EC2022: Taking a Pulse on InnovationEC2022: Taking a Pulse on Innovation

What does innovation look like in 2022? What sort of innovations do enterprises need from their technology providers in this year where the transition toward hybrid work will continue to be an uncertain path?

As I wrote last week, I believe much of this year’s focus in innovation will be on solidifying and trying to perfect the wave of transformative technology that was forced into widespread use by the onset of the pandemic. Many vendors are focusing on tools that improve the collaboration experience that’s been our baseline for almost two years. Other efforts center on shaping the hybrid work experience that enterprises will continue to try and create in 2022.

One of the first chances we’ll have to get a pulse on innovation will be this year’s Best of Enterprise Connect award program. The Best of EC is awarded annually to innovative products, so by definition, these should be real-world advances, things you can actually see, demonstrate, sell and buy in 2022.

Once again this year, we’ll be recognizing innovative products in some selected areas that clearly seem ripe for particularly innovative advances. This year’s Category Awards in the Best of EC program are:

And, of course, from the entire list of entries, our judges will choose a winner to take home the Best of Enterprise Connect Overall award.

Speaking of our judges, we’ve once again assembled an outstanding team of experts to evaluate the submissions:

So, if you’re an Enterprise Connect sponsor, I encourage you to make sure your company is planning to enter the Best of Enterprise Connect competition. The deadline is Friday, Jan. 28, 5 p.m. PST, and no extensions are granted on this deadline.

I’m looking forward to seeing what this first reading on the pulse of innovation in 2022 has to tell us.