News and Insights for Today, and Tomorrow UC Today reports on the latest unified communications and collaboration industry news and marketplace trends. Every day our tech journalists uncover the hottest topics and vendor innovations shaping the future of work.Our coverage is fully digital offering our audience authentic news and insights on the channel of their choice. We offer daily news, weekly features, video conversations and authority content aligned to the needs of business leaders in today's world.For industry professionals, our weekly newsletter offers a range of popular stories hand-picked by our editorial team. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.If you're seeking editorial coverage, connect with our news desk.
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June 15, 202653 min
Beyond Adoption — What Meaningful AI Engagement Actually Looks Like
In this roundtable, Kristian McCann brings together a panel of experts to unpack one of the biggest AI challenges in business today: why usage numbers are rising, but real productivity gains are still lagging. The conversation explores the gap between management perception and employee reality, and what organizations can do to turn AI from a checkbox into meaningful workflow improvement.Featuring Kelly Pallanti of North Star PMO, Kemmbelly Durst of Klein, Sid Parakh of Medible, Melonie Boone of Boon Management Group, and Tanesia Leflore of Right Fit Enterprise with FlexHR, the discussion digs into adoption barriers, vanity metrics, and the role of change management in making AI work across the enterprise. The panel also looks at why blanket rollouts fail, why psychological safety matters, and how leaders can build trust while measuring actual value.Talking points include:Why AI adoption is often more performative than productive.The danger of vanity metrics such as logins and training attendance.Why adoption needs to be tailored by team, role, and workflow.How middle managers can bridge the gap between leadership goals and frontline reality.Why psychological safety and feedback loops are essential for meaningful AI engagement.Next steps:Visit how AI is introduced, measured, and supported across different departments by checking our coverage on UC Today.
June 15, 202619 min
SMS OTP Is Failing – Here’s What Comes Next, According to Vonage and AT&T
In this UC Today interview, host Kristian McCann sits down with Kunal Shukla, GM and Head of Network APIs at Vonage, and Chung H. Lee, AVP of Product Innovation at AT&T Business, to unpack why traditional authentication methods are breaking down—and what comes next.From the hidden cost of fraud to the growing limitations of SMS-based verification, the discussion reveals why enterprises must rethink how they balance security with seamless user experiences. More importantly, it introduces a new, network-led approach that leverages telco intelligence to authenticate users silently—without adding friction.This isn’t just theory. Vonage and AT&T break down how network APIs are transforming authentication and reducing friction across the customer journey.Key points include:Why a $10 trillion cybercrime economy is forcing businesses to rethink authentication strategiesHow SMS OTP creates friction—and opens the door to phishing, interception, and poor UXWhat “silent authentication” looks like using real-time network intelligence and telco dataHow Vonage, AT&T, and partners are building an ecosystem to deliver secure, seamless digital trustNext Steps:Stay ahead of fraud trends and join the UC Today LinkedIn community at linkedin.com/groups/9551264 and subscribe to the newsletter at uctoday.com/register.
June 8, 202612 min
The Hidden Risks of Hybrid Work for UC Security
In this UC Today interview, host Kristian McCann speaks with Darren Anstee, Chief Technology Officer for Security at NetScout, about one of the most urgent questions facing IT leaders today: how do you keep business communication running when a cyber incident hits a hybrid workforce? With employees split across offices, homes, and unmanaged networks, the stakes are higher than ever. From DDoS to firewall state exhaustion, policy gaps, and the hidden blind spots that can turn a security event into a full business interruption, Anstee explains why attackers increasingly target the network layers that sit in front of collaboration tools, not just the tools themselves.Key points includeWhy hybrid working creates visibility gaps for IT teams.How DDoS and firewall-state attacks can cut off UC access for entire office populations.Which policies matter most, including unmanaged devices, shared connectivity, and corporate-approved backups.Why protecting internet-facing firewalls is now a frontline business continuity priority.Next steps: For more news on how to keep your company secure, visit https://www.uctoday.com/
June 3, 2026Episode 415 min
The New Mobile Edge: Balancing Native UC Mobility with Next-Gen Voice Security
Kristian McCann is joined by William Rubio, Chief Revenue Officer at CallTower, and Craig Durr, Chief Analyst and Founder of The Collab Collective, to explore why traditional mobile UC models are struggling to keep pace with today’s enterprise demands.As hybrid work, AI-generated voice threats, and compliance pressures continue to reshape enterprise communications, organizations are being forced to rethink how they manage mobile collaboration. This conversation dives into the growing risks tied to consumer-grade OTT mobile apps and explains why native eSIM is emerging as a more secure, manageable, and seamless approach for enterprise UC.From frontline workers switching away from unreliable UC apps to the rising threat of AI-driven vishing attacks, the conversation highlights why enterprises need tighter control over mobile communications without sacrificing user experience.Key discussion points include:• Why legacy OTT mobile UC approaches create security blind spots and policy fragmentation• How native eSIM enables stronger compliance, lifecycle management, and corporate-grade control• The growing role of spam filtering, trusted caller identity, and secure network-level management• Why remote workers and mobile-first employees are driving demand for a more seamless UC experienceNext Steps:Find out what a CallTower eSIM solution can do for your business' security and accessibility.
June 1, 202613 min
Why Employee Wellbeing Should Start with Data Visibility, Not Perks
In this UC Today interview, host Kristian McCann speaks with Callum Pennington, CEO & Co-Founder of HBHR, to unpack a growing issue facing modern organizations: employee wellbeing that’s treated as a bolt-on rather than a business-critical priority. If you think wellbeing is about perks, think again. This discussion reveals why the fundamentals—like accurate pay, workload visibility, and unified data—are the real drivers of trust, engagement, and retention. Pennington joins UC Today to explain why organizations need to rethink how they approach wellbeing from the ground up.Key points:🔵 Why “bolted-on” wellbeing strategies fail to address root causes like payroll errors and workload imbalance🔵 The role of unified HR, payroll, and operations data in identifying burnout before it’s too late🔵 Eye-opening stats: one in three employees are one paycheck away from financial crisis🔵 How AI-powered alerts helped uncover a costly payroll error—paying a former employee for 18 monthsFor more leadership and workplace insights, visit UC Today and explore related stories and interviews.Join the UC Today LinkedIn community at linkedin.com/groups/9551264 and subscribe to the newsletter at uctoday.com/register.For more Unified Communications & Collaboration Tech News visit https://www.uctoday.com/
May 28, 202616 min
Frontline-First Communications: Connecting the Workforce Where It Matters Most - Mitel
In this interview, Mitel CTO Luiz Domingos discusses why frontline-first, voice-first communications are becoming essential operational infrastructure — and why organisations can no longer afford to connect their entire workforce with the same one-size-fits-all tools.The conversation covers how embedded, real-time communications enable faster decisions, safer work, and better outcomes; why voice is making a strong comeback as the interface of choice in hands-free environments; where AI adds the most practical value for frontline workers; and how hybrid and edge architectures ensure resiliency, security, and control in mission-critical environments. Luiz also shares the biggest mistakes organisations make when modernising frontline communications — and how to avoid them.
May 27, 202612 min
Cisco TMS Sunset: Why the Obvious Next Step Isn’t Always "the Cloud"
Cisco TMS is approaching end of life, and organizations across the enterprise collaboration landscape are now facing major decisions about the future of their video infrastructure.In this episode of UC Today, Kristian McCann speaks with Giles Adams, CEO at VQ Communications, about the real-world impact of the TMS transition, the growing divide between cloud and on-prem strategies, and why regulated industries are taking a far more cautious approach to collaboration infrastructure.From government agencies protecting sensitive communications to enterprises balancing operational resilience with modern cloud innovation, this conversation explores the practical and strategic implications behind one of Cisco’s biggest ecosystem shifts.Key discussion points include:🔵 Why Cisco TMS end of life is creating urgency for enterprises and channel partners🔵 The growing importance of sovereign, air-gapped, and on-prem video environments🔵 How Cisco Control Hub compares with alternative migration paths🔵 Why analytics, automation, compliance, and device management are becoming critical prioritiesFor more Unified Communications & Collaboration Tech News visit https://www.uctoday.com/
May 25, 202614 min
Picking a Winner: Why Formula E Selected HiBob's HCM Platform
In this UC Today conversation, host Kristian McCann speaks with Hayley Mann, Chief People Officer at Formula E, about why the all-electric racing series picked HiBob with its people operations.Formula E is not just managing people; it is supporting a workforce that spans the world, operates under pressure, and needs tools that make leadership easier, not heavier. Hayley explains why HiBob stood out to help with this, how its AI performance management was a key feature in the procurement process, and what good looks like as the partnership evolves.Key topics include:🔵 Why Formula E needed one platform to unify HR, employee experience, and manager workflows.🔵 How HiBob’s culture fit, mobile usability, and AI-enabled performance tools helped tip the decision.🔵What “embed and involve” means when you’re trying to make people processes part of the day job.🔵The 12-month roadmap for talent, workforce planning, and freeing up the people team for more strategic work.Watch to hear how market-leading companies like Formula E approach vendor selection and platform consolidation. Look for the practical takeaways on non-negotiables, employee experience, and using technology to support high performance rather than adding friction.
May 20, 202614 min
AI-Driven SOCs: What PwC Is Seeing and What Security Leaders Should Do
AI is reshaping the security operations center (SOC), shifting it from a manual, reactive function into a faster, intelligence-driven environment. For organizations dealing with alert fatigue and limited analyst capacity, AI is becoming a practical tool for improving how threats are identified and managed.In this UC Today discussion, Kristian McCann speaks with Morgan Adamsky, Principal at PwC, to explore how enterprises are operationalizing AI in the SOC. Adamsky brings a pragmatic perspective, focusing on how AI can be deployed responsibly. Her insights center on aligning technology with people and process, ensuring AI enhances rather than complicates decision-making in high-pressure environments.From Hype to Operational RealityTraditionally, analysts have had to manually review large volumes of data, often taking significant time to identify real threats. AI is changing that by rapidly surfacing anomalies and prioritizing potential risks, helping teams respond faster.Adoption, however, varies widely. Many organizations are still taking a “bolt-on” approach, adding AI into existing workflows. More advanced organizations are rethinking the SOC entirely, treating AI as a “force multiplier” and designing operations around it from the outset.This gap highlights different levels of maturity. While some are experimenting, others are investing in deeper transformation, a move Adamsky suggests will deliver greater long-term value, particularly as attackers also leverage AI to accelerate their efforts.Challenges remain. Organizations must integrate AI across the full security lifecycle, ensure outputs can be trusted, and train teams to use it effectively. As Adamsky notes, the human factor is still a key hurdle in scaling adoption.Building a Smarter, Safer SOCTo manage these challenges, organizations are introducing clearer boundaries between AI and human decision-making. AI can handle tasks like initial triage, but critical actions such as containment or shutting down systems typically require human validation.This human-in-the-loop approach helps maintain trust while still benefiting from automation. It ensures that AI supports, rather than replaces, human judgment in high-stakes scenarios.Adamsky also outlines what effective implementation looks like. This includes combining threat intelligence, vulnerability data, and network activity into a unified view. AI then helps identify patterns and surface meaningful insights, enabling more informed decisions.She also points to three priorities: faster vulnerability management, stronger third-party risk oversight, and preparing for breaches. The latter reflects a growing recognition that incidents are increasingly likely, making readiness essential.From Experimentation to TransformationThe discussion makes clear that incremental adoption is not enough. While bolt-on AI can deliver short-term gains, long-term success requires rethinking the SOC as a whole, with AI embedded across workflows.At the same time, core cybersecurity fundamentals still matter. Practices like patching, testing, and incident planning remain critical, but must now operate at greater speed to keep up with AI-driven threats.For security leaders, the focus should be on both technology and people. That means investing in tools while also upskilling teams and adapting processes to fully leverage AI.Ultimately, organizations that treat AI as foundational rather than optional will be better positioned to keep pace in an increasingly automated threat landscape.
May 14, 20269 min
Data Security, AI Compliance: The Two Blind Spots Your Compliance Solution Can't Ignore - Smarsh
In this session of UC Today, host Kristian McCann sits down with Simon Peters, Director of Channel Sales at Smarsh, to unpack one of the most pressing questions facing regulated industries in 2026: Is your compliance solution really secure — and is its AI even compliant?It’s a wake-up call for compliance, risk, and IT leaders who assume ticking the compliance box equals airtight data protection. As global fines for compliance and data breaches continue to climb — including over $63 million in penalties in early 2025 alone — this conversation exposes the two blind spots most organizations still overlook.Peters explains how compliance and security aren’t interchangeable, why third-party AI models can create new compliance gaps, and how Smarsh has built “compliant AI by architecture” — keeping all data, transcripts, and analysis inside customers’ own sovereign environments.Key discussion points include:Why compliance ≠ security — and how most tools leave key data unprotectedThe hidden AI compliance gap: when “smart” systems leak sensitive data externallyHow Smarsh’s regional AI architecture ensures zero data leakage and full audit readinessThe real-world consequences of breaches — from SEC fines to reputational damageNext steps:Visit Smarsh.com to download the “Compliance Must-Haves” checklist and the Seven Hidden Voice Data Risks guide.
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