Changes wrought by AI and other advanced technologies are disrupting your core communications/collaboration systems, offering your enterprise opportunities for more cost-efficient voice and video services to both individual users and office-based systems like meeting rooms. This means your fundamental job – to make collaboration work for end users – is only getting more complex and challenging. This half-day summit will guide you down the right path to vanquish challenges ranging from new AI-driven features to security/compliance to vendor interoperability, and even the best strategy for "sweating the assets" you already have. Through a combination of lectures, panels, and small-group discussion, your 3 hours spent in this summit will pay off with solid facts, actionable insights, and opportunities to engage with experts and peers, all of which will leave you better equipped to ensure your collaboration platforms, meeting rooms, and planning roadmap are optimized to provide the best and most efficient user experience for your evolving workforce.

Schedule:

9:00 – 9:05 AM: Welcome and introductions

9:05 – 9:50: Panel Discussion: What’s Essential for Collaboration Platforms in 2026 and Beyond?

Moderator: Diane Myers, Metrigy

Speakers: Shawn Rolin, Head of Technology, Zoom; Amey Parandekar, Product Management Leader, Cisco, Amir Hameed, SVP Global Technical Solutions & Innovation, RingCentral

As you plan the next phase of collaboration technology for your enterprise, what key elements and feature/functions will be essential -- and how will vendors deliver these? This session will cover not just the familiar enhancements like meeting summaries and AI assistants, but the whole range of capabilities a platform must support, including:

* Voice/PBX roadmap and pricing/licensing

* Integration with CCaaS and other cloud-based services

* Services architecture

In this discussion, a leading analyst will press industry thought leaders to get beyond the hype of new AI-driven features, and describe in detail the holistic picture of a collaboration platform that provides solid communications capabilities even as it pushes the envelope for new AI-driven features. You'll come away better prepared to evaluate vendor roadmaps and understand how to build out your core platform to deliver what your users need.

9:50 – 10:20: Panel: Meeting Room Tech Trends: Crafting Your Strategy for the Next 3 Years

Moderator: David Danto, Principal Analyst, TalkingPointz
Panelists: Andy Howard, Founding & Managing Director, Howard Associates; Rich Bayes, Product Management Leader, Cisco

AV hardware continues to get better, faster, and cheaper, and AI is a major reason (but not the only one). In this session, a veteran industry analyst/consultant will outline the latest developments and where AV technology is heading over the next 3 years. You'll learn which AI features deliver real value, where you can cost-effectively add capabilities to existing rooms and expand your deployments to spaces not currently served. You'll come away with a plan for upgrading and improving your meeting room estate, while minimizing costs wherever possible.

10:20 – 10:35: Break

10:35 – 11:15: Panel Discussion: Neglect Security, Pay the Price

Moderator: Irwin Lazar, President and Principal Analyst, Metrigy

Panelists: Mark D. Collier, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), SecureLogix Corporation; Oscar Rodriguez, Senior Director, Global Partner Solutions, Vonage

Collaboration technology leaders must dedicate more attention (and, most likely, resources) to securing the systems and databases that drive collaboration. In this session, a panel of security experts will discuss their top concerns about security risks related to communications systems, and what enterprises must do to mitigate these concerns. You'll learn about everything from vishing to deepfakes, and will come away with a set of actions you must take to ensure that bad actors don't succeed in victimizing you, your customers, or your end users.

11:15 – 11:50 Small Group Discussion: What My Enterprise is Doing to Maintain and Advance Collaboration

This time is for YOU. You'll gather with 8 - 12 enterprise pros to discuss real-world problems and solutions. You'll have the opportunity to share your current situation, plans for the future, and what could trip you up. Brainstorm solutions, offer support and advice, and come away fortified to face the dilemmas of providing collaboration capabilities in a world that's changing daily.

11:50 – Noon: Small Group Read-outs and Wrapup Discussion

Stick around to hear small groups report on their discussions, and get some final words of advice from the experts who have led today's summit sessions. You'll walk out with a summary to bring back to your colleagues and build on for your collaboration future.