"What's the excitement around VoiceCon?" The question came at the end of a pre-briefing for news to be delivered at That Other Show next week (CTIA) and it is a good one.
"A lot of [VoIP] media" who had the choice between CTIA and VoiceCon were choosing VoiceCon, said the gentleman. Since, among other things, it is his job to keep tabs on where all the buzz-buzz bees go to collect their news nectar, his comment caused me to stop and think for a moment.
Another independent consultant/analyst told me earlier this week that he had originally planned to leave VoiceCon late night Tuesday evening, but there were just too many of the "right" people in the enterprise IP communications space for him to talk to. (Didn't hurt that he managed to score a half-price night at the Gaylord with an online deal!).
Therein lay the key: Enterprise communications.
Last week, I chatted with Fred Knight, VoiceCon's GM [1]. He said more than half the people showing up for VoiceCon are IT professionals in organizations with 1,000 or more employees. These professionals support large numbers of people and multiple offices - we're not talking SMB, we're talking big installations, help desk, lifecycle support, quality of service, the whole enchilada.
Enterprise buyers may be spending less these days, but they're still spending. They may be looking for a much shorter return on investment for communications services and equipment, but if they can find it, they are going to spend the money.
And that's why a lot of vendors are going to be working the hallways of VoiceCon next week. Trust me: I have the press releases and meeting schedule to prove it.
- Doug [2]
Links:
[1] http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/voicecon-gm-talks-projected-attendance-hot-enterprise-topics/2009-03-24
[2] mailto:doug@fiercemarkets.com