The Warp and Weft of our Connected Lives
On October 30th, the company I have contributed to for several years (GENBAND) merged with another company (Sonus), to form a combined global communications brand we named Ribbon Communications. And this week, I was proud to represent the newly combined companies on a panel regarding the importance of diversity in the workplace, and the opportunity for all of us to be our “true selves” even when we are at work.
In this hyper-connected, hyper-fast world, we are no longer living our lives based on the traditional rules and timetables, and with amazing real-time communications tools and ubiquitous connectivity, are able to be more productive and more collaborative than ever – and this can truly change the world.
We are commuting less, as we work remotely, but are feeling more connected, as we work collaboratively seeing each other on screens instead of in conference rooms.
We are communicating more, as the cost to connect with others has plummeted to free, with game-changing “over the top” applications, and even traditional dial tone phone calls from anywhere to everywhere are no longer dollars or cents per minute but are fractions of a cent per minute.
We are watching traditional television less, opting to watch and binge watch increasingly high-quality theatrical films, documentaries, musical performances and more on the device of our choosing, at the time of our choosing.
We are sharing more – more photos, more moments, more of our “life stories” whether on a blog like this, or on social media channels – and connecting with each other during the most difficult times, including terrorist attacks which cause millions of people to share thoughts, prayers and meditations with perfect strangers, continents away in support of the human spirit.
My grandson Hudson
We are reprogramming the very way our children and grandchildren are growing up, learning, connecting with their friends and families, and just ‘being’ in a digital world.
We are redesigning the way we deliver healthcare, with telehealth applications that can instantly bring an expert to a person in acute danger of losing their lives for an instant consultation and diagnosis, reprogramming the way we care for patients when they leave the hospital, reprogramming the way we care for the elderly.
We are opening up new opportunities for digital jobs, whether we are supporting a cloud-based contact center offering perfect careers for working parents; we are simplifying the way businesses interact with their customers, partners and employees; we are changing the economics of how work gets done as we find ourselves alive and well in the fourth industrial revolution: connected everything.
Our communications are no longer linear, they are fluid, flowing and shaping how we live and how we leave our mark.
Our communications are contextual and whether voice or video, whether messaging or machines, our interactions are threads being pulled through the warp and weft of our daily lives and the lives we lead over years and decades – and how we live, as it is recorded and shared, becomes our true legacy, a legacy that will outlive us given the digital footprint we will all now leave behind.
Ribbon Communications was a name that rose out of many philosophical and business discussions between two leadership teams combining two cultures of successful global companies coming together, and two competitors now becoming a collective force in the marketplace.
It’s been an amazing opportunity for me to support this process, a learning moment for me and for my team. I am grateful to the gifted leaders who have put these businesses together with intelligence and grace, to my mentor David Walsh the founder of Kandy, to my new CEO Ray Dolan, to my hard working and super kind and smart boss, Patrick Joggerst and to many, many more individuals around me who inspire me with their hard work and dedication on a daily basis. I am grateful to my team, who worked tirelessly to discover the creative heart and soul of Ribbon, who genuinely care about what we do and whom we serve.
Above all, I feel humbly blessed that the people I work with understand that access to communications is important for everybody on the planet – digital inclusion isn’t just good for business, but great for society. Making communications, whether voice calls, video conversations, messaging, social media or other forms, universally accessible and affordable, makes anything possible.
How else can we all innovate – educate – and thrive in this new world – if we cannot connect and communicate?
Stay tuned for more as together the team at Ribbon continues to redefine communications as more contextual, more colorful and more creative than we could have imagined. And more inclusive. Follow us on all social media platforms @ribboncomm #WeAreRibbon
