No longer was constant commentary heard about reducing costs and saving money.  Rather, it was about making money and making communications better and more effective.  In his keynote, Walker, in fact, specifically noted that was the original premise behind then Grand Central, which eventually became Google Voice – making communications better.  It’s the same mission he continues today with Uber Conference and Dialpad (he does thank Yahoo! for being willing to sell the name of his original voice service back to him).

It’s the same concept that dominated much of the conversation at ITEXPO today.  Reporting from a session discussing chatbots and AI, Gerald Baldino concluded that AI is poised to become a disruptive force in communications: “Chatbots are here to stay, and over the next few years you will see more and more organizations use them to improve their operations. 

Mark Straton from BroadSoft (Cisco) followed that line of thinking, noting that, “Communications are in the midst of an era of massive disruption.”

He focused on the benefits of intelligent communications, including agility, reduced IT nightmares, better collaboration within and among teams, and tighter integration between apps and processes to further drive efficiency.

The communications space has been evolving for decades – the difference today is new technology has massively increased the pace of evolution.  Cloud and mobile networks are two of the chief drivers, but Walker says all the building blocks are in place that will enable every IP endpoint to be communications-enabled.

It took 50 years for the PSTN to reach 75 million users; it took 2.5 years for the original iPhone to hit as many sales, and today, Apple sells that many devices in 3.5 months.  Walker quipped that Angry Birds reached that figure in 35 minutes.  That’s the power of cloud and wireless.

But ultimately, with Uber Conference and Dialpad, Walker’s objective mirrors that of many of the speakers at ITEXPO, as well the exhibitors showcasing their products and solutions on the show floor.