LATAM Telecom

Slack's annual user conference wrapped up yesterday after two days filled with product and business updates. The opening keynote featured founder and CEO Stewart Butterfield and tennis star Serena Williams. I'm still processing all the information but here are my initial thoughts. Key announcements included integration with video communication platform Zoom and a 'bridge' to connect with email and calendar. For a nice summary of Day 1 announcements follow this link . These announcements signal team collaboration is expanding as a core productivity tool Workflow automation and third party integrations were once again, central topics in the keynotes, breakout sessions and show floor. These highlight the emphasis that Slack is placing on workforce productivity.  Coming up soon: a company impact report with my thoughts and key takeaways from the event for 451 Research subscribers.

Mobile Ecosystem Forum (MEF) just published an interview I did with them earlier this year at MWC in Barcelona. Below an excerpt from the interview, for the full text and video follow this link  or check out the interview below. In 2017, 451 Research launched a paper that revealed the extent to which consumer software and devices had infiltrated the workplace. It reported that nearly three in four employees were using consumer messaging apps for business purposes. That obviously presented a security risk for enterprises. Yet 451 Research found that 62 percent of companies had not made any BYOD policy changes in the previous six months. Two years on, the problem of uncontrolled BYOD policies still persists. However, according to Raul Castanon-Martinez, Senior Analyst – Workforce Collaboration, 451 Research, it’s now become a little more nuanced. In short, even when companies do mandate their own communications channel, they cannot be sure employees will use them.

Foldable phones and the promise of 5G dominated the headlines at MWC this year. 5G is not a new topic; it has been a headliner at MWC for the last two years. What's different this time is that network equipment vendors – including Nokia, Ericsson and Huawei – are in the process of rolling out their first 5G deployments. In addition, device manufacturers such as Samsung, Huawei and LG are bringing to market 5G devices that will be made commercially available later this year. In this report, we look at MWC 2019 announcements that highlight the imminent arrival of 5G; we also look at the impact we expect this will have on workforce productivity in the near term. Check out the full report at  http://go.451research.com/2019-mi-5g-and-promise-workforce-productivity.html .

I had the opportunity to attend the Cisco 2019 Collaboration Analyst Summit in San Jose. This was very good timing on Cisco's behalf. The company shared upcoming updates that will be announced next month at Enterprise Connect; the event also provided an opportunity to meet Amy Chang, SVP and GM of the Cisco Collaboration Technology Group. My main takeaways are that Cisco is streamlining its Collaboration portfolio and improving the end user experience with a strong focus on workflow integration; it is also working on improving how it does business with its customers and partner network. 451 Research subscribers can read my comments following this link .