Enterprise Connect is built different. That’s always how I describe this show/conference to anyone who asks me about it. Really, this is more of a conference with a little bit of trade show. While I’ve never had the pleasure of attending any of the talks, panels or education sessions that are here at Enterprise Connect, I’m definitely adding it to my to-do list for next year because they had some speakers from really cool companies this year (hi Delta and Little Caesar’s).

Anyway. The first day of this show is always a little interesting to me because the expo floor opens at 3 p.m. (after a day of education) and closes at 7 p.m. This usually leads to a flood of attendees right at the 3 p.m. who leave shortly after. Or they just sort of wander around until the drinks come out promptly at 5 p.m. It’s really Day Two (Tuesday) of the show that people get into the technology and start asking questions. I’m excited to dive in.

From my brief walk around the show floor, I did notice a few new things, but most were very similar to things I’ve noticed in the past.

First of all, the booths are smaller and more confined here. There’s not a ton of glitz, glamour or extra wasted space. It is very much “here is our company and a few of our products that are relevant to you.” But let’s keep in mind that this is an end-user-focused show. Maybe we need more of “these are our products that are relevant to you, and here is a brief rundown of why you should care.”

I’ve said in the past that I felt like we were moving away from booths being designed with products on pedestals, but Enterprise Connect still has many booths designed this way. I don’t know if this is a good or bad thing; it may be that this is how the end users want to see the products. Maybe they’re easier to hold and explain this way. But I tend to wonder if it might be more effective for manufacturers to pull from their experiences at ISE and InfoComm. Perhaps a booth design showing exactly how products are used could do something really cool for this show. We’ll see.

Final thoughts!

1. Zoom is really focusing on the whole “Zoom Workspace” thing here at Enterprise Connect. This was something the company announced during Zoomtopia 2023 but is clearly pushing here at EC. They’re here with one message: Zoom is more than meetings. It is your one-stop shop for working in general. Email, notes, documents, etc. Do I think Zoom is going to replace Microsoft or Google Workspace any time soon? Probably not, but I’ve been wrong before.
2. There are A LOT of call-center-as-a-service options here this year. I know that Enterprise Connect is one of those shows that covers many forms of communication, but I don’t think I was expecting to see so much of this. I’ll be interested to find out more.
3. Free drinks on the show floor right at 5 p.m. is a nice touch.

Make sure to follow along to see what my thoughts are from today! ¡Adios!

Here’s a cute picture for good measure.

Time to RISE AND GRIND Tweeps 💪🏾

Gearing up for Day 2 at #EnterpriseConnect. This moment from Day 1 in the @HETMA_org was pretty epic! @Smearin_Off_Ice @Ryan_A_Gray @chris_neto @AVIXA @stephlbeckett @Jweaver319 & can’t forget my guy G!

Let’s get it #AVtweeps 🥳🥳 pic.twitter.com/uxTkyAGqt8

— Alesia Hendley 🎥🎙️ (@thesmoothfactor) March 26, 2024