UC Today

Join UC Today host Kieran Devlin as he sits down with William Rubio, Chief Revenue Officer at CallTower, and Elka Popova, Vice President and Senior Fellow at Frost & Sullivan. As AI features rapidly light up across communications platforms, internal IT governance models are struggling to keep pace. This insightful session dives into the hidden vulnerabilities of "shadow AI" and the messy reality of multi-vendor environments. If you're looking for a practical approach to standardizing policy, monitoring data usage, and holding vendors accountable without suffocating innovation, this conversation is essential viewing.
The rush to implement AI in Unified Communications (UC) and Contact Center (CCaaS) platforms is outpacing IT's ability to safely secure it. When different teams own different parts of a fragmented tech stack, compliance risks multiply, and traditional governance breaks down. William and Elka break down the real-world friction of enterprise AI adoption and share practical strategies for maintaining control.
Key takeaways from our discussion include:
The Threat of Shadow AI: How personal use of unauthorized AI tools and a lack of specialized AI skillsets within IT departments are exposing organizations to hidden data vulnerabilities.
Navigating Multi-Vendor Sprawl: Why a "one size fits all" approach fails, and how to maintain unified, proactive governance across complex hybrid environments featuring platforms like Microsoft, Cisco, and Genesys.
Building a Culture of Compliance: Moving beyond the annual "check-the-box" mentality to create dynamic, ongoing security protocols that secure buy-in from business leaders across the organization.
Vetting Your Vendors: The critical questions IT and CX buyers must ask during procurement regarding technology roadmaps, industry-specific expertise, and global data sovereignty.

In the first episode of the UC Today AI & Productivity Show, Marcus Law hosts a roundtable on what AI productivity looks like in the real world — what’s delivering value today, what’s still not landing, and what leaders should focus on next.

Marcus is joined by Tom Arbuthnot (Founder, Empowering.Cloud & Microsoft MVP), Mark Nixon (AI Business Solutions Go-To-Market Lead, Microsoft UK & Ireland), and Andreas Welsch (Founder & Chief AI Strategist, Intelligence Briefing).

The discussion covers:
🔵 What organisations are actually doing with AI productivity and automation right now
🔵 The Microsoft Copilot/M365 direction that matters (beyond the headlines)
🔵 AI agents: what’s real in enterprise, what’s still early, and what good governance looks like

For more Unified Communications & Collaboration Tech News visit https://www.uctoday.com/

In this UC Today interview, host Christopher Carey speaks with Loopio CEO Zak Hemraj about Loopio’s latest industry report on the impact of generative AI on the workforce - and one headline stands out: over 80% of teams are now using AI in their workflows, with more than half using it daily. Zak also highlights a surprise trend - financial services and banking, often viewed as cautious adopters, are among the most aggressive in embracing AI, driven in some cases by top-down executive mandates and structured governance.
The conversation explores why “capacity” has become the top challenge even as AI reduces time spent writing, how productivity gains can be offset by rising demand, what separates top performers in how they apply AI beyond first drafts, and what comes next as enterprises push toward agentic AI - alongside growing security and risk concerns.

Kristian McCann speaks with Ryan Holmes, Digital Workspace Solution Architect at New Era Technology, about how 3D visualization is helping enterprises plan AV refreshes with far more confidence than traditional 2D drawings.
Traditional 2D plans can look polished on paper, but they often miss the messy reality of how people actually use meeting rooms. Ryan explains how New Era Technology’s immersive 3D approach helps teams test room layouts, device placement, acoustics, lighting, and camera coverage before a single cable is installed.
Points of discussion include:
See why 2D drawings can hide real-world issues like poor sight lines, weak mic pickup, and glare.
Learn how immersive 3D and virtual reality make AV designs feel like a true-to-scale room clone.
Discover how the platform helps IT, facilities, contractors, and users work from the same visual reference.
Hear how visual-first planning can improve room adoption, reduce redesigns, and boost meeting quality.
If you are planning an AV refresh and want to get it right the first time New Era Technology.
For more Unified Communications & Collaboration Tech News visit UC Today.

Despite billions being spent on AI tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot and Google Workspace, most employees still aren't ready to use them effectively: and it's becoming a productivity problem.

In this interview, JP Gownder, VP and Principal Analyst at Forrester, breaks down the findings from Forrester's second AIQ report: "AIQ 2.0: Employees (Still) Aren't Ready To Succeed With Workforce AI."

JP explains what AIQ, the AI Quotient, actually measures, why the numbers have barely moved year-on-year, and why the gap between AI deployment and employee readiness is actively hurting organisations rather than just slowing them down.

Key topics covered:
🔵 What AIQ is and why it matters for enterprise AI adoption
🔵 Why rolling out tools doesn't automatically build AI skills
🔵 The "abandonment behaviour" undermining productivity gains
🔵 The ethics and responsible AI gap, and what happens when it goes wrong
🔵 What organisations getting this right are doing differently
🔵 Why AI slop is filling inboxes and creating negative productivity
🔵 What leaders should do first if this sounds like their organisation

Whether you're deploying Copilot, Gemini, or any enterprise AI platform, this is essential viewing for IT leaders, HR and L&D professionals, and anyone responsible for making AI investments pay off.

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For more Unified Communications & Collaboration Tech News visit https://www.uctoday.com/