This is the fifth year we've brought together our customers, partners, industry analysts, and the media to share their perspectives - but the first year holding this exciting gathering in the City of Angels, Los Angeles! 

After four successful years in Orlando, we are excited to be moving this year’s event to the JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE. The five-star venue is located in the heart of downtown LA and part of the L.A. LIVE sports and entertainment district that surrounds STAPLES Center and Microsoft Theater and features world-class restaurants, music and entertainment. It’s the perfect venue for a fantastic line-up of speakers and entertainment and fun that we have planned.

This year our keynote addresses will again include an impressive array of thought leaders and influencers, including the CEO of Deutsche Telekom’s Immmr, Judit Andrasi, who will be sharing her extraordinary vision for connecting people "over the top," leveraging the Internet and making it easier, more fun and more secure to engage in digital conversations. 

Pam Chandor, Global VP of Market and Industry Sales at IBM, representing their collaboration and talent solutions, will take the audience through the new way of working, combining IBM's collaboration and social solutions with embedded voice, video and interactive development. With Millennials starting to overtake Boomers in the workplace, and with extremely sophisticated young people coming out of universities having learned digitally, IBM is investing in ensuring businesses give the modern workforce the tools - and freedom - that will drive a new level of creativity and productivity. 

Other VIP speakers during our one-day general session on Tuesday, July 18, including Greg Pelton, CTO and Vice President of Infrastructure and Engineering for Polycom, one of GENBAND and Kandy's most vibrant partners, and Wendell Black, Vice President of Global Channels for Five9, the leading provider of cloud contact center software and another great GENBAND partner. Wendell will share his wisdom and Five9's vision to transform contact centers into customer engagement centers of excellence, while addressing the complexities and costs associated with this rapidly changing industry. 

While the learning is intense and valuable, the networking at Perspectives events is like no other. This is truly a VIP level event, intimate enough to allow for real discussions and deal negotiations. We have seen great and lasting relations struck up over cocktails and dinner, and have enjoyed creating experiences that allow people to interact as people, letting their hair down! 

Whether our guests love history, movies, entertainment, fine art, music, baseball, or food - our marketing team, led by Bita Milanian who is an Angeleno herself, will be outdoing themselves as always with amazing activities and events.

I look forward to being the "MC" over the five days of real-time collaboration in real life. In addition to the great networking and learning opportunities we will also have plenty of fun and entertainment for our attendees.  Next week, we will announce our featured entertainment on Wednesday night – I promise you are in for a wonderful treat that night and every night at Perspectives17.

Looking forward to seeing everybody there, to another memorable week, and to enjoying Southern California in July!