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Enterprise Connect 2017: Get Ready for Fresh Faces, New Content, Hackathon!

Whether you're a regular attendee or have never been to Enterprise Connect, the leading vendor-neutral conference and exhibition for enterprise communications and collaboration, you're sure to find lots to like about the program we have planned for the 2017 Orlando event, coming March 27 to 30. We've got fresh faces, updated content, and a cool new relationship to share.

Let's start with the fresh faces. As announced yesterday, three industry thought leaders will make their debut appearances on the Enterprise Connect 2017 keynote stage to share their unique perspectives on hot trends and technologies shaping enterprise communications and collaboration. They are:

  • Jeff Lawson, founder, CEO & chairman, Twilio -- communications platform-as-a-service innovator with more than 15 years of entrepreneurial and product experience, including while serving as one of the original product managers for Amazon Web Services (and, of course, the man behind one of the hottest tech IPOs in recent history)
  • Jens Meggers, SVP & GM, Cisco Cloud Collaboration Technology Group -- responsible for managing Cisco's cloud-focused collaboration portfolio, including the flagship Spark platform for integrated messaging, calling, and meetings, and overseeing the WebEx and Jabber engineering and product management teams (for more on Meggers and his role at Cisco, see yesterday's No Jitter post, "Cisco Collaboration 'Moving at Warp Speed'")
  • Ron Markezich, corporate VP, Microsoft Office 365 -- responsible for the commercial go-to-market strategy for Microsoft's Skype for Business UC platform, as well as all other pieces of the company's productivity portfolio, and running Office 365 deployment and usage programs
  • With the pace of change as rapid as it is in this industry, it's far too early for these gentleman to have started putting pen to paper in planning for their keynote addresses. But would anybody be surprised if we heard lots about topics like the API economy, cloud communications, next-gen messaging and team collaboration, and the rise of the bots? I surely wouldn't. Even as you contend with tactical deployment, management, and migration concerns of today, you must look for strategic guidance on where your enterprise's future is headed in communications and collaboration -- and these big thinkers will help inform your vision.

    Of course, the great insight won't stop with these keynoters. We've got a jam-packed four-day program in the works, which will include a handful of main stage summits and dozens of sessions across nine tracks: Unified Communications & Collaboration, Cloud Communications, Communications APIs, Contact Center/Customer Experience, Mobility, Video, SIP/SIP Trunking, Systems Management & Network Design, and -- new for 2017 -- Next-Gen Messaging & Team Collaboration. As always, we're working with leading analysts and consultants in fleshing out the program and identifying the best speakers for a wide range of sessions types, from practical advice to market landscapes and case study presentations.

    Take a crack at building your preliminary agenda, but come back often to check out program updates. To get you started, how about adding: "How to Build Your Enterprise's Team Collaboration Roadmap," "Managing for and Through Vendor Consolidation," or "SD-WAN: Why It's the Right Fit for the Cloud Era" sessions to your agenda?

    Let me also call out one of our Monday morning kick-off sessions, "Hackathon After-Action Report: Meet the Hackers, See the Hacks." Let me explain.

    In conjunction with this year's event, we are pleased to announce that Enterprise Connect has teamed with the TADHack organization's Alan Quayle to host TADHack-mini Orlando on March 25 through 26, for an all-nighter "hack till you drop." We're inviting developers, one and all (or anybody else interested in dabbling with telecom APIs), to join this TADHack-mini event and show their chops in communications-enabling business applications or processes -- or even creating entirely new services. Bring your ideas, hack away through the night using a variety of sponsor technologies, and earn your chance to present your innovative hack to our tech-savvy enterprise audience during the Monday morning session!

    Have I whet your appetite for Enterprise Connect 2017? Register now using the code NOJITTER for $300 off an Entire Event pass or get a FREE Expo Plus pass. See you March 27 to 30 in Orlando!

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