel session. We discussed how the current state of things – crowded and very competitive – is impacting valuations and growth opportunities. Bottom line – cloud providers need to expand beyond UCaaS into CCaaS and CPaaS, and be ready for what’s coming with AI. Chris recapped two events – CREtech and WORKTECH23, reviewing how today’s office spaces are adapting to bring workers back to the office. This is a key element for anybody’s future of work plans, and Chris also shared first-hand takeaways from tours to Cisco, Google and WestCap’s state-of-the-art facilities. Buckle-up, as we covered a lot of ground on this episode!

Is It Still Customer Service if They Don’t Want You?

Tue, 05 Sep 2023 12:22:02 -0400

The same technologies that contact centers have now embraced to better understand the customer journey can also be used to determine which customers are the most valuable, as well as those they’d rather do without. Ineptitude isn’t the only reason customers are driven away by bad service, and we explore how bad service can also be by design. Jon and Chris raise some darker realities of how customer service is evolving, and how transformative technologies like AI can be a double-edged sword, depending on how well business priorities are aligned with trying to be customer-centric.

East Meets West - Takeaways From Mobile World Congress Shanghai and the Bleeding Edge of 5G

Tue, 08 Aug 2023 16:28:10 -0400

We usually cover multiple topics on Watch This Space, but my recent trip to China was so fascinating – and touched on so many tangents – that we didn’t talk about anything else. The main topic was my experience at the Mobile World Congress event in Shanghai, with some sidebars to my broader impressions of going to China for the first time. Technology-wise, 5G is the big story here, and not many Westerners have seen what I got see, so if you want to know what’s coming in the wireless world, this is the episode for you.

Act III for Avaya - Why We Think They May Succeed, and Is It Too Late to Push Back on Big Tech?

Thu, 06 Jul 2023 12:12:49 -0400

While we intended to discuss a few current topics, our current episode ended up being mostly about June’s Avaya ENGAGE event. Given how interesting Avaya’s situation has become – what I now call Act III – our discussion also reflected on the broader state of technology, and how the pervasiveness of Big Tech should be of concern to all of us. Whether you want to see Avaya succeed or fail, I think you’ll find our take of interest, especially if you’re in the former camp.

How Five9 is Using AI to Re-Think Customer Service, Generational Changes for Automation, and Robotics of the Mind

Tue, 06 Jun 2023 12:27:36 -0400

Our May episode started with my takeaways from Five9’s analyst event in Porto, Portugal, with a parallel discussion about how they’re using AI to transform customer service, along with how broader generational changes are increasingly AI and tech-centric. Our analog lens pre-dates these changes, and we explored how digital transformation is taking automation to new levels. We don’t know where it’s heading, but there’s a big difference between automating tasks and processes, and automating thought and emotion. The singularity could be closer than Kurzweil predicted – 2045 – and we left off with the robotics of the mind for our listeners to ponder.

Conference Roundup and AI Anxiety - Extreme Networks, Fenway Park Experience and VON Evolution

Tue, 02 May 2023 13:35:45 -0400

Our May episode took us to Boston and New York, where Jon recounted takeaways from Extreme Networks’ analyst event, and Chris did the same for Jeff Pulver’s VON reboot. Framing those highlights was a broader discussion about where AI is taking us, and what the new generation of tech entrepreneurs is bringing to a space where events like VON played a formative role. Jon also provided a reality check about how tech is driving today’s fan experience, and it has very little to do with watching the ballgame.

Conference Roundup - 8x8, Enterprise Connect, VON Evolution, HPE Aruba - and the State of Enterprise Communications

Tue, 04 Apr 2023 14:20:08 -0400

Our April episode served as a roundup of recent and upcoming events on our calendar, namely 8x8, Enterprise Connect, VON Evolution and HPE Aruba. Chris and Jon also reviewed the current state of enterprise communications - in particular, what’s missing to make meetings feel more immersive, as well as inclusive, especially for remote workers. We also went out on a limb to talk about how collaboration vendors can borrow from the retail world to build their brands and showcase how great their experiences can be.

Future of Work Expo Review - ChatGPT, Hybrid Working, AR/VR, Contact Center Realities and More

Thu, 02 Mar 2023 12:23:19 -0500

Over the course of 3 days, we had 18 sessions, dozens of speakers, and a very engaged audience – to find out what you missed, this is the podcast for you. Chris Fine and I discuss the highlights, and if you weren’t there, we hope this gets the event on your calendar for next February. For more about the event, including photos and press coverage, please visit my blog.

Future of Work Expo Preview, and Highlights from the Leesman Powering Hybrid Work Study

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:07:06 -0500

Jon is returning as Chair for Future of Work Expo in Ft. Lauderdale, and Chris will be active there too, so with the event fast-approaching, we started this episode with a preview of what to expect, and for those who can join us, you won’t be disappointed. Following that, Chris walked us through five key themes from this new global study, co-produced by Aruba Networks and Leesman. Never a dull moment, and the research confirms many foundational notions that business leaders need to base decisions on for supporting hybrid work.

Our 2023 Outlook - High Hopes for AI, But Analog Tech is Still Cool, and Future of Work Expo Preview

Tue, 03 Jan 2023 12:29:56 -0500

As we usually do at this time of year, Chris and I provide our take on what to expect in 2023. We haven’t had this much economic uncertainty in many years, making our outlook more about survive than thrive, but also with a sense of promise for AI. For fellow analog lovers, Chris shares a treat, the NY subway “traintrackr”; and a preview for my Future of Work Expo, running Feb. 14-16.

Zoom + Tesla, Twilio and Digital Execution, Mavenir and Industry 4.0, and 2022 Takeaways

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 12:07:10 -0500

I attended three more industry conferences during November, and along with Chris, we explored the future of work implications – and there were many. Being the December episode, we closed things out with our 2022 takeaways, and will resume next month with our 2023 outlook.

October Events Roundup – Surveillance, Audio Watermarking, Intelligent Customer Service, Private 5G and Another SIPtones Gig

Wed, 02 Nov 2022 12:02:12 -0400

Industry conferences were in full swing last month, and the topics in this title provide a sense of what Chris and I talked about. October travel took me to three continents, so our perspectives are broad, and we don’t think you’ll mind this being a longer-than-usual episode.

Quiet Firing, Return to Office, and Digital HQ from Salesforce

Tue, 04 Oct 2022 12:15:49 -0400

The hybrid work pendulum continues swinging back and forth, and following our discussion of quiet quitting last month, we look at the flip side this episode with quiet firing. We also examine new drivers for evolving workspace design, and what we think Salesforce is on to with their bold launch of Digital HQ.

Crashing Tech Stocks and Quiet Quitting - is There a Connection?

Tue, 06 Sep 2022 11:46:46 -0400

Quiet quitting has become the nom du jour in hybrid work circles, and in this episode, we examine the implications, as well as if there might be a connection to what’s behind the drastic falloff in tech stocks - especially those in the collaboration space. Hybrid work continues to face headwinds, and we also discuss how this is as much an HR problem as it is a tech problem.

EY Work Reimagined Study - Getting Employees and Employers on the Same Page

Tue, 02 Aug 2022 13:03:27 -0400

Our last podcast focused on highlights from Future of Work Expo, which included a keynote about this new study from Ernst & Young. The findings reveal some worrisome disconnects between employees and employers, which we explore in this episode, along with what enterprises should be doing to strike a tenable balance to support the hybrid work model.

Future of Work Expo Review - Making Hybrid Work Work

Tue, 05 Jul 2022 12:01:08 -0400

Having just returned from the Future of Work Expo in Ft. Lauderdale, Jon recaps the key themes, and co-host Chris Fine adds his perspective as to why hybrid work is harder to do than it looks. Having served as Chair for four years now, Jon explains why this year’s Future of Work Expo was the best to date, and provides a strong foundation for the 2023 edition, coming in February.

The Metaverse, Innovation and Invention -Thinking Bigger About Future of Work

Wed, 01 Jun 2022 12:16:59 -0400

What started as an exploration of the continued challenges faced by businesses to get workers back to the office, veered into the unchartered waters of the metaverse. Jon shared some future of work perspectives from his recent metaverse experience during the NICE Interactions event, and how workers can manage this along with physical workplace experiences. The led to our takeaways about how business leaders need to think beyond innovation, and to also to look for invention from technology players for shaping the future of work.

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

Tue, 03 May 2022 09:37:35 -0400

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!

Tue, 05 Apr 2022 12:22:04 -0400

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

Wed, 02 Mar 2022 12:04:00 -0500

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

Tue, 01 Feb 2022 11:26:07 -0500

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

Tue, 04 Jan 2022 12:21:25 -0500

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

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 11:04:16 -0500

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

Tue, 02 Nov 2021 12:28:58 -0400

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?

Tue, 05 Oct 2021 12:15:03 -0400

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

Tue, 07 Sep 2021 12:16:00 -0400

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?

Wed, 04 Aug 2021 09:52:25 -0400

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

Tue, 06 Jul 2021 10:39:33 -0400

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?

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 09:30:59 -0400

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

Tue, 04 May 2021 10:54:33 -0400

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

Tue, 06 Apr 2021 12:05:38 -0400

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

Tue, 02 Mar 2021 12:14:11 -0500

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.

Making Work From Home Work - Are We Putting Too Much Trust in Big Tech?

Mon, 01 Feb 2021 20:54:42 -0500

For this episode, Jon and Chris explore issues around trust with the Internet, social media and Big Tech, and the challenges that poses to keep the work from home experiment going. The future of work is very much tech-driven, and we raise some questions about tech going too far or being used for the wrong reasons.

Looking Ahead for 2021, and Thinking Bigger with AI - Beating COVID-19

Tue, 05 Jan 2021 08:45:29 -0500

Season 4 of Watch This Space kicks off with an episode looking ahead to 2021 for the future of work, and thinking bigger about AI. There is nothing more pressing for the world to solve than COVID-19, and this is the moment AI is really built for. If that doesn’t catch your interest, I don’t know what will, so I hope you give this episode a listen.

How Did We Really Do in 2020? Reflections on COVID-19, Technology and the World of Work

Mon, 07 Dec 2020 08:53:07 -0500

To close out Season 3, Jon and Chris recap a year like no other, looking at what went well and not-so-well with tech and the future of work in the age of COVID-19. In particular, we examine the challenges employers will face trying to bring workers back to the office in 2021, and the role AI can play can make work for both parties.

Why Zoom is Much More than Video, Plus Keith Jarrett and Yes, Alicia Keys

Mon, 02 Nov 2020 11:51:20 -0500

In this episode, we talk about highlights from three major events from last month – Zoom, Slack and Twilio – with Zoomtopia commanding most of our time. There’s just SO much innovation happening with cloud, AI, and collaboration technologies, but we also added a new segment to the podcast that’s all about music, touching on Keith Jarrett and Alicia Keys. Check it out to see how we tie all this together.

How Virtual is Becoming the New Reality

Mon, 05 Oct 2020 15:29:35 -0400

In this episode, Jon and Chris talk about how the growing need for broadband access presents challenges and opportunities for service providers, especially as work from home becomes the norm. Citing examples from pro sports, the film industry and live music, the role of technology is examined for creating better virtual experiences that in many ways are becoming the new reality.

Why Collaboration is the Right Technology for COVID Times

Tue, 08 Sep 2020 12:12:00 -0400

COVID has been good for business in the collaboration space, and in this episode, Chris and Jon explore what's driving this success, and where we should expect to see innovation coming from as the Work From Home trend continues through 2020.

How Communications Technology Drives Employee Engagement with Work From Home

Sat, 01 Aug 2020 16:39:00 -0400

Today's technology is so good and so easy to use, and it's a major reason why Work From Home is even possible. Chris and Jon explore both the pros and cons of this reality, and how it drives employee engagement when remote working is the norm.

The Evolving Collaboration Landscape During Pandemic Times

Wed, 01 Jul 2020 19:39:00 -0400

Our July 2020 podcast was spurred by the recent announcement of Connect from Slack, which draws a clearer line in the sand for those who do or do not use email in the workplace. This may be more about disruption than innovation, but it was the starting point for this episode.

Workplace Perspectives in Pandemic Times

Mon, 01 Jun 2020 19:39:00 -0400

Our June 2020 podcast took a longer view on the implications of COVID 19 on both work and the workplace. Both are evolving as remote working becomes the new normal, and we explore some of the big decisions businesses will soon be faced with.

The Evolving New Normal for Work, Daily Life and the Economy

Fri, 01 May 2020 19:39:00 -0400

Our May 2020 podcast focused on lessons learned as WFH - work from home - becomes more established, with implications that go beyond the world of work. In particular, we examined the role of technology to enable remote working, both for the benefits, but also the potential risks and boundaries that must be considered.

The New Age of Remote Work

Wed, 01 Apr 2020 19:39:00 -0400

Our April 2020 podcast took a broader look at remote working in terms of how technology enables borderless living, both for our work and personal worlds. The realities of home-based working are very different from having everyone in the office, and we evaluated the pros and cons of each, both for employees and employers.

February Conferences Review for Collaboration, Contact Center and Future of Work

Sun, 01 Mar 2020 19:39:00 -0500

Our March 2020 podcast recapped a busy February for attending industry events, and sharing our takeaways from each. This episode also marked the debut of our new branding and logo for the podcast as part of an ongoing plan to enhance Watch This Space.

Drivers for the Digital Workspace, and Cool Voice Innovations from Chattanooga

Sat, 01 Feb 2020 19:38:00 -0500

Our February 2020 podcast reviewed two January events - Future Offices, and Project Voice 2020 - and how today's technology is shaping these spaces. We discussed the future of work implications in both spaces, namely what corporate real estate needs to be considering, along with the new value coming from AI-driven innovation around voice technologies.

What's Ahead for 2020 - AI and CX

Wed, 01 Jan 2020 19:36:00 -0500

Our January 2020 podcast picked up where the December 2019 left off, going from the year in review to what we see in store for both a new year and a new decade. We focused on two broad technology-driven spaces that are shaping the future of work, AI and CX - Artificial Intelligence and Customer Experience. Lots to explore, and a great way to set the stage for what to expect in 2020.