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Jon Arnold

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Principal, J Arnold & Associates

911 points

Jon Arnold is Principal of J Arnold & Associates, an independent telecom analyst and marketing consultancy based in Toronto, Ontario. JAA’s primary focus is on IP communications and disruptive technologies, such as VoIP, mobile broadband, IPTV, telepresence, unified communications, peer-to-peer ...

Jon Arnold is Principal of J Arnold & Associates, an independent telecom analyst and marketing consultancy based in Toronto, Ontario. JAA’s primary focus is on IP communications and disruptive technologies, such as VoIP, mobile broadband, IPTV, telepresence, unified communications, peer-to-peer, social media and Web 2.0.

JAA provides strategic counsel, marketing strategy, market research and thought leadership for a client base that covers the full industry gamut. This includes startups, mid-market vendors, Tier 1 vendors, all types of service providers, the financial community and PR/marketing firms.

Previously, Jon was the VoIP Program Leader at Frost & Sullivan, where he was responsible for managing their subscription service for Global VoIP Equipment Markets.

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WEB: My Analyst 2.0 Blog

Jon Arnold is now following Daren Stabinski and 2 other people

Nov. 27, 2011

Jon Arnold and 52 other people answered this question

Aug. 4, 2011

How much does correct spelling and grammar matter when blogging?

Not much to add here - we all agree that spelling and grammar MATTER. Basically, for anyone from the pre-Internet generation, you're preaching to the converted. I'm more interested in hearing from Millennials on this topic. They tend to be the guilty party here, and ... more

Jon Arnold published a brief

July 8, 2011

Virtual Queuing – the End of Music on Hold?

Information Technology

Call Center Tools

Cloud Based Applications

Contact Center Solutions

Jon Arnold and 3 other people answered this question

June 8, 2011

Survey finds UC implementations have doubled this year. Why are more companies adopting now?

Good answers here, esp related to contact center issues. Mobile UC is coming into its own now as the second wave driving adoption. The first wave was for fixed endpoints - office phones, home office phones, soft phones and PC-based web apps. Mobility helps extend ... more

Information Technology

Jon Arnold and 1 other person answered this question

June 1, 2011

What does M5's position and brand represent?

Not sure what you're getting at here. M5 has one of the longest track record providing hosted VoIP services, and is a great example of new competition that provides great value, esp for SMBs. There's a lot to their value proposition, and it works for ... more

Information Technology

Brand Development

Jon Arnold and 10 other people answered this question

May 12, 2011

Why is Microsoft buying Skype?

Interesting comments here. For those still following how things will unfold with MSFT and Skype, I'll share my thoughts from yesterday:
http://jonarnold-analyst.blogspot.com/2011/05/microsoft-and-skype-now-thats.html more

Information Technology

Jon Arnold and 2 other people answered this question

April 26, 2011

When looking at Unified Communications offerings, how important is video quality?

I'd agree with the earlier comments, and would just add that the need for video depends on how you plan to use UC. Currently, it's generally not the prime driver for adopting, but that will change over time (and that will make for some new ... more

Information Technology

Unified Communications

Jon Arnold and 5 other people answered this question

March 31, 2011

At what point does a company need features a UC system offers?

I'm with Pam on this. There really isn't a "right time" - it's more an understanding of the broader concept of UC, as it represents a new and more engaged way to look at communications. Once this thinking is in place, the process to adopt ... more

Information Technology

Unified Communication

Unified Communications

Jon Arnold and 18 other people answered this question

March 28, 2011

How do you engage an audience during a webinar?

I answered a question here recently that was pretty much identical to this one. Am not going to re-hash here, but will add a thought. Great answers to date, but they pretty much are all after the fact. These won't help you when you're live ... more

General Management

Webinar Best Practices

Jon Arnold and 1 other person answered this question

March 28, 2011

Can unified communications compete with Twitter? Is the technology outdated?

UC means many things, but I really don't buy into that line of thought. Twitter? Don't think so, even for the most liberal definition of UC. It's a useful tool, but very limited. This is really a generational thing, and I don't think anyone over ... more

Information Technology

Jon Arnold and 2 other people answered this question

March 21, 2011

Besides Skype, what other sites are companies using to conduct video interviews with job applicants?

Hi Christina;
Not surprisingly, you got replies here from both sides - a vendor and an end user. Being an analyst, I'm neither, so I can't give you a first hand perspective. However, there are two basic ways of doing this, and both have their place. ... more

Human Resources

Video Conferencing

Jon Arnold is now following

Feb. 19, 2011

Jon Arnold is now following

Feb. 19, 2011

Jon Arnold answered this question

Feb. 17, 2011

Skype Access: The price is right, but how is the quality?

I can't comment on the quality, as I don't have a need for this service. However, I've closely followed Skype from the beginning and use it regularly. All I can really say is that I wouldn't be so worried about the quality. That's really beyond ... more

Information Technology

Jon Arnold and 6 other people answered this question

Feb. 15, 2011

What questions should I be asking my employees about their telecom needs?

It's great that you're involving employees in the process, but now you have to follow through and listen to them as well as meet their expectations. This creates more work for yourself, but it will pay off if you handle it well.
I agree with ... more

Information Technology

Small Buisiness

Jon Arnold published a brief

Jan. 29, 2011

Five Best Practices for Hosted Services

Information Technology

Ip Telephone Systems

Jon Arnold and 1 other person answered this question

Jan. 26, 2011

What do you think is the future of VoIP?

Eventually, I do think VoIP will displace landline telephony, although before that happens, voice will become more integrated with the web and your PC. I've written a Focus Brief about why I think the desk phone will disappear, and I think that will come to ... more

Information Technology

Mobile Wireless

Jon Arnold and 2 other people answered this question

Jan. 26, 2011

What would be the trends in Hosted PBX Services for SMBs in 2011?

Your question is a bit unusual, since your asking which trends the providers should follow - rather than the vendors or SMBs. A key trend for them is to gauge how the habits and usage patterns of their end customers are changing. With a little ... more

Unified Communcations

Jon Arnold and 1 other person answered this question

Jan. 26, 2011

What are best practices for phone vs. online survey recruitment?

Email can be very effective with a familiar audience, such as your customers, suppliers, channel partners, etc. Phone is great too, but email is faster and cheaper, and simply, the more recruiting you need to do, the more attractive email is.
We don't always have ... more

Data Collection

Market Research

Jon Arnold and 2 other people answered this question

Jan. 25, 2011

When is it smart for a small business to consider an On-premise Vs. Hosted VoIP solution?

You've got some good answers already, Melina. Based on the limited information provided, I'd say hosted is your best bet. I can't see you justifying an IP PBX here. If you're mainly focused on telephony - as opposed to a more integrated communications solution, it's ... more

Information Technology

Jon Arnold asked a question

Jan. 25, 2011

If a VoIP provider you never heard of offered free voice service, would you switch from your telco?

Ip Phone Technology

Jon Arnold published a brief

Jan. 15, 2011

Tru – Bringing Real Value to Mobility

Information Technology

Mobile and Wireless

Jon Arnold and 1 other person answered this question

Jan. 10, 2011

In both Networking and VOIP you never mention Adtran they are number 2 in switches and router?

Agreed, DW. ADTRAN may not be a household name in these spaces, but the numbers are there to show they are a major player. I haven't seen those reports either, but if they are as you describe, then ADTRAN should be in there. Am sure ... more

Information Technology

Jon Arnold and 3 other people answered this question

Jan. 10, 2011

Does a company that uses SIP trunking need to purchase additional Internet connectivity bandwidth?

Probably not if you're just doing voice and low-bandwidth data applications. However, if you move upstream to using a lot of video or large file transfers (such as medical images or sound files), you'll likely need more bandwith. This is true, not just to support ... more

Information Technology

Hosting and Bandwidth

Jon Arnold and 1 other person answered this question

Jan. 10, 2011

What happens if my business doesn't make a return for a VC/Angel investor?

If you have to ask this question, then you might not be ready to raise money this way. In short - if you got money from a VC, you would already know the answer. The expectations/milestones would be pretty clearly defined. However, if things are ... more

Angel Investment

Business Funding

Financial Services

Jon Arnold answered this question

Jan. 10, 2011

What do you think are the biggest hindrances to your personal productivity?

This might be a trick question, but I'll take the question at face value. I'm pretty old school, but as a pragmatist, I'd say that too much choice is a bad thing. For people who have grown up with the Internet, there are so many ... more

Employee Motivation

Personal Productivity

Jon Arnold and 6 other people answered this question

Jan. 7, 2011

What video conferencing options are available for small teams - 10-12 people or less?

You have some good answers here, Lori. I'm not going name specific providers, but I've come across all kinds in my research. That said, am glad to see Yugma mentioned, and they're a good example of a PC-based conferencing application. Some are free, some are ... more

Information Technology

Presentation Services

Jon Arnold and 7 other people answered this question

Jan. 5, 2011

Why wouldn't I use Vonage as a business phone service?

Great question, Chris, and you've gotten some good answers here. I just wanted to say that Vonage can work just as well as "business branded" offering like Vocalocity - but also just as poorly. As noted already, OTT services like these (over-the-top)cannot directly manage/control QoS. ... more

Information Technology

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Customer Service

Information Technology

Unified Communications

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